Oct. 8, 2005
Final Stats
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Ohio football team trailed by only a touchdown late in the third quarter Saturday evening but fell by a 38-14 score to Bowling Green at Doyt Perry Stadium. The loss was Ohio's first in Mid-American Conference play this season and allowed the Falcons to take sole possession of first place in the MAC East Division.
On the opening kickoff, Bobcat freshman Jordan Meyers (Harrison, Ohio) forced a fumble by Falcon returner Anthony Turner and recovered the ball on Bowling Green's 4-yard line. Ohio (2-3, 1-1 MAC) was unable to capitalize, however, as a 21-yard field goal attempt by sophomore Brooks Rossman (Seal Beach, Calif.) hit the left upright and the Falcons took over on their 20-yard line.
Following a three-and-out by Bowling Green (3-2, 2-0 MAC), the Bobcats drove 44 yards to the Falcon 20 but turned the ball over on downs when junior quarterback Austen Everson (Brentwood, Tenn.) lost a yard on a fourth-and-one play.
Bowling Green then drove 74 yards but Nate Fry missed a 27-yard field goal wide right with 1:47 remaining in the opening period.
"Failing to get on the scoreboard in the first quarter was not what we were after," said Ohio head coach Frank Solich. "We recovered the opening kickoff inside their 5-yard line but came away with nothing and that was tough on us."
At the end of the Falcon's first drive of the second quarter, receiver Steve Sanders recovered a Charles Sharon fumble in the end zone following a 14-yard pass from Omar Jacobs. Fry converted the point-after attempt to cap the seven-play, 60-yard scoring drive.
After a three-and-out by Ohio, Bowling Green again drove for a touchdown. This time it was a nine-play, 62-yard drive capped by a P.J. Pope one-yard run with 5:03 left in the half.
With just 46 seconds remaining before intermission, the Bobcats finally got on the board when Meyers returned a blocked punt 15 yards for a touchdown. It was Ohio's first touchdown return off a blocked punt since Stafford Owens returned one 44 yards against Bowling Green last season.
"Jordan did a good job for us," said Solich about the backup linebacker and special teams player. "He's a true freshman who we took out of his redshirt year two or three weeks ago. He's a guy who's going to get better and better and we expect him to turn into an outstanding player for us."
The Bobcats then recovered a Rossman on-sides kick at the Falcon 30-yard line. After moving the ball down to the 9, however, an Everson pass was intercepted by Jelani Jordan at the 1-yard line and returned to the 17. The Falcons then ran out the half with a 14-7 lead.
On their first possession of the second half, Bowling Green struck again when Jacobs found Charles for a 41-yard scoring toss to cap a three-play, 57-yard drive. An extra point by Fry gave the Falcons a 21-7 advantage.
Ohio cornerback T.J. Wright (Beaumont, Texas) halted Bowling Green's next drive with an interception at the Bobcat 13 that he returned to the 25-yard line before giving the ball to Dion Byrum (Matthews, N.C.), who ran it an extra three yards before being taken down.
Two plays later, Everson found sophomore receiver Justin Fitzgerald (Richmond, Va.) for a 51-yard strike which took Ohio all the way to the Falcon 11-yard line following a face-mask penalty. After two Bobcat penalties pushed them back to the 26, Everson hit senior tight end Dave Cody (Auburn, Calif.) for 24 yards and two plays later, Everson scored to make it 21-14 with 4:58 left in the third quarter.
Bowling Green answered right back, though, with a 10-play 78-yard drive resulting in a one-yard scoring run by B.J. Lane. In the fourth quarter, the Falcons added a 27-yard field goal by Fry and a 22-yard score by Lane to produce the final score.
For the game, Bowling Green out-gained Ohio 573 to 239 in total offense, including 217 to 85 on the ground. Lane led the Falcon rushing attack with 93 yards on 17 carries with a pair of touchdowns while sophomore tailback Kalvin McRae (Decatur, Ga.) paced the Bobcats with 32 yards on 13 attempts.
"We didn't get anything done rushing the football and that was big," said Solich. "The idea was to try to get a ground game going and then build in the passing game and hopefully keep their offense off the field as much as possible."
Jacobs, a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, completed 24 of 41 passes for 381 yards a two scores. His main target was Charles, who pulled in 10 catches for 185 yards and a touchdown.
On Ohio's side, Everson connected on 13 of 27 attempts for 171 yards with two interceptions. Fitzgerald led the Bobcat receiving corps with 74 yards on five receptions.
Ohio's Matt Muncy (Miamisburg, Ohio) and Seth Ream (Smithville, Ohio) led all defensive players with 10 tackles apiece and combined for the team's only sack of the game. The Bobcats were without the services of starting linebacker Tyler Russ (Stetsonville, Wis.), who sat out the game with an injury.
Ohio stays on the road next weekend with a conference game at Central Michigan (3-3, 2-1 MAC). The Bobcats will play the Chippewas - who won 14-10 at Army on Saturday - at 1 p.m. next Saturday during Homecoming Weekend in Mt. Pleasant.
