The bobcats biggest injury punch of season.
Every game this season, it seems, injuries have been a factor for Ohio.
No game, however, provided as punishing of an injury-kick as Saturday’s loss to Western Michigan did.
The injuries, or at least the new ones plaguing the Bobcats, were middle linebacker Quentin Poling and running back Papi White both exiting the game in the second quarter.
The insult on top of the injury was the 49-14 thrashing provided by the Broncos.
Anyone looking for some good news regarding two of the Bobcats’ more talented young stars was quickly disappointed after the game, when head coach Frank Solich said both would miss “at least a few weeks."
Ohio (5-2, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) has had little issue overcoming injuries to significant contributors to this point in the season. It entered Saturday’s action with a 5-1 record after seeing its top two quarterbacks, a starting defensive end, two linebackers as well as a few offensive linemen miss time this season due to injury, all on top of losing its starting tight end, Troy Mangen, before the season even started.
For the most part, however, the athletes have been able to recover and get back on the field in a timely manner. After Saturday’s game, however, that’s likely to change.
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The fact that Solich, often tight-lipped and unwilling to speculate on injuries to his players, came out and said Poling and White were likely to miss a few weeks should give people a less-than-pleasing outlook about when the two playmakers are likely to return. And if they miss as much time as early interpretations suggest, the loss for the Bobcats could be enormous.
Poling will hit the injury list leading Ohio in fumbles forced, sacks and interceptions and second in tackles and tackles for loss. White, meanwhile, is the Bobcats’ leader in all-purpose yards and has three touchdowns.
"We definitely took a hit today but what I love about these guys is that we are family, we are brothers, and we aren’t going to let this bring us down," linebacker Kurt Laseak said. "We still have to finish the season."
Replacing the two will be complicated on multiple fronts.
In the case of Poling, the guys who could be reasonably called on to step up into his role are guys dealing with injuries themselves. Outside backer Blair Brown and Jovon Johnson are still being hobbled by ankle injuries, while linebacker Chad Moore, who replaced Poling against Western Michigan, was limping around by the end of the contest Saturday.
Meanwhile, White’s role, as discussed previously, has been something of a luxury to the Bobcats with Daz Patterson filling essentially the same spot as an all-purpose player on the field. While Patterson has played well in 2015, White’s emergence as a playmaker has proven to be one of Ohio’s greatest assets.
"We use him for some explosive plays and opportunities for explosive plays so obviously that takes something away from us," Solich said. "We do have other explosive guys on the field."
A game against struggling Buffalo (2-4, 0-2 MAC) bookend a trip to Bowling Green, which has put up one of the most potent offenses in the country in the first half of the season. There is also a period of 11 days off for the Bobcats in that timespan.
If Ohio can minimize the damage it takes while those two are off the field and manage the health of those who are hobbled but still willing to suit up, the team’s MAC title dreams may not yet be gone.
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