8/19/2022 football Edit

Penn State 2022 Opponent Profile - Ohio Bobcats

Dylan Callaghan-Croley • Happy Valley Insider

Editor

The Ohio Bobcats' first season under head coach Tim Albin was a tough one, for the first time since 2008, the Bobcats failed to record a .500 record or better, going 3-9 on the season including 3-5 in MAC play. Aldin's program wouldn't pick up their first win till October after suffering losses to Syracuse, Duquense, Lousiana, and Northwestern in September. Over the course of their season, the only programs they would earn wins over were Akron, Miami (OH), and Eastern Michigan.

The bad news for the Bobcats is entering 2022, it won't get any easier. The Bobcats do return 14 starters but just five on offense, which is not a great sign for a team that averaged 22.6 points and 371.8 yards per game last season. Defensively, they struggled nearly just as much, allowing 30.3 points and 432.8 yards per game. They do return nine defensive starters which should play into their favor but any drastic improvement remains unlikely.

Offense:

Returning for the Bobcats on the offensive side of the ball includes quarterback Kurtis Rourke. The rising redshirt sophomore completed a quality 65.5% of his passes last season but passed for just 1,801 yards and 11 touchdowns while throwing seven interceptions.

Unfortunately for Rourke, the program will be replacing many of the weapons around him. Each of the Bobcats' top two rushers from last season is gone in De'Montre Tuggle ( 138 carries, 804 yards, and seven touchdowns) and Armani Rogers (92 carries, 552 yards, and seven touchdowns). Their top returning rusher? Kurtis Rourke, himself. Outside Rourke, the Bobcats' lead back this year could be former Malvern Prep (PA) standout, O'Shaan Allison. Last season, Rourke had 71 carries for 269 yards as well as 18 receptions for 113 yards.

At wide receiver, the Bobcats' second leading receiver Tyler Walton returns after recording 32 receptions, 380 yards, and two touchdowns a season ago. After Walton, the Bobcats' next best-returning receiving threat is Miles Cross who recorded 11 receptions for 124 yards.

One of the strengths of the Bobcats last season was their offensive line and it should be a strength once again in 2022. It's a heavily experienced group for the program and one that will look to help turn around the offensive struggles from a year ago.

When playing their game, Ohio prefers to be a run-heavy offense. Once they entered their conference schedule last season, the Bobcats ran the ball 40+ times in five of their eight conference games and over 30 times in seven of eight. Their passing game would best be described as being more of an efficiency-based passing offense than an explosive passing offense. Don't expect quarterback Kurtis Rourke to take many deep shots.

Defense

As mentioned above, Ohio had its own struggles on the defensive side of the ball last season. The defense does have a chance to improve this season, however, with nine of 11 starters returning. They also hired a new defensive coordinator this offseason in Spence Owinsky who has spent time and has had strong success at both Illinois State and Miami (OH) as a defensive coordinator.

Their top four tacklers all return this season including middle linebacker Bryce Houston Jr who had 104 tackles last season including six tackles for a loss and two sacks. Opposing offensive lines will have to be aware of redshirt junior linebacker Cannon Blauser, last season he had 82 tackles including 7.5 tackles for a loss. Notably, among the losses for Ohio is 2021 sack leader defensive end, Will Evans who had 4.5 sacks last season.

Ohio returns most of the secondary from 2022 including strong safety Tariq Drake who recorded 48 tackles and three interceptions last season in addition to two additional pass breakups. Redshirt sophomore corner Roman Parodie will also be a name to be aware of, Parodie recorded five pass breakups and two interceptions last season.

In terms of offenses attacking the Ohio defense last season, it was quite 50/50 but the Bobcats were susceptible on the ground, allowing nearly 200 yards per game on the ground last season and 4.8 yards per carry. In their four non-conference games last season, Ohio allowed 280+ rushing yards in three of their four games, the only non-conference opponent not to rush for over 200+ yards on the Bobcats was FCS Duquense. Through the air, the Bobcats allowed 67.4% of pass attempts to be completed for an average of 239 yards per game.

Special Teams

Special teams-wise, the Bobcats return both punters from last year including Jonah Wieland who averaged 42 yards per punt across 28 attempts last season, he also pinned his opponents within their own 20, on 17 of those 28 punts. While they should be solid in the punting game with Wieland returning, place kicking will be a question. Last season Stephen Johnson was 16-for-23 on the season and 24-26 in extra point attempts, they did, however, ad freshman kicker Nathaniel Vakos the nation's 31st ranked kicker in the 2022 recruiting class per Kohl's.

When it comes to the return game, wide receiver Tyler Walton will likely continue his duties from last season. Don't expect the Bobcats to return many punts this season, Walton returned just four last season for 28-yards. Kick returner/running back De'Monter Tuggle has moved on and will need to be replaced, he averaged 20.6 yards per return last season over 24 attempts and took one kickoff back for a touchdown.

Overall

Overall, after taking a step back in 2021 in Tim Albin's first season, Ohio could be in a spot to be a slightly better team in 2022. While replacing six starters on offense will be tough, their experienced offensive line could help them stay afloat while the offense hopes to figure things out. The defense should be improved in 2022 with nine starters returning and having a quality defensive coordinator in Spence Nowinsky. For Penn State, Ohio should not be much of a match and it's a game on paper that the Nittany Lions should win going away. While Ohio has a tough non-conference schedule of home against FAU, at Penn State, at Iowa State, and home against Fordham, the Bobcats should be good enough in 2022 to improve on their 3-5 conference record and 3-9 overall record from 2021.