Ohio has a chance to do something it hasn’t done in more than 50 years: take home the Mid-American Conference Championship trophy. After a season full of excitement, adversity and overcoming, Ohio finds itself one win away from history.
This is the story of the 2024 Ohio Football team before the team heads to Detroit, where it will take on Miami in the first-ever Battle of the Bricks for a MAC Championship.
The players
The 2024 Bobcats are a prime example of how a team can benefit from the transfer portal. The three biggest weapons on offense, Parker Navarro, Coleman Owen and Anthony Tyus, were all acquired in the transfer portal. Those three have been the backbone of a very effective offense which ranks second in the MAC in scoring during conference play.
The Ohio offensive line has been among the conference's best as well, featuring players such as Parker Titsworth and Jacob Dennison, paving the way for Ohio’s conference-leading running game.
The defensive side of the ball is no different, as transfers like Marcel Walker-Burgess, CJ Doggette, Blake Leake and Dustin Johnson have all been stellar this season. Homegrown recruits like Bradley Weaver, Shay Taylor and Roman Parodie have been elite as well. The one freshman who has gotten extensive playing time is safety DJ Walker, who has been excellent at filling in for the injured Jeremiah Wood.
The coaches
Ohio head coach Tim Albin has taken the football program and elevated it beyond what legendary coach Frank Solich left behind in 2021. A win for Albin in the MAC Championship game would make him the third coach in program history to win the conference.
Albin isn’t the only coach worthy of credit for Ohio’s 2024 success. First-year defensive coordinator John Hauser has excelled, picking up right where former coordinator Spence Nowinski left off.
Offensive coordinator Brian Smith has led an almost entirely new offensive unit to be one of the highest-scoring in the MAC.
Co-defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator Nate Faanes, praised by Albin after almost every game, is one of the bright young minds at Ohio who will almost certainly see a promotion, whether with Ohio or not.
The MAC is full of incredible coaches, and Ohio has shown up to out-coach almost all of them.
Albin said this is the best coaching staff he has ever worked with.
Biggest wins
The biggest win of Ohio’s season was its 24-7 Wednesday night victory over Toledo in the Glass Bowl. Ohio has had trouble playing in the northwest part of the state, posting a record of just 1-16 going into this year's game against Toledo.
After a dismal first half that saw the Bobcats go scoreless, they came out firing on both sides of the ball. They forced turnovers and scored 24 unanswered points on the Rockets to keep their MAC title hopes alive.
Besides that historic win in Toledo, the Buffalo game was another key win for Ohio. The Bulls featured two of the best, most productive linebackers in the nation: Shaun Dolac and Red Murdock.
Despite the vaunted linebackers and Buffalo defense, Ohio scored a season-high 47 points, highlighted by three touchdowns from Coleman Owen and a Shay Taylor pick 6.
One more win
Ohio has had a handful of players and coaches enter their names in the record book this season, but none of the statistics matter for them. The team has only one thing on its mind: a MAC Title Trophy.
A win for the Bobcats on Saturday would cement them as one of the greatest teams the program has ever seen. It would be Ohio's sixth title win and the first in almost 50 years.
Ohio also has a chance to avenge its earlier season loss to bitter rival Miami with a win. The Bobcats have never matched up with the RedHawks in a championship game. Not until this Saturday.
