2000 OHIO FOOTBALL: Game 3 Notes vs. Tennessee Tech
ATHENS, Ohio -- Tennessee Tech (1-0) at Ohio (1-1, 0-0 MAC) September 16, 2000 7 p.m. Peden Stadium Athens, Ohio Hall of Fame Day
TODAYS GAME: Ohio opens home action with I-AA foe Tennessee Tech ... The Bobcats enter the game riding a wave of momentum from their 23-17 win at Minnesota last week ... This is the second-straight Golden opportunity for Ohio, facing the Golden Eagles after topping the Golden Gophers last week ... Today also marks Hall of Fame Day for Ohio Athletics ... The five inductees in the Class of 2000 will be recognized at halftime.
HOME OPENERS: The Bobcats are 3-2 in home openers under Jim Grobe ... Ohio has lost its home opener in each of the last two seasons, including last years 36-21 loss to Northern Iowa ... Ohio won its first three home opener under Grobe (1995: Illinois State 14-6; 1996: Akron 44-14; 1997: Kent State 31-7).
THE SERIES: This is the third meeting between these two teams ... Ohio has won each of the previous two meetings, both of which took place in Athens ... The squads last met in 1991 with a 35-14 Bobcat victory ... The first meeting was a 42-3 win in 1990.
THE COACHES: Jim Grobe is in his sixth season at the Bobcat helm with a record of 27-30-1 ... He ranks fifth on Ohios career coaching victories chart ... He has led Ohio to four-straight winning MAC seasons for the first time in 30 years (1996-99) ... Grobe has built a balanced program, having been ranked 10th in the nation in graduation rates and earning the first MAC Sportsmanship Award. Mike Hennigan is in fifth season as head coach for his alma mater Tennessee Tech ... He has a 21-23 mark in that span ... He played seven seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions and New York Jets.
THE BOBCATS: Ohio improved to 1-1 on the season with a 23-17 win at Minnesota last week ... Sophomore Chad Brinker accounted for all three Bobcat touchdowns - catching a pass, throwing a pass and rushing for a score - en route to MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors ... The Bobcats opened the season with a 25-15 at Iowa State ... The squad is coming off of a 5-6 finish in 1999 after winning three of its last four games ... Ohio was 5-3 in MAC action last year, giving it four-straight winning MAC seasons in over 30 years ... Ohio runs a Pro Set offense, while lining up in a Pro Set 3-4 formation defensively.
THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Tennessee Tech is 1-0 on the season after opening with a 29-27 win over Harding ... TTU used a pair of David Collett field goals in the last four minutes to lift the squad to victory.
BRINKER HONORED: Sophomore tailback Chad Brinker was honored as the MACs Offensive Player of the Week (9/18) after accounting for all three of Ohios touchdowns in the 23-17 win over Minnesota ... He posted his second 100+ rushing game of his career with 119 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries ... He also caught a 50-yard touchdown and threw a 35-yard TD pass.
LAST WEEKS GAME: Ohios 23-17 win at Minnesota last weekend was one of the biggest in the Grobe era ... It marked Ohios first win over a Big Ten team since topping Northwestern 14-12 in 1973 ... It was also the first win ever against Minnesota and the fifth against the Big Ten in school history. Sophomore Chad Brinker had a career day, accounting for three touchdowns, en route to MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors ... He tallied touchdowns in three ways: a 50-yard reception, a 35-yard pass and a six-yard run ... The TD catch was the first of his career, as was his 35-yard TD pass to Joe Mohler ... He posted the second 100-yard rushing game of his career with 119 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Ohio jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter and held that advantage through halftime ... The Bobcat defense did not let Minnesota cross midfield until the 14-minute mark of the second quarter and held the Gophers to just 87 total yards in the first half. Minnesota scored two quick touchdowns in the third quarter, needing just four plays on two drives to gain 156 yards and a pair of TDs ... Ohio used a Kevin Kerr field goal to move ahead 16-14 late in the third quarter ... Keland Logan barrelled out a 67-yard run to open the fourth quarter, setting up Brinkers touchdown to almost ensure the win. Chris London (eight tackles) and Matt Spitler (seven tackles) paced Ohios defense against the Gophers ... Sophomore Bop White picked off his second interception of the season, extending Ohios streak of consecutive games with an interception to 11 games ... Greg Baskin sacked the Minnesota quarterback and forced a fumble that was recovered by Art Adams in the second quarter.
