For the entirety of the offseason, the conversation around Ohio football was all the team lost. Kurtis Rourke, one of the best passers in school history, entered the transfer portal shortly after the conclusion of the regular season. A slew of transfers followed, leaving Ohio’s faithful fans confused and worried about what was coming.
Running onto the field against Syracuse for week one, nobody on the outside was sure what to predict. The Ohio offense featured returning starters only on the offensive line to start the game. For the defense, Ohio started three transfers under first-time defensive coordinator John Hauser.
Despite all the changes and uncertainty, the Bobcats came out in week one and proved they could be a competitive team at the mid-major level.
Led by first-time starting quarterback Parker Navarro, Ohio was able to march down the field with ease at different points throughout the game against a formidable ACC defense. The Ohio rushing attack looked to be improved from last year with transfer Anthony Tyus III and redshirt freshman Rickey Hunt Jr.
Tyus had a breakout game with over 200 rushing yards, becoming the first Ohio running back to reach such a mark since 2021 when Demontrae Tuggle reached the threshold.
Navarro has a few starts sprinkled throughout his long college football tenure but has never started the season as No. 1 on the depth chart. Navarro is almost the polar opposite of his predecessor, Rourke, in his gameplay. Though Navarro can drop back and sling the ball downfield, he is a well-skilled dual-threat quarterback who can threaten defenses with his legs.
The common downfall of a team with little experience is its ability to convert in big moments. The Bobcats, however, showed no issue coming up big when the team needed it.
To start the game against Syracuse, Ohio faced a critical third-down conversion on offense. The JMA Dome was as loud as it would get all day, doing all it could to hinder Ohio’s ability to convert. Despite the noise, Navarro dropped back in the pocket and threw the ball across the middle of the field to a wide-open Coleman Owen for the first down.
This specific play was what Ohio fans saw during the entirety of the Rourke era: an ability to slow down the heart rate of the offense and just make a play.
Ohio coach Tim Albin never lost faith in his staff to put together the best team possible over the offseason. Since Albin took over as head coach in 2021, the team has had two 10-win seasons and only one losing season.
Albin knows how to build a football program, and as long as he’s at the helm, Ohio fans shouldn’t doubt the team’s ability to be competitive.
Following the Syracuse game, there’s plenty of reason to be excited about what’s to come this season. Albin pointed out after the game that a team makes a big jump between week one and week two of a season.
Coming up on a competitive game with South Alabama this weekend, Ohio will look to get its first win under its belt and continue to prove that despite a few key departures, there’s no reason to be worried about what’s to come.
