Ohio's receiving corps looks for big day at Akron.
Come Saturday, Ohio will have little sympathy toward Akron.
After falling short in the final moments of a 27-24 loss to the Golden Gophers, which blemished the Bobcats (3-1) then-perfect record, Ohio tight end Malik Rodriquez tweeted: Don’t feel bad for us. Feel bad for Akron.
Building off the frustration stemming from Minneapolis, Ohio wide receiver Jordan Reid and the offense will look to start Mid-American Conference play with a message at InfoCision Stadium.
"We fought until the end, there was some good defensive plays made, but we showed that adversity isn't going to stop us," Reid said. "We gotta battle through. That's what's going to separate us from everybody else."
Explosive plays have been the symbol of Ohio's offense this season, with receiver Sebastian Smith and Reid slated for a solid game against Akron's mediocre pass defense.
Smith and Reid have led the Bobcats' aerial attack this season, catching a combined 28 catches for 376 yards and four touchdowns.
In four games, the Zips (2-2) have allowed 920 passing yards — the ninth-most surrendered in the MAC.
"We’ve got a lot of really quality receivers on our football team,"Ohio coach Frank Solich said. "I mean there were a lot of special catches made throughout the first four games. I think Sebastian’s talent is really starting to show now. We’ve kind of known for sometime now that he has that type of talent, and ability to battle anyone one-on-one and have a good shot at coming down with it."
Per Solich, quarterback Derrius Vick, who was limping on the sidelines late against Minnesota last weekend, should be ready to go against Akron.
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Vick has shown a trust in Smith's jump-ball ability; relying on him often this season. On a third and five against the Gophers on Saturday, Vick threw down the left sideline where Smith caught the ball at its highest point and maintained a crucial drive for the Bobcats early in the second quarter.
Yet at practice this week, Smith and Reid reiterated what the receiving corps has all season: it doesn't matter who's throwing them the football.
Smith said there a positives and negatives to each quarterback on Ohio's rotation, but that isn't for him to debate.
"It's just growing as the season goes on," Smith said of Vick. "Our relationship is growing and it feels good to be on the field with somebody you can communicate with and the defense may not even know we are communicating, so I think that's good."
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