Ohio looked refreshed after the bye week and dismantled Northern Illinois 48-21 on Homecoming weekend. Ohio (4-3 overall, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) walked into Peden Stadium for the final Saturday home game for its seniors against Northern Illinois (1-6 overall, 0-3 MAC). After a poor second half two weeks ago at Ball State, the Bobcats came to play early in this one, jumping on the board first.
The Bobcats took an early 7-0 lead after forcing a punt that was returned to the Huskies' 14-yard line by junior wide receiver Chase Hendricks. With emphasis on a fast start, the offense got right to work and scored in just two plays on a two-yard run by redshirt senior running back Sieh Bangura.
“Honestly, that is the vocal point for every game, start fast, finish fast, even like back when we played West Virginia, it was 17-10,” Bangura said . “We felt we could’ve done more. So, just starting faster was the emphasis all week, even right after the Ball State game, because we just know we can do more. We know the type of team we are. Everybody all around can make plays. So it's just like we have to start fast and finish fast every week.”
After forcing another Northern Illinois punt, Ohio returned to the field and took the ball downfield on an 11-play, 91-yard drive that ended on a 9-yard touchdown run by graduate student quarterback Parker Navarro as the lead grew to 14-0. The Ohio defense came to play as well, once again forcing a punt on a Northern Illinois drive was capped off by a sack by redshirt sophomore Jay Crable.
Three drives, three scores was the recipe for the Bobcats to start this game. They were once again led by the ground game, but this time it was sophomore running back Duncan Brune who got them down the field before Bangura cashed in for his second score of the first half.
“Very important to take some of the pressure off of Parker, which is great, and I think they complement each other really well,” Ohio head coach Brian Smith said of the duo of Bangura and Brune. “Both of them are physical, run hard, and I think Duncan has just a little bit of a different element of the physicality behind his pads. When both those guys are playing well, it can wear down a defense.”
Now leading 21-0, the Bobcats were caught a little flat-footed on the ensuing kickoff, and if not for a touchdown-saving tackle by redshirt senior Eamon Dennis, the Huskies would have gotten on the scoreboard. Unfortunately for Ohio’s defense, which was so stout throughout the first quarter, Northern Illinois took advantage and scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass. It then went for two, which it converted to cut the lead to 21-8.
The biggest story to close out the first half for Ohio was the lack of points. It put together drives but could not sustain them due to an abundance of penalties. Ohio had three penalties in the span of five plays of its final drive to close the half that eventually ended on the only Ohio turnover of the day. Navarro tried to make a play in the final minute but was intercepted.
The Bobcats came out of the locker room hot and fast again. In only three plays, they got back on track and extended the lead. They scored on a 66-yard touchdown run by Brune, which took him over 100 yards for the game. The extra point that followed was no good, but the Ohio lead still grew to 27-8.
The following drive was another three-and-out for the Huskies. Ohio saw excellent play all day from individuals on defense, and the secondary stepped up big in one-on-one matchups, a big difference from the Ball State game the last time out.
“We watch film, we learn, practice every day with the intent to get better, especially coming off that loss,” Adonis Williams said of the defensive effort. “It kind of hit us hard, so we really got to reevaluate ourselves everywhere and attack each day, and I feel like we attacked this day.”
Ohio’s offense was hot, and Bangura kept it rolling with a 49-yard run to open the next drive. Then, the running back tandem and Navarro got right back to work, logging 97 of its 333 total rushing yards together on this drive. They capped another successful drive off with Brune’s second rushing score of the day from five yards out to go up 34-8.
Northern Illinois struggled to score in the first half, and the third quarter had so far been more of the same, but a 50-yard strike to junior wide receiver DeAree Rogers over the top of the Ohio defense. Northern Illinois once again went for two but was unsuccessful, trailing 34-14.
Homecoming is something special for players all over the country, but Bangura has found his groove during this game every year. For the second time in his career, he scored for the third time on the ground in the Homecoming game. Ohio now led 41-14, and Bangura also scored his tenth touchdown during a homecoming game.
“I think we need to get his mom at all the games,” Smith said of Bangura’s success during the homecoming games. “Typically, his mom usually comes to these games, and obviously he loves her a lot. She's a great woman, and he typically plays better when she's around.”
The lead was so large Ohio began to take its foot off the gas, and Northern Illinois cashed in with another touchdown to make the score a bit closer at 41-21. After a turnover on downs by Ohio, Northern Illinois threatened again, but Ohio’s defense stood tall, stripping the ball carrier and allowing junior safety Jalen Thomeson to scoop it up and take it to the house, a perfect exclamation point on the dominant homecoming victory to end the game with a score of 48-21.
