BOWLING GREEN - Missed opportunities to score and a failure to stop the running game of the powerful Bowling Green offense spelled doom for Ohio on Saturday.
The Bobcats could not keep up with the Falcons in the second half and lost 38-14 at Doyt Perry Stadium. We've been preaching for the past two weeks that whenever we had the ball and had an opportunity to score
we needed to convert coach Frank Solich said, and we didn't do that.
The game started out with the Bobcats' Jordan Meyers recovering Bowling Green's fumble on the opening kickoff at the four yard line. Four plays later, following a missed field goal by Brooks Rossman, Ohio had no points to show for their efforts.
With 45 seconds left in the first half, Ohio had the ball on Bowling Green's 30 yard line with a chance to score and go into halftime tied at 14-14.
The Falcons' Jelani Jordan intercepted quarterback Austen Everson's pass at the one yard line, sending the Bobcats to the locker room still down seven, a deficit from which they would never recover.
We definitely had our chances right at the beginning of the first half and right at the very end of the first half
Everson said. It's funny how that works
but (we) just missed our chances.
Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs threw two touchdown passes, a 41-yard pass to favorite target Charles Sharon in the third quarter and another throw to Sharon at the 2-yard-line that was fumbled and then recovered in the end zone by wide receiver Steve Sanders at the 11-minute mark in the second quarter. Though known for their tendency to pass, the Falcons were able to supplement the passing game led by Jacobs with 192 yards rushing. Tailback B.J. Lane led the way with 93 yards and two TDs on the ground.
One thing that we couldn't do was let them establish a ground game
and they did that
Solich said. Once they did that
they had a lot of things going for them.
Solich also emphasized the key role that the blocking of the Falcons' offensive line played in protecting Jacobs and allowing the offense to gain more yards.I think that was part of the reason that they were able to complete the game with as many yards as they did because our defensive line struggled to get pass rush
said defensive linemen Seth Ream, who recorded a career-high 10 tackles, including three for a loss.
Ohio failed to execute on offense, especially when compared with Bowling Green's performance. The Bobcats' total offensive output of 239 yards was more than doubled by the Falcons, who gained 573 yards on offense, 381 of those coming through the air from the arm of Jacobs. The Ohio running game, which put up almost 400 yards against Kent State, was held to 68 yards.
They shut us down
Everson said. We just didn't come out and make enough strides to get where we need to be.
One area where the Bobcats performed well was special teams. In addition to the forced fumble and recovery on the opening kickoff, Taj Henley blocked a Falcon punt in the second quarter, and Meyers took it in for a touchdown. Wide receiver Scott Mayle returned two kickoffs for 87 yards, and Matt Miller put four punts inside the 20. But it was not enough to keep the Bobcats in the game.
They had their whole package against us
Solich said. They ran the ball well; they threw the ball well; they got out of third-and-longs
