There are many low-points in a season that produces a 2-10 record, as Ohio had last season. But perhaps no moment was lower than the 26-17 loss at Buffalo Oct. 25. It was the second straight time Ohio had lost on the road to the Bulls, and marked Buffalo's lone win in 2003.
Ohio (1-2 overall, 0-1 Mid-American Conference) comes into this pivotal game against Buffalo looking to get back to .500, both overall and in the MAC.
Finishing September 2-2 would be great
Ohio coach Brian Knorr said. I showed our team the East Division right now. We keep winning and we'll stay up at the top of the division with Miami.
Knorr said that Ohio needs to play a complete game, something it hasn't done the past two weeks. Against Pittsburgh two weeks ago, Ohio trailed by only a touchdown during the third quarter before losing 24-3. Last week at Miami, Ohio trailed 10-7 during the third quarter, only to fall behind 24-7 by the end of the frame.
That eight-minute segment in the third quarter we really self-destructed Knorr said.
Knorr said all areas of the team -offense, defense and special teams -need to step up to avoid those bad stretches.
There's going to be that time in every game the rest of the way
he said. Some group or some player (has to step up). We didn't do that against Miami.
Buffalo (0-3, 0-1 MAC) brings a six-game losing streak to Athens, dating to last season. The Bulls opened their season with a three-point loss at Eastern Michigan, followed by losses to Syracuse and Nevada.
The Bulls are led by senior quarterback Randall Secky. Secky has struggled so far, completing 41 percent of his passes, and throwing one touchdown against five interceptions.
Ohio strong safety Rob Stover said that, despite the numbers, Buffalo has talented players on offense.
They're good up-front on the line. No. 85 for them (Matt Knueven) is real good. The quarterback (Secky) is pretty good and their backs are strong; they're hard to bring down.
Knueven has experienced success against Ohio in the past: he caught seven passes for 105 yards in 2001 and caught a 58-yard touchdown in last year's game.
Ohio defensive end Kevin Carberry said that everybody has to do their job this week in order to win.
If all 11 guys are doing their thing then we don't have anything to worry about
he said. We just had a couple mental busts (the last two weeks)
and we have to fix that up.
Stover summed up what Ohio needed to do on Saturday.
Just get a win in the MAC
he said. Just get jump-started here and win the rest of our games in the MAC. It would be a good way to get a win this week and get rolling.
On the injury front, free safety Chip Cox suffered a separated shoulder at Miami and running back Brad Young has a deep bicep bruise. Knorr said both are questionable for Buffalo.
The Bobcats will look to improve to 2-0 at home this season when they square off against Buffalo at 7 p.m. Saturday at Peden Stadium.
17
Archives
Kevin Wiseman
