Monroe, please reread my thread about Bobcat True Confessions. You remind me so much of my attitude toward Bill Hess after a few mediocre seasons. My excuse is that I was young, immature and was at the stage in life where I thought everyone over 30 was a feeble old person ready to be put out to pasture. What's your excuse?

I don't understand that term, either.

As for the "boring schedule", it is what it is because it makes financial sense. The 2:1 deals of the past nearly killed the program financially. They can't go back to those. Now, I suppose they could eliminate the FCS game, and add another FBS school on a 1:1, meaning alternating years of 5 home games and 6 home games. They could also play another money game instead of the FCS game, and just go to 5 home games each year.

One disadvantage of playing only 5 home games is that it would hurt the local Athens business community. I think someone estimated that an additional home game a year brings them about $500k in extra revenue.

I can see, though, why you might like the upcoming series with UC and Kansas better than, say, Louisiana-Lafayette or New Mexico State.

This probably won't go over very well, but I am being honest. The program is boring based on a few thoughts. I think Frank is like a grandfather. This is fine if it's because he is calm and stoic while leading team to many victories, but when there is a need to light a fire under the team or an individual, I don't see it happening. I don't need a coach to be out of control with enthusiasm, but Solich is very dry and monotone. Personally, I am more drawn to guys like Groce and Phillips than Solich. I believe college football requires short-term bursts of motivation. In the past I thought Jason Grooms was that guy on the staff that could do that, but now he is gone.

It's been a long time since we have had a home game that would draw in a casual football fan to check out the team. By scheduling teams like Idaho, Wyoming, Louisana Lafayette, and North Texas as our big game for the year we are basically anonymous in the region. I love the Marshall series, but we haven't had a really interesting non-conference team outside of The Herd in Peden since Pitt in 2005 (maybe UConn in 2009...maybe)

I believe Solich has a say in the schedule, at least somewhat. That becomes part of the boring program, because I think he can beg to play a tougher schedule if he wants to elevate the program. If all the past few recruiting classes are chock full of talent like they say, then schedule a game or two with a good opponent the next few years when these kids are upperclassmen.

Another issue is the style of play. We have a hurry up offense that can't get a play in before the play clock runs out. We have a bunch of really good WRs, but can't get them the ball. There has not been a great QB recruited that can just step in and throw the ball all over the field. A lot of other programs in the MAC have had one or more of these guys running their offense. TT was good for a stretch, but that was really for 18 months out of the past decade. I don't understand why the staff has been unable to recruit a really good QB to Athens. Heck, even when one of our coordinators creates one, he can't even get him to want to be a part of the program. There are kids out there that want an opportunity to step right in and play 4 years in a 2nd tier league instead of riding the bench at a P5 school.

I do love Peden, but it's my home. Not everyone is drawn to it. It needs modernized. The restrooms, lighting under the stadium, concessions, ingress/egress during packed games, etc are all things that could be fixed without a ton of capital. I have been to most of the MAC stadiums as well. I think Akron and Kent in particular do a nice job of everything except the product on the field. I'd like to see food trailers/local concessions available in the stadium. We should be able to buy a beer or two during the 3.5 hours we are out in the hot sun early in the season. I'm not naive enough to think a large video board is just going to appear, so that is not an area I expect a lot of change in the near future. I live in a 100 year old house. I understand how difficult it can be to retrofit something. I like the charm of an old building, but also want some of the modern conveniences. It's why I don't complain about how close rows of seats are to each other. It's impossible to fix without tearing down the stadium. I do, however, think Peden is the least of the problems right now. It doesn't need to expand capacity. Just polish it up and add a few amenities.

I do think the department has improved in some of these areas, like promoting pregame tailgating and the banners outside Peden. Ticket Operations is a lot better than it used to be, and the Ohio Bobcat Club guys do a nice job acknowledging their donors. They are moving forward, even if it is slow.

An exciting program has people wanting more. I never miss games, but I am not really waiting anxiously for Labor Day weekend 2015. We need an infusion of energy, even if it's a little manufactured. We laughed at Row Your Boat, but look what has happened at WMU. Passion and energy are infectious and palpable.

Which places are one and two? Still waiting to hear on that Jacki O's beer bet by the way.

Solich is more excitable than his mentor, Tom Osborne, and probably on a par with Joe Paterno. I think either kind of coach can win. There is something to be said for being able to fire up a team, but also something to be said for playing with equal intensity each week. So far as I know, only one time in over twenty years of coaching did Osborne lose to a team with a losing record, and he never lost to an FCS team. Osborne's MO was to always beat the teams he was equal to, or better than, and sometimes beat teams he shouldn't beat.

