In his first Division I start, quarterback Nathan Rourke opened the game with three straight scoring drives to push Ohio ahead in a 42-30 win over Kansas on Saturday afternoon at Peden Stadium.
Following a 41-yard field goal by Louie Zervos on the Bobcats’ first possession, Rourke capped an 11-play, 64-yard second drive by spinning and juking into the end zone on a three-yard run. He threw a touchdown pass to tight end Troy Mangen, one of two scores for Mangen in the game.
Rourke finished with two passing touchdowns and went 11-of-16 with 152 yards. He also rushed for a touchdown.
Ohio coach Frank Solich opted not to declare a starting quarterback at his weekly press conference earlier in the week after naming Quinton Maxwell as the starter ahead of Ohio’s first two games of the season. But Solich indicated that both his quarterbacks would play.
Sure enough, Maxwell came in for Ohio’s fifth drive and breezed the Bobcats 91 yards down the field, completing all four of his passes in the process. But in the second half, when Rourke had his helmet ripped off and was momentarily removed from the game, Maxwell threw an interception in the end zone.
The Bobcats secured victory with a suffocating third quarter in which they held possession for 11:27.
Ohio (2-1) won its first-ever home game against a Big 12 opponent, while Kansas (1-2) extended its consecutive road loss streak to 42 games.
