While many students begin to count down the days until they return to campus, Ohio already has a different day circled on its calendar.
The Bobcats began a 26-day fall camp Monday, which leads up to their season-opening showdown with Penn State on Sept. 1.
Ohio has high expectations on the table heading into its 2012 campaign, stemming from its first ever bowl win in 2011.
“We’ve met a number of goals, but we’ve left some things on the table,” coach Frank Solich said. “Our football team understands that they’ll work toward trying to accomplish those goals.”
Preseason accolades were dolled out to individuals and the team throughout the preseason. Quarterback Tyler Tettleton, defensive back Travis Carrie and kicker Matt Weller all were named to college football’s major awards watch lists.
Perhaps the biggest honor bestowed on Ohio was the weight of being the preseason Mid-American Conference favorites, as pegged by the conference’s media conglomerate.
But before even thinking about MAC play, the Bobcats have plenty to prepare for. Solich said that even though the Nittany Lions have had their psyches tested during the offseason, the Bobcats will have to make sure their heads are on straight as well.
“It will be a challenge of making sure that we are focused on what we need to be about,” he said. “We can control how we practice and how well we play, those are the only two things that we are going to be focused on.”
Carrie, one of the team’s four captains, echoed his coach’s sentiment, saying that the team’s focus will be on itself instead of the Penn State blue and white swirling around the confines of Beaver Stadium during the season opener.
“Going into the game, both teams have one goal, and the goal is to win,” Carrie said. “Penn State traditionally has been a good a team and that’s what we’re expecting from them.”
Last season’s potent offensive unit lost playmakers and anchors on the offensive line, but the Bobcats’ offensive line depth leads Solich to consider it his team’s strength.
“I do know that we will have a very good offensive front again,” Solich said. “We lost four athletes at the receiver position that caught a lot of balls for us, it remains to be seen if we will replace that, but Tyler (Tettleton) is bright, he knows it takes a combination of things to build the statistics he had.
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