Ohio is giving up an average of 598.5 yards per game. That ranks them ahead of:
UConn - 735 yards/game
Incarnate Word - 643.5 yards/game
VMI - 637.5 yards/game
SFA - 618 yards/game
Southern Utah - 601.5 yards/game
Porthland State - 599 yard/game

So, out of 246 Division I teams, Ohio ranks 239.

Good news is the front seven we were concerned about turned out to be the strength of our defense?

Ohio has ...

Allowed 431.5 yards per game passing ... worst in FBS
Allowed 10.4 yards per pass ... 4th worst in FBS
Allowed 169 pass rating ... 7th worst in FBS

UVa threw for over 270 yards only three times last year (at Miami, at Boise and vs. UConn)
Bryce Perkins was 25-30 vs. Ohio .... he was barely over 50% completion vs. Richmond & Indiana

He threw for nearly 100 yards more in the Ohio game than the Richmond/Indiana games combined.

Oh ... and let's not forget the 171 yards they allowed to Ellis on the ground on top of that!

The only thing Ohio stunningly did well was limit Perkins running the ball. He only had 8 yards after piling up 231 the first two games.

And all this after having a week off to fix things after that Howard disaster that has been well documented!

Disappointing to say the least.

A lot of this just fundamental stuff. The tackling is an abomination. The coverage is almost as bad in spots.

UC and UMass will test this defense in different ways ....

UC will try to run it down Ohio's throat ... they're 14th in rushing yards at over 260 per game.

UMass will chuck it all over the yard. And yes ... they might very well be 1-4 when they roll into Athens .... but do you have any faith in this secondary to slow down anyone? Especially if Howard was able to light them up?

This will be Ohio's achilles heel all season if they can't stop anyone. OUr offense isn't nearly as explosive as we thought it would be ... so outscoring everyone doesn't seem to be a viable option right now either.

 

Olamide Zaccheaus recorded a national-high 176 yards after the catch on Saturday – earning a spot on our National Team of the Weekhttps://t.co/SGtjf45KRV pic.twitter.com/ZzRgi3qAbU

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 17, 2018

We could be very well staring down the barrel of 1-3 after September if our defense doesn't get its act together.

Maybe my favorite post of the season so far.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Agile.....mobile.....and hostile is this old mans definition of defense. We hopefully have some of the first two but the latter has been missing. Not picking on anyone but CB Fox is a good example. Maybe against his home town boys he’ll put his big boy pants on. Popp and Dorsa are also playing in front of their home crowd so maybe they can channel some Jack Lambert.

I’m kinda excited about the play of WRs Cox and Buckner....I know...sad if that’s the only think I’m excited about.

Get Papi more involved.....sweeps....reverses....as a RB....whatever.

I have an optimistic feeling we will play better. As I stated in another post...a week 2 bye is not helpful. You lose that "juice" during a bye. Leads to poor tackling....slow start....its almost like the first game of the season again. Now that we played an ACC team.....we got knocked around a little bit.....we should have a stronger showing. Only question I have about our team is why Ross, Papi White or Buckner return kicks and punts. I would love to see the ball in their hands on special teams more. They have the potential to guie us better field position. No knock to DL Knock. But what are your thoughts?

"A lot of this is fundamental stuff." 1000% agree. Does any of this reflect limited scrimmage work in the fall? One player who has been a headhunter in the past was not vs VA. Seemed VA had ideas ready for certain matchups. When Berger-97 and Payne-48 rotated out as a unit, boom, Ellis goes untouched, seemed to me, up the gut for about 70. Offense, always a coin flip on do you run to set up the pass or pass to set up the run. Seems the running not ready for prime time, go figure. Were Mangen/Morgan that critical? There were no holes inside in the first half. Now, White, Meyer, Cox and Buckner spread just might make some matchup problems for defenses. This team may be able to establish a more balanced identity should the QB most capable of it emerge. Have not seen word, is Mr. Buckner OK?

I think going for it on fourth down means you behind, need scores and have some faith - maybe misplaced- in your running game.

I am just so dejected at our DBs. I thought we were supposed to have that as a strength? Hagan was toast last week. Hudson is non-existent. Nelson is regressing. Mayne Williams, Jalen Fox, Provitt -- more misses than hits. Our D-line and linebackers have been a force for us while our DBs supposedly needed time to grow. They are awful.

Hudson played well and led the team in tackles. But I agree that the others haven’t played well. I don’t know if it’s lack of talent at positions or coaching. Very frustrating.

I understand these sentiments for sure.

The losses of Williams and Provitt were tough because they showed strong signs of being future All-MAC players, especially Williams. And sad for Williams because he seemed to love to play and the play he suffered the injury on was just another example of him making a great play. If there was one play I could change about the Bobcats in recent history it would be the play Williams was injured.

At the risk of sounding like Coach Butch Davis Circa 2003 (When the opposing RB Jamal Lewis broke the all-time single-game individual rushing record with 295 yards, Davis was panned by local media for saying it was just a few defensive plays that were bad...), I see the amount of yards and explosive plays as less about talent and more about weirdness and inexperience that will, in large part, resolve. Plays which indicate one-time weirdness/inexperience were plentiful: A 75 yard run by Virginia was a result of a new configuration at LB which will not likely be repeated since, on that play, three seniors were in two gaps on the weak side while the rb exploded through the middle. A 50+ yard pass by hampton will not be consistently repeated because we do not have an underclassman making his first start and not seeing the play (that dude is good, it was just a first start); an underclass db learns a lesson vs Hampton on a bomb on 3 and 15+. Out of the explosive plays that were most concerning is the ones against an upperclass DB that will improve and do not reflect that DBs earlier performance: 3 plays for over 200 yards involving an angle and missed tackle, a coverage miss on a cover four, and a 30-40 yard td on a man coverage/missed tackle.