Ohio (3-2 overall, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) entered Peden Stadium on Saturday afternoon for its first noon game of the season against Bowling Green (2-3 overall, 0-1 MAC). The earliest start of the year looked as if it may have affected Ohio right on the opening kick as Bowling Green started near midfield with hopes to jump ahead early.
However, the Bobcats' defense was not sleeping. Graduate student linebacker Cameron Hollobaugh intercepted the second pass of the day from the Falcons quarterback Drew Pyne and returned it 71 yards to the house as Ohio took the early 7-0 lead.
The Falcons did not go away quietly, spreading the ball around on their second drive and utilizing their whole running back room. The big factors on the drive were running backs Chris McMillian, who had a 33-yard run, and running back Kaderris Roberts, who caught the 27-yard touchdown from Pyne to tie the game at seven.
Ohio’s offense was unfazed, methodically marching down the field. The drive started with redshirt senior running back Sieh Bengura gaining a first down, then Ohio found redshirt sophomore tight end Mason Williams three times for 38 yards, including a 19-yard receiving touchdown to go up 14-7.
“The ability to break tackles, you know, that's a huge thing,” Williams said. “You know, when you only have one guy to beat, if you break that tackle, then there's no one else, so you kind of just run free.”
Bowling Green decided to open its third drive with trickery, running an end-around to wide receiver RJ Garcia for 38 yards. The drive would continue down into the red zone, but Ohio’s defense bent but did not break. It held Bowling Green to a 26-yard field goal with only a minute to play in the first quarter.
Now leading 14-10, Ohio and Bowling Green exchanged punts. Ohio got the ball back again around midfield and used the legs of graduate student quarterback Parker Navarro to get to the 25-yard line. Navarro then looked to use his arm, dropping one in the bucket to junior receiver Chase Hendricks for a touchdown.
The Falcons' offense leaned on McMillian and Garcia to get down the field. Unfortunately for them, Pyne was put under pressure and got ambitious on a throw downfield but underthrew his receiver. This allowed graduate student cornerback Tank Pearson to step in front and intercept the pass.
Ohio went three and out after the pick. After a good punt by Ohio, Bowling Green began marching down the field. The clock ran under two minutes to play in the half but Bowling Green again could not break through for 6 points. A crucial third-down hurry by Hollobaugh helped get the Ohio defense off the field, holding Bowling Green to a 33-yard field goal, the score now 21-13.
The Bobcats looked to match the Falcons’ field goal and got down the field in less than a minute, utilizing the boundaries and setting themselves up at the 20-yard line with only a couple of seconds to play. The Bobcats did not convert on the 38-yard field goal attempt and would head into the locker room up eight.
Ohio came out of the half hoping to extend its lead, but Navarro would be intercepted on fourth down, starting a turnover frenzy between the two offenses. After Bowling Green punted, both teams exchanged fumbles. The first by Navarro, and then Hollobaugh forced one to get the ball back to Ohio, recovered by redshirt sophomore Jay Crable.
“I feel like both offense and defense, if the defense gets scored on, the offense counters back and we get a touchdown, and if something bad happens on the offense, we come back and get a stop,” Crable said on sudden change due to turnovers. “So it's really a mutual thing, and just all about adversity and overcoming it.”
The Bobcats took over just outside of the red zone. Bangura took the ball down to the 10-yard line and then, after another five-yard run, Navarro finished off the drive with a five-yard run to end the scoring drought and go up 28-13.
The scoring once again slowed as a result of back-to-back punts by both teams. Once Bowling Green got the ball back. It was under duress from the Ohio defensive line, who had two sacks on the drive, one by Crable, who had three on the afternoon, and the line as a whole had five total.
“I think it's a great reflection of the commitment he's made to our Player Development Program,” Ohio head coach Brian Smith said on the growth of Crable. “(He’s) believing in what we're trying to do and how we feed them, how we train them, and just how his body's developed since he's been here, and how he's trusted our coach and continued to grow as a player.”
Ohio looked to shut the door, and after a 33-yard run by sophomore Duncan Brune, they looked poised to do so. Bowling Green did not allow the game to slip away, forcing Navarro to fumble again and scoring on the ensuing drive on a 15-yard run by McMillan to cut the lead to 28-20.
The Bobcats ran the clock down as they pushed the lead back to two scores due to a 34-yard touchdown run by Navarro, who ran down the left side while evading Falcon defenders and using key blocks downfield.
Ohio’s defense continued to shine as the clock dwindled away. It turned Bowling Green over on downs and then, to cap off a day full of turnovers, redshirt sophomore DJ Walker intercepted Pyne to shut the door on any comeback in the 35-20 Ohio win.
