ATHENS – The Ohio football team hopes it learned something from last season’s blowout New Orleans Bowl loss to Troy.

After watching the Trojans rack up more than 600 yards against them, the Bobcats decided to implement the no-huddle, up-tempo offense that worked so well against them.

“I think we can catch a lot of teams out of defense or blowing assignments,” Ohio wide receiver LaVon Brazill said. “I think that will be a good thing to put that high-tempo offense on them.”

Ohio’s 326.1 yards per game ranked 95th of 120 teams in the nation last year, but that statistic is not a true measure of the effectiveness of the offense. The Bobcats were 65th in yards per play at 5.52, but ranked ahead of only Wyoming in plays per game (59.08).

By comparison, Troy averaged 76.69 plays per game to rank eighth in the nation. Oklahoma led the country by averaging 86.5 plays per game.

“I love it,” Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton said. “I feel like this year we’re going to get more plays in. That will hopefully allow us to score more points. With the guys we have, we want to get more plays run and score more points.”

Certainly Ohio’s offense probably would be expected to put up more yards this season, regardless of the style of offense because the Bobcats return eight starters on offense.

Running back Dante Harden has starting experience, as do wide receivers Brazill and Riley Dunlop, with Phil Bates added to the mix. With everyone back on the offensive line, including at tight end, the Bobcats are deep on offense.

“We’ve got an experienced line, so that should be a very strong point for us,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “We have tight ends that certainly with experience coming back, and that should be a very strong point for us, and I think the receiving corps will be an extremely strong area for us. It’s going to be a little pressure on (offensive coordinator) Coach (Tim) Albin and the offensive staff saying that we’re going to be strong in all those areas offensively, but you do need the ball to bounce your way a time or two. But it seems we should be able to move the ball and we hope put points on the board.”

And more than helping the offense, the new style of play could give a boost to the defense.

“I think it’s not just going to benefit us (the offense); it’s going to benefit the defense,” Ohio tight end Jordan Thompson said. “Last year, seeing what Troy did to us in the bowl game and how our defense just got worn out just because of nonstop play after play after play, we’re hoping to do that this year. If anything, it’s just conditioning, so that when we do face an up-tempo offense, we’ll be ready for it, and imagine the transition to a slower-tempo offense would be so much easier for them.”