2017 Ohio Bobcats football team

The 2017 Ohio Bobcats football team represented Ohio University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by 13th-year head coach Frank Solich and played their home games at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–3 in MAC play to finish in second play in the East Division. They received an invitation to the Bahamas Bowl where they defeated UAB.

2017 Ohio Bobcats football
Bahamas Bowl champion
Bahamas Bowl, W 41–6 vs. UAB
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	East Division
2017 record	9–4 (5–3 MAC)
Head coach	Frank Solich (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Albin (13th season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Jim Burrow (13th season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Ron Collins (1st season)
Home stadium	Peden Stadium (Capacity: 24,000)

2017 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Akron xy		6	–	2					7	–	7
Ohio		5	–	3					9	–	4
Miami		4	–	4					5	–	7
Buffalo		4	–	4					6	–	6
Bowling Green		2	–	6					2	–	10
Kent State		1	–	7					2	–	10
West Division
Toledo xy$		7	–	1					11	–	3
Central Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	5
Northern Illinois		6	–	2					8	–	5
Western Michigan		4	–	4					6	–	6
Eastern Michigan		3	–	5					5	–	7
Ball State		0	–	8					2	–	10
Championship: Toledo 45, Akron 28
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

Previous season

The Bobcats finished the 2016 season 8–6, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in a two-way tie for the East Division title. They represented the East Division in the MAC Championship Game where they lost to Western Michigan.[1] They were invited to the Dollar General Bowl where they lost to Troy.[2]

Preseason

In a preseason poll of league media, Ohio was picked to win the East Division with 11 first place votes.[3]

Coaching staff

Name	Title	Alma mater
Frank Solich	Head Coach	Nebraska, 1966
Tim Albin	Asst. Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach	Northwestern Oklahoma State, 1989
Jim Burrow	Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Safeties Coach	Nebraska, 1976
Scott Isphording	Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach	Hanover College, 1994
Pete Germano	Defensive Line Coach/Special Teams Coordinator	Ohio Wesleyan, 1982
Ron Collins	Linebackers Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator	Washington State University, 1987
Dwayne Dixon	Wide Receivers Coach	Florida, 1985
Brian Haines	Recruiting/Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach	Marietta College, 2004
Dave Johnson	Offensive Line Coach	West Virginia, 1985

Source:[4]

Schedule

Ohio announced their 2017 football schedule on January 23, 2017.[5] In out-of-conference play, the Bobcats will host Hampton and Kansas and will travel to Purdue and former MAC-affiliate UMass.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 p.m.	Hampton*	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN3	W 59–0	17,501
September 8	8:00 p.m.	at Purdue*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	FS1	L 21–44	45,633
September 16	Noon	Kansas*	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPNU	W 42–30	22,056
September 23	2:00 p.m.	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN3	W 27–20 ^2OT	11,373
September 30	3:30 p.m.	at UMass*	McGuirk Stadium Amherst, MA	ELVN	W 58–50	7,696
October 7	2:00 p.m.	Central Michigan	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN3	L 23–26	23,570
October 14	3:30 p.m.	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN3	W 48–30	17,641
October 21	3:30 p.m.	Kent State	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN3	W 48–3	19,540
October 31	8:00 p.m.	Miami (OH)	Peden Stadium Athens, OH (Battle of the Bricks)	ESPN2	W 45–28	18,096
November 8	7:00 p.m.	Toledo	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN2	W 38–10	15,562
November 14	7:00 p.m.	at Akron	InfoCision Stadium Akron, OH	ESPN2	L 34–37	17,832
November 24	1:00 p.m.	at Buffalo	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	ESPN3	L 24–31	12,273
December 22	12:30 p.m.	vs. UAB*	Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas (Bahamas Bowl)	ESPN	W 41–6	13,585
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Eastern time

Source:[6]

Game summaries

Hampton

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pirates	0	0	0	0	0
Bobcats	7	13	26	13	59

at Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	7	0	7	7	21
Boilermakers	10	24	7	3	44

Kansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jayhawks	0	14	0	16	30
Bobcats	11	14	14	3	42

at Eastern Michigan

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Bobcats	3	7	3	0	7	7	27
Eagles	3	3	0	7	7	0	20

at UMass

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	7	20	14	17	58
Minutemen	10	17	2	21	50

Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	7	6	6	7	26
Bobcats	7	7	0	9	23

at Bowling Green

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	0	21	6	21	48
Falcons	6	10	7	7	30

Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Flashes	3	0	0	0	3
Bobcats	0	13	28	7	48

Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
RedHawks	14	7	7	0	28
Bobcats	14	14	7	10	45

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	0	7	3	0	10
Bobcats	7	3	14	14	38

at Akron

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	14	10	3	7	34
Zips	10	20	0	7	37

at Buffalo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	7	3	14	0	24
Bulls	24	0	0	7	31

vs. UAB–Bahamas Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	0	3	3	0	6
Bobcats	13	14	14	0	41

