MUNCIE, Ind. – It was cold, rainy and the wind howled. The forecast all week called for rain and Ohio knew that coming into Saturday’s game against Ball State. It spent the week squirting the footballs with Gatorade bottles in an attempt to preview the conditions it would face on the road.
It worked.
The rain hardly proved an issue for Ohio as it defeated the Cardinals 34-21 in its second Mid-American Contest road contest.
Ohio’s defense knew that after its bend-don’t-break performance against Kent State last week, it had to be even better.
It held the MAC’s No. 2 scoring offense to its lowest point total of the season.
Ball State quarterback Drew Plitt didn’t complete a pass until midway through the third quarter and the junior only went 11-for-20.
The Cardinals run game kept them in it for as long as it could. They ran the ball for over 100 yards in the second half, highlighted by running back Walter Fletcher’s 73-yard touchdown run late in the third.
The Bobcats (4-4, 3-1 MAC) run game took off behind the legs of quarterback Nathan Rourke and running backs O’Shaan Allison and De’Montre Tuggle. The trio had combined for 281 yards 50 on carries for four touchdowns against the MAC’s No. 3 rushing defense.
Pass completions were hard to come by for Rourke as well behind an 8-for-16 effort. The senior had 131 yards passing yards and one interception, which was thrown on the Bobcats’ second drive of the game.
This was the game that Ohio needed. Ball State was atop of the MAC West Division standings and Ohio is currently in a three-way tie with Kent and Miami. If Saturday’s game were any indication of a potential rematch in December, at least it will be in better conditions.
