KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Ohio didn’t punt until the third quarter Thursday night. Why punt when you can score?
The Bobcats scored 45 first-half points and rested starting quarterback Nathan Rourke for the entire second half en route to a 59-14 pummeling of Western Michigan at Waldo Stadium.
Ohio (6-3, 4-1 Mid-American Conference) recorded its third straight win and its first win over Western Michigan (6-4, 4-2 MAC) since Oct. 7, 2006 — nearly 4,500 days ago.
The victory also marks the first Ohio win in Waldo Stadium since 1998.
Rourke finished with 149 yards passing and three touchdown passes, along with 68 yards on the ground and two scores. He threw touchdowns to Isiah Cox, Papi White and Adam Luehrman. The 8-yard grab by Luehrman was not only his first career touchdown, but it was also his first catch as a Bobcat.
Ohio’s defense continued its stretch of dominance as well, holding the Broncos to 270 total yards. The Bobcats forced turnovers and made freshman Bronco quarterback Kaleb Eleby’s life hard throughout the night.
As the Bobcats continue to dominate, the stats become more impressive. In their last three games, they’re outscoring opponents by a combined 160-42. They scored at least 50 points in back-to-back games, the first time that’s happened since 2002.
Most of Ohio’s starters were out of the game by the end of the third quarter. The Bobcats scored just 14 points in the second half, but it didn’t matter. The damage inflicted during the first half was more than enough to demolish the Broncos.
Ohio scored on every first-half drive except one that ended in a missed field goal and another at the end of the half. In the first half, the Bobcats racked up 273 total yards and forced five turnovers. Three of those turnovers came on special teams: The Bobcats blocked a punt for a touchdown, and the Broncos muffed two kickoffs.
WMU received the game’s opening kickoff and drove down the field but missed a field goal. Ohio took advantage of its first chance with the ball and scored a touchdown to open the scoring. After tacking on another score, Ohio forced a WMU punt that was blocked by DL Knock and returned by Alvin Floyd for a special teams touchdown.
Ohio later made it 28-0 and got the ball back after WMU muffed the ensuing kickoff, which the Bobcats recovered. Ohio added a field goal. But then the Bobcats had to kick off again — a bad sign for the Broncos. WMU muffed that kick as well, and Ohio scored a touchdown, officially burying the Broncos.
If that wasn’t enough scoring for Ohio, it made sure to add another touchdown late before the half, Rourke’s 10-yard touchdown to Cox.
