Pitt Game Preview: Ohio

Game Two: Pitt (0-1) vs. Ohio (1-0)

Saturday, September 7 at 11:00 a.m.

Series Record: Pitt 6-1

Last Game: Ohio won 16-10 in OT (2005)

Pitt is moving on from their season-opening loss to Virginia and quickly. This week’s game against Ohio is a rare 11 a.m. kickoff, presumably scheduled then to allow the new ACC Network to show as many games as possible. Despite the early kickoff, the Panthers can’t afford to come out still sleeping. Even though Ohio is a member of the Mid-American Conference, they were the preseason pick by the media to win the whole thing. They’re also led by well-respected coach Frank Solich, who is now in his 15th season leading the Bobcats. Coincidentally, the last time these two teams played Solich was only coaching his 2nd game for Ohio and pulled off 16-10 upset win in Overtime. So if anyone knows about pulling off an upset, it’s Frank Solich. Additionally, they’re led by a dangerous dual-threat Quarterback who is widely considered to be the best in the MAC. Overall, this is a game that Pitt cannot take lightly and if they don’t show up to play, they’re in real danger of starting the season in a deep hole.

Offense

Nathan Rourke leads the Ohio offense and is, as mentioned above, a true threat with his legs and his arm. Last season he led the MAC and was 10th in the country with 8.9 Yards per Passing Attempt (YPA). On the ground he has rushed for at least 800 yards and recorded double-digit rushing touchdowns in each of his two prior seasons starting. For his career he has 6.6 Average Yards per Rush and 37 touchdowns, almost matching his 42 career passing touchdowns. Many may argue that he’s racked up these stats largely against MAC defenses and they would be correct. If we look at just his performance against Power 5 opponents (3 prior career games) it’s more of a mixed bag. He still has averaged 8.7 YPA in these games and has 5 touchdowns and no interceptions. However, Power 5 defenses have done a better job of keeping him contained on the ground as he only has 22 rushes for 74 yards (3.4 Average) with only 1 touchdown. Protecting Rourke will be an inexperienced Offensive Line that is on their 3rd position coach in as many years. This inexperience will be a theme for the rest of the offense.

Outside of Rourke there isn’t much experience on the Ohio offense. Pitt fans thought it was bad replacing their top 2 running backs, but the Bobcats had to replace their top 3 at the position. This includes top rusher AJ Ouellette, who had 1,306 yards last season and recently spent training camp with the Cleveland Browns. Top returner Jake Neatherton only had 81 yards last year and didn’t even record any stats in the opening game against Rhode Island. Sophomore Julian Ross appears to be the starter and based on usage last week, expect to see Freshman O’Shaan Allison and Junior College Transfer De’Montre Tuggle in the backfield mix as well. While Tuggle did break free for a long Touchdown last week after watching it, I doubt that the more talented and faster Panther defense would have allowed him to break away for a score.

The Bobcats are also replacing their 2 top Wide Receivers and top Tight Ends from a year ago. Papi White was their biggest loss as he had recorded 987 yards and 9 touchdowns and a wealth of experience from playing in 43 career games. Cameron Odom and Isiah Cox do return, but so far it doesn’t look like Rourke has a go-to receiver as he did with White. Last week he spread the ball around quite a bit with 9 players recording a reception, but none had more than 3 catches or 50 yards. Though there is no obvious favorite target of Rourke’s, he seems to be a player who elevates those around him. This makes the Ohio passing game dangerous even with the departures.

Defense

Though Ohio has a new Defensive Coordinator, it will be a familiar face for the Ohio players. After spending the last 7 seasons as the Linebackers Coach, Ron Collins takes over the entire defense this year. He inherits a group that is much more experienced than the offense, with 6 starters and many contributing backups from a year ago returning. In the trenches, the Bobcats return both of their Defensive Ends. Additionally Cole Baker anchors the Line and got off to a good start last week with 1.5 sacks.

The Linebacking corps were a young unit for the Bobcats last year and they could take a big step in 2019. They’re led by Junior Jared Dorsa in the middle. He was all over the field last season, recording 3.5 tackles for loss, 26 solo tackles, and catching 2 interceptions. Behind this group, the Defensive Backs have been something of a weak point in recent years for Ohio. However, they do return 1st team All-MAC Safety Javan Hagan. Both Corners, Marlin Brooks and Jamal Hudson are returning starters as well. Brooks got off to a fast start in Week 1 with Ohio’s first interception of the season.

Special Teams

Ohio has a dependable Special Teams unit and there’s honestly not much to say beyond that. Both their Punter and Kicker are Seniors. Louie Zervos handles the kicking duties and is 81.9% for his career. Michael Farkas will hopefully be seen a lot as he will be responsible for punts. The Bobcats don’t really have any significant return threats to keep an eye on either.

Final Thoughts

Ohio almost reminds me of Virginia-lite. They have a talented dual-threat Quarterback that could give the Panthers fits, but not much of note among the rest of the offense. The defense is solid to good and has an all-conference player in the Secondary. It’s not a perfect comparison though as Virginia has much more talent overall, especially on offense and at Linebacker. Pitt is also a much more talented team at almost every position. Unfortunately, the one position group where I would say Ohio has the edge also happens to be the most important on the field. Based on what they’ve done, Nathan Rourke is a much better Quarterback than Kenny Pickett. There’s still hope that Pickett will turn into what we were hoping he would after he beat Miami back in November 2017. For now though, Ohio has a big edge there and it could be enough to turn the game in the Bobcats’ favor.

Pitt definitely has the ability to come out and make a statement. If they clean up the sloppy offense we saw last weekend they could come out firing on all cylinders against what is a much less talented defense. Despite losing Keyshon Camp for the season, the Defensive Line should still be able to push around the Ohio Offensive Line and dominate the battle in the trenches and make things difficult for Rourke. When he does get a clean throw off, the Panthers’ legitimately great Secondary should be able to make a few plays that keep them from moving the ball too effectively. The Panthers can come out and win this game something like 42-10. However, there is a reason Pitt is only favored by 5.5 points as of Thursday night. The Panthers still have a lot of uncertainty on offense and the Ohio attack is dangerous as long as they have Rourke behind center. This game may be closer than Panther fans would like it to be. The outcome may still be in doubt into the 4th quarter. Pitt may actually lose this game. This is a game that they should win, but this isn’t like playing an FCS opponent or even really your run-of-the-mill MAC school. Ohio is a pretty good team that has a real chance at getting to double digit wins this season. Despite this they are still a MAC school and if Pitt loses, Pat Narduzzi may start to feel his seat getting a little warm.

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