Blair Brown did what he always does. He attacked. The hard-hitting linebacker forced pressure, which led to a sack of Kent State quarterback Nick Holley, which ended a Kent State drive. But something was wrong.
Brown couldn't get up. After gingerly making his way to the bench, Ohio's defense was missing a tackling machine — its leading tackling machine.
Out for the rest of the first half, he was on the sideline as Kent State went on a 17-play, 91-yard drive for a field goal. He returned in the second half, registering a sack on the first play, but had to return to the bench after re-aggravating an injury on the drive.
The Golden Flashes later capped a 17-play, 75-yard drive for a touchdown. Only five of those plays were passes. With Brown out of the lineup, the Golden Flashes were able to run the ball with relative ease.
Simply put, the Bobcats need him.
“He is physical at the point of attack and he can run things down," coach Frank Solich said. "You can use him on drops, you can use him on blitzes, he is very effective and in that regard he is a complete player.”
Brown currently leads Ohio in solo tackles with 50, as well as total tackles with 89. That ranks him tied for 41st and tied for 37th in the country, respectively.
#Ohio LB Blair Brown has yet to miss a tackle on run plays and leads all linebackers with a run defense grade of 89.6.
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) October 18, 2016
“He’s very physical, he blows up plays at the line of scrimmage," defensive coordinator Jimmy Burrow said. "Really against the run game, that’s what you need. That was our whole goal going into the year, to get better against the run. We’ve done that. We’ve been good against the run.”
Playing alongside Quentin Poling and Chad Moore at the linebacker spot, Brown is apart of the team's strongest unit. Poling and Moore had received Mid-American Conference East Division Defensive Player of the Week honors in weeks two and three, respectively. Brown finally got his last week.
He was named MAC East Player of the Week for his effort against Buffalo, where he had 11 sacks, five solo.
“It means a lot, I didn’t even know until right now, when they said it after practice," Brown said. "It really surprised me, it’s a goal accomplished. I’ve tried to get it for the last couple weeks, and it finally came through.”
Brown also is second on the team in sacks, with four — he trails only Tarell Basham.
“We have a great front seven, it’s probably the best front seven I’ve been a part of since I’ve been at OU," Brown said. "It means a lot to be able to say I’m a part of a unit that’s second (in sacks).”
Ohio is second in the country in sacks, as well as 17th in yards allowed per rush with 3.2. The Bobcats are also 17th in rushing yards with 114.8 yards allowed per game.
And Brown, probably the most physical player on the team, has had his physicality play a large part of that.
“I pride myself on it," Brown said. "As a defense we pride ourselves on stopping the run, forcing the other team to stop the ball. That’s a big part of our defense, stopping the run.”
With the Bobcats knocking on the door of a MAC Championship Game appearance for the first time since 2011, they'll have to rely on their defense to carry them there. The unit, especially the front seven, has carried or kept the team afloat for parts of the season.
As Ohio works to finish the MAC East Division, it'll head to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, to try and seal the deal against Central Michigan. The defense will, as it's done all year, try to shut down the opponent one more time. So just follow the ball — Brown will probably be around it.
“I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a freshman. I said as a freshman I wanted to go to the MAC championship before I leave. That means a lot. We have a big chance of going. It’s right there. We can grab it. It means a lot for our team, and me in my senior year.”
