-  Backup offensive  guard James Davis has been ruled out with his ankle injury.

-  Long snapper Kyle Robbins is questionable, but will be with the team at the very least on an emergency basis.  Jeremy LaVoie, who usually handles PAT and FG long snaps, would do the punting duties for the second week in a row if Robbins cannot go.  The problem is that Robbins can snap, but cannot run down field, Solich said.  Still, there is optimism his knee sprain would improve by the end of the week.

-  Safety Patrick Tafua practiced Sunday despite his nagging shoulder injury.  He will play but will be battling that injury the rest of the season.

-  Starting left guard A.J. Strum is questionable, Solich said.  He did not practice Sunday and is not expected to practice today either.  Vince Carlotta would in all liklihood get the start if Strum cannot go.

-  So what about the health situation of WR LaVon Brazill and QB Theo Scott? “Neither practiced yesterday–questionable,” Solich said quickly.  He would not offer up any more information.

-  If Brazill (leg) does play would there potentially be a situation where Brazill would just play wide receiver and not return punts to limit any further injury?  Solich said no–Brazill will either completely play or completely not play.

-  Remember, QB Theo Scott told reporters after the game he would play versus Central Michigan.

-  Solich talked at length about how it will be difficult for his defense to force CMU to turn it over.  Chippewas QB Dan LeFevour has thrown just five interceptions.  It’s a combination of LeFevour being great and smart with the football paired with CMU’s short, high-percentage passing offense that I would assume reminds the Bobcat defense of Bowling Green’s attack.

-  As expected, there is high praise about LeFevour from Ohio’s fifth year coach:  “I truly believe that everytime they talk about quarterbacks on national TV and announcers talk about awards that his name should be in that mix.”

- Solich on if he knows where the ‘Cats will playing in a bowl game:   “I’ve talked with (Ohio A.D.) Jim (Schaus) a couple of times and it’s kind of ongoing and changing.  We don’t know for sure, but I think we’ve had–Jim has had communication with people and the communication has been positive.  As to which direction we will be headed, we don’t know.  I know I don’t know.”

-  The ‘Cats coach also said he does not necessarily think the outcome of the Ohio-CMU MAC championship game will impact what bowl Ohio would play in.

-  More to come.

-  Here is an example of Ohio’s depth this season:  When starting LG A.J. Strum went down in the first half, his backup, true freshman James Davis stepped in.  OK, no big deal.  Then Davis gets rolled up under, hurts his ankle and is taken out.  At that point the ‘Cats were down to their third string left guard for that day, which was Vince Carlotta—who had started against Cal Poly and Tennessee after the season-ending injury to Dustin Laudermilch.  So on Friday, Ohio’s third string left guard was a player who had started a game already this year at that position.  How many FBS teams can say that about a particular position on its football team?

-  A career-best six catches for 65 yards and a touchdown for Steven Goulet has to make Bobcat fans a bit more comfortable if LaVon Brazill cannot go against CMU.

-  Speaking of Brazill, no official update on his status.  We will know more Monday afternoon.

-  Loved this quote from Frank Solich:  “I’m as proud of these guys as I’ve ever been of any team that I’ve been associated with,” the former Nebraska coach said.  “I don’t know that I’ve been with a team that has had to battle, had to make more plays on the line than what this group of athletes had to make as we went through our season.”

-  I’ve asked it time and time again to anyone willing to listen: Where is this team if Kenny Jackson does not intercept a third-quarter pass at North Texas and return it 69 yards for a touchdown?

-  My partner Brian Boesch said it best Friday night on the airwaves: Temple could have played its best game of the year against Ohio, but the Owls still would not have won the game.  That has happened only one other time this year—Cal Poly.

-  Cornerbacks Thad Turner and Idris Lawrence played almost the entire game Friday.

-  The Green and White has had fewer penalty yards than its opponents in each of the last seven games.

-  For just the second time this year, Ohio did not attempt a fourth down conversion (BG).

-  It should be worth noting that punter Matt Schulte did not have normal long snapper Kyle Robbins—who was only on emergency duty with a knee sprain.  Jeremy LaVoie, who handles the long snapping for PATs and FGs, was slow to get the pigskin back to Schulte Friday, which certainly did not help the punt unit.

-  Defensive tackle Marcellis Williamson has to be a walking ice pack.  You talk about playing hurt, Williamson is banged up with the best of them, but playing his rear end off.

-  Anyone else not comfortable if Ryan Clark—not Brazill—is returning punts against CMU?  Would Ohio coaches be willing to put Garrett back there, or try Gary Fortune again?

-  Ohio football has won 498 games in its history.  Could numbers 499 and 500 be MAC championship and bowl winners?

-  WR Taylor Price needs one reception and one touchdown catch to become the all-time leader in school history in both catches and TD catches.  Price needs 79 yards for the most receiving yards in a single season by a Bobcat, too.

-  Is there any other linebacker in the Mid-American Conference you would rather see spying CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour than Noah Keller?

-  Do yourself and Bobcat fans a favor:  shoot a word of thanks off to Marching 110 band director Dr. Richard Suk for their tremendous performance amidst the snow flurries Friday.  suk@ohio.edu

-  I chatted with Suk for about 15 minutes on Saturday.  More on the 110 in the next few days.

-  For a defense as controlling as Ohio’s was Friday, it’s odd to note the ‘Cats forced just one three-and-out.

-  Vaughn Charlton and Chester Stewart just do not sound like good quarterback names.  Those names make you want to turn on the Golf Channel for another lob wedge tip from David Ledbetter.