EVERY PLAY, RAY-RAY: Senior Z-back Raynald Ray has made a name for himself as Ohios most versatile player ... Lining up in Ohios slotback position, Ray was the teams leading receiver and fourth-leading rusher a year ago, while also returning punts and kickoffs ... He has picked up where he left off last year ... In the opener, he paced receivers with a pair of catches for 30 yards, including a touchdown ... He also rushed three times (43 yards) and returned four punts (45) and two kickoffs (45) ... He ranks among national leaders in punt returns with an 11.00 average.
DAVE ZASTUDIL -- PUNTING TO A Z: Junior punter Dave Zastudil is gaining national attention as one of the best punters in the nation ... The 1999 MAC Special Teams Player of the Year, Zastudil owns Ohios top two punting seasons and has finished in the top 15 nationally each of the last two years ... He enters his third season with a 44.2 career punting average, on-track to break the MAC mark ... He is also on the watch list for the inaugural Ray Guy Award, a national award for I-As best punter. Zastudil had a good punting game (7-47.1) at Iowa State despite working through minor back pain during the week ... After a short opening punt off of a high snap, he recovered by averaging 51 yards on the last six punts ... After a good effort at Minnesota that included a couple of strategically-placed punts, he ranks 10th in the nation with a 44.87 average.
ON THE BRINK(ER): Sophomore Chad Brinker paced Ohios rushing effort in the loss to Iowa State ... The Bobcats leading rusher a year ago tallied 68 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries ... He also topped the century mark in kickoff returns with 104 yards on just three returns ... He opened the game with a 47-yard return to set up the opening scoring drive.
BE-BOP: Sophomore cornerback Bop White has picked off both of Ohios interceptions this season ... He has extended the Bobcats streak of games with an interception to 11 games ... White led Ohio with five interceptions in 1999, one better than older brother Donnie.
WORTH NOTING: Ohios 363 net rushing yards against Minnesota is the third-most by a I-A team so far this season ... The 13 points scored in the first quarter against Minnesota is the most in the opening stanza for Ohio since scoring 14 in the loss to EMU in 1999 ... The Bobcats did not convert a third down against ISU until 0:39 left in the third quarter ... Ohio held ISU to 0-8 on third down in the second half.
OHIO CENTURY MARKS 2000: Bobcats who have topped the century mark in any one category during the 2000 season (number of career games with 100+):
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Dontrell Jackson
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Iowa State
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130 passing (5th)
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Chad Brinker
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Iowa State
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104 kickoff returns
(1st)
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Chad Brinker
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Minnesota
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119 rushing (2nd)
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OHIO DOUBLE DIGIT TACKLES 2000: Bobcats who have tallied double-digit tackles during the 2000 season (number of career games with 10+): Tom Weilbacher Iowa State 11 [7-4=11] (4th)
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Ohio can start its own youth movement again this season ... The Bobcat depth chart is more than half filled with underclassmen (freshmen or sophomores) ... The defense boasts 13 upperclassmen, while only seven upperclassmen line the projected offense.
YOUTH, PART II: Ohio has four sophomores starting at its offensive skill positions: quarterback Dontrell Jackson, tailback Chad Brinker, split end Joe Mohler, fullback Joe Sherrill ... Only two schools - Houston and SMU -- have more underclassmen starting at their offensive skill positions.
TRUE FRESHMEN NO MORE: Ohios trio of true freshmen starters have turned into true sophomores ... Quarterback Dontrell Jackson, cornerback Bop White and kicker Kevin Kerr were the only true freshmen to start for the Bobcats in 1999 ... The trio combined for 30 starts last year ... Jackson was also the nations only true freshman to start at quarterback in all of his teams games last year and just one of three freshmen to do so.
HIGH SCHOOL REUNION: This seasons offense could look more like a high school reunion ... Sophomore quarterback Dontrell Jackson is being joined by a pair of Thornton High School (Harvey, Ill.) teammates who could end up being among his favorite targets ... Redshirt freshman Tierra Pought (split end) and true freshman Stafford Owens (Z-back) are slated to be among Ohios rotation in the receiving corps this fall.
