2017 BAHAMAS BOWL
Ohio (8-4, 5-3 MAC) vs. UAB (8-4, 6-2 Conference USA)
Friday, December 22, 2017 • 12:30 pm ET • Nassau, Bahamas • Thomas A. Robinson Stadium (15,000)
ESPN Announcers: Steve Levy (play-by-play), Desmond Howard (analyst), Laura Rutledge (sideline)
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Ohio Notes: Ohio Notes; MAC Notes
• Ohio became bowl eligible for the ninth straight year and will make its eighth bowl appearance in that span with a trip to the 2017 Bahamas Bowl to face UAB.
• This marks the first meeting between Ohio and UAB.
• Ohio sophomore quarterback Nathan Rourke set the single-season record with 21 rushing touchdowns for the Bobcats.
• Rourke needs one more touchdown to tie the Ohio record for touchdowns responsible for.
• Ohio RS senior cornerback Bradd Ellis recorded his 18th pass breakup to tie the Ohio single-season record with T.J. Wright.
• With his four solo tackles against Miami, Ohio RS senior linebacker Quentin Poling became the all-time leader in solo tackles at Ohio. Poling ranks 10th on the Ohio single-season tackle chart with 370 career tackles. He needs 18 more to move into a tie with Scott Zele (1990-92) with 388.
• Ohio has had a 100-plus yard rusher in eight of its last nine games (Rourke vs. CMU, BG, Toledo, Akron - Ouellette vs. UMass, EMU, Kansas - Brown vs. Kent State, Toledo).
• Rourke ranks second in the country in rushing touchdowns and is the top ranked QB on the list. He ranks third nationally with 20 total touchdowns (rushing+receiving).
• RS junior running back A.J. Ouellette needs 20 yards to become the first Ohio rusher to reach 1,000 -yards since Beau Blankenship in 2012.
• Head Coach Frank Solich is third in All-Time career MAC wins with 96. He will need 14- more wins to tie Bill Hess for No. 2 on the list.
• Ohio has 467 total points this season which set the single-season record. The previous record of 427 was set during the 2011 season in 14 games.
• Ohio landed 12 players on the All-MAC list led by RS senior LB Quentin Poling on the first team.
• Head Coach Frank Solich is the third-longest tenured head coach in the NCAA behind Kirk Ferentz (1999, Iowa) and Gary Patterson (2000, TCU).
• Ohio is the only program in the NCAA to have had the same head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator over the last 12 years.
Ohio Bowl History:
This marks the 11th bowl appearance for the Ohio football program and the ninth under head coach Frank Solich. Ohio is 2-8 in those bowl games with its first bowl win coming in a 24-23 win over Utah State at the 2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Ohio’s last bowl win was in 2012, 45-14, over Louisiana-Monroe at the Advocare V100 Independence Bowl. In last year’s bowl Ohio dropped a 28-23 loss to Troy at the 2017 Dollar General Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
Bobcats vs. C-USA:
Ohio is 36-22-6 against the current membership of C-USA having played Marshall the most with a 33-20-6 record against the Thundering Herd. Ohio is 2-0 against North Texas, 0-1 against Southern Miss and 1-1 against Western Kentucky. Ohio has been paired up with a C-USA team three times facing Marshall, Southern Miss and East Carolina. Ohio is 0-3 against the C-USA in bowl appearances including a 37-20 loss to East Carolina at the 2013 Beef O’Brady Bowl.
Record Year For Poling:
Ohio RS senior linebacker Quentin Poling has set two career records this season setting new marks with 219 solo tackles and 45.0 tackles for loss. Polling ranks 10th on the career tackle chart (370) and needs 18 more to move into ninth.
Rourke’s Records:
Ohio sophomore quarterback Nathan Rourke set the Ohio single-season record with 21 rushing touchdowns this season. The previous mark was held by Ohio hall of famer Kalvin McRae. Rourke needs one more touchdowns to move into a tie with Tyler Tettleton with 38 touchdowns responsible for.
