Sometimes ugly is beautiful.
It's not the mantra the Bobcats want, but its the one they've got.
After a 14-10 win Saturday at Kent State, Ohio is sitting pretty, tied atop the Mid-American Conference East with Akron. Ohio leads Miami by one game, but with the tiebreaker in hand, essentially leads by two games.
So yes, a 5-3 team is exactly what Bobcats fans wanted. But by no means is this is perfect team.
Ohio will have to rely on its defense
The big news of the week was the quarterback change: redshirt freshman Quinton Maxwell took the starting snaps over redshirt senior Greg Windham. The latter never saw the field.
Maxwell went 11-19 for 127 yards and one interception. The offense put up 335 yards on the day, but to those watching, there was no danger when the Ohio offense hit the field.
The defense kept Ohio afloat all afternoon, only allowing Kent State to 264 yards on the day. But the big moment of the afternoon came with five minutes remaining in the game.
Papi White muffed a punt, and Kent State took over at the Bobcats 10-yard line with a chance to take the lead with almost no time left.
The defense forced a three and out and bailed out the offense yet again.
It's one thing for the defense to help bail out the offense. It's a whole other ballgame for the defense to have to bail out the offense. It's a recipe for disaster.
There's still no answer at quarterback
It's worth saying that the quarterback play hasn't necessarily been bad this season. It just hasn't been great.
Windham and Maxwell have both varied between All-Conference and backup play this year, and after Saturday's win, not much has changed.
It's unclear as to who will start moving forward, but there will be questions for whoever takes the snaps.
Maxwell only threw for 127 yards, but was helped out by a strong performance on the ground.
Both quarterbacks have shown they deserve the spot, it's up to coach Frank Solich and offensive coordinator Tim Albin to make that decision.
The Bobcats will have to make the quarterback decision quickly. They play on Thursday at Toledo.
It's a two-horse race
While there wasn't much to feel ecstatic about as a Bobcat yesterday, a simple look at the standings could do just that.
Unless Akron (5-3, 3-1 MAC) or Ohio implode down the stretch, the MAC East will likely come down to those teams. Ohio will have some time to figure its offense out, the Bobcats have just under a month before a possible MAC East showdown against Akron in the last game of the season.
The defense, when playing well, can shut down just about any team in the MAC. The front seven is dangerous, and the safety play has improved every week since Javon Hagan started taking snaps.
But the biggest issues remain on offense, where playmakers aren't getting the ball and the offense just seems in a rut. White only had one catch yesterday, and Sebastian Smith and Jordan Reid combined for six.
Ohio has time to figure things out, despite the short week upcoming. But time is running out to salvage what could be an appearance in the MAC Championship game.
