OXFORD, Ohio — Ohio’s bowl hopes were on the line with 1:47 remaining in the Battle of the Bricks.
Josiah Yazdani lined up to break a tie game with a 42-yard yard field goal, but he pulled the kick wide left and thought he had let the Tuesday night game slip away.
As Miami regained possession, Brendan Cope told his kicker on the sideline he’d get another chance to redeem himself.
“After that first miss I didn’t lose confidence, but you feel like you let the whole team down,” Yazdani said. “I can’t say enough to Derrius and our offense, they got me down there again.”
Ironically enough, Cope was a focal point in Ohio’s game-winning drive.
Miami’s offense couldn’t put together a drive to win the game and Ohio got the ball back with one minute remaining. On the ensuing drive, Cope, a freshman wide receiver, dove forward along the sideline to reel in a 38-yard reception.
That catch put the Bobcats at the RedHawks’ 11-yard line and gave Yazdani a chance to “go from zero to hero,” as he drilled a 28-yard game-winning kick and gave Ohio the 24-21 victory.
A victory wasn’t always in sight, though, as Ohio (6-6, 4-4 Mid-American) allowed Miami (2-10, 2-6 MAC) to score 21 points in the first half. Miami quarterback Andrew Hendrix finished the first half with 167 passing yards and two total scores, while Ohio failed to put together drives to score any points.
Redshirt junior quarterback Derrius Vick struggled to start the game, similarly to the first three games of the season. Before being pulled in the second quarter in favor of JD Sprague, Vick had completed just three of his nine passes for 25 yards and had one interception.
Ohio didn’t quit, and the first score came at an important time.
Seconds after Miami scored its third touchdown, Kylan Nelson brought the ensuing kickoff back 85 yards, tiptoeing along the sideline, for a touchdown.
Sprague, a redshirt sophomore quarterback, saw two possessions before being taken back out after throwing two interceptions.
That’s when Vick — like Yazdani — was able to make amends for his mistakes.
“Obviously I was a little disappointed in myself getting taken out of the game, because I didn’t perform well enough,” Vick said. “It just so happened that I went back into the game and I tried to make the most of what I could.”
Vick finished with 121 yards, two touchdowns and an interception through the air, while adding 61 yards rushing as well.
With the victory, the Bobcats are bowl eligible for a sixth consecutive season. Although it’s not guaranteed a bowl, Ohio could find itself in one with a .500 record.
“We didn’t get off to a good start, and then we turned the ball over and allowed them to get some scores,” coach Frank Solich said. “Winning a hard-fought contest like that, having to come from behind and doing it on the road — that all adds up to really propelling us into the off-season, if that is the case for us.
“If we’re fortunate enough to be in a bowl game I know this team will prepare hard and prepare well.”
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