No one in the football program seemingly wants to admit it, but the Bobcats are a few wins away from their first Mid-American Conference Championship appearance since 2011.
As if additional pressure wasn’t necessary, Ohio (6-3, 4-1 MAC) hasn’t won a conference title since 1968.
If this year scratches that 48-year lull, a win Thursday night against Buffalo would certainly help. And coming off a 31-26 upset win at Toledo, where Ohio hadn’t won since 1967, the team hasn’t had more momentum at any point this season.
The key — at least for Ohio — is to forget all the “since” achievements and focus on Thursday, coach Frank Solich said during his weekly press conference Monday afternoon.
“They have not been a football team that’s dwelled on the losses they’ve had,” Solich said. “They have not been a team that’s dwelled on the victories we’ve had. They’ve moved forward, so I think it’s a smart football team in that regard."
More involvement from Papi White
Getting the ball in Papi White’s hands has been a focal point for the offense since the first play of the season. Through nine games, there’s a solid association between White’s involvement on plays and on-field success.
Against Toledo, White totaled 137 yards, the most this season since the opening loss to Texas State. Rushing for 54 yards on five carries and recording 64 receiving yards and a touchdown on three catches, White’s involvement led to confusion for the Toledo defense.
Solich has wanted that sort of involvement all season, but different factors, from injuries to playcalling, have altered the course. The win over Toledo showed the lethalness of White’s potential.
“As we go through you want to get Papi the ball,” Solich said. “We’ve found different ways to do that as a running back or receiver, he comes in motion. That will continue to be a part of our offense.”
Mind games or changing his mind?
A few weeks ago, Solich said he wanted to use a variety of running backs throughout a game. With the deepest talent pool in the conference, that seemed logical.
Even when injuries hampered the running game, the coach said sure, having one guy rush for over 100 yards could be easy, but he’d rather distribute carries amongst a plethora of backs.
Dorian Brown had 29 carries for 212 yards and a touchdown against Toledo. The week before at Kent State, Brown had 12 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown. His fellow running back, Maleek Irons, also ran for 83 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown.
“I personally like to give a really good running back a ton of carries,” he said. “I’m not a committee guy, but when you have a lot of really good running backs and they all have their plusses, you want those plusses to be seen. … If you have one guy who just sort of separates himself completely from the pack, then that’s who you feed the ball to.”
Solich did say success could depend on the offensive lineman’s success on their blocking schemes, which could dependently affect each back potentially used.
Windham back sooner than later
Redshirt senior Greg Windham started the season at quarterback. Recently he’s been starting games as the backup behind redshirt freshman Quinton Maxwell.
Windham was featured against Toledo and played well, throwing for 84 yards and a touchdown, as well as 18 yards rushing.
His success was temporary, though, and he was injured midway through the game. Initially seen on the sideline on crutches, Solich said Monday that a recovery should take place soon.
“It’s not as serious as what we first thought,” he said. “So there’s a chance for him to recover fairly quickly.”