Roster

2017 Ohio Bobcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 3 Cameron Odom  Fr WR 4 Papi White  Jr WR 5 Brevin Harris Fr WR 6 Isiah Cox Fr QB 7 Quinton Maxwell  So WR 8 Elijah Ball  So WR 9 Andrew Meyer  Jr QB 10 Joey Duckworth  Jr WR 11 Willie Cherry Fr QB 12 Nathan Rourke So WR 13 Hunter Edwards Fr WR 14 K. J. Minter Fr QB 15 Drew Keszei Fr WR 16 Markel Davis  So WR 17 Siurpry Rinvil Fr WR 18 Keevon Harris Fr WR 19 D. L. Knock  So WR 20 Tyler Tupa  Fr RB 21 Maleek Irons  Jr RB 22 David Burroughs  Jr RB 23 Julian Ross Fr RB 26 Dylan Wears  So RB 27 Jake Neatherton Fr RB 28 Dorian Brown  Sr WR 28 Steven David  So WR 30 Colin Calloway  So RB 36 Andrew Vu  So TE 44 Adam Luehrman  Fr RB 45 A. J. Ouellette  Jr OL 52 Jake Pruehs Sr OL 53 Marques Grimes  So OL 55 Taeshon Trotter  Fr OL 57 Durrell Wood  Sr OL 58 Marshal Davis  Jr OL 60 Austen Pleasants  So OL 61 Brett Kittrell Fr OL 63 Joe Anderson  Jr OL 65 Joe Lowery  Jr OL 66 Brody Rodgers Fr OL 68 Felipe Fernandez  Fr OL 70 Nick Sink  Fr OL 71 Jylton Tusha Fr OL 73 Steven Hayes So OL 74 Jared McCray Sr OL 75 Cole Irland Fr OL 76 Hagen Meservy Fr OL 77 Adam Notestine  Fr OL 78 Samson Jackson Fr OL 79 Kyle Kuhar  So WR 80 Jerrid Marhefka  Sr WR 81 Matt Seymour  Fr TE 82 Troy Mangen  Sr TE 83 Connor Brown  Jr TE 84 Austin Conard  Fr WR 85 Brendan Cope  Sr TE 86 Mason Morgan  Sr WR 87 Bryan Long Jr.  Fr TE 88 Ryan Luehrman  Fr TE 89 Chandler Dietz Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 2 Javon Hagan  So CB 2 Mayne Williams  So CB 3 Bradd Ellis  Sr CB 4 Jamal Hudson Fr CB 6 De'Vante Mitchell Fr CB 11 Diantre Pressley  Jr S 12 Jarren Hampton  Fr CB 13 London Miller  Sr CB 14 Cameron Gunnels  Jr LB 15 Marcus Brunson  So DL 16 Marcus Coleman Fr CB 17 Tariq Drake Fr DL 19 Keith Key  So CB 21 Jalen Fox  Jr CB 22 Marlin Brooks Fr S 23 Kylan Nelson  Jr S 24 Alvin Floyd Fr S 25 Tyler Gullett  Jr LB 29 T. J. Robinson Fr S 31 Grant Cunningham  Sr LB 32 Quentin Poling  Sr LB 34 Eric Popp So LB 35 Dylan Conner  Fr LB 36 Austin Clack  So CB 37 Jaylen Morgan  Fr LB 38 Chad Moore  Sr S 39 Michael Ballentine Fr LB 40 Cody Grillot  Sr CB 41 Ilyaas Motley  Fr CB 42 Xavior Motley  Fr S 43 Gabe Lyons Fr LB 46 Jacob Koons  Jr LB 47 Evan Croutch Jr DL 48 Andrew Payne  Jr LB 49 Jared Dorsa  Fr DL 50 Kaieem Caesar Fr DL 51 Will Evans  Fr LB 53 Griffin Hites  Fr DL 54 Tony Porter  Sr DL 55 Sam McKnight  So LB 56 James Leyden Fr DL 67 Michael Massinople Fr DL 72 Matt Rowe  Sr DL 88 Amos Ogun-Semore Fr DE 90 Trent Smart  Sr DL 91 Wyatt Shallman  Sr DL 92 Cleon Aloese  Sr DL 94 Andrew Cree II  Fr DL 95 Amir Miller  Fr DL 96 Kevin Robbins  Sr DL 97 Kenter Berger  Jr DL 98 Chukwudi Chukwu  So DL 99 Brian Arp  So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 2 Louie Zervos  So K, P 5 Michael Farkas  So LS 30 Jake Hale Jr K 33 A. J. Smith Fr K 44 Corey Hare  Fr LS 59 David Bryan Fr	Head coach Frank Solich Coordinators/assistant coaches Jimmy Burrow (Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Safeties) Tim Albin (Assistant Head Coach/Co-Offensive Coordinator/Pass Game Coordinator/ Running Backs) Ron Collins (Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Dave Johnson (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line) Dwayne Dixon (Wide Receivers) Pete Germano (Defensive Line) Brian Haines (Special Teams Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends) Scott Isphording (Quarterbacks) DeAngelo Smith (Cornerbacks) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: October 3, 2017

References

1. "Western Michigan vs. Ohio - Game Recap - December 2, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
2. "Dollar General Bowl score: Troy edges Ohio on way to first 10-win season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
3. "MAC Football 2017: Toledo, Ohio University picked as division winners in preseason poll". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
4. Official Football Roster Archived 2017-05-09 at the Wayback Machine. OhioBobcats.com. Ohio Official Athletics Site. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
5. Football: Opponents announced for 2017 schedule. The Post. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
6. 2017 Ohio Bobcats football schedule. FBSchedules.com. Retrieved May 1, 2017.