Sports
Game Preview: Ohio Hopes To Match Kentucky’s Speed on Saturday
By: Eric Singer
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It is no secret that the Southeastern Conference is known for its speed.
Year-in and year-out the Alabamas, Auburns and Georgias of the college football world recruit some of the fastest players in the country, which is part of the reason why the SEC won nine of the 16 BCS Championship games, including a stretch of six-straight from 2006-2012.
Coincidentally, the 2014 Ohio Bobcats could be one of the fastest teams that head coach Frank Solich has put together in his tenure at Ohio. So if the Bobcats want to leave Commonwealth Stadium with the upset on Saturday, then the ‘Cats will have to showcase their speed as well.
“Kentucky is exactly what the SEC is known for, being fast,” senior wide receiver Chase Cochran said after practice Thursday, “so we’re going to be fast, too. We’re going to push the tempo and the hope is by the second half we’ve worn they’re defense down.”
“They’re a bunch of big guys, too, but big guys don’t always move well. So the faster we go, the less time they have to make checks and get a breather.”
Kentucky began the season with a 59-14 win over FCS Tennessee-Martin, compiling 650 yards of total offense. First-year quarterback Patrick Towles led the way, completing 20 of 29 passes for 377 yards and one touchdown.
The Wildcats operate a spread offense that places emphasis on moving the ball around. Ten different receivers caught a pass and six different players were credited with a rush in the Week 1 win.
Junior running back Braylon Heard powered the Wildcats’ rushing attack, racking up 116 yards on just two carries, both of which were touchdowns. However, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has listed Heard as doubtful against Ohio after Heard suffered an ankle injury during the Week 1 game.
Defensively, the Wildcats are an experienced group, with 10 of the 11 starting spots held by juniors and seniors.
The unit is led by senior defensive end/linebacker Alvin “Bud” Dupree — who currently leads all active SEC defenders with 16 career sacks — and junior safety AJ Stamps, a junior college transfer who had a big game in his Kentucky debut, recording a team-high 8 tackles and one highlight-reel interception.
“There’s an awful lot to prepare for,” Solich said during a press conference Tuesday. “[Kentucky] executed extremely well in their first ball game, so it’ll be a matter of [us] playing very, very well.”
One area Ohio must improve in this week is ball security. The Bobcat running backs coughed up four fumbles last week against Kent State and were lucky that the Golden Flashes only capitalized on one of them. The Wildcats forced five turnovers against Tennessee-Martin last week as well, so if the issues continue, the Bobcats might not get so lucky this time.
“I don’t think it’ll be an issue,” Cochran said. “It was uncharacteristic for us, and we hope it’s just a one-time deal.”
The Bobcats will also need another big game from quarterback Derrius Vick, who raised the eyebrows of Stoops and the Wildcats coaching staff.
“I was really impressed with [Vick],” Stoops told the media at his press conference in Lexington, Ky., earlier this week. “He was very poised…he can run it, he can throw it. We’ll have our hands full this weekend.”
Defensively, Ohio will need the same intensity that it showed against Kent State last week, as it was one of the best performances the unit has had over the last couple of years, holding the Golden Flashes under 300 total yards, including just 31 rushing yards.
Senior safety Thad Ingol said the defense just has to stick to the game plan in order to slow down the high-powered Wildcats offense.
“We need to continue to focus on stopping the run, that’s first and foremost” Ingol said after practice Thursday. “They also have some explosive receivers, so we have to make sure we tighten everything on the backend, too, and not allow one guy to beat us.”
Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN3.