Ohio (4-2 overall, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) took the field Saturday afternoon for its Homecoming game and walked away with a 31-14 win over Central Michigan (3-3 overall, 1-1 MAC). The Bobcats wanted to start fast, scoring touchdowns on their first two drives and 31 points in the first half, and then battled through rainy conditions in the second half to hold off the Chippewas.
Ohio started with the ball and avoided disaster early when a pass interference penalty on the Chippewas wiped out an interception of an errant pass by returning quarterback Nick Poulos. The Bobcats took advantage of the second opportunity and rolled deep into Central Michigan territory.
Poulos handed it off to junior running back Duncan Brune, who made a quick cut and blew past two Chippewas defenders to the end zone. Ohio jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the 23-yard touchdown run.
Central Michigan wanted to run the ball and got right to it on its opening drive, relying mainly on quarterback Angel Flores. The Ohio defense tightened up once the Chippewas crossed midfield, as defensive end Tyler Gillison wrapped up Flores short on fourth down to get the ball back to the Bobcats.
Ohio got right back to work, as Poulos found redshirt sophomore Riley Neer for 32 yards. Poulos then found redshirt sophomore tight end Jakc Furtney, putting the Bobcats in the red zone. Three plays later, Poulos fired a strike at Neer for a 3-yard touchdown pass to increase the Ohio lead to 14-0.
“Credit to him for getting ready for this,” Ohio Head Coach John Hauser said about Poulos. “I don't know that we have a different offense with him in there. I just think he's so experienced and he's been in this system for so long that it's an advantage to have him in there and the way he's throwing it and running it and it was nice for him to come back and play like he did.”
The Bobcats got the ball back quickly, forcing a three-and-out. Ohio added on with a 24-yard field goal by graduate student kicker Will Hryszko, but a costly false start may have left points on the board.
Ohio was without redshirt senior linebacker and defensive captain Jack Fries, so once again it was redshirt senior linebacker Michael Molnar who stepped up. Molnar got into the Central Michigan backfield and forced a fumble on Flores.
The Bobcats then put together an eight-play, 35-yard drive that concluded with the first touchdown catch of redshirt freshman Preston Bowman’s career as a Bobcat. Ohio turned defense into offense, and the game got ugly early, with the Bobcats up 24-0.
Ohio began driving again before a botched exchange between Poulos and graduate student running back Victor Rosa, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by Central Michigan. The turnover did not cost the Bobcats, who got the ball back and ended the first half on another high note, as Poulos found redshirt sophomore Dom Dorwart for a 44-yard touchdown pass and Ohio went to the locker room up 31-0.
The weather conditions continued to worsen as the game rolled into the second half, with players muffing punts and stumbling on routine plays. These conditions reared their head on Ohio again when Rosa fumbled, giving the Chippewas the ball in Ohio territory.
Central Michigan once again was held scoreless, being turned away on fourth down again, as Molnar came up with a huge sack of Flores, keeping the Chippewas off the board.
Ohio held the four-score lead, but neither team could get much rolling in the third quarter. The rain and wet conditions pushed both teams to run, helping Ohio drain some clock, but it made both offenses predictable. The Chippewas tried to move the ball through the air, and quick passes gave space to receivers as they approached the red zone.
Central went back to the ground, and running back Jayden Clerveaux found the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown run to cut the Ohio lead to 31-7.
The Chippewas attempted an onside kick following the score, but were unsuccessful, and Ohio started the fourth quarter in its opponents' territory, hoping to drain the clock and close the door on any hope of a comeback.
Ohio punted the ball away again, struggling to establish anything against Central Michigan’s pressure up front. The punt parade continued throughout the fourth, and time quickly became the biggest enemy of the Chippewas, who needed three scores with just five minutes to play.
The points came for Central Michigan on a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Nick Woodford, but it was not enough to mount a comeback, and Ohio won its second MAC game of the 2026 season, defended home field on Homecoming Weekend and extended its home winning streak to 16 games.
“It was exciting to see the atmosphere, even in this type of weather,” Neer said. “The fans really stuck it out in the midst of that rain, so that was really cool to see. But as you know, we take care of business here on the Frank. It's a really exciting place to play, especially when you know you have that support behind you.”
The return of Poulos seemed to flip a switch in the first half for this group, and then Ohio battled through the elements in the second half to shut the door on its 31-14 win.
