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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio Bobcats (1-7, 1-3) fell to the Kent State Golden Flashes (4-4, 3-1) on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 23) by a score of 34-27. In a game that saw 37 total points scored in the second half, the Bobcats were led offensively by Kurtis Rourke, who threw for 308 yards and rushed for a career-high two touchdowns; while on the defensive side of the ball, Cannon Blauser led the effort with a career-high 14 total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. 

"I'm disappointed with the loss; nobody hates to lose more than me or this football team, and I'm going to sit here and tell you that we're going to keep battling," said head coach Tim Albin after the game. "We're going to find a way, this staff's going to find a way to get a couple plays here and there and offensively, we're not going to turn it over and it's going to show."

 Ohio started the game with possession, moving the ball into Kent State territory. A 4th down conversion attempt was unsuccessful though and turned the ball over to the Golden Flashes at their own 42-yard line. Kent State put the ball in the endzone five plays later, connecting on a 33-yard pass to give the Golden Flashes a 7-0 lead with 10:09 remaining in the first quarter.
 
The two teams traded punts on their next drives, with both defensive units forcing three-and-outs from the opposing offenses. Kent State quickly regained possession after an Ohio fumble with 6:19 left in the first quarter and ended their eight-play drive with a successful field goal from 31 yards out after 2 minutes and 19 seconds run off the clock. 
 
Ohio took over with exactly 4 minutes left in the first quarter but punted the ball back to the Golden Flashes after a three-play possession. The Bobcat defense held strong on the next possession, forcing Kent State to turn the ball over on downs with a failed 4th down conversion.  The next possession for Ohio, a promising drive that reached Kent State's 15-yard line, was unfortunately stopped short after a Bobcat fumble turned the ball back over to the Golden Flashes. 
 
Ohio's defense forced a punt on their next drive, giving the ball back to the Bobcat offense with 10:45 remaining in the half. Ohio was able to move the ball down the field again, but another turnover (interception thrown by Rourke) gave the ball back to the Kent State offense. The Bobcat defense continued to hold strong however, forcing their second three-and-out of the first half. 
 
The Ohio offensive attack got on the scoreboard their next drive, going 69 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown with 2:04 remaining before halftime. The drive was capped off by a Tuggle rush from three yards out, cutting the Kent State lead to just 10-7. 
 
The Golden Flashes responded on their next drive however, an eight play, 71-yard march down the field. Kent State put seven more points on the board with just 15 seconds remaining before the intermission after a four-yard rush extended the lead back to double-digits, 17-7 as the two teams headed into the locker rooms.
 
The first drive of the second half ended in a Kent State touchdown. The Golden Flashes drove 75 yards in seven plays in under two minutes to extend their lead to 24-7. The 92-second drive was wrapped up with a 15-yard scamper into the endzone. 
 
The Bobcat offense answered right back with a touchdown of their own courtesy of a nine-yard rushing score by Rourke. The scoring drive spanned 57 yards in nine plays, running almost four minutes off the game clock. With the score, Ohio narrowed the scoring gap to 24-14 with 9:37 remaining in the third quarter. 
 
The Golden Flashes kept the scoring trend going with their next possession, going 12 plays and 75 yards to paydirt. The four-minute drive ended with a 15-yard rushing touchdown by Kent State, making it a three-possession lead again at 31-17. Ohio answered with another scoring drive of their own, but just of the field goal variety.  The Bobcat scoring drive consisted of ten plays and covered 54 yards before ending in a 23-yard field goal from Stephen Johnson. The first Bobcat field goal of the contest made it a 31-17 game, with the scoring staying the same as the two teams headed into the final quarter of play. 
 
Ohio's defense was able to snap the scoring streak of Kent State on their next drive as a stop by the defensive unit forced a Kent State punt with 13 minutes remaining, giving the Bobcats possession at their own 20-yard line. The Bobcats's offensive surge continued with their next drive, with Rourke leading a 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive culminating with a one-yard rushing touchdown by the redshirt-sophomore quarterback. The second rushing touchdown of the day by Rourke set his new career high for rushing scores in a single game (2). With the score, the Bobcats made it a one-possession game at 31-24.

"Personally I think it's a confidence boost for myself but also the offense," explained Rourke. "We've been really successful running the ball because we got some great guys that can run the ball. We got an offense that I'm very confident in running in both ways. So, it's a big confidence boost. Even though we came up short, there's a lot of guys that played today that have a lot of years left. So, it's a conference we're going to use going into the future."

Kent State extended their lead back to two possessions on their next drive, running nearly five minutes off the game clock with an 11-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 27-yard field goal to push the lead to 34-24. The Bobcats got the ball back with just under three minutes to play and were able to put three points on the board courtesy of a 20-yard field goal with 49 seconds remaining. The ensuing onside kick bounced out of bounds however and with no timeouts left for Ohio, Kent State ran out the remainder of the clock. 
 
Up Next:
 
Ohio will go into their bye week next. The Bobcats will have 10 days off before welcoming Miami into Peden Stadium on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Kickoff time will either be at 7 or 7:30 p.m. for the season's first installment of MACtion.  

"I am optimistic with this coaching staff and this football team," said Albin. "We have not used those things to get them to play their best, it's been more about the process and let's get better every day and gradually build up to play our best game. There are going to be challenges, but I really feel like our culture and the players we have will fight."

#OUohyeah