Led by the most total yards in Ohio football history, the Bobcats scored 58 points and beat UMass 58-42 on Saturday at Peden Stadium. Ohio had 394 yards on the ground, and its defensive line was a highlight, even though it gave up 42 points.
Whose stock rose? Whose stock fell?
The Post’s observations are here:
Stock up
Ohio’s running game
Led by Nathan Rourke’s 189 yards on the ground, Ohio racked up nearly 400 yards rushing against UMass. Maleek Irons had a coming out party of sorts, totaling 140 yards rushing with a touchdown. But don’t overlook A.J. Ouellette. The redshirt senior had a 49-yard touchdown run, showing some speed of his own while nearly having 100 yards on the ground as well.
Before they played UMass, the Bobcats had 498 rushing yards on the season. Against UMass, Ohio had 394. At one point — prior to a negative play and victory formation kneel downs — Ohio had over 400 yards. The offense seemed to click in the run game, something that looked like last year’s offense.
As an offense, the Bobcats set a new program records for total yards in a game; they had 664. Rourke had 270 yards through the air and four total touchdowns. Nine different Bobcats caught a pass.
Defensive line play
After a trio of games in which Ohio couldn’t rush the passer, its defensive line produced against UMass. Ohio had three sacks on the day, making life miserable for UMass quarterback Andrew Ford. The Bobcats also had six tackles for loss in the run stopping.
UMass couldn’t get anything going on the ground, and the Minutemen totaled just 41 yards rushing. While Ohio averaged 9 yards per rush, UMass averaged 1.9. Marquis Young, the Minutemen’s leading rusher, had just 45 yards on 13 carries.
Stock down
Goal line offense
As good as Ohio’s offense was, it struggled at the goal line. The Bobcats had the ball, up 20, with a first and goal from the UMass 1-yard line at the beginning of the fourth quarter. After three straight run plays, Ohio settled for a field goal to push its lead to 23 rather than 27.
Later in the fourth quarter, Ohio again had a first and goal, this time from the 9-yard line. After three straight run plays, the Bobcats again settled for a field goal, which were the final points of the game.
Although the two field goals didn’t change the outcome of the game, Ohio wants those drives to result in touchdowns. As the Bobcats enter Mid-American Conference play, they’ll have to figure out how to get seven points instead of three.
First quarter
On UMass’ opening drive, Ford carved through the Ohio defense. The Minutemen traveled 75 yards in six plays and took the lead on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Ford to Andy Isabella. Ford was 4-of-4 on the drive for 55 yards and the touchdown.
On the following possession, Nathan Rourke missed an open Cameron Odom, and UMass’ Isaiah Rodgers picked the ball off, taking it the other way for a 55-yard touchdown and a 14-point UMass lead. Although it took the Bobcats less than a quarter to regain the lead, it wasn’t the start Ohio coach Frank Solich was hoping for.
