Tim Hiller erased any chance of Ohio stealing one Saturday against Western Michigan.
The Broncos quarterback passed for 347 yards and had four touchdown passes as him team rolled over the Bobcats 41-20.
After staying close in the first half, long drives by Hiller in the second half did the Bobcats in with Western Michigan outscoring Ohio 30-13.
I don't feel like our team was in the right mindset to play this game today
quarterback Boo Jackson said. It's tough on all of us; again early in the game (we had) turnovers and then in the second half (we let) it go.
Jackson was 13 of 22 for 144 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions for an offense that never really got into a rhythm coming off a 51-point performance last weekend.
The Western Michigan defensive line sacked Jackson five times one of which was an 11-yard safety.
Their defense played us hard Jackson said. We're young on the offensive line now with our injuries and we just need to get their experience up.
Another glaring statistic was penalties with the Bobcats racking up nine for a total of 98 yards.
We had a lot of penalties in the first half that just took the momentum away from us Solich said.
The Bobcats led briefly in the game, taking a 7-5 lead in the second quarter, with Jameson Hartke giving his team a much-needed boost in the second quarter.
After recovering a fumble in the first quarter, the defensive tackle added an interception, taking the pick down to the Broncos 3 yard line setting up an Ohio touchdown.
Boo Jackson found tight end Andrew Mooney from the 4 yard line to give Ohio a 7-5 lead.
The lead for the Bobcats would be short-lived though, as Hiller and Western Michigan responded just before halftime to retake the lead 11-7.
Both teams led off with back-to-back three and outs to start the third quarter but following an Ohio punt, Western Michigan tallied a field goal to push its lead to 14-7.
Things got worse for Ohio on the kickoff return with running back Chris Garrett fumbling and giving the ball back to the Broncos on the Bobcats' 27.
The turnover proved to be crucial, and Hiller added another touchdown pass off the turnover to increase the lead to 21-7.
We're talking about being one touchdown down
Solich said. That was huge.
Ohio would not cut the lead any closer than 14 the rest of the game.
Ohio kicker Barrett Way missed a 43-yard field attempt in the first quarter, and Solich said the team needs to reevaluate their kicking situation.
There is enough going on there that we really need to assess that and see what makes sense
he said.
The Bobcats must now face the reality that at 1-5 chances of climbing back in the Mid American Conference race will be difficult.
It's a horrible feeling inside because we all know we can play better than this
Jackson said. Everyone that is watching us knows we can play better than this. To come out here and basically get blown out is a rude awakening for us.
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Steve Gartner
