At practice this week, Ohio players preached that they needed to put their week 11 drubbing behind them.
But the first half at Bowling Green’s Doyt Perry Stadium was only a continuation of the carnage felt at the hands of the Buffalo last Tuesday. Bowling Green (7-3, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) toppled Ohio (6-4, 3-3 MAC) in a 49-0 victory.
The shutout signaled the first time since 2005 that the Bobcats were held scoreless in a game.
“It was bad,” said Ohio redshirt senior quarterback Tyler Tettleton. “Probably one of the worst games I’ve been a part of since I’ve been here. … We played a really good team, probably the best team in the (MAC) East, and they’ve got a good shot at winning the MAC title.”
Tettleton struggled to find a rhythm against the nation’s seventh ranked scoring defense, completing 15 of 27 passes for 93 yards, one interception and two personal foul penalties.
Ohio’s offense sputtered out of the gate, being that the Falcons recorded nine first downs before Ohio could convert its first, which came just after the 12-minute mark in the second quarter. The Bobcats were outgained by the Falcons by a 460-172 margin.
The Bobcats’ defense didn’t fare much better, allowing touchdowns on six of Bowling Green’s first eight possessions and forcing only one turnover.
The Falcons wasted no time putting points on the board, scoring two touchdowns on their first three plays.
The first touchdown came on a two-play drive that ended on an 11-yard run by redshirt sophomore running back Travis Greene. Bowling Green notched its second score on a 32-yard pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Matt Johnson to redshirt junior wide receiver Heath Jackson.
Bowling Green scored three touchdowns in the first quarter for the first time since 2011, and Ohio found itself trailing 21-0 as a result.
The rest of the first half wasn’t much of an improvement for Ohio, which allowed two more touchdowns, including freshman running back William Houston’s second one-yard dash of the half with 12:26 remaining in the second quarter.
“I think the effort is there,” said Ohio redshirt sophomore linebacker Ben Russell. “When one thing happens, it’s a domino effect. We all fall. We just need to keep it going. I mean, it’s unacceptable for one big play to happen and for us to put our heads down.”
Bowling Green received the ball to start the second half and spent little time continuing its offensive dominance, with Johnson hitting redshirt senior tight end Alex Bayer for a 57-yard strike giving the Falcons a 42-point lead 2:19 into the third quarter.
“We didn’t prepare well as coaches,” said Ohio coach Frank Solich. “We didn’t block well, we didn’t tackle well, we dropped passes, which is not normally what we’re all about.
(There) was a combination of things; giving them easy points early on, and (the team) was not able to gather anything up.”
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