Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993
A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 8 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M After longtime coach Frank Solich abruptly retired last July due to what he described as a "rare cardiovascular situ- ation," Ohio struggled amid the surprise transition to Tim Albin's leadership. The new coach had taken over the pro- gram less than a month before the start of preseason practice, and the Bobcats went on to drop their first four games, including a 28-26 home loss to FCS foe Duquesne. But Albin's team showed steady im- provement as the season went on. Ohio won three of its final eight, and three of its five losses in that span were by a touchdown or less. Now comes a new challenge: building on the progress that it showed toward the end of the campaign. Albin, who coached under Solich at Nebraska before rejoining him in 2005 as Ohio's offensive coordinator, has had nearly a year to acclimate to his new role, and his players have had time to get used to his leadership. That familiarity may or may not make for a better September than last year's winless slog, but Albin's team will likely be better positioned to win some games in the Mid-American Conference. Ohio appears to have a full-time starter at quarterback in redshirt junior Kurtis Rourke. The younger brother of Nathan Rourke, who was Ohio's start- ing quarterback from 2017-19, Kurtis Rourke completed 65.3 percent of his attempts for 1,801 yards, with 11 touch- downs and 7 interceptions last fall. He'll have the position to himself this season after sharing it with senior Armani Rog- ers the past two years. He'll also have a new target in transfer August Pitre III. As a redshirt sopho- more at Rice last season, the 6-2, 180-pound Pitre started six games and totaled 494 yards and 3 touchdowns. His average of 15.9 yards per catch was the Owls' best among players with more than 1 catch. Rourke is Ohio's top returning rusher with 327 yards last year, but senior tail- back O'Shaan Allison will likely get the majority of the carries this fall. Allison, who hails from Malvern, Pa., gained 269 yards as a reserve in 2021. There are more questions on the op- posite side of the ball, even with Ohio returning eight defensive starters. The Bobcats fielded one of the most porous defenses in the MAC last year, allowing 432.3 yards and 30.3 points per game. To help improve those numbers, Ohio raided the staff of a rival, luring Spence Nowinsky to take over as defensive co- ordinator. Nowinsky had been serving as co-defensive coordinator and line- backers coach at Miami (Ohio). "After game-planning against his de- fenses over the past four seasons, we know firsthand that he has made the most of his personnel and has been a huge part of the recent success at his previous stop," Albin said. "Spence is a home run hire for our program." — Matt Herb S E P T . 1 0 | N O O N | A B C | B E A V E R S T A D I U M | U N I V E R S I T Y P A R K , P A . Redshirt junior quarterback Kurtis Rourke is a multidi- mensional threat in Ohio's offense. He threw for 1,801 yards last season and is also the Bobcats' top returning rusher with 327 yards on the ground in 2021. PHOTO COURTESY OHIO ATHLETICS WEEK 2 OHIO 2022 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2021 Result Sept. 3 Florida Atlantic — Sept. 10 at Penn State — Sept. 17 at Iowa State — Sept. 24 Fordham — Oct. 1 at Kent State L, 34-27 Oct. 8 Akron W, 34-17 Oct. 15 at Western Michigan — Oct. 22 Northern Illinois — Nov. 1 Buffalo L, 27-26 Nov. 8 at Miami (Ohio) W, 35-33 Nov. 15 at Ball State — Nov. 22 Bowling Green L, 21-10 WHAT COULD GO RIGHT Kurtis Rourke could continue his matura- tion at quarterback, enabling Ohio to hit the ground running after tough road trips to Penn State and Iowa State on consecu- tive Saturdays in September. WHAT COULD GO WRONG If the defense doesn't come around, there will be a lot of pressure on Rourke and the rest of the offense to produce. There's ample reason to believe the Bob- cats will fare better than last year, when they averaged 22.6 points per game, but they'll need to fare a lot better if the de- fense continues to struggle. QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Penn State leads 5-1 Last Meeting: Ohio upset the host Nittany Lions 24-14 on Sept. 1, 2012 Head Coach: Tim Albin (3-9 in one season at Ohio; career coaching record: 28-17) 2021 Record: 3-9, 3-5 Mid-American Con- ference Returning Starters: 14 (5 offense, 8 de- fense, 1 specialist) RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: QB Kurtis Rourke (327 yards, 3 TDs) Passing: QB Kurtis Rourke (1,801 yards, 11 TDs) Receiving: WR Miles Cross (124 yards, 0 TDs) Tackles: LB Bryce Houston (104) Sacks: LB Cannon Blauser, DE Bryce Dugan, LB Bryce Houston (2.0) Interceptions: S Tariq Drake (3)