Bedford Understands the Challenges of the Talented Ohio Offense
August 28, 2013 | Football
Aug 28, 2013
LOUISVILLE, Ky.- University of Louisville defensive coordinator Vance Bedford knows his defense is going to have its hands full with a talented offensive team like Ohio, which went 9-4 last season and won in the Independence Bowl.
To say they are dangerous is an understatement.
Ohio's quarterback Tyler Tettleton and running back Beau Blankenship are two formidable offensive juggernauts that will give Bedford and the defensive staff headaches and could cause a great deal of anxiety on Sunday.
"We have to stop the run," Bedford said. "We have to load the box. We have to tackle. When you have a running back that runs for 1,600 yards, you are talking about an exceptional football player. Last year, three MAC teams beat BIG EAST teams. If you don't have you're A-game, they will beat you."
The Bobcats took on a monumental task last season when they traveled to Happy Valley, Pa., and took on a good Penn State team in front of over 100,000 fans.
After the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 14-3 lead at the half, Ohio stormed back with 21-unanswered points to pull off one of the biggest wins in school history and shock the college football world in the season's first week.
Blankenship was the catalyst in Ohio's big win over Penn State. The Norman, Okla., product carried 31 times for 109 yards and also caught seven passes for 72 yards.
"They put up over 400 yards of total offense on Penn State last year," Bedford said. "They moved the ball up and down the football field. They couldn't tackle the running back. I think he had over 100 yards. Our hands are going to be full. It's going to be a battle."
Like Blankenship, Tettleton hails from Norman, Okla., and almost took down the Lions last season by himself, throwing for 324 yards and accounting for three touchdowns.
Tettleton is a scrappy and heady player who makes the offense run as efficiently as it does. The redshirt senior last season became the first Ohio quarterback to throw for 2,500 yards in back-to-back seasons after registering 2,844 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and 3,302 yards and 28 scores in 2011.
"He is a leader," Bedford said of Tettleton. "He is a winner. He is very poised. He doesn't beat himself or put his team in a bad situation. That is why they are going to have a great season and why they are in position to win the MAC because of what he can do. He is going to be a handful."
Last season, the Cardinals had trouble against the run, giving up 148 yards per game, and are facing a tough offense and a great running back, so the Cardinals are going to have to strap it up.
"Ohio's offense is just a tough offense to defend," the fourth-year coordinator said. "Across the country, everyone is running the spread and hurry-up offense. It's giving people difficulty all over the country. We have to find a way to stop it. I feel our guys will be ready to go Sunday at 3:30 p.m."
The Cardinals are facing one of the better teams in the country, and everyone on the staff and in the locker room understands the type of explosive and dangerous team they will be facing on Sunday. The Cardinals must be ready to play if they don't want the Bobcats to pull off a repeat performance of their opener from last season.
