Directly after Ohio’s 23-20 loss to Miami Saturday, redshirt junior quarterback Tyler Tettleton stood on the sideline, hands clutching his chest protector, helmet perched atop his head. His stance differed from many of his teammates who were sulking behind the team bench or kneeling agonizingly on the field.
Although everything looked usual for Tettleton, the scene he was overlooking was far from what the Bobcats had imagined for the 89th installment of the Battle of the Bricks. Miami fans barreled out of the stands, racing past him to join the RedHawks’ midfield victory celebration. The Bobcats’ perfect season and six-game win streak against their most bitter rivals was dashed.
“It sucks,” Tettleton said.
That was the general sentiment echoing from Ohio’s visiting locker room.
After orchestrating a 68-yard drive with less than 90 seconds remaining on the Yager Stadium scoreboard, Tettleton found himself with the ball in his hands, seven yards from the end zone with nine seconds remaining and a three-point deficit on the scoreboard.
Ohio coach Frank Solich said there was “not much discussion” whether the Bobcats should have opted for a field goal.
Tettleton had three options, which were not laid out explicitly for him but rather implied through memory and years of practice.
“We were yelling out everything that we could yell out from the sidelines,” Solich said, noting that he was unable to speak with Tettleton during the final drive. “‘Whatever you do, don’t catch the ball short of the end zone,’ ‘Make sure you’re in the end zone and get the throw’ or ‘Throw it away.’ Those are your options.”
Tettleton didn’t execute any of those possibilities. He blanked and was sacked as time expired.
He remembered in the postgame news conference that redshirt junior wide receiver Donte Foster, who was running a backside post route, was his primary target, but he said he was unable to remember how much time was remaining in the game or if the Bobcats had any timeouts to spare.
“I was just trying to make a play,” Tettleton said. “Just everything broke down.”
Solich found Tettleton on the sideline, stunned, shortly after the final play.
“I just asked him if he was OK, and he shook his head yes, and that was it,” Solich said.
But things were not OK for the Bobcats. They permitted Miami redshirt senior quarterback Zac Dysert 311 passing yards. Freshman running back Jamire Westbrook ran for almost double his season average. The RedHawks never trailed in the game.
Each statistic is a product of big plays.
“We had some big plays that didn’t go our way, some busted coverages,” redshirt junior linebacker Keith Moore said. “I guarantee if you take five or six of those plays away, we win. It’s a new ballgame.”
But the game doesn’t work that way. Miami capitalized, and Ohio fell short.
The RedHawks had six sacks — equal to their previous season total. They accumulated only five yards worth of penalty flags, had a 41-yard kickoff return and stopped Ohio on almost three quarters of its third down conversion attempts.
It’s much easier to stand stunned at a questionable call with time running out than it is to look at the big picture, but neither was pretty.
“There’s a lot of blame that can be thrown around in terms of myself — we could have coached a better game,” Solich said.
Hindsight is 20/20, but the Bobcats won’t be allowed much time for reflection, as they will take the field for a rebound game with Eastern Michigan Thursday.
“We have a lot of games ahead of us that we have to win,” redshirt senior safety Gerald Moore said. “So we’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and win out.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
