Head Coach John Hauser sat down with the media for his week five press conference. This is one of the most important times of the season as this weekend Ohio (2-2) is traveling up north to take on the Kent State Golden Flashes (2-2) for the opening of Mid-American Conference play.
Ohio is headed into conference play with some momentum after a huge win over Stonehill this past week. But MAC play is going to be an uphill battle as MAC has proven to have very many competitive teams through the first four weeks.
Non-Conference takeaways and building off .500 start
Ohio started its season 2-2, with a pair of wins at home against Jacksonville State in a quadruple overtime thriller and Stonehill on Saturday in a dominating 35-7 win behind the run game. The other two games were not as friendly. Ohio fell 49-21 at Nebraska and 41-36 at South Alabama. The inexperience of the group is slowly wearing away and being replaced by veterans stepping up, instilling the Ohio culture up and down the roster.
“I thought we were a pretty inexperienced team going into week one, and we've had a lot of new guys that have gained experience in our system,” Hauser said.
The other big piece for Ohio as it exits non-conference play is hoping that it can start faster against Mid-American Conference opponents. Ohio scored on its opening drive in Lincoln, but has not had the same level of quick action throughout the first couple drives in any of the other games so far this season.
“That's something we talk about every week, and I probably said it in here a bunch too,” Hauser said. “I think especially on the road, you want to do that, and we'll look at some things we're doing in the pregame and stuff. Just 'Hey, is there something different we could do?'”
Keys to MAC play
As Mid-American Conference play is getting ready to start, multiple teams in the conference have proved themselves as big threats for Ohio in the race for the Conference Championship. Teams that have peaked above the rest through the first four weeks are the University of Massachusetts (4-0), University of Toledo (3-1) and Western Michigan University (2-2).
Hauser understands the strength of the MAC, and knows how important their variety and versatility was through the first four weeks.
“There’s not a big difference between all of us,” Hauser said. “You have to be ready to come play every week, whether it’s on the road or at home. I think it's a good conference from top to bottom. You look at UMass; they didn’t win a game last year, and are now 4-0. Then obviously Western (Michigan) and Toledo had big games. Miami (OH) just beat UConn. It’s going to be a tough stretch for us and we’re going to have to get ready for it. We’ve been preparing for this for a long time.”
After non-conference play ended, Hauser was able to identify keys to performing better against familiar foes.
“Starting fast, and our guys know that,” Hauser said. “Especially on the road, you want to do that, and we’ll look at some things we’re doing pregame and stuff.”
Takeaways from Stonehill
Ohio got the win against Stonehill to even its record at two wins and losses to close out conference play. That win marked Ohio’s 14th straight win at Peden stadium, still the second longest current streak in FBS.
The game was won in the trenches as the Bobcats offense rushed all over the Skyhawks while the defense was a brick wall to Stonehill's run game. Ohio out-rushed Stonehill by 302 yards, which is one of the biggest reasons it got the 28-point win.
“Our offense, running backs and O-Line did a great job springing a bunch of those rushing yards,” Hauser said. “I thought our receivers blocked on the perimeter better. So again, those are things we’re emphasizing, and getting better at.”
Ohio’s offense, including junior starting quarterback Matt Vezza, became very dependent on the run in the second half, almost completely abandoning the passing game. Hauser was okay at relying on the run and Vezza’s ability to “give what the defense gave him.”
“I think offensively you can't just say you’re going to do this or do that,” Hauser said. “You have to understand what the defense is trying to take away.”
Ohio’s seven points allowed against the Skyhawks was its lowest amount of points allowed by a large margin this season. Hauser credited that to aggressive defense and fixing problems from past games.
“We penetrated, we got off blocks and we tackled,” Hauser said. “I thought up front we were more violent and aggressive.”
Looking Ahead to Kent State
Ohio will hit the road, where the Bobcats are winless so far in 2026. Winning against the Flashes will start with limiting quarterback Dru Deshields taking over the game with his dual-threat ability, something Ohio is all too familiar with this year.
“So, we practice against it. Deshields is a really good player, a lot like the guys we've seen,” Hauser said. “…like the Jacksonville State kid, he can make a ton of plays with his feet. I mean, he throws a lot of passes. He's getting out, and they're clearing you out, and he's running for days. So we've got to do a great job up front with him.”
The other big emphasis for Ohio will once again be tackling. The Bobcats struggled in their losses to wrap up, and need to be more sure around the ball to be one of the MAC’s best come December. Saturday against the Skyhawks was a sign of positivity after allowing negative one rush yards.
“I thought we penetrated, we got off blocks, and we tackled,” Hauser said. “There's still a few that we didn't run our feet, but we were knockback tackling as opposed to just grabbing and reaching, so I just thought we contained it a lot better. I thought up front we were more violent and aggressive.”
ol415422@ohio.edu ld004224@ohio.edu
