After the first loss since August, Ohio Coach Tim Albin sat down with the press for his weekly press conference. Here is what The Post gathered from the brief conversation.
Errors cost Ohio
Ohio needed to play well to defeat a motivated NIU team, and for 30 minutes, it appeared as though the team was delivering. The Bobcats played a turnover-less first half and dominated time of possession to hold a 13-7 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Bobcats had three turnovers and plenty of penalties in a 16-0 shutout that ultimately cost them the game.
“It was definitely a game of two halves, I thought we played just about as well as we could in the first half with the exception of you’d like one of those field goals to be a touchdown,” Albin said. “The second half, the lack of offense and then the turnovers … credit to Thomas (Hammock) and his staff; they did a fabulous job. It gets played for four quarters and they out-executed us in that time.”
Ohio will respond with resiliency
Ohio will have to respond to an obstacle, coming back from a loss, that it hasn’t faced since its week zero loss to San Diego State. According to Albin, the Bobcats will not let the loss carry over the rest of the season.
“They know that they can play better,” Albin said. “We made some mistakes in that game that we don’t normally do. And some things that can be fixed. The guys are going to come to work to get that done.”
Western Michigan provides Ohio with a difficult challenge
On the surface, a 2-5 team shouldn’t cause Ohio many difficulties, but Western Michigan has faced a brutal schedule. The Broncos have already taken on three Power Five opponents and two of the best teams in the MAC in Toledo and Miami. Western Michigan failed to win all of those games but kept many competitive.
“You look at their schedule, at Syracuse, at Iowa, at Mississippi State, they played the best two teams in our league, Miami’s at six or seven and 1 and Toledo’s the same,” Albin said. “To give us our best chance we’ve got to practice great this week … we will have to play our best game against Western Michigan to have a chance.”
Ohio will not look ahead to Miami
Ohio may need to win all of its remaining games to make the MAC championship, but its game against Miami in two weeks is absolutely vital to Ohio’s chances. It may be difficult for Ohio to focus on Western Michigan with one of the biggest games of the season on the horizon. For Albin at least right, the only game that matters is the one that’s next.
“I’m not sure who we’re playing in two weeks, I just know about Western Michigan,” he said.
