The Bobcats committed four turnovers on consecutive drives Saturday, but the offense kept its cool and came out on top.
Although Ohio’s offense will want to forget its mishaps from Saturday’s season opener, it overcame the first test in dramatic fashion.
The Bobcats lost four fumbles on four straight possessions, which halted momentum but didn’t go to their heads.
Kent State only scored once off four turnovers. Redshirt junior quarterback Derrius Vick said the newly-shaped offense had to find an identity leading into their game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter after Kent State tied the game at 14.
“We just wanted to have our own mold as a team and be unified,” he said. “For the most part we were there for each other and had our backs the whole night.”
Vick continued to say they knew they would face adversity this season, but the best teams come out strong.
“That shows maturity and leadership, we faced adversity like Coach Solich talked all week,” Vick said. “We’re a young team, we know we’re going to face adversity and we handled it well.”
He didn’t have any doubt that they would win, but as an upperclassman he had to become a leader. The Bobcats were able to move the ball and execute what they wanted, but just kept committing turnovers.
“(I was) keeping the guys up, keeping them motivated,” Vick said. “Just for the most part keeping the guys’ spirits up. We were doing whatever we wanted, so as long as the defense kept doing what they were doing then we were fine.”
Vick was comfortable under center, as he threw for 262 passing yards and two touchdowns.
“I felt like I had my swagger,” Vick said. “If you play with confidence, it’s going to show, so that’s what happened.”
Solich commended Vick’s poise in the pocket, but also his ability to scramble and execute the option when the team needed a change of pace.
“He threw the ball very well; he kept drives alive,” Solich said. “He also ran very well at times when we needed it and executed the option a couple times. The option helped put us close enough for that last field goal.”
It wasn’t just Vick, Solich said. The wide receivers and depth at running back were what kept Ohio pushing into Kent State territory.
“I thought our receivers caught the ball exceptionally well,” he said. “I thought we really did a better job blocking in this first game this year than we did all of last year from the wide receiver slot.”
A win is a win no matter how it plays out, but the Bobcats still have a lot to work on fundamentally before they travel to Kentucky to play their first Southeastern Conference opponent since 2004.
“Just going back to the basics, taking care of the ball,” Vick said. “It’s a little thing that could easily be fixed, so it’s not a problem.”
@Alex_Busch91
ab109410@ohio.edu
