 The good news for the Ohio Bobcats is that injuries to players such as nose guard Neal Huynh and cornerback Omar Leftwich aren’t as bad as expected.
And the bad news?
The team faces a huge trap game against a big, battle-tested Buffalo Bulls squad.
Both players, who have made considerable contributions on defense, were feared to be out for the rest of the season following their game last Saturday against Kent State. Further tests, however, showed that neither player was seriously injured. Huynh figures to be out for “a couple” of weeks, while Leftwich is listed as questionable after practicing Wednesday.
“They’re beat up a little bit, and they’re tired, so you have to be somewhat careful, but you also have to have reps into what the opponent’s doing,” head coach Frank Solich said. “There’s a happy medium there, I guess.”
Those who will be playing will should be ready for a smash-mouth game from a large Buffalo team that has hung with the likes of Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Tennessee.
“Everything you earn from this team is tough,” Solich said. “They run at you and have the potential to get a physical ground game going.”
Perhaps the biggest reason for Ohio’s success has been its ability to come up with the big play on defense, regardless of who has been healthy or not. The ‘Cats’ 12 interceptions rank second in the nation, an accomplishment that doesn’t have a complicated formula, according to Nate Carpenter.
“A lot of it is being in the right place at the right time,” he said. “The defensive line and linebackers creating pressure has created those mistakes as well.”
The defense will face a test from Chazz Anderson, a senior in his first season with the Bulls after transferring from Cincinnati. He has been efficient under center so far in 2011, completing 56.1 percent of his passes and averaging over 200 yards of total offense per game.
“[Chazz] is a guy who can throw and run the ball,” Solich said. “He gets it done on both areas of offense.”
Ohio’s own quarterback, Tyler Tettleton, was banged up against Kent this past Saturday. But after taking a day off Monday, he is ready for the game this week. He and the offense will be looking to improve upon the season-low 17 points the Bobcats scored last week.
“We knew going into last week we would be going against a tough defense,” Tettleton said. “We are trying to get more aggressive this week with Buffalo but they will test us as well.”
The Bobcats and Bulls will face off Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at UB Stadium in Amhurst, New York.
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