how good is ohio this year? do they have many players who have played in a setting like blackburg? as far as i can tell they have scored well against 2 small college teams and have only 15-16 seniors on the team. i am thinking va tech needs a blowout game and this could be it.
mac conference help needed
- Thread starter lowell
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going to play hokies for pretty big play -20.5. beamer will turn the dogs loose[ no pun intended] and i am hoping for a 41-7 rout.
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Struggling, but Top 25, Hokies await Ohio
Ohio University head football coach Frank Solich thought his team took a big step with Saturday's come-from-behind 31-23 win at Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Bobcats (2-0) will have a much bigger hurdle this weekend. Ohio travels to Virginia Tech (1-1) for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff in Lane Stadium. The Hokies figure to be mighty steamed after being rolled 48-7 in a Saturday night loss at No. 2 LSU.
"We'll get their best football. And their best football is very, very good," Solich said. "It's going to be a tough, up-hill battle for us."
The Hokies, ranked No. 17 in the lastest ESPN/Coaches poll and No. 18 by the Associated Press, dropped nearly 10 notches in both national polls after they were completely dominated by the Tigers. Coupled with a not-so-pretty 17-7 win over Eastern Carolina in the opener, and Virginia Tech hasn't looked like the team many pundits picked to cruise through the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Solich, however, doesn't see a national power ripe for an upset however. Virginia Tech has the size, the athletes, the home-field advantage, and the desire to rebound quickly.
"We know what we're getting into here," Solich said. "It's going to be an outstanding football team ready to play outstanding football that we're going to be going up against. We just have to be ready to play our best ball and we'll see where it plays out."
Solich has led the Bobcats to Blacksburg before. In 2005, his first season at Ohio, Solich saw his team hang in for nearly three quarters before the Hokies, behind then quarterback Marcus Vick, pull away for a 45-0 victory.
Then, Virginia Tech led just 3-0 after the first quarter and was up only 10-0 in the second when Ohio kicker Brooks Rossman missed a 36-yard field goal shortly before halftime that could have generated some Bobcat momentum. The Hokies cashed in three second-half turnovers and cruised after intermission.
But two years is an eternity in college football, and Solich isn't ready to dub this trip to Blacksburg as a status check on the state of his program.
"You know almost every game seems like a measuring stick to us," he said. "We feel like it's always going to be a battle.
"We'll come out of there having played good, tough football and see where we're at," he added. "A lot of people will use that as a measuring stick, but I'm not going to."
McRae earns honor
Senior tailback Kalvin McRae was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after his four-touchdown performance against the Ragin' Cajuns.
The honor was the first this season, and the seventh of his career, for McRae. He finished with 84 rushing and 52 receiving yards at Louisiana-Lafayette.
With last week's performance, McRae has 3,190 yards and 29 rushing touchdowns in his Ohio career. Those numbers rank him third and second, respectively, in Bobcat history.
McRae was honored twice as a sophomore in 2005 and four times as a junior in 2006. It was also the second week in a row a Bobcat received one of the weekly MAC awards. Senior Josh Abrams was selected the special teams player of the week following his three punt block performance against Gardner-Webb in the season opener.
"He took advantage of the opportunities when they were there, and made the plays when they were there. Kalvin's a work horse," said Solich. "He's the kind of back that could carry it 30-plus times every game and hold up for you."
McRae had more than half his rushing yards and two touchdowns in the decisive fourth quarter.
Roster report
Only one player has been ruled out for Saturday's game - backup guard Mike Eynon (knee sprain). Junior safety Michael Mitchell, who missed the trip to Louisiana with a shoulder injury, may be back in time for Saturday's contest.
Solich said Mitchell will be watched closely this week in practice to see how the shoulder holds up under contact.
Sophomore quarterback Theo Scott did not play against the Ragin' Cajuns. Solich said the right situation never quite came up for Scott to come in. He said he intends to keep trying to find times to get Scott more experience, but won't necessarily put Scott in just to make sure he gets a couple series every week.
Senior Brad Bower's solid play in the first two weeks also obviously has played a role.
"You know what, when we first started out that was my thought, we were just going to throw (Theo) in there. But it's easy to say that at the start of the season, but it's a little more difficult when you're put in a situation when that call has to be made," Solich said. "We're going to do what is best for the team.
"But if we have an opportunity to put Theo in the game, we're going to do it. He needs the experience and will just continue to improve by leaps and bounds," he added. "We're going to want to have more than one quarterback as we go through the year to be ready to go.
