Ohio Pounds Austin Peay 38-0

Ohio wasn't much a fan of bipartisan politics Saturday, as it played the role of the aggressor in a 38-0 victory over the Austin Peay Governors. Ohio out gained the Governors 494-298 as it played some guys lower on the depth chart for much of the second half.

It was Ohio’s first shutout of the Frank Solich era, with the Bobcats last shutout coming vs. Buffalo on Sept. 25th, 2004.

Bobcats defensive lineman Ty Branz reflected positively on the defensive performance.

"It’s huge for us. It’s been a long time…We got a shutout. Everybody on defense that’s what we were pushing for and hoping for…That was our goal," he said in the post game press conference.

Devin Bass, the previous week’s MAC East defensive player of the week sat out after being suspended for the game for violating team rules. Ian Wells started in his place and the Bobcats did not miss a beat.

Tyler Tettleton cut up the Austin Peay defense, completing 13 of 15 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns. Tettleton connected with Matt Waters twice (six and 23 yards) and Donte Foster (53 yards) for his TD’s. His first to Waters was the 50^th passing touchdown of his Ohio career. Foster’s touchdown was the first of the season for the senior receiver.

The ball was spread among seven different receivers. Waters finished with four catches and spoke humbly after the game about his increased role this season.

"It doesn’t really come back to me though…There is a lot of people that are involved in making those touchdowns."

Solich and offensive coordinator Tim Albin managed to rotate Tettleton and Derrius Vick somewhat effectively, with Vick once again getting meaningful snaps in the first half.

Ohio received production from numerous backs with Daz' Patterson rushing for 94 yards on seven carries and one touchdown, Ryan Boykin picking up 57 yards on 14 carries, Beau Blankenship gaining 38 yards on nine attempts, and Tim Edmond picking up chunks of yards by putting his head down and gaining 36 on nine touches.

Daz Patterson expressed excitement about making contributions in the victory, specifically on a nice double reverse.

"It feels good to be able to get in the game when coach has something specifically for you…We have Beau and Boykin in the backfield, that’s the main reason I’ll get my carries from the slot position."

It is hard, not to feel a bit uneasy about the inability to get senior Running Back Beau Blankenship going. This very well might hurt them in the run game during MAC play, especially against the likes of Bowling Green.

Linebackers Jovon Johnson and Blair Brown both made eight tackles. Ty Bransz contributed with six tackles and a sack.

It was a sloppy game for the visiting Governors who did manage to total a season-high with those 298 yards in the loss.

Austin Peay incurred nine penalties totaling 69 yards (with several false starts) and seemed exasperated at several points in the first half. The Governors missed three field goal attempts over the course of several red zone trips, and had one Blocked by Ian Wells. That block set up the Daz Patterson three-carry drive for all 46 yards that brought the game to its final score.

Governor running backs Omar Williams and Tim Phillips managed 172 yards on 19 carries between the two of them. Their hard-nosed running was a bright spot for a team that didn’t pick up a first down in the first quarter.

Frank Solich had high praise for his squad following the shutout, and was especially happy about the number of players that played and gained experience.

"You’re able to get the younger guys playing time, you know that they’re out there on the playing field and you don’t get a lot of lopsided games to where you’re able to just substitute freely" he said. "We got everyone in today who is not redshirting or is eligible, so everybody played that we can put on the field. "

Ohio has a bye week and will travel to Akron, Ohio for a Saturday, 2 p.m. matchup on October 5th.