-  Temple’s two starting defensive ends—Adrian Robinson and Morris Blueford—each had one tackle.  Robinson entered the game with a league-best 11 sacks.

-  Ohio linebacker Errik Ejike started but did not record a single defensive statistic.  He got banged up in the first half with an ankle injury on top of the still-aching knee problem.

-  That was a career-high 15 tackles courtesy of Mr. Lee Renfro on Senior Day.

-  Junior linebacker Noah Keller will celebrate his 21st birthday against Central Michigan this coming Friday.

-  Cincinnati (5), Pittsburgh (8) and Ohio State (9) are all ranked in the Top 10 AP Poll and have a combined 30-4 record.  It’s not easy to recruit players to come to Athens when all three of those schools are within the region, but the ‘Cats are winning anyway.

-  Frank Solich has coached against 56 programs over his nearly 11 years of coaching.  There are just four teams that he has faced at least twice but has never beaten—Toledo (0-2), Virginia Tech (0-2), Wyoming (0-2) and—you guessed it—Central Michigan (0-3).

-  Only two teams—Kansas State and Texas—have beaten Frank Solich more than three times.

-  From 1995-2000 Jim Grobe went 33-33-1 in sixth seasons.  Solich is now 32-29 in year number five.

-  Check out this video from Ohio Athletics photographer Joel Hawksley, which includes “The Prez” breaking it down at the 4:38 mark.

-  Now that the MAC regular season is complete, here were my pre-season predictions in the East and West:

East
1.  Buffalo
2.  Temple (CORRECT)
3.  Ohio
4.  Akron
5.  Bowling Green
6.  Kent State
7.  Miami (CORRECT)

West
1.  Central Michigan (CORRECT)
2.  Western Michigan
3.  Eastern Michigan
4.  Northern Illinois
5.  Ball State (CORRECT)
6. Toledo

-  A couple of basketball quick-hitters:

-  Dear MAC basketball, Why are you so bad?

- Evansville hoops player Colt Ryan, a kid Ohio looked at under the Tim O’Shea era, is averaging 16 ppg through the first three games for the Purple Aces.

-  Ohio is now 25-6 when leading at halftime under Frank Solich, including a 6-0 mark this year.  Ohio and NIU were tied at 14-14 during Saturday’s game.

-  Going into Saturday’s NIU game, Ohio had committed a turnover in the red zone in four of the last five games.  That did not happen versus the Huskies, though.

-  According to the Temple News, Owls coach Al Golden sang Zombie Nation for his team at halftime Saturday versus Kent State because “they weren’t having any fun.”

-  Temple freshman running back Bernard Pierce injured his shoulder early vs. KSU.  His status against Ohio is unknown.

-  A.J. Strum has just been phenomenal since being inserted at left guard in game number five versus Bowling Green.  Leading up to the Northern Illinois contest in 342 snaps, he has yet to allow a sack, with just one quarterback pressure.

-  More o-lineman talk:  right tackle Joe Flading had eight pancake blocks against Buffalo, the second most by an Ohio offensive lineman in a single game this year (David White, 8.5 vs. Cal Poly).

-  Ohio scored two touchdowns and one field goal in three red zone chances Saturday—better, not great, but better.

-  Safety Patrick Tafua is playing hurt with that nagging shoulder injury, but boy is he gutting it out.  Tafua had 11 tackles and a few monster hits Saturday.

-  L.J. Flintall reminded me of Josh Abrams on specials teams—four tackles on kick and punt coverage.  Heck of a game.

-  A representative from the New York Giants and the Little Caesars Pizza Pizza Bowl were both expected to be in attendance Saturday.

-  In case you missed it, The Post Sports Editor Joe Ragazzo was a guest on The Jim Schaus Show last Thursday.

-  Ohio University President Dr. Roderick McDavis gave Ohio head coach Frank Solich quite the hearty congratulations on the field following the ‘Cats 38-31 win.

-  On first down attempts, Ohio ran it 11 times and threw it 14 times.  On those 11 rushes, the ‘Cats averaged 4 yards per attempt.

-  As mentioned during the radio broadcast, Saturday’s crowd was not the biggest, but definitely the best of the year.  It again proves the point that winning football makes students want to stay past the Marching 110 performance at halftime.  Kudos to the ‘Cats faithful.

-  A few quick thoughts from Ohio Basketball’s first three games:

-  Anyone else wonder how Ivo Baltic was available so late in the recruiting process?

-  Baltic loves to work the baselines and his wingspan rivals that of Devaughn Washington.  Baltic may have the best post moves on the team—definitely better than Washington.

-  D.J. Cooper (See: Hitchens, Humpty).

-  I don’t see where Asown Sayles fits in to the rotation with this unit.  From the looks of it, Sayles is a hard worker on both ends of the floor, but he just cannot finish and does not have a true position.

-  On another note….Just a heads up: “The Sears SportsFan” this coming Friday will be a special two hour show talking all Bobcats-Owls.  We’ll have a two hour show to recap one of the biggest games in recent Bobcat football memory.

-  More to come.

-  Groce said he is unclear if Horne will play basketball again at the collegiate level.  The Cincinnati native out of Princeton H.S. played 24 minutes in Ohio’s exhibition win over Ashland a week ago, recording 2 points and 6 rebounds.  In the ‘Cats first exhibition, Horne started and reached double digits (13 points, 4 rebounds in 27 minutes).

-  More to come.