Decent win against a team who already had one game to their credit and who had some talent.

OUr D looked better than last year. Positional changes for McCrory (LB to DE) and Johnson (LB to S) gives the D a shot in the arm. DB coverage looks improved and turnover ratio vastly improved.

Kurtis was the man but the ? on whether he has anybody to throw to was answered. Bostic and Wiglusz had monster games. Who said the transfer portal hasn’t helped us?

RB needs someone else to step up. Sieh
might need a breather now and then.

Me thinks we have a kicker!

The FAU board is going crazy. How could they lose to a middle of the road MAC team? Why not fire Taggart now they say? How could they play so lousy on the road. Sounds like Bobcat Attack.

+1

Ohio on Kickoff returns:
Ross return to the 22
Touchback, ball at the 25
Kick out of bounds, ball at the 35
Wilburn return to the 13
Wilburn return to the 17
Return to the 1 (with holding penalty half the distance)
Wilburn return to the 31

So, on the five where Ohio attempted returns, they averaged the 17 yard line.


Ohio lost the special teams battle in the punting area, too. Ohio returned 2 punts for 0 yards, and while Wieland's punts averaged 44 yards, FAU had an average 14 yard return, so the net was only 30 yards.

There is nothing here they can't fix, but it is something they need to work on this week. The way I saw the game was that play from scrimmage was pretty even, with Ohio having a slight advantage,m 26 first downs to 25, and 476 yards to 464. Ohio won the battle of turnovers 2-0, but lost special teams. The special teams play nearly offset the two turnovers, so yes, special teams are important.

Bangura is gonna be a good one for the next couple years. I thought he made the most of not having the cleanest running lanes. That late 1st down conversion where he broke like six tackles was a thing of beauty.

Under a new rule added this offseason, Ohio can ask the conference to take a look at it and overturn the 1st half suspension. Currently he has to sit out that first half. We should know by Tuesday and it might a question that can get asked at the press conference or radio show which are both on Tuesday due to the holiday.

That was encouraging overall and Rourke had some great reads and throws. Too bad we have 2 “pro” teams next. Would rather see a couple games against more similar opponents so this team can continue the momentum from yesterday.

I didn't see the game (technical issues and it's not on ESPN+ replay today) but after listening to Russ and Rob and looking at the stats, here are a few observations:

* The first half went about as expected, given that it was Ohio's first game and FAU played last week. Actually, I thought we would have trailed by more than four points. Whatever adjustments were made at halftime worked well.

* Much better offensively. The 41 points is more than we scored in any two OOC games last season, and just 15 less than all four OOC games. A 100+=yd rusher, a 100+-yd receiver, 476 total yards, no turnovers. Solid game. The four sacks were a little much.

* Not sure if the fourth quarter was a letdown after getting a big lead or a matter of getting younger players some experience or FAU taking advantage of our defense's weaknesses, but their first two TDs in the 4th quarter were very easy scores. Almost like they'd do in practice. Something to work on.

* The special teams blunder that led to FAU's last TD was inexcusable. Don't know if it's on the coaching staff or a player, but things like that shouldn't happen at this level. That's high school stuff (my son's team once took too long in the special teams huddle; the ref marked the ball for play and the other team recovered an onside kick while our team was still huddled; didn't even call a timeout).

* RB position just got a little thinner, if Ross is out. Bangura seems durable but it would be good to get other RBs some carries.

I must be missing something here. How could the other team recover an onside kick when the ball hasn't been kicked and the team is still in the huddle? I could see a delay of game penalty. Also, wouldn't the recovering team in this scenario have committed an offside penalty?

FYI - While not on the replay schedule, if you go to ESPN+ from within the ESPN app, the game is available on demand. From within ESPN+, if you go to conferences, and select MAC the game is there on demand. I have found this to be the case for pretty much all our ESPN+ games (both football and basketball).

With how Julian looked last night on crouches and a walking boot, I’d say he’s gonna be out for a while or the year. He and his mom shared a moment on the field and it was a sad sight. I hate it for him because he’s a great person and a good player. Just never seemed to stay healthy.

It was ten.

Until the fourth quarter the game was really well coached. This team has talent and decent depth. I’m hopeful and encouraged. I’m also hopeful that someone on the staff is in charge of game situation and scenario. They have to better manage situation to close out these games. I nearly had a heart attack in the last four minutes.
There are some dogs at receiver. They have to do a better job of protecting the QB and keep putting him on situations to be successful. RB depth is a my biggest concern at this point. Behind Bangura are walk-ons. That Ouellette guy was a walk on so who knows but they are unproven. The Hunter kid is here from Ball State but suffered an injury his first day in pads. I’m curious to see if they make a position change.
Defensively they played hard. Some communication issues but they flew to the football and were physical, hard to fault that.

Quinn or Wilburn would be my picks. That being said I’m just an alum who sits at the CI pregame and worries incessantly about RB depth.