ATHENS, Ohio – Ohio has gone to bowl games two years in a row, but the Bobcats also have lost to a sub-.500 Kent State in each of those two seasons.

Last year’s 28-6 loss to the Golden Flashes on Black Friday was especially devastating, causing Ohio to lose a spot in the Mid-American Conference championship game.

Ohio coach Frank Solich said it is important for the Bobcats to come out with a different response to the Golden Flashes’ physical style of play this year when they meet Saturday.

“Last year’s game was a game that was a rough on us in a lot of ways,” Solich said. “They just outplayed us. We did not respond to the game itself. During the game, we didn’t respond well. There’s an absence there for me as to why we played the way that we did toward the end of the year.”

This time it is different, but the game still has a lot of meaning. The Bobcats are following their only loss of the season, a 38-26 setback at Rutgers, and are opening MAC play.

“This one’s vitally important to get off to a good start for us, as well as Kent,” Solich said. “We’re going to have to change what transpired really throughout the entire game.”

The Bobcats managed only 183 yards of offense in that game, turned over the ball four times and was sacked seven times.

Kent State, coming of its first victory of the season, a 33-25 defeat of South Alabama, could provide a challenge with its defense again. The Golden Flashes, despite having played at Alabama and Kansas State, have allowed a respectable 337.5 yards per game.

Led by last year’s MAC Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman, defensive lineman Roosevelt Nix has 5.5 of the Golden Flashes’ 26 tackles for loss.

“I think he’s a great defensive player,” Solich said. “I don’t use the word great a lot, but he’s so explosive and he’s so quick at the line of scrimmage. You look at his size and you say he’s not that big a guy. His height and his weight, there are guys in there that are bigger than him, but there’s nobody more explosive and there’s nobody that finishes plays off better than he does.

Linebacker Luke Batton is the Golden Flashes’ leading tackler with 31.Linebacker C.J. Malauulu has 25 tackles, including 4.5 for loss, and safety Luke Wollet has 24 tackles and two of the team’s eight interceptions.

Defensive backs Josh Pleasant and Norman Wolfe have two picks apiece, and Pleasant is by far the team leader in pass breakups with five.

First-year head coach Darrell Hazell said his defensive line needs to lead the way, even with starting defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen expected to miss a few weeks with an injury.

“I don’t know that (the defensive linemen) have played as great as they can, and now we’re down a player with Ish being out a couple weeks, so we’re going to have somebody else step up and do a good job,” Hazell said. “But we need some dominant defensive line play as we get into the conference.”

Ohio’s no-huddle offense has clicked, averaging 459.2 yards and 36.0 points per game.

The Bobcats are led by quarterback Tyler Tettleton, who has completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 910 yards with 10 touchdowns and just one interception. He has not thrown a pick since the first possession of the first game, a string of 114 attempts without an interception.

Ryan Boykin has gained 242 yards rushing to lead the Bobcats, passing up starter Donte Harden, who sat out last game with a groin injury. He has carried the ball for 217 yards and is probable to return to action this week.

LaVon Brazill is the leading receiver with 16 catches for 191 yards and four touchdowns. Donte Foster has made 10 receptions for 136 yards and two scores.

Defensively, Ohio ranks highly, allowing averages of 18.0 points and 306.8 yards per game. But the Bobcats had some struggles with Rutgers last week, particularly with wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, who made 16 catches for 176 yards.

New Mexico State also had some success throwing the ball against Ohio, but part of it can be attributed to the quality passing games of the Aggies and Scarlet Knights, Solich said, but not all of it.

“We’ve faced some really pretty good throwing football teams,” he said. “Those statistics might be a little bit misleading, too, but on the other side of it, you don’t want one guy to catch 16 passes and you don’t want teams to be able to make big plays.”

Ohio should have some help in the secondary with the return of cornerback Travis Carrie, who missed most of the Rutgers game with a concussion. He is expected to be fine to play this week.

Defensive tackle Neal Huynh leads the team in tackles with 25, including a team-best four for loss. Safety Gerald Moore has made 24 tackles. Safety Xavier Hughes has three of Ohio’s nine interceptions

Facing quality competition, Kent State’s offense has struggled majorly, averaging just 189 yards and 13 points per game.

Kent State did manage to get its running game moving last week. Fullback Trayion Durham (6-0, 260) has gained 151 yards on the year, while Anthony Meray (5-7, 191) has gained 149 yards.

Quarterback Spencer Keith has completed just 45.9 percent of his passes for 388 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Sam Kirkland has been his top target with 16 receptions for 134 yards.

“What you sometimes get is what you emphasize, and we’ve emphasized that here in the last few weeks, that we need to be a much more physical football team, and to be a physical football team, you’ve got to run the ball a little bit,” Hazell said. “We’ve made a concerted effort to run the ball in practice, maybe to a little bit more two back than we did the first week. A lot of time you get what you emphasize.”

Turnovers have played a huge factor in Ohio’s games this year. The Bobcats lost four fumbles in last week’s loss and forced six of them in a victory two weeks ago against Marshall.

“We have forced quite a few turnovers, but we have had more fumbles than I can recall for some time in the first four ball games of the season,” Solich said. “That trend is going to have to change for us if we are going to be able to win close football games.”

Ohio could aid from the return of defensive tackle Jeff King and tight end Derek Roback, both of who are questionable for this week’s game.

Approach will be the key to victory this week, Solich said.

“Coming off of last year’s game at Kent, it will be a huge challenge for us,” he said. “We did not play well in a key game at the end of the season. Kent played a very physical football game, a very good football game, and we were dominated in that game. In order to get this thing done, we’re going to have to change our approach and play a much, much different and a much, much better game than what we did against these guys last year."

Kickoff at Peden Stadium is set for 2 p.m.