Ohio dropped to 1-3 after it extended its losing streak to three games with its 45-25 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday afternoon at Peden Stadium.
Here are The Post’s fast reactions from the loss.
Second half struggles plague defense
In the first half, Ohio looked as though it fixed its tackling struggles and problems in its secondary that led to a loss last week against Marshall. Those issues, however, came back in the second half and allowed Louisiana to score three fourth quarter touchdowns and find 310 total yards in the final two quarters.
The best example of the state of Ohio’s defense happened with seven minutes left. Immediately after Ohio’s offense cut the deficit to 31-25, its defense allowed Louisiana to enter Bobcats territory and punch across a touchdown on just seven plays. Just when it looked as though the Bobcats were going to storm back, the defense slipped up.
Offensive woes
For the second time in its last three games, Ohio’s offense was held to just one touchdown.
It’s an abnormal look for the Bobcats, who were held to 10 points to Pitt two weeks ago. The explanation for the poor performance was easy — the Panthers were a Power 5 school, and there defense attacked Ohio’s backfield with speed it couldn’t handle.
Louisiana didn’t apply the same level of pressure on Rourke, but it didn’t matter. The senior quarterback didn’t eclipse 100 passing yards until the third quarter and went 18-for-37 with 277 yards, one touchdown and four turnovers.
The Cajuns deserve credit for limiting the Bobcats ability to extend the field, but it appears as though the Bobcats won’t consistently pack the offensive punch it’s usually had with Rourke under center this season.
Wide receiver struggles
The Bobcats received a boost to its wide receiver group when Cam Odom returned from an injury. The redshirt junior caught three passes for 26 yards on 10 targets and appeared to be more involved in the Bobcats’ game plan after he caught just two passes in the first two weeks of the season, but it wasn’t enough to ignite Ohio’s offense as a whole.
Odom and Ohio’s other top receivers looked out of sync with Rourke. Dropped balls, some of which occurred on passes thrown slightly behind receivers, hampered Ohio’s big-play ability, and the Bobcats couldn’t stretch the field in the second half when it needed to.
