Defense wins championships, the adage goes. After allowing only 26 yards in the second half against Kent Saturday, one could say the Ohio defense is in championship form.

"It was really a little bit unexpected, on our part," Ohio Head Coach Jim Grobe said. "I knew our defense had a really great challenge. Kent had a really good week, the week before against Bowling Green, offensively."

"For the game, we held them to three points. Any time you can hold an offense like Kent to three points, you feel like you've had a great night," he said.

Grobe said the defense is finally comfortable with the schemes they run, including the zone blitzes successful against Kent.

QB shuffle

The defense will be put to another difficult test this weekend, as it faces the Akron Zips, led on the field by multi-dimensional quarterback James "Butchie" Washington.

Washington lit up Peden Stadium last season in the Zips' 28-14 loss to Ohio, throwing for 304 yards in defeat.

Ohio won't have to do too much adjusting, though, as the Bobcats have faced four quarterbacks this season who play a similar game. Minnesota's Billy Cockerham, Ohio State's Steve Bellisari and Kent's Jose Davis are three such signal-callers that can run and throw like Washington.

"Butchie Washington, athletically, is very talented," Grobe said. "I like the way he throws the football, he's the same type of quarterback we've seen this year where he can throw the football well, but he's also dangerous as a runner. (Akron) runs a little bit of an option. They bootleg-pass, and if the receivers aren't open, they like him to pull the ball down and run with it."

Washington is on pace to become the first Akron quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in his career. He is currently in fourth place on the Akron passing charts with 3,178 yards. This season he has passed for 694 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions.

Patterson rushing onto charts

Ohio tailback Jamel Patterson has run for 100 yards or more in three games this season, amassing 519 yards rushing, good for 14th in the nation, tied with Indiana quarterback Antwaan Randle-El. Patterson's 103.2 yard per game average makes him 26th in the nation in that category. Patterson has been battling a sore ankle, but continues to produce.

"I think he's better," Grobe said. "He still has some pain and he's seeing some different types of surfaces. Our practice fields have the tendency to go from real hard to real soft, based on whether or not we get much rain. I think he's doing fine. It's probably going to be a little nagging and sore throughout the season. But, there's a difference in being injured and having some pain in your ankle."

Zastudil moving up the charts

Ohio punter Dave Zastudil continues to punt like an All-American. By the end of the year, he might be. Zastudil is leading the MAC and is second in the nation with a 47.5 punting average.