# 2012 Ohio Bobcats football team

The 2012 Ohio Bobcats football team represented Ohio University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Frank Solich and played their home games at Peden Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). After defeating Akron on October 13 to become 7–0 the Bobcats were ranked #25 in the AP Poll; Ohio had not been ranked nationally since 1968. On October 21, 2012, the Bobcats peaked at #23 in both the Coaches Poll and AP Poll, and #24 in the BCS standings. They finished the season 9–4, 4–4 in MAC play to finish in third place in the East Division. They were invited to the Independence Bowl where they defeated Louisiana–Monroe for their second consecutive bowl victory.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 12:00 p.m. | at Penn State* | | Beaver StadiumState College, PA | ESPN | W 24–14 | 97,186 |
| September 8 | 7:00 p.m. | New Mexico State* | | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN3 | W 51–24 | 25,893 |
| September 15 | 6:30 p.m. | at Marshall* | | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV (Battle for the Bell) | | W 27–24 | 33,436 |
| September 22 | 2:00 p.m. | Norfolk State* | | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN3 | W 44–10 | 23,673 |
| September 29 | 3:30 p.m. | at Massachusetts | | Gillette StadiumFoxborough, MA | ESPN3 | W 37–34 | 8,321 |
| October 6 | 12:00 p.m. | Buffalo | | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN+/CSS | W 38–31 | 20,044 |
| October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Akron | | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN3 | W 34–28 | 25,542 |
| October 27 | 3:30 p.m. | at Miami (OH) | No. 23 | Yager StadiumOxford, OH (Battle of the Bricks) | STO/ESPN3 | L 20–23 | 19,326 |
| November 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Eastern Michigan | | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPNU | W 45–14 | 16,789 |
| November 7 | 8:00 p.m. | Bowling Green | | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN2 | L 14–26 | 19,122 |
| November 14 | 8:00 p.m. | at Ball State | | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPNU | L 27–52 | 10,097 |
| November 23 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 23 Kent State | | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPNU | L 6–28 | 18,230 |
| December 28 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. Louisiana–Monroe* | | Independence StadiumShreveport, LA (Independence Bowl) | ESPN | W 45–14 | 41,853 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
* Source: Schedule

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | RV | RV | 23 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## Game summaries
### @ Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 0 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 24 |
| Nittany Lions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### New Mexico State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| Bobcats | 7 | 14 | 24 | 6 | 51 |

### @ Marshall

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 0 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
| Thundering Herd | 14 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 24 |

### Norfolk State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Bobcats | 24 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 44 |

### @ Massachusetts

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 3 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 37 |
| Minutemen | 10 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 34 |

### Buffalo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 14 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 31 |
| Bobcats | 7 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 38 |

### Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Zips | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Bobcats | 14 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 34 |

### @ Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #23 Bobcats | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| RedHawks | 13 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 23 |

### Eastern Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Bobcats | 7 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 45 |

### Bowling Green

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 26 |
| Bobcats | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### @ Ball State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 3 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 14 | 10 | 21 | 52 |

### @ Kent State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| #25 Golden Flashes | 21 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

### Louisiana–Monroe–Independence Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 14 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 45 |
| Warhawks | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |