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.[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.

2012 Ohio Bobcats football
Independence Bowl champion
Independence Bowl, W 45–14 vs. Louisiana–Monroe
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	East Division
2012 record	9–4 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach	Frank Solich (8th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Tim Albin (8th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Gerry Gdowski (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Jim Burrow (8th season)
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
No. 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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	12:00 p.m.	at Penn State*		Beaver Stadium State College, PA	ESPN	W 24–14	97,186
September 8	7:00 p.m.	New Mexico State*		Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN3	W 51–24	25,893
September 15	6:30 p.m.	at Marshall*		Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV (Battle for the Bell)		W 27–24	33,436
September 22	2:00 p.m.	Norfolk State*		Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN3	W 44–10	23,673
September 29	3:30 p.m.	at Massachusetts		Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA	ESPN3	W 37–34	8,321
October 6	12:00 p.m.	Buffalo		Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN+/CSS	W 38–31	20,044
October 13	2:00 p.m.	Akron		Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN3	W 34–28	25,542
October 27	3:30 p.m.	at Miami (OH)	No. 23	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	STO/ESPN3	L 20–23	19,326
November 1	6:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan		Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPNU	W 45–14	16,789
November 7	8:00 p.m.	Bowling Green		Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN2	L 14–24	19,122
November 14	8:00 p.m.	at Ball State		Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN	ESPNU	L 27–52	10,097
November 23	11:00 a.m.	at No. 25 Kent State		Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPNU	L 6–28	18,230
December 28	2:00 p.m.	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 the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Rankings

See also: 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = 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	NR
Coaches	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	RV	RV	NR	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 summaries

@ Penn State

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

See also: 2012 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

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

See also: 2012 New Mexico State Aggies football team

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

See also: 2012 Marshall Thundering Herd football team and Battle for the Bell

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

See also: 2012 Norfolk State Spartans football team

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

See also: 2012 UMass Minutemen football team

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

See also: 2012 Buffalo Bulls football team

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

See also: 2012 Akron Zips football team

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

See also: 2012 Miami RedHawks football team

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

See also: 2012 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

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

See also: 2012 Bowling Green Falcons football team

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

See also: 2012 Ball State Cardinals football team

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

See also: 2012 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

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

See also: 2012 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football team and 2012 Independence Bowl

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.