Ohio just wasn’t on the same page on offense against Kentucky.
That’s what sophomore quarterback JD Sprague said of the Bobcat offense following their second loss in the state of Kentucky in the as many seasons.
Sprague, who relieved redshirt junior quarterback Derrius Vick in the second quarter on Saturday, said that although the defense was able to bail them out throughout the game — especially the second half — all 11 players on offense weren’t in-sync.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Ohio just wasn’t on the same page on offense against Kentucky.
That’s what sophomore quarterback JD Sprague said of the Bobcat offense following their second loss in the state of Kentucky in the as many seasons.
Sprague, who relieved redshirt junior quarterback Derrius Vick in the second quarter on Saturday, said that although the defense was able to bail them out throughout the game — especially the second half — all players on offense weren’t in-sync.
Ohio had numerous noticeable drops from receivers, which in part may have helped end Vick’s night before the halftime whistle blew.
“(We) weren’t on the same page when we did have miscues or we did mess up. That just goes back to executing,” said Sprague, who went 13-for-25 for 143 yards under center, “All week in practice we work on these plays that we want to execute, so when all 11 guys aren’t on the same page — or even when one guy messes up — it throws off the whole play.”
Sprague said he prepared for Kentucky expecting to play and even though it came to him as a surprise in the moment he went in, he felt comfortable and supported as ‘the guy’ for the time being.
“It just kind of came natural,” Sprague said. “The other guys looked to me and I think they didn’t lose faith in me, they kind of trusted me to keep continuing what we were trying to do.”
Kentucky blew the gates open after the opening kickoff with touchdowns on two consecutive drives.
Their second score came from a 53-yard rushing touchdown up the middle, in a play that the Bobcats thought they were caught off guard, as the middle of the defense was covered consistently all night minus the touchdown run.
“A think a lot of it was our execution, weren’t hitting our gaps right,” freshman linebacker Quentin Poling said. “We came out maybe a little bit on our heels and we just weren’t executing well.”
The Wildcats weren’t able to reach the end zone again after the first two scores. The stops came from a defense that was caught playing on their heels as the game opened, but they were able to give the offense chances to win throughout the game.
Kentucky sophomore quarterback Patrick Towles found a weakness in Ohio's defense, gaining 96 yards on the ground in addition to his 170 yards and one touchdown passing.
Solich said the depth of the defensive unit helped them stay fresh and continue to keep the Wildcats away from the end zone.
“We really talked to each other and got together, we got a little bit of energy going again and we made a couple big stops,” Poling said. “After that it felt like we were ‘at home’ again so we felt natural playing together … they had some longer drives, but we kept making some more stops.”
Coach Frank Solich said that with the defensive stops, including five sacks (two from Poling), a victory was always attainable.
“I think I defense played well enough (to win) if we could have gathered offense that was able to get more first downs, especially earlier in the game in the first half,” Solich said.
When asked if the Bobcats feel frustrated for the harsh start to the game defensively, Poling said simply, “no.”
“The way I look at it, I’m happy that we gave up that 14-point deficit in six minutes or so and we came back and played the rest of the game,” he said. “I’m pretty happy with the way we came back after our start.”
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