1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Ohio Bobcats Breakdown - What Do they Do Best?: September 2nd, 1:25pm

Episode Date: September 2, 2026

Ohio Bobcats Breakdown - What Do they Do Best?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Back to one-on-one with D.P. Sponsored by the Downtown Lincoln Foundation on 93-7 the ticket. Will Barrow. I think if Amson starts to struggle with the turn of this, fans would be quick to call for DJ to keep coming. Block, what say you to that? I don't know about, I don't know about, like, game one. But, yeah, I mean, if it happens after a couple games,

there continues to happen. We always know the backup quarterback, one of the top of most favorite players on the team. They really are super popular, aren't they? They are. You know, it is an interesting thing. Their quarterback this year, and it was, there was a quarterback battle, a competition. And to say that the battle was won, Nick Polos, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound dual threat, 6-foot-5,

235 pound quarterback. Does that sound like Harburg to you? It sounds, yeah. Right? And that they run the ball. That's literally what they want to do. Each clock, it takes time. There are a couple of things that the Bobcats do offensively.

And they, them creating space and then confining space, you're never quite sure where they're going to be or what the angle is going to be. They can run from three type formations, four open formations, and then a full diamond that they run, which is more full back fields, sort of. So I identify that. The open just takes the same personnel with running backs and fullbacks

and moving them up to the line scrimmage. And you can, listen, old heads, we know that from that formation, you can go into route combinations, you can go into some wingtie action, right? Some midshipman motion action in there. You can get from there to the spread. With motion, you can change it, change the strength on the field from one side to another with motion.

They like finding weak slot action, which is coming out in the spread, identifying and having the nickel choose his poison, pick his poison, right? Because your nickel can't be on both sides. Two corners outside, that means that opposite slot, that weak slot, Bach, you're left, and you're either going to have to pull down a safety or slide back a lineback. Ohio loves to target that as a receiver. Run option to that side, pull, look, and make that linebacker or that safety, make a decision.

Are you run covering? Are you in run stop or are you in pass stop? In past coverage. And it's pretty good. Their gun treatments are that they're really great identifiers and space creators. They probably had six plays in that UNLV bowl game where they went empty. where quite frankly, again, they go empty and they can chase defenders down the field so that their quarterback can run against one less

or two less defenders. And then they can stack and just figure, okay, option routes are win us routes in the slots. And they do their thing, right? They do a lot of different things. Their slot work is top shelf. Top shelf. well-coached and it's important.

I think it's also this. Bach, did they have some players that I was, I could talk about? Delaney Crawford, who will start at one of the wide receiver position, 6 to 200-pound receipt. The kid played in Virginia. So he had time there. And of course, both Daniel Kalan and Calandria spent time in Charlottesville,

knowing systems and otherwise. Good to know. Good to learn. Preston Bowman had the opportunity. He transferred in from Kentucky. They do have a lot. A kid that I know his coach, Dom Dorwar, and he went to the same high school.

My daughter did. So I know their head coach. He's from St. Mary's in Linder Town, Maryland. High IQ player. They've got some route runners that they do a pretty good job with. Darren James is a kid from Mallard Creek in Charlotte, North Carolina. Pretty strong. Bach, one of those typical run-and-hit guys.

One of those running hit guys, Ohio has them. I'm not sure what the lineup strength is going to be for Ohio. What matchups do they think they have the advantage at? And if you look at their offensive line, it's similar to Nebraska's in that they have two starters returning. And then they went in the transfer portal and went and got some beef. They have two transfer starters along there. The tight end, the depth chart one tight end is also in from the transfer portal.

They will run six different receivers into the game. It's supposed to be what, 90 plus? Oh, yeah. Saturday? So depth is going to matter. It appears that Ohio is comfortable with its depth at the receiver position and the running back position. Now, the running back position, Duncan Bruin is the scouting report, international player

German kid strong similar career to Euler in high school but they like him they like his discipline, they like his toughness they've got some fullbacks that they can run out of there but I would imagine that Nebraska sees

three different running backs from Ohio on Saturday but I wouldn't be surprised if their quarterback had the most carries. As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised if that wasn't the game plan. Because they're 6.5, 2.35.

