Here's an early look at some things to know about Purdue's Friday night's opponent Ohio. Purdue is 7-0 all time against the Bobcats, with the last meeting in 1988, a 33-10 victory. All games have been played in Ross-Ade Stadium with the series beginning in 1933.

He may be 72 years old, but Ohio coach Frank Solich is still going strong. After a controversial departure from Nebraska where he won more games in his six seasons than Hall-of-Famers Tom Osborne and Bob Devaney, he was fired after the 2002 season. Solich moved to Athens, Ohio, and has been there since the 2005 season. He is third in the FBS in coaching tenure at one school, and his 87 wins are second all-time in Bobcat history. His teams have been steady but not great. Solich likes option football and still uses it in his offensive arsenal at Ohio.

Based on the results of the last nine years of Boilermaker football, this should come as no surprise, but Ohio will give Purdue all it can handle. Yes, Purdue is an early 4-point favorite (Dannysheridan.com) but this is an Ohio team that won the MAC East and has 17 starters returning, including three on special teams. It won its opener 59-0 over FCS opponent Hampton, posting its first opening-day shutout in 49 years.

Somewhat similar to Purdue, Ohio will likely play two quarterbacks. Quinton Maxwell is the starter, but J.C. transfer Nathan Rourke saw significant time in the season opener. The running game is young, but A.J. Ouellette, who missed the end of last season with a foot injury, is the featured back and led all Bobcats' rushers with 65 yards in the opener.

While it is hard to tell after the Hampton blowout victory, the Bobcats are expected to rely on their linebackers and defensive backs to bolster the defense. The defensive line lost three starters from last year's team that finished 8-6 overall and was defeated by Troy 28-23 in its bowl game, but linebacker Quentin Poling and conference defensive freshman-of-the-year Javon Hagan are the standouts.

Ohio's athletic director Jim Schaus is a 1983 Purdue graduate and worked in the Boilermakers' athletic communications office as an undergrad. His father is the late Fred Schaus, who was the Boilermakers' basketball coach from 1973-78 after serving as the coach and general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Schaus was a finalist for the Purdue A.D. job during the school's recent search that landed Mike Bobinski and has since signed a long-term contract extension with the Bobcats' athletic department he has led since 2008. Schaus was A.D. at Wichita State for nine years previously.

"Ohio is about as solid and fundamentally sound a team as you're going to play. Very good football team. Even the losses they had last year, they barely lost, Tennessee down to the wire, they beat Kansas at Kansas and their losses were by a touchdown at the most in a couple contests. They are well-coached. They are not going to beat themselves and we will have to play at a high level in order to win.

"It will be a challenge to play harder than this team. They play hard, and it's visible every game you watch. And because of it, that's why they are a very, very good football team."

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