Ohio
5 takeaways from South Alabama’s 27-20 loss to Ohio
![5 takeaways from South Alabama’s 27-20 loss to Ohio 5 takeaways from South Alabama’s 27-20 loss to Ohio](https://www.al.com/resizer/v2/6AFR2IMSYJDNTIOMQW6K36QEZ4.jpg?auth=b0f50008f8e00b916a22be97f9d125e8acd6e71d3cdfc75084896cdb784fcc51&width=1280&quality=90)
South Alabama went down in defeat to a “peer” program once again on Saturday, losing 27-20 at Ohio to fall to 0-2 this season.
Major Applewhite’s Jaguars played without starting quarterback Gio Lopez, who was dealing with a turf toe injury suffered last week vs. North Texas. South Alabama had opportunities to tie the game or take the lead in the second half, but could not cash in.
South Alabama drops to 0-2 after 27-20 loss at Ohio
The Jaguars have a short week before hosting Northwestern State on Thursday. Before that, here are 5 takeaways from the loss to the Bobcats:
1. Jaguars’ offense lacked consistency without Gio Lopez
Bishop Davenport played fairly well in his first extended action for South Alabama, but was nowhere near the dynamic force that Lopez is when healthy. Davenport missed a few open throws, and was late with some others that might have been bigger plays. The Jaguars also didn’t take many shots downfield in the passing game, something they’ve done with regularity the last three years.
2. Fluff Bothwell is the best running back on the team
Starting running back Braylon McReynolds didn’t play due to injury, so Bothwell moved up to No. 2 behind Kentrel Bullock. It’s starting to look like the talented freshman should be No. 1, however. He’s just a different kind of runner than anyone else on the South Alabama roster, and the Jaguars probably wasted some opportunities to use him more early in the game. Once Ohio got up by two scores, the running game went away.
3. Defense was better but still not good enough
The Jaguars weren’t completely helpless against the Bobcats, though they still allowed three killer scoring drives. Ohio took control with a pair of long touchdown marches, one right before the half and one right after. Then they killed most of the fourth quarter with a 13-play field-goal drive. The Jaguars did make a few big plays — including a sack/fumble in the third quarter — but couldn’t get off the field when it mattered most against an offense that wasn’t exactly dynamic.
4. Special teams again have a bad day
Other than placekicker Laith Marjan, South Alabama’s kicking game has been pretty horrid this year. A fumbled punt in the second quarter gifted a touchdown to Ohio after the Jaguars’ defense had made a stop. Kick coverage has also been suspect this year, as were kick returns on Saturday. The Jaguars would have been better off just fair-catching all kickoffs instead of trying for a return and winding up with the ball short of their own 20. Aleksi Pulkkinen made his first appearance at punter and had an up-and-down day in windy conditions.
5. It’s getting difficult to find 6 wins on this schedule
South Alabama is sitting at 0-2 despite being favored in both of its games this season. The Jaguars will almost certainly win Thursday vs. FCS opponent Northwestern State, which lost at home to Prairie View on Saturday. But then come consecutive road games against Sun Belt preseason favorite Appalachian State, SEC power LSU and much-improved Arkansas State. The Jaguars will be hard-pressed to enter the nationally-televised Oct. 12 “Battle for the Belt” with Troy at better than 1-5, and thus will struggle to be bowl-eligible for the third straight year.
NEXT UP: South Alabama hosts Northwestern State at 6:45 p.m. Thursday. That game will be streamed live via ESPN+.
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Ohio
Mailbox: Are Ohio State football games getting to be too long?
Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com. Letters are lightly edited for clarity.
On Ohio State football
To the editor: It’s always great to watch the Buckeyes in the Horseshoe. Been doing it since the late 1950s, but (Saturday) seemed different. Granted, it was extremely hot in the sun, but the length of the game was disconcerting. It took at least an hour for the first quarter to end.
I’m a longtime Archie Griffin fan, having watched him many times excel in the Horseshoe and enjoyed his being honored for all he has and continues to accomplish for Buckeye nation, but the other timeouts interrupted the football experience.
I worry, as baseball has had to change and shorten its game, that college football could be facing the same challenge. Our grandkids were excited to see their first Buckeye game, but it was a long day at times for them. Not to take away from those deserving recognition, but most of us are there to watch and support Buckeye football action.
Than Johnson, Urbana
To Than: I’ve found mismatches seem too long and great games seem too short. Also, the day goes a lot quicker at home when you can change channels to another game during those long timeouts.
To Brian: I wonder if Appalachian State or Ohio State have ever pursued a game with the other, which would still be a curious pairing even though it’s been a while. Surely schools such as next week’s opponent, Marshall, like Memphis, Tulane, Colorado State or Temple could be found that would come to Ohio Stadium without expecting a return game and would be better matchups than what we’ve been seeing.
Dennis Singleton, Dayton
To Dennis: If that happened, Appalachian State would have no bigger fan base than the one in Ann Arbor that day.
To the editor: We only read when one of the football Buckeyes gets arrested by the police. Then we scream, cry and carry on about those faithless heathens. Well, many Buckeyes are true believers despite the violent nature of football. Witness Master Teague, Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, J.T. Tuimoloau bringing 10,000 Bibles to distribute and sharing their faith on the OSU campus. While I don’t share their religious beliefs, I think these players are people we can believe in and can be called campus heroes.
