Ohio University football head Coach John Hauser sat down with the media for his week three press conference after the Bobcats picked up their first win of the season against Jacksonville State at Peden Stadium. Ohio is traveling to Alabama this week to take on the South Alabama Jaguars in its last away nonconference game.
Breaking down win over Jacksonville State
The win over Jacksonville had its positives and negatives for Ohio. A positive for Ohio was the improvement to the run game, which was a point of emphasis heading into the week, according to Coach Hauser. The run game proved important as Ohio ended the game down two quarterbacks due to injuries.
“Jacksonville State had a very good defense, but there was definitely some improvement in our run game,” Coach Hauser said. “I think our (running) backs were better at hitting some of the seams at times and swimming what’s developing and what the defense is presenting to us. The O-line getting reps together and knowing where to go every snap also helped a lot.”
Ohio playing through the tough rain in the second half, the injuries its team faced, and the score never being in its favor told Coach Hauser a lot about his team.
“It told me that we’re capable of sticking it out and not looking at the scoreboard,” Coach Hauser said. “We were down by 10 at half and nobody panicked. So, I think that shows that we’ve got some perseverance.”
Coach Hauser's first win on the Frank
In Ohio’s week two thriller win against Jacksonville, a lot of things were overlooked because of how awesome a game it was.
One thing overlooked in the game was that it not only was Coach Hauser’s first win as Ohio’s head coach, but it also was his first win at Peden on the Frank. Coach Hauser was the Bobcats' defensive coordinator before he was chosen to be Ohio’s next head coach.
“It does feel a little different, but it’s still a similar feeling to being the defensive coordinator,” Coach Hauser said. “It was a team effort, and I’m just happy for the players that have worked all week and got a little payoff after getting the win. It’s fun for them to get a reward for all of their efforts, and for the fans that sat out there in the rain and stuck with us until the end.”
Ground attack will decide week three game
This past week, South Alabama struggled defending the run a lot. This led to Tulane's running back rushing for over 200 yards on just 11 carries. This poor performance from the Jaguars' defense has opened the door to the possibility of the Bobcats' offense dominating on the ground.
“I think any time you can control the line of scrimmage and run the ball, it’s good for your offense,” Coach Hauser said. “If you can’t, you have to find a way to throw it where you can get an advantageous run box.”
On the other side of the ball, South Alabama has had a strong run game this season, rushing 423 yards in just two games. Due to Ohio’s struggle defending the run game, this has become a point of emphasis in practice.
“I think the challenges are keeping the edges to the defense and not seeing everything happening in the backfield because of all of the motion they’re doing to try and throw you off what they’re doing,” Coach Hauser said. “It’s just about getting to the point where you need to be to execute the play and not overflow at times to some of their misdirection and things like that.”
Report on injured Bobcats
In the press conference, Coach Hauser mentioned three injured Ohio players. The players are junior safety Eli Thompson, who appeared in week one against Nebraska before getting injured; redshirt freshman KJ Sejour, who has yet to play a game for Ohio this season; and senior offensive lineman CJ Dawson II.
“CJ (Dawson), KJ (Sejour) and Eli (Thompson) will be back at some point this year,” Coach Hauser said. “Not sure they’ll be back this week, but they’ll definitely be back at some point.”
