Nebraska football fans knew Frank Solich as the long-time assistant coach under Tom Osborne. They also know him as the last head coach of the Devaney/Osborne era.
Most of the college football world also thinks of Solich as the former Nebraska football coach who was fired after six years and posting a 58-19 record. Ohio Bobcats and MAC fans have a different view of the man.
After Tuesday night's Ohio win over Bowling Green, Solich is now the winningest coach in the history of the Mid-American Conference. Solich posted his 111th win with Ohio, a 66-24 victory over the Eagles.
That win came in what has been a bit of a down year for Ohio, as they improved to just 5-6. While the 2019 season hasn't been all that successful, the poor record underlines just how successful he's been in the MAC.
Nebraska football tenure just the start
While the Huskers' fans believe Solich will always be a member of Nebraska, he's actually had a much longer stay at Ohio. Frank coached for decades as an assistant under Tom Osborne, rising to the rank of assistant head coach in Osborne's final seasons.
He was anointed as the heir to the Devaney-Osborne legacy of winning football. For the most part, he continued that tradition, averaging nearly 10 wins a season in his Cornhuskers career. It was his 7-7 season the first non-winning season for Nebraska football in over 30 years, that started talk of his departure. Despite following that season up with a 9-3 record, he was fired.
Two years later, he was hired at Ohio. After an initial 4-7 season, he posted nine wins in 2006. During his career with the Bobcats, he's posted just one other losing season. Should his team not win its final regular-season game, 2019 would be only the third losing season in his entire career, both at Nebraska and Ohio.
Winningest coach
On Tuesday night, he passed former Central Michigan head coach, Herb Deromedi. "I feel really good about it, but a lot of people were involved in this. A lot of great players over the years that have come through Ohio that have set the tradition to where we were able to recruit well and win football games." Solich said after the game, according to Ohio Bobcats.com.
There were several noticeable statistics that popped up in Solich's 111th win at Ohio. The 66 points were the seventh most point scored in the program's history. It was the most points the team has scored in a game since 1963. Ohio's more than 600 total yards were a season-high as was their 342 yards on the ground.
The former Nebraska football coach shared some glory on Tuesday night with one of his players. Senior kicker Louie Zervos's nine extra points and one field goal gave him the school record for points scored in a career with 415.