2012 Ohio Bobcats football team

2012 Ohio Bobcats football
Independence Bowl Champions
Independence Bowl vs. Louisiana–Monroe, W 45–14
Conference	Mid-American Conference East Division
2012 record	9–4 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach	Frank Solich (8th year)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Albin
Defensive coordinator	Jimmy Burrow
Home stadium	Peden Stadium (Capacity: 24,000)

2012 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Kent State x		8	–	0					11	–	3
Bowling Green		6	–	2					8	–	5
Ohio		4	–	4					9	–	4
Buffalo		3	–	5					4	–	8
Miami		3	–	5					4	–	8
UMass		1	–	7					1	–	11
Akron		0	–	8					1	–	11
West Division
#22 Northern Illinois x$		8	–	0					12	–	2
Toledo		6	–	2					9	–	4
Ball State		6	–	2					9	–	4
Central Michigan		4	–	4					7	–	6
Western Michigan		2	–	6					4	–	8
Eastern Michigan		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: Northern Illinois 44, Kent State 37
$ – Conference champion and BCS representative as top non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteria x – Division champion/co-champions UMass not eligible for conference title or bowl game as part of FBS transition Rankings from AP Poll

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. 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.^[1] 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 PM	at Penn State*		Beaver Stadium • State College, PA	ESPN	W 24–14	97,186
September 8	7:00 PM	New Mexico State*		Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	ESPN3	W 51–24	25,893
September 15	6:30 PM	at Marshall*		Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV (Battle for the Bell)		W 27–24	33,436
September 22	2:00 PM	Norfolk State*		Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	ESPN3	W 44–10	23,673
September 29	3:30 PM	at Massachusetts		Gillette Stadium • Foxborough, MA	ESPN3	W 37–34	8,321
October 6	12:00 PM	Buffalo		Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	ESPN+/CSS	W 38–31	20,044
October 13	2:00 PM	Akron		Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	ESPN3	W 34–28	25,542
October 27	3:30 PM	at Miami (OH)	#23	Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH	STO/ESPN3	L 20–23	19,326
November 1	6:00 PM	Eastern Michigan		Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	ESPNU	W 45–14	16,789
November 7	8:00 PM	Bowling Green		Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	ESPN2	L 14–24	19,122
November 14	8:00 PM	at Ball State		Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN	ESPNU	L 27–52	10,097
November 23	11:00 AM	at #25 Kent State		Dix Stadium • Kent, OH	ESPNU	L 6–28	18,230
December 28	2:00 PM	vs. Louisiana–Monroe*		Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	ESPN	W 45–14	41,853
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from Coaches Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

• Source: Schedule

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	23	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR
Coaches'	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR
Harris	Not released						RV	RV	23	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	Not released
BCS	Not released							NR	24	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	Not released

Game notes

@ Penn State

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–5	1974	PSU, 35–16

New Mexico State

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0	2011	OHIO, 44–24

@ Marshall

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
30–19–6	2011	OHIO, 44–7

Norfolk State

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

@ Massachusetts

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Buffalo

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–7	2011	BUFF, 38–37

Akron

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
15–12–1	2011	OHIO, 37–20

@ Miami (OH)

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
35–51–2	2011	OHIO, 21–14

Eastern Michigan

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
16–11–1	2010	OHIO, 30–17

Bowling Green

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
25–36–2	2011	OHIO, 29–28

@ Ball State

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–14	2011	BALL, 23–20

@ Kent State

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
38–24–2	2011	OHIO, 17–10

Louisiana–Monroe–Independence Bowl

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First Meeting

References

1. Ryan, Jim (October 14, 2012). "Football: Ohio Cracks Top 25 for the First Time Since 1968". The Post (Ohio University). Retrieved October 14, 2012.