And next year we can look forward to a team with a starting QB who has thrown no more than 1 pass all season so far or in his college career.

Kent state will win one before Ohio

The whole damn night was inexcusable. There is a clear talent difference between our team and the rest of the league -- for the third consecutive year -- and we have failed to even win our division any of those years. Rourke will set all kinds of school records and not even play in a MACC game.

Which is worse: losing the MACC after a 20-0 halftime lead, or failing to even get to the MACC three consecutive years when you clearly have the most talented team each of those years? I argue the latter is more egregious.

Far more egregious. No excuse for not winning the worst division in FBS

+1

Exactly, and what “we” are doing is failing to execute! Failing to win 1 on 1 battles. Failing to make throws, failing to make catches, failing to cover deep routes on pass plays. That has nothing to do with play calling, it’s execution. And the only thing OHIO players executed tonight was themselves. When they did have chances the players left the points on the field, a fumble at the 5? A missed FG?, both are potentially the game. Giving up 2 60+ yard plays.

Coaches had the players in a position to win a game, sometimes the players have to make plays.

We've been letting the play clock run down for several games now. The reason given was to help the defensive players get rest so they can play better in the second half. I'm not an Xs and Os guy, but I HATE it when an offense stands there for 25 seconds before snapping the ball. I agree that it hurts flow.

Have we played fast paced all year? I could swear that we haven’t played fast paced since 2011 or 2012. No huddle that entire time sure, but we’ve been doing this ‘burn the entire play clock’ thing for a long time

Actually, Chuck Martin had his players in position to win the game. They cycle through what, three coaches during Frank regime and are back to being superior to the Bobcats in scoreboard results.

The Bobcats were indeed in position to win at the end. But would a baseball manager seeing his star pitcher having an off night on the mound stick with what isn't working? The coaches had three and a half quarters to see that the pass game was off, way off. Rourke not accurate, line not giving much time, one tight end out of the game. AND a running game that had been gashing the Redhawks with regularity and time of possession to the Bobcats so you could think that the OLine would be fresher than the D line and you may with three minutes to go just try and POUND the hell out of them. But no, get a first down by a great shoetop catch and then PASS PASS PASS PASS.

Is that good game management? I realize that if the run hadn't worked people would be saying why didn't we pass but... And the same thing with why try and kick a 50 yard field goal with a 0-0 score and your offense running the ball so well? Save the 50 plus for the end like the opponent did and go for it on 4th down.

Why after all these years do OHIO players not execute at critical times and opponents who have been on their death bed for years and cycled coaches seem to execute when it is needed?

Totally agree with this analysis. Allison fumbled the ball on the way into the end zone, not Solich. Ross had the brain freeze, not Solich. Rourke had the yips, not Solich. Zervos missed the field goal, not Solich. I agree with everyone that it just isn't going to happen under Solich, but I pin 100% of the loss last night on the players (now you could say, who recruits the players, and that's a fair point).

I totally disagree though that Ohio has far more talent then Miami. Seriously? There's no one on Ohio's defense anywhere as near good as Costin. He made Ohio's O-line look stupid. Miami's kicker was better than Zervos. And most of you are going to disagree, but I thought Miami's QB Gabbert played as well as Rourke did. He looked far more composed and made some nice throws. Apart from some great and very determined runs, Rourke had an abysmal game. He stared down his receivers, never scanned the field for his 2nd and 3rd options, and like Desmond Howard said, he had no feel for the pocket pressure at all. He couldn't make decisive decisions. He flubbed a handoff to Tuggle on an RPO play, yanking the ball from Tuggle's hands at the very last second, causing yet another fumble. He just looked indecisive all night long and you knew he wasn't going to win the game with his arm. He looked rattled, and that was the most disappointing thing to me.

You're right Robert, I pretty much meant last night. Although Miami's kicker seems to have the potential to be very good. He nailed that 53 yarder and Zervos has never made one from that far. But you're right, to date Zervos' body of work is better.

I am an avid Cubs fan and they never frustrated me during their painful championship drought as much as the Bobcats have in my 20 years as a fan. They can give us great moments and hope but they can never get thru a damn season without crapping the bed. This crap is so damn maddening.

We are clearly a MUCH better football team than Miami. Their ability to win was largely turnovers and big plays, yes. And the players made other crucial mistakes...penalties, miss-throws, missed tackles, missed blocks, dropped passes. But even in spite of that, we should have won this game easily.

Many have brought up the inexcusable moments...

The timeout with 2 minutes left on 4th down and the clock already stopped. WHAT THE HELL? Keep the timeout and we get the ball back with 1 minute left only needing a field goal. Even if you decide to go for it, just do it...you still give yourself a chance to get the ball back..as we did...except with only 10 seconds left. This one pained me the most of all the BS last night.

The running out of bounds on 3rd down with 2 timeouts left in the 1st half. Just a brain fart I guess? Either way it hurt bad.

Going for the long field goal early, everyone in the stadium knew that was NOT the right call for that point in the game. Let Rourke run an option, he has proven his ability to get the couple yards.

The painful standing there like statues for 15 seconds while Rourke claps his hands and the play clock runs down to 3 seconds...NOOO. WHY?! Aside from it being painful for us spectators, I think it is terrible for our rhythm and confidence. You really think these young athletes like being told to just stand there and let the clock go? Go out there with some freedom and swagger, confidence you will punch them in the mouth and do it again as soon as they stand up. But to do it when you're trailing in the 4th quarter? Again...WHY?!

I realize the passing game was not on and we needed to run the ball. But hey how about we do a little misdirection? Dive right, dive left, dive left, dive right. Not nearly enough play-action, motion, etc. I know this offense has that in them, I've seen it as recent as the previous game. What the hell happened?

Leaving work early and getting to bed late for that crap, maybe I'm just cranky and being unfair. We had such a great student crowd that stuck around (yes I know largely because of the tuition giveaway)...and this is the show they get. Just frustrating as hell.

I don't know. A "much better team" doesn't crap the bed like it did last night. Coaching, game management (and being here in Cleveland, unfortunately I'm really familiar with bad game management), play-calling, the ability to perform under pressure, all of that to me is considered being part of the team. And from what I saw last night, everything considered, Ohio didn't appear to be the much better team. Especially now, sitting there at 4-5 in one of the worst divisions in FBS.

I wish I could believe you guys that Ohio is the much better team, but from what I saw last night, eh not so much.