They're getting him isolated. That's going to be their mission. Spread and attack. Go tight and get some bangers in space. Defensively, they've got, man, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven returners.

Guys that are familiar in the space. They're coach housemen and his weekly presser. said that we still need to find out what our identity is going to be this year because the players that we have that are returning are different than they were a year ago. He goes, I've got some depth, and he's got some veteran depth. But he just doesn't know how they're going to play together this year. He says they're a different team.

They went and got an edge rusher, Tyson-Gillison, Tyler Gillison. they think he's violent. He'll play on the right side, and they think they like his violence. There's a matchup there, right? Because who's at Nebraska's, who's defending, who's blocking that right in? Mr. Pritcher.

Let's watch the bodies hit the floor. In space. They brought in a strong safety, another high caliber running hit guy. they brought in a new nickel back in a new corner to start, and they just don't know how good they are, they think they're good, they just don't know how good they are.

I talked to one of the defensive backs, coach, he's from Northern Virginia, and he played for Tony Lilly, who played for the Denver Broncos in that Super Bowl. and one, he raved about John Houser and the way the players talk about Coach Houser that he took over in a weird situation and made it home and made

everybody comfortable and seems to be getting work from them. But there was some concern and he said, yes, last season Ohio played at Rutgers and at Ohio State. So playing in the big rooms against big crowds, they're not unfamiliar. As a matter of fact, he said both games, they started slow

and then figured out once they settled down within the crowd play, right? Getting used to the size of the crowd and the noise that was involved. He says it's going to be really difficult to play here. But they've talked about it, and they have plans for audibles. They have plans for crowd communication.

So what do we, Those are the things that if you look at last year's tape of Ohio, it makes me believe that this year's Ohio team is going to look different. Critical playmaking positions, new town. Critical line positions, new town. I think they like what they've seen at camp. They're just not, as Coach House says, it's time to hit somebody else.

and he says that's the only way we're going to know we like what we've what we've done we're just not sure how it's going to play out of it and i i have great appreciation for that kind of honesty that listen would love to know yeah uh captain yeah you're right says uh sinner and guard will tell you a lot pre-snap but this is so the phrase that i'm are you watching week one is smart eyes are you getting caught in traffic watching or are you directing traffic? There's a difference. Traffic's going to happen on game one.

You're going to see some things and you need to communicate on what you see and what you think you see. Ohio is, they're offensively, they're highly, they use distraction at a high level, highly deceptive because they want to move bodies. They will flex on where the point of attack is going to be. They run some option routes in the route tree. RPO is legitimate in the Ohio offense where, quite frankly,

I don't think they know until right at snap or right at mesh point, whether they're going to run or throw. And the difference being a 6-foot-5, 235-pound quarterback pot against Nebraska's small corners is going to provide some opportunities. Opportunities for Nebraska to hit,

put your hat in there, make plays or for Ohio to break one. The point spread was 45, 45.5. Is that close? Let's see what they got in it. I believe Nebraska was a 20 plus point favorite. Yeah, 23.5. So the Huskers, 23.5.

Point favorite. What's the over under? 46.5. 46.5. So Bach, quick math. Are they projecting this to be a, what's it, a 31 to 14, a 34 to? Yeah, 34 to 34 to 35. Somewhere in that ballpark.

Right? In that ballpark, 3513 to get close to the points for it? Yeah. Okay, Huskers, get to work. That means five, that means four touchdowns plus a couple of field goals. having that kind of success in holding Ohio, keeping them out of the red zone for all but three drives.

A defensive day, Bach, against the Bobcats. My blood is pumping at a higher vibrancy than it has all summer, but I'm not at game tempo yet. I haven't. Bach, I'm just... Bach? And wait until Saturday.

it'll be there okay okay how many sleeps was today Wednesday Wednesday Thursday Friday three sleeps yeah okay all right we'll we'll we'll we'll go to break again it's Pete Ohio week start paying attention to the Bobcats download our app by searching 93.7 the ticket in your app store you're listening to one-on-one with DP on 93-7 the ticket and the ticketfm.com.