A simple look at the box score can provide a clear indication at how Ohio was a team of two different halves in its return to Peden Stadium for its final nonconference game.
The Bobcats’ 45-25 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette only painted a clearer picture as to what the struggles are on both sides of the ball – each of which took a turn showcasing those struggles in a different half.
In the first half, the defense, plagued with questions about their run-stopping ability and tackling, seemed as though they had found answers. It kept Louisiana in check for the first 30 minutes of the game and only allowed 10 points on 179 total yards.
This is the same defense gave up 336 yards in the first half at Marshall last week. It hung on and provided the offense with ample opportunities to move the chains.
Only it didn’t.
Ohio’s offense struggled in the first half and it struggled mightily. Had it not been for a pair of long field goals from redshirt senior Louie Zervos, Ohio would’ve been shut out in the first half.
Three of its five drives in the first half were quick three-and-outs. The drives that resulted in points weren’t long by any means – a 36-and-48-yard distance.
All the Bobcats had to do was maintain the defensive play and ignite the offense.
Instead, the opposite happened.
Ohio put together a three touchdown, 255-yard second half. For the better part of the muggy afternoon, quarterback Nathan Rourke had a sense of confidence he lacked in the first half, and the offense significantly picked up its level of play after halftime.
And inversely, the defense, which almost passed its test, ultimately revealed itself in the second half. The Ragin’ Cajuns offense came to life and scored five touchdowns with 310 total yards.
Missed tackles happened in droves. The 50-50 balls all seemed to go in Louisiana’s favor.
“We’ve showed flashes of what we could be, but not enough consistency on any of it,” coach Frank Solich said. “We just haven’t been able to put a full game together yet and that’s not what you’re after four games in, but it is what it is.”
Ohio knew there would be growing pains to begin the season. It has 12 new starters on its 22-man platoon. The running back room has all new feature backs, the receivers are young and members scattered throughout the defense are young, but Ohio still hasn’t found answers to the easiest of questions after four games.
“We just have to make more tackles and get us off the field,” redshirt senior safety Javon Hagan said. “That’s been our biggest challenge so far.”
Hagan isn’t wrong, either. The Bobcats’ defense in the second half had multiple opportunities to at least halt the surging Cajuns, but the physicality became too much. What were once four-yard runs in the first half turned into 20-yard runs in the second.
Louisiana averaged 8.4 yards per play in the second half compared to 4.6 in the first. The credit, or lack thereof, goes to the missed tackles from Ohio.
“That obviously jumps out at you,” Solich said in regard to the amount of missed tackles. “It’s something that we’ve got to get corrected. We spend a lot of time on the techniques of tackling and some of it showed today, and some of it didn’t.”
The slow starts have been the Bobcats’ crux offensively. In the last four games, they’ve only scored 43 points in the first half. At this point a year ago, they had already scored 97 first-half points. The offense has its fair share of work to do if it wants to return to its same level of potency.
“It was a rough one,” Rourke said. “We were just not finishing plays. I didn’t play my best game, and a lot of it falls on me.”
Rourke, like Hagan, isn’t wrong. The senior had three interceptions and lost a fumble. His four turnovers are the most he’s ever had in a game with Ohio since 2017 where he had four against Central Michigan.
Luckily for Ohio, the games have come to a halt, and there’s more wiggle room to come up with solutions with the bye week officially ahead.
That, along with the bountiful amount of injuries, makes the bye week’s arrival timing perfectly.
For Ohio, it can throw away the box scores. It knows which numbers are in its favor and against it. What it needs to find out soon is how to positively change those numbers.
