In Ohio’s postgame news conference, redshirt senior wide receiver Donte Foster was asked how to pick up fellow redshirt senior Travis Carrie.
It was Carrie’s fumble on a punt return, when he muffed what would have been a fair catch, that eventually led to the game-winning score in Central Michigan’s 26-23 win against Ohio (4-2, 1-1 Mid-American Conference).
Before Foster could answer, another redshirt senior, quarterback Tyler Tettleton, asked if he could chime in.
“First off, it’s not his fault whatsoever,” Tettleton said. “You shouldn’t even mention anything about Travis and the turnovers or anything. It’s a whole collection of the whole team. I had two turnovers.
“… It’s not just one player. We’re not going to put (the blame) on anybody.”
Foster, when he had his opportunity to answer, shared a similar sentiment.
“Exactly what (Tyler) was saying,” Foster said. “There were things leading up to that that we could’ve done better, where we shouldn’t have even been in that situation. … It’s over with now. (Travis) understands that.”
It was a lack of execution on both sides of the ball that resulted in Ohio’s second Homecoming game loss in the past three seasons.
The Bobcats’ defense operated like a sieve, with sophomore running back Saylor Lavallii rushing for a career-high 184 yards on 26 carries for Central Michigan. Lavallii entered the season as a back-up before then-starter Zurlon Tipton broke his ankle during a season-opening loss at Michigan.
And that lack of success on the defensive end was coupled with Ohio’s offensive struggles in the first half, with Ohio amassing as many turnovers as points scored (three).
The Bobcats’ offense exploded in the second half, scoring three touchdowns and gaining 256 yards.
“We did not play well enough in the first half,” coach Frank Solich said. “Obviously it was a poor first half of football for us. And usually you don’t win football games only playing two quarters.”
And Foster, who hauled in a team-high nine catches for 118 yards, envied the way the Chippewas (3-4, 2-1 MAC) entered the football game.
“We have to come out there and stomp on them,” Foster said. “They came out there and stomped on us, basically. That’s what made us lose in the fourth, not playing well in the first half.”
Ohio is attempting to remain positive after the loss, knowing that it still controls its own destiny in the MAC East hunt and the road to a conference championship.
“We still have a chance to win the division and get to Detroit,” Tettleton said. “It’s pretty much as simple as that. There’s nothing else to say. There’s so much more that’s left to be played and I think we’ve been in this situation before, where we lost a game and were still able to get to Detroit.”
The last time Ohio went to the MAC Championship was in 2011, when Ohio lost consecutive games by a total of four points, dropping a game to Buffalo on the road and falling against Ball State at home on Homecoming.
ch203310@ohiou.edu
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