After suffering a dismantling at the hands of Louisville last week, Ohio was in dire need of not just a win, but a statement in Saturday’s home opener.
That’s just what the Bobcats received, as they defeated the North Texas Mean Green at Peden Stadium 27-21.
While the victory wasn’t anything to be especially proud of, complete with defensive lapses late, Ohio did enough to earn its first victory of the season.
The Bobcats wasted no time putting their stamp on the game game when Ohio redshirt senior quarterback Tyler Tettleton connected with redshirt junior wide receiver Chase Cochran for a 75-yard touchdown on the contest’s opening play.
Cochran finished the night with 103 yards.
“It was kind of just one of those plays we love and we love to run against their type of defense,” Tettleton said. “We knew that we had a chance to run it at some point in the game and it just happened to be the first play. It’s great that we started off that way and Chase made a great play.”
After forcing a three-and-out, Ohio redshirt senior cornerback Travis Carrie fumbled a punt return and North Texas regained control. On the ensuing drive, defensive lineman, redshirt senior Nic Barber forced a fumble, which was recovered by Ohio redshirt freshman linebacker Jovon Johnson.
The chips were falling Ohio’s way early, until North Texas answered late in the first quarter, with a three-yard run from sophomore running back Antoinne Jimmerson.
In the second quarter, the Bobcats broke the game open, scoring 14 unanswered points. Tettleton connected with running back redshirt senior Ryan Boykin for a 10-yard score, before Johnson intercepted North Texas quarterback, senior Derek Thompson for a 42-yard touchdown run.
The Bobcats limited North Texas’s offense to 170 yards in the first half, despite the Mean Green leading in time of possession, 19:09 to 10:51.
Ohio also held Thompson to 92 yards in the first half and running back Brandin Byrd to 26 yards on the ground. The Bobcats out-gained the Mean Green in total yards in the half, 220-170 and held the Mean Green to 0-for-7 on third down attempts.
Ohio won the battle up front, as they outrushed North Texas 203-104. Boykin had 93 yards and redshirt senior Beau Blankenship finished with 83. The Bobcats were also efficient through the air, as Tettleton finished 19 for 30 with 239 yards.
The Bobcat defense, which was strong during the first stanza, was far from it in the second half, though Ohio redshirt junior safety Josh Kristoff finished the game with 10 tackles and was followed with redshirt sophomore linebacker Ben Russell, with nine.
North Texas’s defense especially, flustered Tettleton in the third quarter, as he threw two interceptions. The latter, led to a Mean Green touchdown when sophomore wide receiver Carlos Harris scored on a 31-yard pass play from Thompson.
North Texas tied the contest at 21 apiece with 12:51 left in the fourth quarter, when Thompson found wide receiver Darnell Smith for a six-yard strike.
However, that would be all the Mean Green could muster, as Ohio pulled away from North Texas late in the fourth quarter. Ohio coach Frank Solich, said he was pleased with how his team performed under pressure.
“We knew it would be a good challenge tonight,” Solich said. “I liked the way our guys faced that challenge. They came off of last week certainly down, but did not stay down. They responded very well in terms of the practices throughout the week, which was great to see. And then I thought we did enough tonight to win.”
Ohio redshirt sophomore kicker Matt Green converted on two field goals late in the game, after missing his first attempt, a 40-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Solich said he was impressed by Green’s performance on the night.
“He’s got great strength in his leg and has the potential to be an outstanding kicker,” Solich said. “He’s just got to continue working on consistency. … He just needs to get more experience in game situations, and the only way to do it is to run out and try it.”
Senior safety Xavier Hughes ultimately sealed the game when he intercepted Thompson with 1:02 left in the contest.
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