LEXINGTON, Ky. -The Mid-American Conference's five-week wait for a 2004 victory against a Bowl Championship Series opponent is over.
The Ohio football team stunned Southeastern Conference opponent Kentucky 28-16 in front of 61,514 fans at Commonwealth Stadium to snap a 10-game road losing streak and earn its first win against a BCS school since beating Minnesota four years ago.
Of my college career
I feel this is the best game Ohio linebacker Matron Church said. We really came to win this game and we played our hearts out -the whole team from the D-linemen to the water boy.
Playing with a defense decimated by injuries, Ohio (3-2 overall, 1-1 MAC) forced five Wildcat turnovers, including four in the fourth quarter, as the Bobcats stretched their lead to 18 and emptied most of the stadium's blue seats.
Linebackers Dennis Chukwuemeka, Tyler Russ and Michael Graham, safeties Chip Cox and Rob Stover and nose guard Shane Yates, all of whom started at the beginning of the season, never saw the field Saturday due to injuries.
Going into this game
we weren't sure who was going to be the playmaker
Ohio coach Brian Knorr said. We made big plays
and I commend our defense for that.
Ohio's top playmaker, however, came on the other side of the ball. Wide receiver Scott Mayle caught four passes for a career-high 157 yards and burnt Kentucky defensive backs for touchdown catches of 89 and 44 yards. He also ran five end-around patterns for 52 yards.
Ohio overcame a 7-0 deficit and took a 14-10 lead into halftime on the strength of a nine-yard scamper by quarterback Ryan Hawk into the corner of the end zone and Mayle's first touchdown catch.
But early in the fourth quarter Kentucky (1-3) appeared poised to retake the lead. The Wildcats drove deep into Ohio territory before linebacker Matt Muncy, the reigning MAC East Division Defensive Player of the Week, intercepted Kentucky quarterback Shane Boyd's pass at the one-yard line.
On the ensuing drive, quarterback Austen Everson, who relieved Hawk, hit Mayle on a slant pattern. The speedy receiver split Kentucky's safeties en route to the second longest pass in Ohio history and a 21-10 Bobcat advantage.
Ryan had taken a couple real tough hits
so we weren't sure if he was groggy
Knorr said. We felt like we needed to make a change for at least a series or two
and Austen came in and played real well
so it worked out for us. He made a great throw to Scott
and not too many people are going to catch Scott Mayle.
Running back Kalvin McRae, whose fumble early in the game set up Kentucky's first score, added Ohio's final touchdown when he ran it in from 12 yards out. The Wildcats tacked on a score in the final minutes but would get no closer.
Defensively, Ohio held Boyd to 103 total yards a season after he gained 169 total yards and scored four touchdowns in Kentucky's 35-14 win against the Bobcats Oct. 18, 2003.
In addition to Muncy, safeties Rashad Butler and Rahman Shavers -filling in for Cox and Stover -picked off passes. Church and cornerback Marcquis Parham recovered fumbles.
This is pretty big
