The Bobcats will hit the road to play Western Michigan and look to win their second straight MAC game.
Just one Mid-American Conference win out of first place, Ohio is still in the mix of making a run to the MAC Championship game.
The Bobcats need to get off to another fast start if they want to win their second consecutive game, however.
On Saturday, Ohio (4-4, 2-2 MAC) will look to carry its momentum from last weekend’s win against Akron to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where it will face Western Michigan for the first time since 2008. The Bobcats scored on last weekend’s opening drive — a trend they hope continues.
“It’s big, in every game, to get the momentum on your side and get your fans in it, however many we’ll have there,” freshman running back A.J. Ouellette said. “We know we have to win. Everybody on the team knows that, so they just have to do their job.”
Ohio has been outscored 76-38 in the first quarter this season, including a 59-3 differential in its four losses. After winning the coin toss last weekend, coach Frank Solich said he wanted the offense to get the ball to establish field position, at minimum, after falling behind 14-0 the previous two weeks.
“We have a pretty good return team, and you figure if you get a decent return and get a few first downs you’re at least establishing field position with a punt,” Solich said. “If you can play well enough to put a score on the board, especially seven points, that just gets the momentum on your side.”
Although the starting quarterback hasn’t been announced, Ouellette said redshirt sophomore JD Sprague has been taking many reps in practice this week. Sprague has started the past four weeks in place of redshirt junior Derrius Vick, who returned to practice Monday from a knee injury.
Western Michigan (4-3, 2-1 MAC) has been outscored 46-42 in first quarters, and fell behind 7-3 last weekend against Bowling Green. However, the Broncos won 26-14 one week after the Bobcats fell to the Falcons 31-13.
Jarvion Franklin, a freshman running back, paces Western Michigan’s offense with 992 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. Not only does Franklin have as many as the Bobcats have scored as a team, but he also leads the NCAA in rushing touchdowns.
The Broncos aren’t one dimensional, as Zach Terrell, a redshirt sophomore quarterback, is averaging the MAC’s fourth-best passing yards per game with 250 and has tossed 12 touchdowns.
Although Western Michigan’s offense could be tough to contain, Ohio will need to also focus on itself after committing 27 penalties for 273 yards the past two weeks. The Bobcats have been working this week in practice to avoid further penalties.
“The scout team offense might give us a few hard counts or work on giving us an extra shove just so we know not to get too mad,” senior defensive lineman Antwan Crutcher said. “Also we just look back to the summer and see how we did then to try and get things correct.”
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