If a football team takes on the personality of its quarterback, you get the feeling the Ohio Bobcats are in for a smooth ride as long as Fred Ray is at the helm.

Soft spoken but confident, Ray doesn't seem to let the little things bother him. "Fred or Freddie?," we asked the Martins Ferry native. But he just shrugged. "Some people call me Freddie and some Fred," he replied, not appearing one bit concerned.

Winners of four of their last five, the once left-for-dead Bobcats (4-2 MAC East) take on first-place Marshall (5-1 MAC East) on Saturday?and the MAC East title is very much up for grabs. But there's not much yapping about respect in Athens these days. The Bobcats hope to do most of their talking before a large crowd Saturday afternoon at Peden Stadium.

Ray says it's all about making big plays at the right time and outscoring the Herd. Fair enough.

"It's going to be the biggest game of my career," said Ray, who has had success against the Herd in two relief appearances during the 2000 and 2001 season. "It's going to be a big game for our team."

One of the quiet leaders on defense, sophomore Dennis "Chuke" Chukwuemeka, has racked up a loud 91 stops on the season, including 12 for a loss. A Huntington native, the 5-11, 229-pound linebacker was a recruiting afterthought of Ohio and every other Division 1-A school. Ohio head coach Brian Knorr said former Bobcat boss Jim Grobe, also a Huntington High grad, was a believer in Chuke's ability and offered the linebacker a chance to walk-on after Chukwuemeka had already agreed to play at Fairmont State (W.V.).

Good move, as Chukwuemeka has been a key ingredient in a young defense that has steadily improved as the season progressed. Of the 22 players currently listed on the defensive two-deep, only three (Bop White, Joe Sellers and Lamar Martin) are seniors. Five of the six tackling leaders are sophomores. Chukwuemeka said the defensive performance has improved as the youngsters have learned their roles.

"When all of us find our roles, we're a better defense," he said.

Like Ray, Chuke is also confident that the team will step up against the Herd and a week later in Orlando against UCF.

"They're two good opponents, but we're a good football team also," said Chukwuemeka.

Ohio represents the MAC East in the MAC title game if they beat Marshall and UCF and UCF beats Miami. Regardless of all other outcomes, the Bobcats will win at least a share of the MAC East title with wins over Marshall and UCF, the team's first MAC football title of any kind since 1968.

Stat of the week: Ohio is 3-0 when playing Marshall on November 23rd.

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