# 2018 Ohio Bobcats football team

The 2018 Ohio Bobcats football team represented Ohio University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by 14th-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, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in a tie for second place in the East division. They were invited to the Frisco Bowl where they defeated San Diego State.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Maxwell Award | Nathan Rourke | QB | JR |
| Jim Thorpe Award | Javon Hagan | S | JR |
| Outland Trophy | Joe Lowery | OL | SR |
| Lou Groza Award | Louis Zervos | K | JR |
| Manning Award | Nathan Rourke | QB | JR |

### Preseason media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 24, 2018, with the Bobcats predicted to finish as champions of the East Division.
East Division :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Ohio | 140 (21) |
| 2 | Buffalo | 112 (1) |
| 3 | Miami | 95 (2) |
| 4 | Akron | 74 |
| 5 | Bowling Green | 58 |
| 6 | Kent State | 25 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 2:00 p.m. | Howard* | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN+ | W 38–32 | 18,275 |
| September 15 | 4:15 p.m. | vs. Virginia* | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | ESPN2 | L 31–45 | 5,438 |
| September 22 | 12:00 p.m. | at Cincinnati* | Nippert StadiumCincinnati, OH | ESPNU | L 30–34 | 35,220 |
| September 29 | 2:00 p.m. | UMass* | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN3 | W 58–42 | 19,056 |
| October 6 | 3:30 p.m. | at Kent State | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPN+ | W 27–26 | 20,026 |
| October 13 | 3:30 p.m. | at Northern Illinois | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN+ | L 21–24 | 12,138 |
| October 20 | 2:00 p.m. | Bowling Green | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN3 | W 49–14 | 19,492 |
| October 25 | 7:00 p.m. | Ball State | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | CBSSN | W 52–14 | 13,774 |
| November 1 | 7:00 p.m. | at Western Michigan | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | ESPNU | W 59–14 | 11,935 |
| November 7 | 7:00 p.m. | at Miami (OH) | Yager StadiumOxford, OH (Battle of the Bricks) | ESPNU | L 28–30 | 15,975 |
| November 14 | 7:00 p.m. | Buffalo | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN2 | W 52–17 | 13,839 |
| November 23 | 12:00 p.m. | Akron | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | CBSSN | W 49–28 | 12,938 |
| December 19 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. San Diego State* | Toyota StadiumFrisco, TX (Frisco Bowl) | ESPN | W 27–0 | 11,029 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
* ↑ Moved from Scott Stadium in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.
Source:

## Game summaries
### Howard

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bison | 10 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 32 |
| Bobcats | 3 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 38 |

### vs Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| Cavaliers | 21 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 45 |

### At Cincinnati

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 14 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 30 |
| Bearcats | 0 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 34 |

### UMass

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Minutemen | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| Bobcats | 14 | 21 | 17 | 6 | 58 |

### At Kent State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| Golden Flashes | 14 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 26 |

### At Northern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| Huskies | 3 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 24 |

### Bowling Green

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Bobcats | 14 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 49 |

### Ball State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Bobcats | 0 | 31 | 21 | 0 | 52 |

### At Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 21 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 59 |
| Broncos | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |

### At Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| RedHawks | 7 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 30 |

### Buffalo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Bobcats | 14 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 52 |

### Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Zips | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Bobcats | 21 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 49 |

### Vs. San Diego State (Frisco Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aztecs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobcats | 3 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 27 |