Ohio (5-3 overall, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) pulled off a huge win against Eastern Michigan (2-7 overall, 1-4 MAC) to earn its first road win of the year after a huge second half. The first half had shades of the tough loss against Ball State as the offense was hindered by penalties and untimely turnovers.
Despite the slow start on offense, Ohio stormed back from a 14-7 halftime deficit with some big days from Ohio’s key playmakers in graduate student quarterback Parker Navarro, senior running back Sieh Bangura and junior wide receiver Chase Hendricks.
“We were expecting to have to take it late into the game,” Ohio head coach Brian Smith said. “I really loved how our guys played on all three sides. There (were) great moments within the game, really proud of our defense, after giving up two early touchdowns, just how they rebounded and played extremely hard the rest of the way.”
The Eagles came out of the gate hot with sixth-year quarterback Noah Kim, who led their offense down the field on the opening drive of the game, converting with a deep touchdown to receiver Nick Devereaux.
Ohio’s offense answered with a great drive of its own, going 83 yards on six plays to answer right back. The drive ended with a 28-yard touchdown to Hendricks, his first catch of the day. He ended with 10 receptions, 112 yards and two touchdowns.
That drive also kick-started Navarro’s big day through the air, ending with 315 yards while completing 82% of his passes to go along with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also added 63 yards on the ground. He spread the wealth on a day when the passing attack was on point.
“Overall, (Rodney Harris II) had 100 yards, I had over 100 yards, (Caleb Gossett) had a big catch down the sideline,” Hendricks said. “Mason (Williams) had some catches. I think collectively we played really good.”
The Eagles responded right back; however, with a drive that was powered by another big passing play from Kim, finding Mekhi Fox for a 51-yard gain on third down. That big play allowed Kim to punch it from three yards out to give Eastern Michigan the lead.
Following that drive, the Ohio offense stalled for a bit, with penalties killing the third Ohio drive and Navarro being stopped short on fourth down on the next drive. Thankfully for Ohio, the defense stepped up as well, holding Eastern Michigan scoreless for the rest of the half after the first two drives of the game.
“We just came together like a lot more,” Ohio defensive back Jalen Thomeson said on the defense responding. “We just make sure everybody was playing hard and (didn’t) give up … We really glued together this game. Everybody was cheering each other on. The motivational talk on the sidelines was a huge help.”
After both offenses went into a stalemate before the half, Ohio offense had a wild sequence going into halftime. The Bobcats were driving, but an intentional grounding penalty from Navarro killed the momentum, and Ohio was forced to attempt a Hail Mary.
The ensuing pass from Navarro was tipped around and found its way into the hands of Harris II for a wild touchdown at first glance. A flag was thrown on the play for an ineligible man downfield, and the score was wiped off the board.
Ohio had two more chances after some penalties, but neither were converted, and Ohio went into the half down seven.
The Bobcats had the ball coming out of the half, and Navarro and Hendricks drove the ball down the field. But yet again, a penalty killed the drive, and Ohio punted. The defense stayed strong; however, and they got off the field after a great play from Thomeson, blowing up a screen on third and five.
The next Ohio drive was the best one of the day: a 10-play, 67-yard drive that lasted 5 minutes and 45 seconds. The methodical drive ended with a touchdown from Bangura, the first of two scores on the day.
The next two drives were key for the Bobcats, as the defense forced a stop after Eastern Michigan’s Rudy Kessinger missed a field goal. Ohio took advantage right away, launching a 49-yard bomb to Harris II on the first play after the miss.
The drive ended with another Ohio touchdown, the second from Hendricks on a great scramble drill that found him wide-open.
“I was running my route, expecting to get the ball, (I saw) Parker spin out, so I spun out,” Hendricks said. “Especially with Parker being a mobile quarterback, it’s always good to work scramble drills.”
The defense remained stout, stopping Eastern Michigan on the following drive, and after the Ohio offense punted, they forced a turnover right away. Senior cornerback Tank Pearson got his helmet on the ball, stripping Kim and allowing Charlie Christopher to recover and give Ohio great field position.
The offense capitalized. Sieh Bangura had a monster 22-yard run to set the Bobcats up inside the two, and he finished that drive off as well with another score, putting Ohio up 28-14 late in the fourth quarter.
After a garbage-time touchdown from the Eagles and an onside kick recovery from Ohio, the Bobcats found themselves in victory formation, securing a huge road win before weeknight MAC play starts.
“(We’re) looking very much forward to moving on to the Battle of the Bricks and getting going on that game,” Smith said.