Michael Oser, Columbus
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Ohio
Ohio State Cornerback Denzel Burke Ejected for Targeting in First Quarter Against Western Michigan
![Ohio State Cornerback Denzel Burke Ejected for Targeting in First Quarter Against Western Michigan Ohio State Cornerback Denzel Burke Ejected for Targeting in First Quarter Against Western Michigan](https://www.elevenwarriors.com/sites/default/files/styles/904x490/public/c/2024/09/148904_h.jpg?itok=M-VQguzx)
Ohio State will be without its top cornerback for the rest of its contest with Western Michigan.
Denzel Burke, a first-team All-Big Ten performer with an interception and nine pass breakups in 2023, was ejected for targeting after a hit he delivered to Broncos running back Jaden Nixon.
Ohio State CB Denzel Burke is disqualified after he’s called for targeting here.
Jermaine Mathews Jr. is coming in for Burke. pic.twitter.com/fHE5yiM3Ra
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) September 8, 2024
Burke will be out for the remainder of the contest but will not have to serve a first-half suspension against Marshall, Ohio State’s next opponent, since he was ejected in the first half of Saturday’s game against Western Michigan.
Burke started his season hot with a fantastic interception against Akron, but he gets a slight detour in trying to prove he’s the nation’s best with a Week 2 ejection.
Jermaine Mathews Jr., who had 13 tackles, three pass breakups and a pick-six as a freshman in 2023, replaced Burke in the Buckeyes’ defensive lineup.
Ohio
DNC flies plane over Michigan Stadium with banner blasting Ohio State fan JD Vance
![DNC flies plane over Michigan Stadium with banner blasting Ohio State fan JD Vance DNC flies plane over Michigan Stadium with banner blasting Ohio State fan JD Vance](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2020/04/04/PDTF/d65a2f7e-fc81-469e-9f8b-73631dc7e4d7-04032020_mistadium_jh-6.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2399,1350,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
‘Let’s Go Blue’ chant breaks out during JD Vance speech at RNC
JD Vance, the Republican Vice Presidential nominee and Ohio State University alum, poked fun at Michigan during his acceptance speech.
Can college football rivalries motivate Michigan voters to oppose a GOP ticket that includes Ohio State fan JD Vance? Democrats continue to test the theory — this time with a plane flying a banner highlighting Vance’s loyalty to his alma mater above the Big House on Saturday.
The Democratic National Committee flew a plane to take its anti-Vance message to the skies over the Michigan Stadium for four hours during fans’ tailgate before the 12 p.m. kickoff at the U-M game against Texas. In addition to noting Vance’s support for Ohio State, the banner in a few words tries to attach Vance to Project 2025, the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation’s playbook for the next Republican presidential administration.
“Like the Wolverines putting an end to Ohio State’s season three years in a row, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will put an end to Donald Trump and JD Vance’s election season when they beat them in November,” said Democratic National Committee Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman in a statement. “The words ‘Go Blue’ have never meant more than they do right now.”
Ever since Trump named the Republican U.S. senator from Ohio as his running mate, Democrats have seized seemingly every opportunity they can to remind voters in the battleground state that Vance roots for Ohio State on game day.
It’s a political liability Vance himself joked about during his speech accepting his party’s vice presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention. When the GOP delegation broke out in “O-H-I-O” chants, Vance joined the chorus before trying to quiet down Ohio fans. “You guys, we’ve got to chill with the Ohio love. We’ve got to win Michigan, too, here,” Vance said.
Democrats’ attacks against the GOP ticket have also focused on Project 2025 and its proposals to overhaul the federal government — including a plan to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and weaken civil service job protections — and restrict abortion access. The authors of the playbook include some individuals who previously served in Trump’s administration and Vance has previously championed the work of the Heritage Foundation.
“The only truth here is that Senator Vance is an Ohio State fan. Kamala would say ‘Go Green’ in East Lansing and then ‘Go Blue’ in Ann Arbor because her pollsters told her to,” Team Trump Michigan Communications Director Victoria LaCivita said in a statement Saturday. “While Michigan may not like OSU, they respect Vance and it’s why the Trump-Vance ticket will win the ultimate trophy on November 5.”
Michigan 2024 Election: 3 reasons Kamala Harris came to Detroit for Labor Day campaign stop
The Trump campaign has repeatedly tried to distance itself from the Project 2025 proposals. During a rally in Grand Rapids in July, Trump told his supporters he didn’t know what Project 2025 is but criticized it anyway, calling some of its ideas “seriously extreme.” A CBS News review published late last month found at least 270 of the more than 700 proposals outlined in Project 2025 overlap with Trump’s previous policies and campaign platform.
In 2016, Trump won Michigan by a 10,704-vote or 0.3 percentage point margin — the slimmest of any state — delivering Michigan for a GOP presidential candidate for the first time since 1988. In 2020, Biden defeated Trump by over 154,000 votes or 2.78 percentage points in Michigan.
The Cook Political Report — the preeminent election rating organization — deems the presidential race in Michigan a toss-up with either party having a good chance of winning.
Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.
Contact Liam Rappleye: LRappleye@freepress.com
Looking for more on Michigan’s elections this year? Check out our voter guide, subscribe to our elections newsletter and always feel free to share your thoughts in a letter to the editor.
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