Longtime coaches Long, Solich still bowling
You go and keep your Lincoln Rileys and your Sean McVays. The DXL Frisco Bowl is the game for the old school head coaches going just as strong as ever.
It will be the oldest coaching matchup in the bowl season Wednesday when 68-year-old Rocky Long — with 71 wins, eight winning seasons in eight tries and three Mountain West titles at San Diego State — takes on 74-year-old Frank Solich — who’s taking Ohio to its ninth bowl game in 10 years and hasn’t had a losing season since 2008. The combined ages of the two? 142. Two other reasons to watch the Frisco Bowl:
❚ Can Ohio keep the O going? It wasn’t the Mid-American Conference championship season the program might have hoped for, but outside of a stunning road loss to Miami University, the Bobcats were red hot to close out the season, winning five of their last six games and scoring 49 points or more in each of the five. The rushing attack led the MAC and ranked eighth in the country, averaging 262 yards per game.
❚ It’s been a bit of a rough run for San Diego State over the back half of the sea- son, losing four of its last five games. However, the Aztecs beat Arizona State, knocked off Boise State on the blue turf, and bring one of the nation’s best defenses that’s in search of redemption after a tough final month. The Aztecs don’t have a great pass rush, but they stuff the run, ranking fourth in the nation at 2.75 yards per run. The San Diego State offense sputtered far too often, averaging just 354 yards.
Key to the game: It should come down to mistakes. San Diego State isn’t tight at holding on to the ball, and Ohio is tied for first in the nation in takeaways.