Ohio impressively glides past Idaho in Moscow.
When redshirt senior running back Daz Patterson was asked a question at Ohio’s media day that implied that a strong defense would lead to many close games, his answer was the Bobcat defense giving up few points didn’t necessarily mean the games would be close.
Clearly, he meant a Bobcat offense that struggled to produce in 2014 was prepared to turn things around in the new season. And on Thursday, Ohio’s offense was able to back up that statement.
Ohio held off Idaho in the second half to nail down a 45-28 victory on the road to begin the season on Thursday night. Redshirt senior Derrius Vick and redshirt junior J.D. Sprague split time under center in the Bobcat victory.
Ohio caught Idaho’s secondary off-guard, when it started the game with a hurry-up offense the Vandals’ defense simply couldn’t keep up with. Vick found receiver after open receiver over the middle on the opening drive, with redshirt sophomore Brendan Cope capping everything off with a one-handed reception on a fade route for his first touchdown of the season.
The Bobcats wasted no time in coming up with a pair of follow-up efforts. After the two teams traded fumbles immediately following the touchdown drive, Ohio was again able to come down the field and find the endzone, with Vick hitting redshirt junior Jordan Reid with a 15-yard strike for his second score of the game. Just two plays into Idaho’s next drive, Jovon Johnson picked off a pass that deflected off a Vandal receiver and took it 29 yards to the house to push the Bobcats ahead 21-0.
From there, Matt Linehan was able to provide some consistency to the Idaho offense. Each of the final three Vandal drives in the first half resulted in points, including one 12-play, 71-yard touchdown drive by Idaho.
Sprague sprinkled in some offensive magic of his own, throwing a touchdown pass while completing seven of nine attempts for 92 yards in the second quarter, giving Ohio a halftime lead of 28-13.
Idaho continued its offensive attack in the second half, but it never came within striking distance of Ohio. The Bobcats kept the Vandals at bay with their own offensive consistency in the second half, which included a one-yard touchdown run by Patterson and a 17-yard touchdown run by Maleek Irons.
The 28 points given up by the defense could, understandably, be considered a disappointment by many Bobcat supporters, but there’s no reason to cut down this defense just yet. It was able to force three takeaways from the Idaho offense at critical points in the game, while linebackers redshirt sophomore Quentin Poling and redshirt senior Jovon Johnson (who would leave the game with an injury) dominated the entire field while Idaho had the ball.
For Vick’s effort, he finished with a 13-for-16 line, with 192 yards and a pair of touchdowns. On the ground, Patterson led the Bobcats with 84 yards on 13 carries, including a touchdown. Meanwhile, Cope gained 129 yards on four receptions for the Bobcats.
Ohio gets ten days off before it hosts its first home game of the season, a nightcap against Marshall at Peden Stadium on Sept. 12.
@_tonywolfe_
