Although the Bobcats won their season opener, each game has left them with a different area of concern to address.
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — For the third straight week, Ohio traveled back to Athens with questions to ask itself.
Although the Bobcats won their season opener, each game has left them with a different area of concern to address.
The first game brought fumbles, the second brought offensive confusion and this week the defense was unable to cover Marshall’s receivers.
Ohio redshirt senior safety Nathan Carpenter said the Bobcats don’t have any excuses, and it seemed like nothing could go their way during the 44-14 blowout loss.
“We didn’t necessarily just lose the game, we got pretty much embarrassed on national television,” said Carpenter, who intercepted Thundering Herd quarterback Rakeem Cato in the fourth quarter. “They had a lot of unbelievable catches that not a lot of guys have seen before … We clearly did not stop either the run or the pass.”
Saturday’s defensive problems started when Marshall wide receiver Davonte Allen beat Ohio’s cornerbacks on each of his first three catches, as he recorded 113 yards and two touchdowns in just the first quarter.
Devin Bass, a redshirt junior, was responsible for covering Allen, but the blame wasn’t all on him, as the Bobcats changed coverage throughout the game.
Allen and fellow wide receiver Angelo Jean-Louis combined for 295 yards and three touchdowns on nine receptions.
“They ran well, they caught the ball well,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “I just thought that we would battle them more than what we did in terms of going up for the ball and coming down with our fair share of them.”
Cato, a senior who won his first Battle of the Bell in four attempts, was at the center of the problems Ohio’s secondary had throughout the day. He threw for 425 passing yards and four touchdowns with his only mishap being the pass intercepted by Carpenter late in the game.
Carpenter said Marshall’s offense came out with a different approach than it had in years past, tossing long passes to a talented receiving corps instead of relying on intermediate and short routes.
In last year’s matchup, Cato threw for 366 yards but only one touchdown. No receiver had more than 100 yards.
“This year they came out doing really explosive plays,” Carpenter said. “They threw a lot of deep balls and they made a lot of deep-ball plays, which obviously shocked our defense.”
When Ohio redshirt junior quarterback Derrius Vick was pulled early in the second quarter against Kentucky last week, it seemed like a quarterback controversy was brewing, but Vick started again Saturday and finished with 200 yards and a touchdown.
He was replaced by redshirt sophomore JD Sprague in the third quarter, but Solich’s decision had more to do with changing pace and giving Sprague time than benching his starter. Vick said he’s looking forward to playing at home next weekend for the first time this season.
“I don’t care if you’re all veterans or all freshman playing, (it’s tough) to go on the road three straight times,” Vick said. “But at the same time, you don’t need any momentum for any games like this when you’re playing for the Battle of the Bell, and we let this one get away from us.”
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