ORLANDO ? A 21-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Hawk (Centerville) to Stafford Owens (Harvey, Ill.) in overtime gave the Ohio football team a 17-16 Mid-American Conference victory over Central Florida at the Citrus Bowl on Saturday. Following the Bobcats? overtime score, the Golden Knights scored a touchdown of their own but missed the extra point, handing UCF its first Homecoming loss since 1994.

The Golden Knights (0-9, 0-6 MAC) put points on the board first with a 49-yard field goal by Matt Prater with 9:46 left in the second quarter. On the last play of the half, Ohio answered with a 39-yarder by freshman Brooks Rossman (Seal Beach, Calif.) to make it 3-3 at the break.

In the third quarter, the Bobcats (4-6, 2-5 MAC) had an 11-play, 48-yard drive come up empty when a 42-yard field goal attempt by Rossman sailed wide left. On the second play of UCF?s ensuing possession, however, redshirt freshman linebacker Taj Henley (Richmond, Va.) intercepted a Steven Moffett pass at the Golden Knight?s 27 and returned it 20 yards to the UCF 7-yard line.

Two plays later, senior running back Justin Roush (Pomeroy) scored from the one to record the first rushing touchdown of his collegiate career. Ohio?s 10-3 lead was short-lived, though, as Moffett found Mike Walker for a 70-yard scoring strike on UCF?s very next play to make it 10-10 with 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter saw three punts from each side before the Bobcats took over at the UCF 43 with 1:49 to play. Ohio then moved the ball 31 yards in seven plays to set up Rossman with a 29-yard attempt to win the game in the final seconds of regulation.

The kick went wide right, however, sending the Bobcats to their first overtime game since a 30-23 loss at Northern Illinois on Oct. 4 of last year. Ohio gained possession first and Hawk found Owens for the score on the Bobcats? second play. After Rossman converted the PAT, the score was 17-10.

The Golden Knights needed only three plays to find the end zone when Moffett hit Luther Huggins from nine yards out. The extra-point attempt by Prater ? who missed three field goals during the game ? was just outside the post, though, giving Ohio its first-ever win in overtime.

The Bobcats return to Athens next Saturday to host Akron at 1 p.m. The season finale for Ohio will mark Football and Cheerleader Alumni Day and the first 2,000 fans through the gates will receive a free commemorative poster honoring 75 years of Bobcat football at Peden Stadium.

For ticket information, please contact the Ohio Athletics Ticket Office at 740-593-1300, toll-free at 800-575-CATS or online by CLICKING HERE.

Postgame quotes from Ohio head coach Brian Knorr:

(on the win) ?Our guys came up with big plays at the end of the game. Stafford Owens and a lot of seniors stepped up. I thought Chip Cox played well all day. I don?t know how many plays Chip Cox and Dion Byrum played but I?m sure it was close to 90 or 100.?

(on the defense coming up with big plays) ?I thought Taj Henley?s interception was a big play. It gave us a short field and our offense came in and knocked it in. It was disappointing to have them come right back with a big play but we responded and moved the ball pretty well in the second half.?

(on the special teams) ?Matt Miller did a great job punting the ball. They?re very dangerous in the special teams area, probably as good as anybody in the league as far as returners, and I thought we did a good job against them.?

(on bouncing back from the missed field goal at the end of regulation) ?It was the most unbelievable thing I?ve ever seen. On our sideline, there was no hesitation when they said ?no good.? They bounced up and were ready for overtime. We?ve been practicing so well that we challenged them this week to go out and play like they practice so it was just like a couple extra periods of practice. They went out, enjoyed it and competed their tails off.?

(on the improved running game in the second half) ?Well, we had a lot of guys up front who haven?t played much so, if anything, they got some experience and probably just got a little bit better with playing time. It was a make-shift group because Matt Coppage, one of our best, went out early in the second half and we had some kids step in there who haven?t played much football. They came in and did a good job for us.?

(on Central Florida?s defense) ?Coach O?Leary has always been known for his defensive football teams and I thought this squad played inspired the whole game. I thought we did a pretty good job taking care of the football. We could have made a lot more plays ? we dropped some balls ? but they were a good defense. They had a good push up front and put pressure on our quarterback.?

(on Matt Miller?s 10 punts) ?I thought he did a great job. The wind today was a little weird. It was swirling a little bit. You saw that on the punt that Dion misjudged because of the wind. I thought Matt did a good job. He got some good ones off with the wind. But the big thing, I think, is Chip Cox, Dion Byrum and that coverage unit did a great job. That is a dangerous punt returner. I don?t know what his longest return was but he had 10 opportunities and we were able to do a good job against him.?