Solich follows the same plan. He tries to play each week with consistent intensity, and always beat the teams he should beat, or which he is equal to, and to sometimes beat the ones he shouldn't beat. He has not yet lost to an FCS team, and he usually beats teams with a losing record. He hasn't been as effective at it as Osborne was, though, as he has lost a few games to not very good teams, such as to Kent in 2010. On the positive side, he also has racked up some good wins along the way, like the Penn State or Pitt wins, where Ohio had a talent disadvantage, and has been close to winning in others.

Is that boring? Maybe to some it could be, I guess. Some might like more surprise wins, and more surprise losses. I think that's probably where Monroe is coming from. He wants more "exciting" i.e. more risky play calling, meaning taking more chances. Even if it means losing more games that Ohio should win, he'd be happier with it, I think.

Thanks for the reply. At least I understand more about where you are coming from, now.

I agree with you here; the schedule has been a bore. I agree with you that Frank Solich can take action for himself to strengthen the schedule.

However, Frank has already made the positive impacts you're requesting. And I'm talking past tense as in years ago.

When Frank first came in as OHIO's head coach, he scheduled games a decade in advance. Was that the strongest move he could've made for OHIO? I don't know, but that's how they ran the business at Nebraska.

We're still playing games that were scheduled when OHIO was a bottom dweller. Only in the last year or two has the future become close enough to schedule.

And what did Frank do when he got a say in how to schedule the new OHIO of the future (not the old OHIO of the past)?

OHIO signed 1 and 1s against Cinci and Kansas a year or two ago.

I agree with your disatisfaction of the schedule. The boring schedule was penciled in a decade ago. And the schedule of the future already has two home games that are exciting.

I agree, but it sounds like your issue is about something that happened almost a decade ago.

PS,

On scheduling, I heard Schaus turned down a money game at Notre Dame in the near future.

+1

The three previous quarterbacks under Frank Solich before Vick set passing records at OHIO in succession.

Anyone can talk about the unimpressive record book before Frank got here. But is it not improvement when the next quarterback beat the previous? Isn't what we've seen out of Theo, then Boo, then TT the definition of improvement?

Talk about today's game all you want. Frank Solich coached a Heisman winning quarterback at Nebraska who threw for 1,500 and ran for 1,000 his senior year. Does anyone think that wouldn't work in today's game?

At the end of the day, you can't make these kids come here. There's a difference between Frank knowing what it takes to be a quarterback in "today's game" and the quarterback that has what it takes flat out choosing someone else.

With all do respect GoCats, I hate that rebuttal.

Record books, by nature, can be re-written in a single season. A century of deficiency in a particular area can be erased by just one person raising the bar to a level on par with OHIO's peers.

For example:

Tettleton passed for 3,302 yards, 2,851 yards, and 2,844 yards in three seasons. For his career he threw for 9,100 yards. He has the #1, #2, and #3 passing seasons at OHIO. TT is #1 for his career in passing at OHIO.

At NIU, Tyler Tettleton's best passing seasons would've ranked #2, #3, and #4 all time. TT would be #1 all time in NIU's record book for passing yards in a career.

At Toledo, TT has passing seasons #3, #5, and #5. TT would be #2 all time in passing at Toledo.

For BG, #5, #9, and #9. TT would be #3 all time in passing at BG.

Those are just some examples compared to some MAC peers.

I could dig deeper and blow your rebuttal up.

The reality is, Frank, this staff, found a hidden gem at QB when Tettleton signed. And despite the way things ended, OHIO's passing records are now on par with their peers.

So if these records at OHIO fall in the future, if OHIO ever gets a new #1 career passer, what happened in the last 100 years is irrelevant.

I agree that is fair. Per game season stats are definitely something I was wrong to overlook.

In general, the premise to my original argument remains the same.

P.S.

In the interest of fairness, perhaps stats on a per quarter basis should be the golden rule (mitigating injury, blowouts, and OT).

Your bad: Just win the MACC. All this about abstract statistics and comparisons blah, blah, blah. What was on the field and our record over the last 35 gamesis is not good....it's your bad. Hope is good. But hope is not proof, is not performance.

Your bad; just win the @#*&*^ MACC.

I'll take that bet on Frank and the MACC!



It's kinda a win-win...If he doesn't get one, it'll prove I'm correct (though not happy to be on this count) and if I lose then it means we got the MACC and ALL OF US will be happy.