In the past three games, Ohio has been outscored 123-16.
It’s a stat that’s been reported many times, but bears repeating to add context about what has been the second consecutive late-season collapse for the Bobcats.
Last year, Ohio dropped four of its final five regular-season games but never lost a game by more than 25 points, instead losing by an average of 15.5 points per game in its four defeats.
This season, the average margin of defeat for the Bobcats is an astronomical 30.4 points, with a 26-23 loss to Central Michigan softening the margin from reaching any higher.
Coincidentally, redshirt senior cornerback Travis Carrie said that defeat at the hands of the Chippewa on Homecoming was the start of this season’s collapse.
“Our morale really went down after that Central Michigan loss,” Carrie said. “We really got down on ourselves because that was one of the games that we prepare well for and felt we should have won, but it didn’t go as planned.”
As far as an explanation for why the team has played so poorly, redshirt senior tight end Troy Hill said it’s been a multitude of things.
“It’s a big cluster,” Hill said. “We weren’t as focused as we thought we were. We just ran into that brick wall. In games we should’ve won, I felt like we were prepared for it, we just didn’t execute the way we should have.”
Both sides of the ball have been a mess in this three-game stretch, with the offense failing to gain any traction and the defense failing to generate stops to put its offense back on the field.
The past three weeks, the Bobcats have been outgained by a margin of 1,418-609 yards and have allowed at least 200 rushing yards in each game, while failing to eclipse more than 69 rushing yards of their own per game.
“There’s been a few plays where it’s been 10 people playing the right play and then one person messed up,” said redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Mike McQueen. “On the offensive side of the ball, it’s got to be 11 players on the same page, everybody trusting everybody.”
Carrie said the blame for this poor stretch shouldn’t be focused on any one group, whether it is the coaching staff, the players or any particular side of the ball.
“I don’t think the blame should be on any individual or any side of the ball,” he said. “It should be on the team in general because everyone makes mistakes and when one side feels that it’s the other side’s fault, that’s where you lose balance.”
As for whether the coaching staff has lost the team, sophomore running back Daz Patterson declined to comment, while Carrie, Hill and McQueen all said the coaches and players still have a good relationship with the team.
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This article appeared in print under the headline " ’Cats still searching for answers as four-game skid looks to mar season’s end"
