AKRON, Ohio – Once again, the Ohio football team faces a team that likely will be looking to run the ball at the Bobcat’s beat-up defensive line.

Through all of Akron’s struggles, one bright spot has been freshman running back Jawon Chisholm, who has rushed for 575 yards and three touchdowns with an average of 5.0 yards per carry in six games this season.

“Akron will be a football game that I think will be a physical football game,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “They’ve got a good-sized football team that’s aggressive. I think they’re a team that is playing better this year and is gaining some confidence along the way.”

The Zips (1-5, 0-2 Mid-American Conference) were blown out in three straight games to start the year against Ohio State, Temple and Cincinnati, but have bounced back with a win against VMI and closes losses to Eastern Michigan and Florida International.

With this past Saturday off, Akron has had an extra week to prepare for Ohio (4-3, 1-2 MAC).

“Hopefully what we accomplished last week is to heal up some guys who have been dinged up and get us a little bit fresher mentally and physically as a team, which I’m confident our schedule permitted us to do,” Akron coach Rob Ianello said. “We got a little bit of a jumpstart on a very good Ohio University team.”

Akron ranks second-to-last in the MAC is points and total yards per game with averages of 15.5 and 301.0, respectively.

The Zips have had very little success passing the ball. Quarterback Clayton Moore has completed just 48 percent of his passes for 994 yards and six touchdowns with six interceptions. His offensive line also has allowed 23 sacks. Only one member of the offensive line has started every game so far.

When Moore has been able to get the ball away, Keith Sconiers has stood out as his top target, making 25 catches for 439 yards and four touchdowns. No one else on the team has more than nine catches and 153 yards.

Defense also has been a struggle of the Zips, who have given up a league-worst 35.5 points per game. Their average of 391.7 yards per game, however, ranks in the middle of the league.

Akron has limited opposing quarterbacks to 58.2 percent passing for 1,123 yards and seven touchdowns but has forced only one interception. Teams have totaled 1,227 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns and an average of 4.5 yards per carry against the Zips.

Middle linebacker Brian Wagner is by far the team’s leading tackler with 81. Next best on the team is 33. No player has more than three tackles for loss or 1.5 sacks. Akron has recovered seven opponents’ fumbles.

Ohio will try to get its offense back on track. After a hot start, the Bobcats have been somewhat inconsistent as of late and had their worst point production in last week’s 23-20 home loss to Ball State.

The Bobcats’ averages of 31.1 points and 435.1 yards per game rank fourth and second, respectively, in the MAC.

Donte Harden has returned to health and has taken over the team lead in rushing with 391 yards on a 5.7 yards-per-carry average. Ryan Boykin has 333 yards.

Tyler Tettleton has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 1,651 yards and 15 touchdowns with just four interceptions – but three of those have been in the last two games.

LaVon Brazill, now Ohio’s all-time leading receiver following his biggest game of the year last week, leads the team with 36 catches for 469 yards and seven touchdowns. Riley Dunlop has made 22 receptions for 297 yards and four scores.

“Tettleton is really talented, really good,” Ianello said. “He’s a winner. He throws the ball well. He has a tremendous completion percentage. He moves the ball in the offensive system they’re playing right now. They’re dangerous. They have two really good backs in Harden and Boykin and a dominant receiver in Brazill. Dunlop is very good in his own right and they have a big, physical offensive line, so we’re going to have our hands full with them.”

Injuries have hit the Bobcats hard on the defensive side of the ball, especially in the middle of the defensive line where Neal Huynh and Carl Jones have been hurt. They are not expected to play again this week.

Defensive end Tremayne Scott leads the line with 38 tackles and the team with 4.5 for loss. True freshman nose tackle Antwan Crutcher made nine tackles in his first game last week after giving up his redshirt.

Despite playing through injuries early in the year, linebacker Noah Keller leads the team with 47 tackles, including 15 last week against the Cardinals. Safety Gerald Moore has 41 and two interceptions.

Safety Xavier Hughes, who leads the team with three interceptions, has been lost for the season, and cornerback Omar Leftwich remains questionable with a shoulder injury.

Two consecutive losses have set back the Bobcats some, but Solich expects his team will regroup.

“We’ll respond in a very positive way; I’m certain of that,” he said. “The guys took the loss these last two games to heart. They want to play great football. We have a lot of great football players in our system, so we’re capable of stepping on the field and playing excellent football every week. The attitude has got to stay positive and we have to play for each other and reach our potential, and if we do that, we’ll be fine.”

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Infocision Stadium in Akron.