Sept. 19, 2015
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
Ohio vs. SLU PDF Box Score
THE BASICS
The Score: Ohio 35, Southeastern Louisiana 14
Location: Athens, Ohio -- Peden Stadium
Attendance: 22,985
The Short Story: On a rain-soaked, lightning-filled afternoon at Peden Stadium, redshirt freshman Papi White had 132 total yards and scored his first two touchdowns as a Bobcat as Ohio defeated Southeastern Louisiana 35-14 on Saturday (September 19).
HOW WE GOT HERE:
- Ohio had what appeared to be a 53-yard touchdown pass with redshirt senior quarterback Derrius Vick connecting with redshirt sophomore receiver Brendan Cope, but an illegal formation penalty negated the score.
- On Southeastern Louisiana’s first drive, a fumble recovered by redshirt junior defensive end Kurt Laseak gave Ohio the ball at the Lions’ 38.
- Vick was intercepted on the following drive, setting up the Lions at their own 15.
- Ohio opened the scoring in with a two-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown run by senior running back Daz Patterson at the 6:57 mark of the first quarter.
- After a pair of 30-plus yards to redshirt junior receiver Sebastian Smith and redshirt senior tight end Keith Heitzman, Ohio put another touchdown on the board with a 10-yard run by redshirt freshman Papi White with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter.
- On Ohio’s following drive, Vick connected with Smith for his first passing touchdown of the game as Smith hauled in a 31-yard score, giving the Bobcats a 21-0 lead with 2:47 left in the second quarter.
- Vick went 12-for-18 for 192 yards for one touchdown and one interception in the first half.
- In the first half, Heitzman led the Bobcats with three receptions for 76 yards while Smith also added three catches for 72 yards.
- Ohio outgained Southeastern Louisiana by a 202-100 in the first half.
- The Bobcats forced a fumble at their own one yard line to keep Southeastern Louisiana off the scoreboard at the 10:46 mark of the third quarter.
- The Lions would get on the board with a 10-yard touchdown pass by Isom to receiver Jeff Smiley at the 4:15 mark of the third quarter, cutting Ohio’s lead to 21-7.
- Southeastern Louisiana hit on a 38-yard touchdown pass as Isom found receiver Dylan Bossier for the touchdown with 11:01 left in the game.
- On the first play of Ohio’s next drive, White broke a 58-yard run to bump the Bobcats’ lead back to 28-14.
- After a lightning delay, Ohio struck quickly with a 68-yard touchdown pass from Vick to Cope at the 6:21 mark of the fourth quarter.
- Vick recorded a game-high 327 yards on 17-of-26 passing, throwing two touchdowns and one interception.
- White rushed for a game-high 66 yards on four carries with two touchdowns along with two receptions for 50 yards.
- Cope gained a game-high 101 yards receiving with one touchdown.
- Isom led the Lions in both passing yards and rushing yards, totaling 161 yards through the air and 65 on the ground.
- Redshirt junior Blair Brown led all players with 11 tackles.
BIG PLAYS:
- A fumble by Southeastern Louisiana quarterback Donovan Isom was recovered by Laseak at the Lions’ 38 yard line.
- On the next Ohio drive, Vick tried to find Smith along the home sideline but was intercepted as Jordan Baptiste fell to the ground with a ball that was tipped.
- A pair of 15-yard penalties plus a 20-yard reception by Heitzman brought Ohio within the five yard line and a pitch on the option by Vick found Patterson, who walked into the endzone from three yards out for the touchdown.
- Vick connected with Smith for a 30-yard pass that brought the Bobcats to the Southeastern Louisiana 38. This was followed by a 35-yard catch by Heitzman on a 3rd and 17 that put Ohio on the Lions’ 10 yard line.
- White then scored on a 10-yard rush to give him his first touchdown as a Bobcat.
- On a fourth and one from the Southeastern Louisiana 37, sophomore running back A.J. Ouellette gained two yards on a rush up the middle.
- After being put in a 3rd and 27 hole due to a clipping penalty, Ohio gained 21 yards on a pass from Vick to Heitzman and then scored on fourth and six on a 31-yard catch by Smith.
- Ohio held at the goal line as redshirt junior safety Toran Davis forced Lions running back Kody Sutton to lose the ball while redshirt senior safety Devin Jones scooped up the ball at Ohio’s one yard line.
- The Lions would score their first points of the day on a 10-yard pass from Isom to Smiley.
- Southeastern Louisiana then hit their longest play of the day with Isom connecting with Bossier for a 38-yard touchdown.
- After a 29-yard return on the kickoff by redshirt senior cornerback Devin Bass, White took the first play of the drive 58 yard on a run down the home sideline for his second touchdown of the game.
- Vick broke a personal passing yard record on a 67-yard touchdown connection to Cope along the visiting sideline.
SCORING DRIVES
First Quarter:
6:57 OHIO -- Patterson, 3-yard run (Yazdani kick), 2-56, 0:49 -- 7-0
Second Quarter:
9:40 OHIO -- White (Yazdani kick), 5-68, 1:38 -- 14-0
02:47 OHIO -- Smith, 31-yard pass from Vick (Yazdani kick), 11-57, 5:12 -- 21-0
Third quarter
04:15 SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA â€" Smiley, 10-yard pass from Isom, 7-48, 1:56 -- 21-7
Fourth Quarter
11:01 SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA â€" Bossier, 38-yard pass from Isom, 11-85, 5:58 â€" 21-14
10:44 OHIO -- White, 58-yard rush (Yazdani kick), 1-58, 1:53 -- 28-14
06:21 OHIO -- Cope, 67-yard pass from Vick (Yazdani kick), 3-75, 1:44 -- 35-14
FINAL STATS:
Vick: 17-for-26, 327 yards, two touchdowns, one interception.
Smith: Four receptions for 82 yards and one touchdown.
White: 66 yards on four carries, two touchdowns. 50 yards on two receptions.
Heitzman: 76 yards on three receptions.
Cope: 101 yards on four receptions and one touchdown.
Basham: Six tackles, 1.5 sacks.
Brown: 11 tackles.
QUOTABLE:
"We were supposed to win, but I knew it wouldn’t be easy. But I wanted it to be. It didn’t just quite play outâ€"it played out like I thought it would be. It was going to be a fairly good football game." -- Head coach Frank Solich
"We’re definitely not where we want to be. We gave up 14 points today. I was really looking for a shutout, so I’m pretty upset, but ultimately we won. We did some things (well). We’ll have to watch some film, get better. But I don’t think that we are living up to our potential by any means." â€" Linebacker Quentin Poling
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats hit the road next week, traveling north to face Big Ten opponent Minnesota on Saturday (September 26). Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on Big Ten Network.
#BleedGreen