Ohio University head football coach Frank Solich thought his team took a big step with Saturday's come-from-behind 31-23 win at Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Bobcats (2-0) will have a much bigger hurdle this weekend. Ohio travels to Virginia Tech (1-1) for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff in Lane Stadium. The Hokies figure to be mighty steamed after being rolled 48-7 in a Saturday night loss at No. 2 LSU.
"We'll get their best football. And their best football is very, very good," Solich said. "It's going to be a tough, up-hill battle for us."
The Hokies, ranked No. 17 in the lastest ESPN/Coaches poll and No. 18 by the Associated Press, dropped nearly 10 notches in both national polls after they were completely dominated by the Tigers. Coupled with a not-so-pretty 17-7 win over Eastern Carolina in the opener, and Virginia Tech hasn't looked like the team many pundits picked to cruise through the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Solich, however, doesn't see a national power ripe for an upset however. Virginia Tech has the size, the athletes, the home-field advantage, and the desire to rebound quickly.
"We know what we're getting into here," Solich said. "It's going to be an outstanding football team ready to play outstanding football that we're going to be going up against. We just have to be ready to play our best ball and we'll see where it plays out."
Solich has led the Bobcats to Blacksburg before. In 2005, his first season at Ohio, Solich saw his team hang in for nearly three quarters before the Hokies, behind then quarterback Marcus Vick, pull away for a 45-0 victory.
Then, Virginia Tech led just 3-0 after the first quarter and was up only 10-0 in the second when Ohio kicker Brooks Rossman missed a 36-yard field goal shortly before halftime that could have generated some Bobcat momentum. The Hokies cashed in three second-half turnovers and cruised after intermission.
But two years is an eternity in college football, and Solich isn't ready to dub this trip to Blacksburg as a status check on the state of his program.
"You know almost every game seems like a measuring stick to us," he said. "We feel like it's always going to be a battle.
"We'll come out of there having played good, tough football and see where we're at," he added. "A lot of people will use that as a measuring stick, but I'm not going to."
McRae earns honor
Senior tailback Kalvin McRae was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after his four-touchdown performance against the Ragin' Cajuns.
The honor was the first this season, and the seventh of his career, for McRae. He finished with 84 rushing and 52 receiving yards at Louisiana-Lafayette.
With last week's performance, McRae has 3,190 yards and 29 rushing touchdowns in his Ohio career. Those numbers rank him third and second, respectively, in Bobcat history.
McRae was honored twice as a sophomore in 2005 and four times as a junior in 2006. It was also the second week in a row a Bobcat received one of the weekly MAC awards. Senior Josh Abrams was selected the special teams player of the week following his three punt block performance against Gardner-Webb in the season opener.
"He took advantage of the opportunities when they were there, and made the plays when they were there. Kalvin's a work horse," said Solich. "He's the kind of back that could carry it 30-plus times every game and hold up for you."
McRae had more than half his rushing yards and two touchdowns in the decisive fourth quarter.
Roster report
Only one player has been ruled out for Saturday's game - backup guard Mike Eynon (knee sprain). Junior safety Michael Mitchell, who missed the trip to Louisiana with a shoulder injury, may be back in time for Saturday's contest.
Solich said Mitchell will be watched closely this week in practice to see how the shoulder holds up under contact.
Sophomore quarterback Theo Scott did not play against the Ragin' Cajuns. Solich said the right situation never quite came up for Scott to come in. He said he intends to keep trying to find times to get Scott more experience, but won't necessarily put Scott in just to make sure he gets a couple series every week.
Senior Brad Bower's solid play in the first two weeks also obviously has played a role.
"You know what, when we first started out that was my thought, we were just going to throw (Theo) in there. But it's easy to say that at the start of the season, but it's a little more difficult when you're put in a situation when that call has to be made," Solich said. "We're going to do what is best for the team.
"But if we have an opportunity to put Theo in the game, we're going to do it. He needs the experience and will just continue to improve by leaps and bounds," he added. "We're going to want to have more than one quarterback as we go through the year to be ready to go.
I'm thinking the same thing. VT was caught in a tough emotional spot last week after pulling out a win for their fallen comrades the week prior. It was easy for the Hokies to sort of "quit" once they were punched in the mouth. LSU WR Early Doucet commented that multiple members of the VT secodnary told them they were in awe of the play-calling calling the LSU OC a "beast". Seems to me that these kids were in over their head emotionally.
The new QB is not only FAST, but shifty. On top of this, VT nearly blocked 2 punts vs. LSU. I haven't heard anyone mention that VT's LBs were completely taken out of the game by LSU. I'm guessing this won't be a problem vs. Ohio.
Small play for me, but I'm likely gonna take it.
GL
