AMHERST, N.Y. — When Ohio faced a third-and-one on Buffalo’s 5-yard line, there was little doubt that running back O’Shaan Allison was going to receive the ball.
The redshirt freshman had carried the ball on every play in overtime and picked up gains of no smaller than five yards on his first three carries.
With five yards between him and the end zone, the 205-pound back walked into the end zone untouched.
His second touchdown of the day was his most important one as it tied the game at 20, and kicker Louie Zervos’ extra point gave the Bobcats their first win in over a month in a 21-20 final at Buffalo.
Allison, who suffered an injury in the fourth quarter of the Marshall game on Sept. 21, returned to the field at a timely moment in the year. With the nonconference schedule behind Ohio (2-3, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) and a bye week before its MAC opener, Allison felt prepared to return to the field.
“I knew before we even played them that they were a good run stop team,” he said. “(It was) just trusting my offensive linemen, knowing my reads and just keep firing of the ball.”
Ohio’s ground game picked up against the No. 2 rush defense in the MAC. The Bobcats’ 186 rushing yards and three touchdowns bested a defense that allowed an average of 95.6 rushing yards per game prior to the teams’ 26th all-time meeting.
Allison’s role in the Bobcats’ run game was consistent and, at times, predictable, but it didn’t matter as the Bulls didn't have much of an answer to contain him. His 96 yards on 27 carries – both career highs – provided the plug-and-chug style of play Ohio hasn’t experienced much this season.
Coach Frank Solich has known that Allison has the ability to be an every down back, the consistency Allison showed is merely a sample of what the young running back can be for Ohio.
“He’s got really good quickness and really good breakaway ability, and it wasn’t shown a lot today,” Solich said. “The runs were coming a little more difficult. He was getting the three, the four, five, six-yard runs where he was pushing the pile a little bit.”
And it’s true. His longest runs of the game were a couple of carries for eight yards, one of which was on a first-and-10 at the Buffalo 14 in overtime. The other two came at the tail end of drive that ended in a Nathan Rourke touchdown run.
The Bobcats have been quietly searching for an every down back since spring practice since the graduation of the storied A.J. Ouellette. Their by-committee approach as worked for the most part, but with Allison’s emergence onto the conference scene at Buffalo, it may seem that they’ve found what they’ve been looking for.
“Once I got that first carry, I knew I was ready,” Allison said.
Plenty of coaches and players have been gushing about Allison’s potential, but a vote of confidence from Rourke after Saturday’s game is all but a green light for Ohio to put the ball in his hands more often.
“He was a warrior today,” Rourke said. “That last drive in overtime I really just handed the ball off and let them go to work. He deserved that.”
This comes off the basis that perhaps Ohio’s most naturally gifted, and most experienced running back in Julian Ross hasn’t had a carry since mid-way through the first quarter against Pitt back on Sept. 7 because of an injury.
He was dressed against Buffalo, but never took the field.
Now healthy again and poised to carry his MAC East debut performance into the rest of conference play, Allison can expect to receive all of the attention from opposing defenses.
