Ohio is back in Detroit to fight for the championship crown after a one-year hiatus.
The Ohio Bobcats (9-3, 7-1 MAC) are in the MAC championship on December 7th— this upcoming Saturday— in a game which is set for a kickoff at noon Eastern time to set the table for what should be an intriguing championship weekend in the college football landscape.
The ‘Cats triumphant return to the big game in Detroit got us thinking about the last time they made it, an incredible journey led by an offensive juggernaut early followed by a memorable defensive transformation in conference play.
To start the 2022 season, Ohio relied on a high-flying offense to emerge from non-conference play at an even 2-2. The two wins were primarily courtesy of an elite passing game led by star quarterback Kurtis Rourke (who now plays at Indiana.) The six-foot, five-inch signal caller hailing from Oakville, Ontario, Canada posted video game-like numbers in wins over Florida Atlantic Owls and Fordham Rams, completing 81 percent of his passes for 882 yards and eight passing touchdowns.
The sizzling start was a sign that Rourke and company were in for a big year, and it turned out to be just that, as “Air Canada” went on to win MAC Offensive Player of the Year and MAC MVP. The effort was easily one of the finest passing seasons in program history as Rourke completed 69 percent of his passes for 3,257 yards with a remarkable touchdown to interception ratio of 25:4.
All totaled, Rourke set three of the top 10 all-time single game passing yards records that season including the number one performance with 537 passing yards against Fordham.
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Ohio’s quarterbacks enjoyed one of the most prolific receiving corps in recent memory where Miles Cross, Jacoby Jones, James Bostic, and Sam Wiglusz all had at least 560 yards receiving and at least 33 receptions. The Bobcats’ pass catchers were explosive that season too as Bostic led the league with 18.4 yards per catch while Jones was second in the MAC at 17.2 yards per catch.
Like Northern Arizona transfer Coleman Owen this year, Wiglusz transferred in and took the league by storm in his first year, garnering First Team All-MAC honors while ranking tied for first in the conference in touchdown catches (11) and third in yards receiving (877).
Key to the passing game in 2022 was excellent protection provided by players like First Team All-MAC right guard Hagen Meservy and current Bobcat star center Parker Titsworth.
While Ohio had scored 100 points combined against the Owls and Rams they had also surrendered 90 against those teams.
And so it was that the defense had a different trajectory than the offense that year, adjusting to a new system under first year defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky. While the defense started slow, they finished like gangbusters, maturing into one of the finest defenses in the league by season’s end.
The low ebb for the defense perhaps came in the overtime loss to Kent State, 31-24. Although the ‘Cats played one of the most physical games in recent history, the Golden Flashes rolled up 736 yards at home to steal the win in the extra period.
Undaunted, the defense dug in and rallied to turn things around on a level rarely seen on that scale. Next week against Akron things started to improve and they won. Then the points and yards allowed started decreasing rapidly as Ohio won six straight conference games where only one opponent scored more than 20 points.
By season’s end, Ohio’s defense ranked second overall, allowing just over 21 per game in conference play.
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The defense had leaders and playmakers at all levels during MAC play including defensive lineman Kaieem Caesar, Rodney Mathews, and Vonnie Watkins, linebackers Bryce Houston and Keye Thompson, and defensive backs Justin Birchette, Tariq Drake, Alvin Floyd, Torrie Cox Jr. and Zach Sanders.
Caesar, a defensive captain, displayed great leadership down the stretch, always seeming to make a critical play to fuel the winning streak.
Cruising towards the MAC East crown and a spot in the title game, things took a brutal turn when, in the waning seconds of the first half against Ball State, Rourke suffered a season-ending knee injury.
The team rallied behind quarterback CJ Harris and their emerging defense to finish Ball State before blowing out Bowling Green 38-14 the following week to secure a title shot.
Unfortunately, the Bobcats ran into a buzzsaw in the MAC championship game against a Toledo Rockets team which was among the best MAC teams offensively and defensively. Ohio’s defense held Toledo 14 points below their season scoring average, but they missed their offensive MVP. Ultimately, Ohio lost a defensive struggle that day, 17-7.
Despite the loss, Ohio had an opportunity against the Wyoming Cowboys in the Arizona Bowl and a chance to win 10 games in a year for only the third time since 1968. It was mission accomplished for the Bobcats as they downed the Cowboys in overtime on a 10-yard pass by bowl MVP CJ Harris. The Bobcats QB’s throw was snatched out of the air on a memorable leaping grab by tight end Tyler Foster.
2022 Freshman of the Year running back Sieh Bangura was also big in the bowl win with 138 yards on the ground.
The Bobcats would not make the title game in 2023, but did win 10 games. Now the 2024 Bobcats are on the cusp of some major accomplishments, just one win away from three consecutive 10-win seasons and their first conference crown since 1968.