Kyle Grantham / Staff Photographer / kg116806@ohiou.edu

Ohio tailback Kalvin McRae runs past cornerback Julius Stinson in the Bobcats’ 34-33 loss to Wyoming last week. The Bobcats will look for a big game from McRae as they open up Mid-American Conference play at 3 p.m. tomorrow at Peden Stadium against Kent State.

Tailback Kalvin McRae expected opposing defenses to go to any lengths to stop Ohio’s ground game this season. After all, it’s not exactly a secret that the Bobcats like to run the ball.

But lately, the Bobcats’ trademark option offense has faltered on the ground, putting additional pressure on a still-developing passing attack and placing Ohio’s (2-2) focus on reigniting its running game for tomorrow’s Mid-American Conference opener against Kent State (2-2).

“With the success we’ve had as a team running the ball, teams know that’s what we do,” McRae said. “I think they feel as though they can just take away the running game and try to make us one-dimensional with passing and that they’ll be successful. It will be very crucial for us to get both aspects of our offense going.”

Through four games, Ohio’s rushing offense has 433 yards and seven touchdowns, but in its past two games against Virginia Tech and Wyoming, the Bobcats gained just 38 and 37 yards rushing, respectively. And that’s not nearly enough for a team that relies on ground success as much as Ohio does.

“We’ve got to get back to being able to run the football some,” offensive coordinator Tim Albin said. “I’m not saying we have to run the ball for 300 yards a game or anything, but we’ve got to have more yards rushing than what we had those Saturdays.”

Not only can a resurgence in the run game give the Bobcats an opportunity to sustain offensive drives, but, as Albin and McRae hope, it can enable them to punch through the end zone more.

“When we get in the red zone, we’ve got to come out with points,” said McRae, adding that the Bobcats can no longer miss opportunities to gain seven points. Ohio is 6-of-14 (43 percent) for touchdowns after entering the red zone this season.

“It’ll be crucial for us to try to put together some long drives,” McRae continued. “We need to be able to keep our defense on the sideline so they can rest, because they’re going to have a task on their hands trying to stop that offense.”

While Ohio has struggled to run the football, Kent State has excelled, boasting the best rushing offense in the MAC, averaging 236.8 yards per game. Golden Flashes running back Eugene Jarvis is sixth in the nation with an average of 134.8 yards per game, while quarterback Julian Edelman adds 65.2 yards on the ground in addition to 178 passing yards per game.

And although several of the Bobcats’ non-conference opponents had similar offenses with strong running backs and slippery quarterbacks, Ohio hasn’t really been able to stop the run. Ohio’s opponents have rushed for 790 yards so far, and defensive coordinator Jimmy Burrow knows Kent State will run circles around any team that lets them.

“When you play a team like this, they’ve essentially got two running backs — one just happens to play quarterback,” said Burrow, who stressed Ohio’s need to improve its tackling.

“We’re still not tackling the way we want to,” Burrow said. “We’re basically a one-gap defense, and guys, for whatever reason, weren’t in their gaps (against Wyoming). Even when we are in our gaps, it’s hard to tackle some of these guys who are mobile because they’ve really got the ability to make you miss.”