Solich says Williams being on KU staff could help in some areas

Much like the Jayhawks, Ohio is coming of a performance they weren’t very happy with. After winning their first game the Bobcats went on the road and lost to Purdue, 44-21.

Defensively Ohio gave up close to 600 yards to the Boilermakers.

“We are a gap oriented defense,” Solich said. “We didn't take care of our responsibilities and that will cause big runs to occur. I think physically, we wanted to play, but when you have those breakdowns being physical isn't enough. That ended up hurting us big time, but those breakdowns came in both the run and pass which usually hasn't been the case for us.”

Solich believes some the problems they had on defense last Friday night can be fixed before Kansas arrives on Saturday.

“"We took bad angles and that certainly causes problems,” he said. “Normally our pursuit angles are good, but there were things that popped up for us that have not been a problem in past games and seasons. That is the part that can get fixed and we need to get it fixed immediately for Kansas.”

One challenge for the Jayhawks defensively will be the physical match-up against a big offensive line. Every lineman in the line-up is over 300 pounds and three players are over 310. Ohio’s game plan under Solich has been to run the ball.

Against Purdue they had 160 yards on the ground in a losing effort.

“We ran the ball well enough to where we could be effective throwing the ball in the second half,” Solich said. “The running game got better as the game went on and that's usually how it works as the game goes on. So I wasn't totally dissatisfied with our running game and our line played physical.”

Solich was asked if the Jayhawks have any kind of advantage since Jesse Williams on the Ohio staff last year before joining David Beaty’s this January.

“Defensively there will be,” Solich said. “I will be surprised if Jesse [Williams] knows our offensive signals. That would be the case with all coaches on the other side of the ball, but defensively there will be some things that will need to get done."