http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-football/2013/8/5/4580112/2013-mac-positional-football-rankings
QB
2. Ohio Bobcats (Last season: 4) -
Tyler Tettleton had a drop last season in production, but still managed to throw an 18-4 TD-INT ratio. He also sat the FCS game against Norfolk State when
Derrius Vick came in and threw 199 yds and 4 TDs. Vick is a workable back-up and will be a sophomore this season, presumably gaining the reigns next season. This is a very solid 1-2 punch at QB, but not the best, only because of obvious reasons...........
RB
3. Ohio (Last Year: 5) - The fact that
Tyler Tettleton can throw for 2,844 yards in 2012 with Beau Blankenship still being able to collect his menial 1,604 yards means good things for the Bobcats offense in 2013. Blankenship's transfer from Iowa State has been a godsend for Frank Solich's offense. If
Ryan Boykin and Daz Patterson can shake off past injuries, the 'Cats can ease the load off Blankenship a bit.
WR/TE
6. Ohio (Last Year: 6) - Donte Foster will be
Tyler Tettleton's favorite connection again in 2013 after a campaign where he hauled in 59 passes for 659 yards and eight scores. Ohio also bring back Landon Smith,
Matt Waters, Chase Cochran and tight end Troy Hill. The 'Cats also have slot option
Mario Dovell returning from injury to round out a pretty solid squad.
Defense
5. Ohio — The Bobcats sustained enough injuries in 2012 to make Wile E. Coyote blush. Both starting corner backs were out for the season by the end of the Penn State game, and things only got worse from there. But now with a wealth of experience the Bobcats defense will be looking to see improvements all around, even with losses on the front line and within the linebacking corps. Ohio returns seven starters on the defensive side of the ball from last season. Linebacker Keith Moore and corner back Travis Carrie (who missed all of last season with injury) anchor a defense that despite its woes in 2012 wound up being the fourth best defense in the conference statistically.
Offensive Linemen
5. Ohio (Last season No. 1) — The Bobcats were powered by one of the best lines in the conference last season. It paved the way for the 9th leading rusher in the nation and the 27th overall rushing attack. But the 'Cats lost a ton of experience (105 starts between the three missing starters) including the conference's most experienced lineman (Eric Herman). They also allowed 28 sacks, which isn't horrible, but isn't great either. Only two starters return, but surprisingly there's a decent amount of experience back (57 combined starts). Ohio's offensive line won't be as dominant as it was last season, but it shouldn't be too far off either.
Special Teams
7. Ohio - Ohio graduated everyone. Not really, but they did lose Matt Weller, who handled both kickoff and field goal duty last season, and did so respectably. Their punter, Grant Venham, is back, and he's now a sophomore so maybe he's learned things like how to kick farther. I will say that the Bobcats' punt coverage team was fantastic, holding opponents to only 3.3 yards per return. I'm not sure why this trend of good-punt-coverage-bad-kick-coverage exists, but Ohio was another prime example.
Head Coach
1. Frank Solich (Ohio) - Frank the Tank. A career 117-63 coach, Solich is by far the most experienced mind in the Mid-American Conference. His success began with the
Nebraska Cornhuskers where he won one Big XII Championship, won Eric Crouch the Heisman and was named Big XII Coach of the Year twice before being fired by the wonderful Steve Pederson (Pitt fans catch my drift.) Solich then came to Athens with a goal of rebuilding a program and he's done just that. He's 59-44 with the 'Cats, taking them to conference championships three times. Solich seems to have completed his goal, the only thing left to do is win a conference title.
Stadium
T-3. Peden Stadium (Ohio University) -- The MAC's oldest stadium is entering it's 85th year in 2013, and you can rest assured that fans will continue pouring into the venerable facility. Ohio is the only MAC school to achieve six-figure attendance in each of the last four years and for good reason -- they don't lose at home. Over the last ten years, the Bobcats are 37-19 at Peden Stadium. Okay, they lose, but much less often than they win. I've read that the goal was to make Peden the "Wrigley Field" of college football. That sounds like a good marketing ploy to me. It certainly doesn't hurt to have a guy like Frank Solich patrolling the sidelines. Or to have a quarterback like Tyler Tettleton. Or a running back like Beau Blankenship. Actually, why wouldn't people want to go to Peden Stadium? That's why it's top-three.
Non-Conference Schedule
12. Ohio Bobcats
8/31 @ Louisville
9/7 vs North Texas
9/14 vs Marshall
9/21 vs Austin Peay
Tyler Tettleton vs Terry Bridgewater. That'll be a fun game, but Ohio will be underdogs. They still could win though, and then have 3 very winnable games, with a slight test in Marshall. However, 3 home games make this schedule super easy. That Louisville game keeps them from having the easiest schedule though.
Uniforms
2. Ohio - Does this reaction warrant a No. 2 ranking? Maybe. Honestly I like the white helmets-black uniform more every time I look back at it. The black helmets made it better. I'll always associate the all-greens to the Penn State win. Also love the green-black-green look. Waiting to see if the 'Cats take an EMU route and find a way to squeeze gray into their combos. Plus you cant go wrong with the classic green and white.
Rivalries
2. Battle of the Bricks (Miami-Ohio)
The oldest schools in the MAC, Miami and Ohio are both known for their beautiful red brick campuses. Except for a two-year break during World War II, the football game has been played every year since 1928. Miami leads the series 52-35-2, though the Bobcats have won six of the last seven games.
Marching Bands
2. Ohio University Marching 110
Although the Ohio University Marching Band was formed in 1923, the band took its modern form with "The Big Switch" in 1967, when director Gene Thrailkill instituted the high-energy style featuring popular music of the day. The closest thing the MAC has to a show band, the Marching 110 claim to be the first marching band to perform in Carnegie Hall, and are frequently included in lists of the nation's best college marching bands. In recent years, videos of their halftime performances of Party Rock Anthem and Gangnam Style have gone viral.
*of all the rankings on HustleBelt - obviously this is the one that I would say is off-base. Not #1??? To a band that has to play some of their music on the sideline, with Xylophones?? while the rest of the band marches**
Average Ranking of 3.75 across the board. Pretty good!
Last Edited: 8/16/2013 12:37:18 PM by OUbobcat9092