Ohio (3-3 overall, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) will return from its bye week this week as it gets ready for this year’s homecoming game against Northern Illinois (1-5 overall, 0-2 MAC). The bye week came at a crucial time for the Bobcats, whose last game was a tough 20-14 loss on the road against Ball State.
As Ohio prepares for Northern Illinois and homecoming, Brian Smith sat down with reporters for his weekly press conference. Here is what we learned.
Looking Ahead to Northern Illinois
A team's record does not always paint the full picture. The one-win Huskies come in with the second-worst offense in terms of production this season, but are always a tough competition due to their defense that allows less than 21 points a game.
“I think it's a hard team to just look at their record and see who they are,” Smith said. “They’ve played everybody really tight, and I think they’re playing really well on defense right now and have been challenging for the offenses they've been facing.”
Northern Illinois started MAC play slowly, scoring just a high of 14 against Miami. Before starting conference play, the Huskies decided to make a quarterback change, and true freshman Brady Davidson has been in command the past two weeks with limited success.
“I think you're looking at what you can evaluate, and then you're evaluating the schemes that they use for him,” Smith said on evaluating Davidson. “Whenever there's question marks, I think you fall back on just your fundamentals, your schemes, focusing on yourself and that your rules are sound.”
The Huskies found success on defense this year by stopping the explosive plays from beating them, something the Bobcats have found success with on offense. Ohio uses both the legs of Navarro and the receivers downfield for big plays, but against the Huskies, these plays will be tougher to come by.
“I think their scheme is very sound,” Smith said. “They do a good job of not allowing really explosive plays. You don't see guys get cut loose a bunch. They do some good things up front, with creating some movement, which can be challenging for the (offensive) line at times.”
Bye week recovery and focus
The bye week came at a great time for an Ohio team that has struggled with injuries all year, and some poor execution offensively against Ball State. The week off gave the Bobcats an opportunity to address both of those issues.
“The bye week was nice,” Smith said. “I thought our players approached it well. It was a great week for them to get their bodies (and) get their minds refreshed, focus on fundamentals.”
Smith did not give any specific updates on players who have dealt with injuries like Michael Mack or Jack Fries, but he did keep reinforcing that the bye week was a needed week for key contributors to rest their bodies.
As for the execution on the field, Smith and staff seemed to focus on fundamentals and competition.
“There was an emphasis with fundamentals," Smith said. “There were some opportunities for some competitive work, which was nice to get some some real good on good opportunities, I think it was good for our guys.”
Closing the door on Ball State
Two issues that have been prevalent all year are special teams mistakes and a mix of poor snaps from center Nick Marinaro and poor snap receiving from quarterback Parker Navarro. Both of those issues came up again against Ball State, and they are both issues that were looked at over the bye week.
“That was a focus in the bye week,” Smith said on the snap issues. “Just adjusting a little bit in Nick's fundamentals of how he's snapping, and making some changes there to try to help with that situation, and so far, it's been real positive.”
Ohio kicker David Dellenbach missed a 49-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive, providing further questions about the kicking situation and competition between Dellenbach and fellow kicker Brack Peacock.
“With those two, the competition will continue,” Smith said. “Last week through practice, they were both 100% and we'll continue with them kicking and competing with the first unit, and give them some live looks. (We will see) who's gonna do better throughout the week.”
Homecoming and Senior day on the horizon
The biggest thing Smith preached before the season started was the motivation this team had and the culture the players had built together.
The senior class for Ohio this year speaks volumes about the culture that is played with every week. Even with new players of all ages coming in through the portal, they buy into the program and the opportunities.
“Every year, your seniors are a huge part of who you are, what you represent,” Smith said. “There are guys within this group that have done a lot for this program…there is a good group of guys that have been a part of, not only winning a championship last year, but were a part of the trip to Detroit four years ago and the three consecutive 10-win seasons. There’s a lot of guys that have invested in the culture and the development of this program and where it's going.”
Ohio looks to cap off the homecoming and senior day celebrations with a big win to get back on track in the MAC against Northern Illinois.
