College football: Ohio makes the most of its big moment with WVU in town

These are the games after which people throw around the term “upset,� even if it didn't seem that the Bobcats' 17-10 victory over the Mountaineers was the result of any sort of fluke or accident.

After all, since the last time West Virginia and Ohio met on the Bobcats’ turf in 1949, the Mountaineers began a gradual climb that had them regularly playing in bowls by the 1980s, competing for national titles every now and again by the end of that decade and members of top-tier conferences by the 1990s.

Ohio, meanwhile, has resided in the MAC since helping form it in 1946. The Bobcats have had brushes with, and against, greatness, but have otherwise remained observers of college football’s highest level, rather than participants in it.

None of that mattered on the field Saturday, when Ohio’s defense dominated West Virginia’s offense and the Bobcats squeaked out just enough big plays on offense to win.

‘We live for those moments’

But it mattered in the stands, where Ohio set a facility record with 26,740 attendees, according to the school.

It mattered in the buildup to the game – not just for a week, but for an offseason.

“You see the schedule, in March or whatever, whenever it dropped, you get excited for those type of moments,� Bobcats receiver Chase Hendricks said. “We live for these moments, just to compete against a team like that on the Frank [Solich Field].�

It mattered in the press box – make that the auxiliary press box. The Bobcats' radio crew works from Ohio defensive coordinator John Hauser’s fifth-floor office overlooking the field every week, using the by-design efficiency of Peden Tower.

Both on-air voices of the Bobcats have deep West Virginia roots. Play-by-play man Marty Bannister was born in Williamson. Color analyst Rob Cornelius lives in Parkersburg. He grew up rooting for the Mountaineers, he said, as well as the Bobcats, spending part of his upbringing near Clarksburg.

By day, Cornelius is a Republican political consultant. On weekends, he makes the 45-minute-or-so drive west to Athens to continue his third decade working on Bobcats broadcasts.

His background gave him a special appreciation for Saturday’s game and everything that surrounded it.

“This is as big of a home game with regional implications as any game possibly could be,� Cornelius said before the game. “Iowa State could be from the moon. This is right next door.�

Cornelius was referencing the Cyclones’ visit to Athens in 2023. The Bobcats topped them, too, 10-7. But, owing to the combination of Ohio’s upward trajectory and WVU’s proximity, Saturday felt more significant than that, he said.

“This is exceptional,� Cornelius said. “Getting this regional rival to come in a state that’s situated a lot like southern Ohio ... southern Ohio's a lot like West Virginia.�

The by-day political operative smoothly segued into coalition-building mode, in appreciation for the shared Appalachian experience and mutual goals that don’t worry about state lines.

“This whole area, it could all blend together,� Cornelius continued. “This is not Cleveland. This is not Louisville. This is different. We share a lot of the same positives and a lot of the same problems, as campuses, as teams, as universities, and it’s just such a positive to be able to get this together.�

That would have been the case, Cornelius said before the game, even if all Ohio got out of it was a competitive contest and fans from both sides enjoying the experience. Then the Bobcats did better than that, punching above their weight class – in terms of the conference logos that dot both teams’ jerseys, at least – in knocking off the Mountaineers.

‘Very electric out there’

The Bobcats’ playing of “Take Me Home, Country Roads� in their locker room after the game was a nod to their understanding of the significance of doing so.

It could be heard from the site of Ohio’s postgame news conference elsewhere in the building, and Ohio coach Brian Smith grinned when a reporter asked him about it.

“It's good to troll every now and again, I guess,� Smith deadpanned. “That wasn’t from my iPhone, so that popped on from somebody else.

“It’s great for the kids. They’re excited at what they’ve accomplished and the opportunity to win that game.�

Ohio got the crowd going with big plays early – none more so than Hendricks’ 31-yard scoring reception from Parker Navarro late in the second quarter that put the Bobcats out of the Mountaineers’ reach for good.

The record crowd roared. Ohio got its juice, and according to Hendricks, he could see the effect it had on the Mountaineers.

"Everyone going into the game was talking about a sold-out crowd, the largest capacity in the history of the stadium, and how that was gonna affect the team,� Smith said. “We talked about that it was gonna be our energy, our enthusiasm, our effort, how hard we play, was what was gonna affect the crowd, and that was what was gonna drive the crowd that was there. It wasn’t gonna be the other way around.�

The Bobcats held up their end of the bargain. The crowd responded in kind on a notable day that became a memorable one.

“It was very electric out there,� Ohio defensive lineman Nehemiah Dukes said. “The energy was off the walls. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, and [the atmosphere] beat my expectations.