After Sept. 19’s crushing 46-0 home defeat to Wittenberg University, Washington University was left with multiple questions.

Junior runningback Jim O’Brien answered those questions on Saturday, earning a career-high 146 rushing yards in the team’s 23-0 win over Rhodes College (2-3).

“[The win] added another level of confidence for the team,” O’Brien said. “Just knowing that we’re going to [stumble] no matter what…and just knowing that we can rebound like that shows a lot about the team and how we carry ourselves.”

The Bears (2-2) ran for a net 222 yards, a season high, and had a 378-273 offensive advantage over Rhodes.

“One of the stresses that we had early…this week was to come out fast and come out strong,” O’Brien said.

On the opening possession of the game, Rhodes threatened to score. With the ball at Wash. U.’s 9-yard line and positive yardage gained on all 13 plays of the drive, a touchdown seemed inevitable.

Senior defensive back Tim Machan intercepted an end-zone pass and returned it to the 33-yard line. The Bears had four interceptions in the game, while Machan led the defense with eight total tackles.

“We knew that we were backed up against the wall…in any situation, you’re hoping for a turnover, but we were just hoping to force a field goal,” Machan said. “Then the quarterback kind of overthrew the ball and I was in the right position for it.”

O’Brien took over the first quarter. With 4:25 left in the quarter, he punched in a 2-yard touchdown to give the Bears the lead. O’Brien’s 37-yard rush previously on the drive set up the score.

In the first half alone, O’Brien picked up 78 yards on nine carries. His performance broke the career 1,000-yard rushing mark.

“I think yesterday I just was able to get out into open space a little bit more,” O’Brien said.”The [offensive] line was just creating the holes…so I definitely give 100 percent credit to the line.”

An unsuccessful Lynx fake-punt led to Wash. U.’s next touchdown. Junior quarterback Stephen Sherman found sophomore receiver Easton Knott wide open in the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown reception.

Senior halfback Greg Lachaud tacked on another six points with a 1-yard touchdown rush with 4:59 left in the third quarter. The seven-play, 76-yard drive came entirely on the ground.

Up 20-0 with 3:20 left in the game, sophomore Brandon Rogalski sealed the victory with a 29-yard field goal. The field goal was the Bears’ first successful kick in seven games.

“It feels very good to get the shutout, having the offense put points on the board, and the defense plays well,” Machan said.

Sophomore punter Austin Morman was key in the win, averaging 43.2 yards per kick, while Sherman went 11 for 17 for 113 yards and a touchdown.

“We went into the game knowing that field position and special teams were going…to be a big part of winning the game,” Morman said. “I just tried to put [the ball] as far back, inside the [20-yard line], as I could and hopefully giving the defense good position, so they could play as well as they did.”

The Bears will travel to Crawfordsville, Ind., on Saturday to take on No. 12 Wabash College (4-0).

“Yeah, they’re ranked…but we’ve got a feel for them,” O’Brien said. “We know that they’re not superhuman…that they’re just like us; that they’re just going out there to play.”

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Tags: bears, Football, Greg Lachaud, jim o'brien, Stephen Sherman, Tim Machan

This entry was posted on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 12:44 am and is filed under Football, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through this feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.