ATHENS, OHIO -- The Ohio football team (4-4, 2-2 MAC) defeated Mid-American Conference East Division rival Akron (4-3, 2-1 MAC) in a 23-20 thriller on Saturday (Oct. 18) at Peden Stadium.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback JD Sprague (Cincinnati, Ohio) got the Bobcats into the endzone on the game's opening drive with a 49-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Ian Dixon (Athens, Ohio).

The Zips responded to tie the game at 7-7 when redshirt freshman quarterback Tommy Woodson, making his first career start, found junior running back Conor Hundley in the endzone with a 10 yard strike. 

Ohio recaptured the lead at 10-7 off the foot of redshirt junior kicker Josiah Yazdani (Albany, Ohio), who booted a 42-yard field goal in the second quarter. 

Yazdani's kick was set-up following a crucial fourth-down conversion by freshman tailback A.J. Ouellette (Covington, Ohio).

Each team tacked on another field goal to end the half with the Bobcats leading 13-10. 

After intercepting a Sprague pass, Akron took a 17-13 lead in the third quarter when junior wide receiver Zach D'Orazio hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Woodson. 

The Bobcats came right back on the next drive to take a 20-17 lead. Ouellette converted a third-and-10 at the Akron 20 with a 17-yard draw. On the following play, Sprague tossed it to Ouellette out of the flat for a 3-yard touchdown.

Akron tied the game with a 38-yard field goal by junior kicker Robert Stein in the fourth quarter before two Bobcat redshirt juniors made the play of the game. Redshirt junior cornerback Devin Bass (Omaha, Neb.) forced a fumble after an Akron reception, and redshirt junior linebacker Jovon Johnson (Solon, Ohio) returned it 24 yards to the Akron 21-yard line.

Yazdani booted the go-ahead 22-yard field goal with under two minutes remaining, and redshirt senior safety Josh Kristoff (Pickerington, Ohio) intercepted a Woodson pass at the Bobcat 31-yard line to seal the game for Ohio, 23-20.

Ouellette led the way on the ground with 74 rushing yards on 23 carries. He also caught four passes for 30 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore defensive end Tarell Basham (Rocky Mount, Va.) recorded 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss.

STAT OF THE DAY

The fourth quarter turnover that led to Ohio's game-winning field goal was Johnson's second career fumble recovery and Bass' first career forced fumble.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I'd say the best word is resilience. Again, we shot ourselves in the foot. We caught ourselves in terrible field position, but, then, we had to make some plays. The defense kind of helped us out when we were struggling, and for them to get that fumble and set up the field goal, we wanted to put it in, and we wanted to put it in bad. I think we're still making steps. We just need to focus on ourselves, not really anything that the other team is doing." - Redshirt sophomore quarterback JD Sprague 

UP NEXT

The Bobcats hit the road next Saturday (Oct. 25) to face MAC West Division foe Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN3.

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