Coach Frank Solich spoke with the media Monday after Ohio’s bye week and discussed the upcoming game Saturday against Buffalo to begin Mid-American Conference play.
— Solich and defensive coordinator Ron Collins needed to use the bye week to find a solution for Ohio’s tackling woes on defense. After the Bobcats struggled to tackle in their Week 4 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette, Solich said he wanted to analyze the game film before offering any specifics on how the problem could be fixed.
The problem, in Solich’s opinion, isn’t with toughness or technique. Ohio has simply faced teams with players capable of shedding tackles.
“There’s a combination of things that go into (missed tackles),“ Solich said. “Some of that is that you’re faced with really good ball carriers and really good running backs. Some of it is you need to concentrate on getting it done at a higher level and trying to make sure your players understand how important it is. The emphasis that we place on it has nothing to with toughness. That’s not an issue.”
— Solich backed up his opinion by mentioning how other college teams struggle with missed tackles, too. He had time to watch other college football games Saturday during the off-day — he specifically watched Miami vs. Buffalo — and he was surprised at how many missed tackles he saw.
“I got a chance to watch a lot of college football on Saturday,“ Solich said. “There’s a ton of missed tackles. You see them at every level. The Group of 5, the Power 5, Division II — it makes no difference. To some degree, it’s part of the game.”
— The Bobcats will likely need to show improvement on their tackles immediately. Buffalo has two running backs, Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks, who are in the top four in rushing yards in the MAC.
“(Buffalo coach Lance Leipold) has dedicated themselves to run the football this year,“ Solich said. “Part of that is because of the new quarterback, part of that is because they got a great running back and part of that is because they got a very experienced line coming back. We’ll get their best shot at running the football. I believe that’ll be their game plan.”
— Ohio wants more turnovers on defense, too. Solich believes those will come, and he said the defense is hoping to inject more excitement into practice and celebrate after making good plays to pick up the vibe around the team.
“There’s only so many drills out there you can do,“ Solich said. “I like our guys’ attitude. That’ll play an important role in our guys being highly energized. They’re the ones that said they want to do a little more celebrating after getting turnovers. I’m not sure what kind of celebration that is and what that all means, but we’re looking into it.”
— Despite the 1-3 start, Solich and the offensive coaching staff haven’t veered too far from normal mid-season procedures.
“I like the people we got,“ Solich said. “I like our offensive linemen and I like our running backs. Of course, I like Nathan (Rourke). We’re utilizing the tight ends more than we ever have before. They’re really good pass receivers. So we have the type of offense you look for. We just need to execute at a better level.”
— Solich doesn’t plan to move Jerome Bucker from punt return duties. Buckner fumbled a punt that helped Louisiana score a touchdown last week — he also has four total fumbles this season — but Solich still has faith that Buckner will smooth things out.
“We’ve addressed it, but we’re not going to make a change at this point,“ Solich said. “We do have other punt return guys I really like, but Jerome is one of the best, if not the most explosive player on our football team. I think that will balance out a little bit. I haven’t seen Jerome, during his time here, have ball issues in terms of bad technique.”
