ATHENS, Ohio - After Marshall's 21-10 stinker of a loss Saturday to the psyched-up Ohio Bobcats, you've got to restrain yourself from overreaction.
But I can't help but think the Thundering Herd's offense was blown all the way back to the first week of spring drills. It was that putrid.
You can point to an aspect of the offense that failed, and you'd be right. Only two positive things happened: (a) the team bus got to park near the stadium and (b) Devon Johnson scored on a 73-yard touchdown run.
Item (b) and a no-excuse field goal kept the Herd offense from being blanked for the first time since the 16-6 loss at Central Florida in 2011. (The defense scored MU's only points.)
There aren't that many parallels between those games. For example, the weather was perfect Saturday, in contrast to the 6-plus inches of rain for the 2011 game. UCF went 5-7 that year, though the Knights were 5-1 at home.
How good is this Ohio team? Not sure yet.
One important parallel: The current team and the 2011 team were run by first-year starting quarterbacks. Rakeem Cato was a raw freshman and Michael Birdsong is a junior, yes, but all MU QBs have awful games early in their careers.
Make no mistake: Birdsong was not good. He was victimized by drops, but threw several bad balls. One sequence that sticks out came in the fourth quarter when he threw wide to Deon-Tay McManus on a third-and-9, and then missed an open Johnson on third-and-11 on the next series.
Shoot, those plays would have doubled the Herd's third-down successes. Depressing, isn't it?
But as coach Herd coach Doc Holliday said, "It wasn't just Birdsong. We did a lot of things."
A plethora of penalties, for one. The Herd committed so many, it overwhelmed the overmatched Ohio stat crew. By my line-by-line deciphering of the play-by-play, adjusting for errors, the Herd committed 16 fouls for 157 yards. I think.
You wonder if the Herd failed to adjust for a different style of officiating by the Mid-American Conference-assigned zebras.
In my experience, Conference USA-assigned officials are more lenient on holding, etc.
Then again, two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and a late hit or two and four fouls on returns indicate an undisciplined team. And Ohio was flagged 11 times, so that's a wash.
Penalties put the Herd "behind the stakes" an unfathomable seven times, six in the first half. The Herd failed to make a first down all seven times.
"And now, all of a sudden, you become one-dimensional, and defenses are going to have an easier time defending you," said offensive coordinator Bill Legg. "A lot of drives today, we were a one-dimensional team."
Another thought: Did Johnson get enough touches?
I can argue he did. Johnson had 21 rushes for his 170 yards, and two receptions for 15 yards. Throw in the bad throw to him and we're talking about 24 touches - 44 percent.
(Note: Johnson has lost two fumbles in two games. In the Mark Snyder era, he would get benched.)
Let's compare that with a game from 2014, Johnson's 272-yard game against Florida Atlantic. He needed just 24 touches to romp that far, out of MU's 59 plays - 41 percent.
He had the most carries against Rice, 27 for 199 yards. Marshall ran 81 plays, so the "Rockhead ratio" was exactly 1-to-3, 33 percent.
So really, Johnson wasn't ignored Saturday. But Ohio's defense didn't ignore him, and neither will the next 10 opponents.
"I mean, everyone's going to key on 'Rock,' " Legg said. "But when we have them spread out, we had the 'box' we wanted, and we've got to execute at a higher level, and give him the opportunity to get beyond the first level."
Execution at the first level? Well, the right guard position has become a concern. When your Game 1 starter (Nate Devers) does not play in what appears to be a "coach's decision," something's not quite right.
Jordan Dowrey, a freshman like Devers, started with sophomore Cody Collins rotating in. I'm not sure when I've last seen three blockers in the same position in the first two games.
The good news for this offense (I think): The schedule sets up nicely for a recovery. Next up is Norfolk State, then a trip to Kent State and home games against Old Dominion and Southern Mississippi.
There should be progress. A lot of it.
nnn
I gave the Herd defense a C-plus in my postgame blog, but I'm thinking that's too low.
The unit didn't have a good first half, but escaped with a 14-10 lead. But the defenders blanked the Bobcats for 31 minutes at one point, finally giving out on an 85-yard scoring drive.
The Herd gave up a respectable 363 yards on a healthy 85 plays, 4.3 yards per snap. The Bobcats had 17 third-down chances but converted just six.
Give up 21 points in college football, you should win the game. Always.
In two games, MU's defense has played 179 snaps in nearly 70 minutes, and the injuries have piled up: Linebacker Shawn Petty, safety A.J. Leggett and backup nickel Chris Williams-Hall and backup tackle Tomell One. Cornerback Antonio Howard has not made his MU debut.
While there are issues with the pass rush, this unit can make a big play. But an offense that suffers eight three-and-outs and four turnovers creates an extraordinary burden.
I don't know about you, but I'm taking Marshall's defense off the hook for this debacle.