Nathan Rourke hasn’t changed a thing.
At this time last season, he was a little-known quarterback who was pushing Quinton Maxwell for first-team reps. But now, Rourke’s been listed on a slew of preseason national watch lists and one of the most feared weapons in the Mid-American Conference.
Rourke knows all the hype surrounding the Bobcats. They were tabbed by the media and the coaches to win the MAC. But Ohio is pushing those expectations to the wayside, and its focusing on Howard, taking things week by week.
“Right now we’re really focused on Howard,” Rourke said. “We understand the meaning behind the accolades. It means a lot for a well respected league like the MAC to vote us MAC favorites, but it doesn’t mean anything in the long run.”
Expectations are one thing. Actually winning the MAC is another. The Bobcats ran through the eventual MAC champion Toledo in Athens last season, but then faltered in the final weeks of the season and failed to make the championship game.
But the Bobcats have learned from the tribulations of 2017. Coach Frank Solich is humbled by the compliment of being named the preseason champions, but that award yields no trophy for the second floor trophy case in Peden Stadium
"I think mostly the media knows what they're doing,” Solich said. “They follow football, they follow it a ton, so it meant a lot to us that the media picked us. It means a lot to us that the coaches picked us to win the championship. Now, you've got to follow up on that and you've got to find ways to make that work. But I'm glad to see that there's talent in the program, that they think the talent is well coached, and so we'll just take it a step at a time and see where this leads us.”
That “one step at a time” mindset is instilled through the players from the time they are recruited. They say it like a broken record. It’s clockwork. But each week adds up, and at the end of that, a goal resides.
Solich knows that goal, and it’s discussed daily, which rang through Peden Stadium after Tuesday’s practice. The Bobcats broke the team huddle with “MAC champs.” And what team wouldn’t? This edition of Ohio football is the 50th version of the team since a MAC Championship was brought back to Athens.
“We've been talking to these guys since the season ended about setting goals, understanding those goals and what it's going to take to accomplish those goals,” Solich said. “Obviously, you can't think you're pretty good and step onto the field and get waxed pretty good and then think things are going to unfold right for you. Things don't happen that way. So, we take that.”
Linebacker Eric Popp’s unit is one with tempered expectations. Coach Ron Collins has dealt with turnover in the last two seasons, losing Blair Brown and Quentin Poling to the NFL, and Chad Moore to graduation. Popp will help lead the linebackers into 2018 as part of a front seven facing questions. It’s the weak link heading into Howard, but Popp is confident with the rotation of guys that will be on the field.
“It’s always been ‘next man up’” Popp said. “That’s what coach Collins always said. Even if last year, somebody got injured — if Q got injured — its next man up.”
That mantra is carried in every position room, and it’s worked for Ohio. And while the excitement is brewing around the program and endless possibilities run through their minds, they make sure to stay grounded in what they know.
For now, the focus is all on Howard. After all, Rourke’s been told by offensive coordinator Tim Albin leading up to the start of the season "We can’t win the MAC this week.”
As they navigate through non-conference play, they’ll continue to sponsor that sentiment.