FOLLOW THE (TACKLE) LEADERS: Ohio returns four of its top six tacklers from a year ago, paced by junior strong safety Chris London who led the team a year ago with 107 tackles ... London was the most consistent defensive player, posting at least six tackles in every game ... Sophomore linebacker Tom Weilbacher was second a year ago with 89 tackles, while ranking among national leaders in fumble recoveries ... Senior cornerback Donnie White (65 stops) and senior linebacker Matt Spitler (61 stops) were also among Ohios leaders last season.
PICKIN OFF PASSES: The Bobcat defense picked off 17 passes last season ... That mark is sixth-best in school history ... After going without an interception in the first two games of 1999, Ohio picked off passes in each of the last nine-straight games ... Then-freshman Bop White paced the Bobcats with five interceptions, ranking 20th in the nation ... His season tied for sixth in school history, while besting older brother Donnie White who grabbed four interceptions.
RUSHING RULES: Ohio has relied heavily on its rushing game in the last few years ... In the last four seasons, the Bobcats have posted the best four rushing seasons in school history ... Last seasons 2,883 rushing yards ranks fourth on the Bobcat charts and was sixth-best in the nation ... Over the last four years, Ohio has averaged 3,136 rushing yards per season.
POUR ON THE PASSING: The Bobcats tallied 1,037 passing yards in 1999 ... Freshman Dontrell Jackson accounted for 745 passing yards, completing 52-of-113 attempts ... It marked the most passing yards and completions by a Bobcat since 1994.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Ohios secondary features the teams only siblings ... Senior Donnie White and younger brother sophomore Bop (David) White are the starters at the two cornerback positions ... The brothers were spoofed last season with a Venus and Serena Williams Got Milk? ad that was altered to feature Donnie and Bop Whites names ... The flyer lined the bulletin boards of the Ohio locker room ... Cousin Wiz (Leon) White is also on the team, playing tailback and on special teams.
ALL-NAME TEAM: The Bobcat roster features a number of player who could earn spots on a national All-Name team ... Among the players with great nicknames are Bop White, Wiz White, Raynald Ray Ray Ray and Duffer Duffy ... James Taylor and Hugh Grant have famous names ...Its also interesting to note that Ohio has Grant and (Willie) Sherman playing the same position on the same team.
GAME ONE: Ohio fell to Iowa State, 25-15 ... The Bobcats pulled within 10 points with eight minutes left on a 28-yard TD pass from Dontrell Jackson to Raynald Ray ... Jackson posted his fifth 100-yard passing game with 130 yards via the air, just nine yards shy of his career high ... Ray exhibited his continued versatility, with two catches for 30 yards and a TD, three rushes for 43 yards, four punt returns (45) and two kickoff returns (45), giving him 163 all-purpose yards on 11 plays. Sophomore Chad Brinker paced the rushing game with 68 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries ... He opened the game with a 47-yard kickoff return and closed that opening drive with a five-yard TD run. Defensively, Ohio held ISU to just two rushes over 15 yards and just five carries over 10 yards ... The Bobcats only allowed three passes for more than 20 yards ... Those long plays proved to be back-breakers as the 73-yard run was an Ennis Haywood touchdown and all three long passes set up ISU scores (2 TDS and 1 FG).
ON THE AIR: Bobcat football fans can follow the team on the radio by listening to the Ohio Sports Network ... Derek Scott will provide the play-by-play with color analysis from Josh Hatfield and sideline reports from Rob Cornelius ... Radio broadcasts can be heard on OSN affilliates or through the internet link provided at ohiobobcats.com.
ON THE NET: All of the latest information on the Bobcats can be found at ohiobobcats.com -- the official web site of Ohio Athletics ... It is one of the many means of information dissemination utilized by Ohio Sports Media Services ... In addition to releases, specific team information (rosters, schedules, statistics, bios, etc.) for all 20 varsity sports is available ... Links to the Ohio Sports Network radio broadcasts are also available. Real-time statistics for all home football games are available on-line at ohiobobcats.com as a service of Total Sports ... A TotalCast will also be available for the road game at Miami.
