Ohio quarterback Boo Jackson...

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Ohio quarterback Boo Jackson not in New Orleans with his team, dealing with academic issues in Ohio


Ohio University practiced at the Superdome for Saturday?s R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl against Troy, but not every player was on hand.


Left behind in Athens were starting quarterback Boo Jackson and starting defensive tackle Ernie Hodge. The two are dealing with undisclosed academic issues, and it was unclear if those problems could be resolved by game time.

?We?re just waiting for some final answers,? Bobcats Coach Frank Solich said. ?As soon as we get that, we?ll move forward from there. I guess that?s really all I can say about it.?

Jackson has played all 12 games this season, completing 60.3 percent of his passes. He passed for 1,688 yards on 135-of-224 attempts for 15 touchdowns. Jackson also rushed 122 times for 325 yards and seven touchdowns.

The saving grace for Ohio is that back-up Phil Bates has a lot of playing time as well. Bates played more at quarterback early in the season when Jackson was recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Bates has played in nine games, compling 9-of-22 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown. But he is more of a running quarterback, having rushed 73 times for 508 yards and three touchdowns.

?That is a big plus,? Solich said. ?Obviously if one guy was getting all the reps and you don?t have that guy available, then you got your hands full and we?re going to have our hands full anyways because Troy is an excellent football team. But we have a quarterback who has a great deal of experience and he?s probably as healthy as he?s been all season so hopefully if we are into a one quarterback system than he?ll hold up and play well.?

The Bobcats do have depth on the defensive line. Hodge has played in 12 games, made 36 tackles including 3.5 for loss.

?That?s a big help, you like to have everyone you can muster up because they are a very fast-paced offense and guys are going to tire a little bit. We?re generally a team that is in excellent shape and I think that?s going to help and ? we?ve got a lot of depth. Guys who have played and played well. We think we?re going to miss Ernie, but hopefully we?ll be okay.?
 
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New Orleans Bowl will be a game of interesting matchups



The beauty of the bowl season resides in the matchups. It's when a grinding Big Ten team meets a speedy SEC team or when an upstart makes a case for belonging in a BCS game.

It turns paper dragons into mortals and gives life to imagined matchups.

Intrigue hits home Saturday when Ohio plays Troy in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl at the Superdome at 8 p.m.

The Trojans are a high-octane Sun Belt co-champion, driving up points and yardage with a no-huddle attack run by redshirt freshman quarterback Corey Robinson. Troy (7-5, 5-2) is loaded with shifty skill players who are inserted in a variety of sets and formations, and it is fast on defense, particularly along the line.

Ohio, of the Mid-American Conference, has 25 rushing touchdowns this season, running an evolution of the Nebraska triple-option under a Cornhusker legend, Frank Solich, who both played and coached there.

The Bobcats are making their first appearance in the New Orleans Bowl and is the northernmost participant in the bowl's 10-year history. The Bobcats' neighbor to the south, Cincinnati, played here in 2002.

The Bobcats didn't finish their regular season so hot. Ohio won seven consecutive games from Oct. 2 to Nov. 16 before falling in the regular-season finale to Kent State. The 28-6 loss prevented Ohio (8-4, 6-2) from winning its third MAC East Division title in the past five years.


Troy merely hoped its season-ending 44-7 blowout of Florida Atlantic was enough to attract a postseason berth. Florida International, the team the Trojans share the Sun Belt title with and lost to earlier in the season, lost in its regular-season finale. Troy has won at least a share of five consecutive Sun Belt crowns. The Trojans' success this season has been keyed by a relentless offensive attack.

"I hadn't had major success with the offense, so I really made a conscious decision years ago to try to do this (no-huddle offense), " Trojans Coach Larry Blakeney said.

Instead of his quarterback searching for a play on his armband and then relaying it to his teammates at the line of scrimmage, all offensive players look to the sideline to get the play via hand signal -- quickening transmission.

Solich too has amplified his offense and recruited help to do so.

"When I first came here to Ohio, I brought with me several guys from the offensive side of the ball that were guys who I had known, but guys who had spread out, " Solich said. "Guys who had gotten their backgrounds more from the passing game end of it. Tim Albin (co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach), Gerry Gdowsky (co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach), Keven Lightner (offensive line coach). ... Both Tim and Jerry were throwing the ball 30 times a game (in prior jobs), and coming into the MAC I knew that No. 1, it very much had been and will continue to be a quarterback-dominated conference in a lot of ways.

"We had the ability to recruit really excellent wide receivers, and it seemed that you could see that in the MAC, so I knew that I really wanted an offense that was a little more opened up than what I was used to in terms of coordinating and having as a head coach. These guys just fit in so many different ways."

Solich transformed the traditional triple option in a multiple scheme capable of just as many pass attempts as rushes.

The two teams haven't had much success in bowl games. Troy won its first bowl game in the 2006 New Orleans Bowl but has lost its past two postseason games in overtime. Ohio is 0-4 in bowl games.
 
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New Orleans Bowl-Day 1 Ohio Quotes



Ohio Head Coach Frank Solich

On coming to the New Orleans Bowl:

I don't think we could have come to a better city and have the chance to play in a better stadium. You add those two things together and we saw a lot of smiles on our guys' faces when they found out that we were coming down here. Our student body has also responded extremely well. We have busload upon busload of students coming down here in support of our program.



On keys for the Ohio defense:

Troy has a lot of speed and it utilizes its speed very well. Generally we've been very good against the run and we're going to need to continue to be that way because if they get their running game going, that makes things a lot tougher. They do throw the ball extremely well. They are going to complete some throws. We just have to make sure that we're not giving up big plays after the catch and let them get explosive plays in the running game. If we can prevent that and play well offensively, it should be a great ball game. We're hoping we can match some of their speed with speed of our own. Obviously, they have some outstanding individuals and we have to make sure that we keep them corralled a little bit. We just cannot let them get the ball in their hands and make the big play. We have to be very good at pinning guys in, getting 11 guys around the football and hustling play after play.



On keys for the Ohio offense:

We're going to have to keep ourselves on the field. Troy runs a very fast-paced offense. If you're not careful, you're going to get worn down by them staying on the field and continually running plays at you. Offensively, we cannot be three-and-out. We are going to have to make sure that we're getting first downs and that we're on drives so that we can eat up that clock and give our defense some rest.



Ohio Safety Donovan Fletcher

On losing key players to early season injuries (WR/PR LaVon Brazill-All-American, MLB Noah Keller-Honorable Mention All-American, SS Gerald Moore-Freshman All-American):

It was definitely an adjustment. With that said, our second and third team guys get treated like starters in practice in terms of the reps they get. We have trust in all 11 guys we put out there on defense. That's just the way it is here.



On the turning point in the season:

We got a lot of momentum going during that Marshall game, even though we lost by a point. After that one, every win motivated us to get the next one and then the next one and so on.



On Troy's offense:

They're fast paced and they have a lot of speed, especially Jernigan. With that said, though, we have to stay honest in our coverage.



Ohio Offensive Lineman Joe Flading

On playing in the Superdome:

I've never been here and it's unbelievable, it really is. I know it's historic. I've seen the big played here, I've seen the Sugar Bowl played in here and it was really impressive.
 
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