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ATHENS, Ohio — The sun cascaded over Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Ohio climbed its way to a 10-7 victory over Iowa State. The win marked Ohio's first Power Five win since 2017 and its eighth-straight victory at home since the dedication of Frank Solich Field.
Ohio's goal going into the week was to limit their turnovers. When Ohio played Iowa State in 2022, they recorded four turnovers, and this season alone, Ohio has given up the ball eight times. They had their first game without a turnover since Nov. 2022 on Saturday.
"We asked them to raise the bar, and in a tie game when it's on the line, who's going to be the smartest? Who's going to have the most discipline and do the things?" head coach Tim Albin said. "We've got expectations and goals for the season and a plan on how to get those. Turnovers, field position and Ohio doesn't beat Ohio. Finally four games into it, we got that done."
All sides of Ohio's game ran in unison. The defense went after Iowa State with ferocity in their first drive as sophomore safety Austin Brawley (Massillon, Ohio) and graduate student linebacker Bryce Houston (Lewis Center, Ohio) teamed up to tackle Cartevious Norton for a loss of two yards on third down. The energy remained, and Houston led the defense overall with 15 tackles, five being solo.
The Bobcats continued to attack the Cyclones throughout the rest of the game. The Bobcats held their opponent to eight rushing yards and collected three tackles for loss, pushing two of the Cyclones into negative yardage through the first half. In the second half, graduate student defensive end Kwame Sutton (Gaffney, S.C.) sacked Rocco Becht for a loss of one yard.
With the game locked up, Ohio knew they needed to force a change. They held Iowa State to their first scoreless first half since 2019 against Baylor. Ohio had the upper hand and it was time to use it.
"Nobody was panicked at halftime with the score, and the defensive efforts kept us in it at halftime," Albin said.
Iowa State opened the second half with a quick gain, however, Ohio thwarted its drive immediately. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Torrie Cox Jr. (Miami Gardens, Fla.) intercepted Becht's pass for a 22-yard return and a confidence boost for Ohio.
The stadium roared as the Bobcats ran out on offense. After their first rushing attempt proved unsuccessful, the Bobcats took a timeout to regroup. The Bobcats returned to the field with a clear mind and wasted no time to get a first down on an 11-yard scramble by graduate student quarterback Kurtis Rourke (Oakville, Ontario, Canada), who finished the game with 135 passing yards.
Ohio was in the perfect position to score. Rourke connected with graduate student wide receiver Sam Wiglusz (Brecksville, Ohio) on a five-yard pass up the middle of the endzone for a touchdown. Freshman kicker Gianni Spetic's (Chardon, Ohio) PAT was good, and Ohio had the lead. Wiglusz led Ohio with 53 receiving yards.
"That's a play that we've run quite a bit since even last year and it's almost like we've never quite gotten the right look," Wiglusz said. "It's kind of like the stars aligned and I was running wide open. It felt like the ball took forever to get there."
From then on, Ohio's offense had a different swagger to them. They collected 77 yards on its final drive of the third quarter, including five on a one-handed catch by redshirt senior tight end Tyler Foster (Pickerington, Ohio) that put Ohio in the red zone.
"It was the big play on that drive," Albin said. "He's been hobbled up. He got injured first or second play against San Diego State, he's been in a boot, and he worked his tail off to get here."
The Bobcats bumped up the score in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Spetic.
Ohio lost their chances at a shutout when Becht completed an 18-yard pass to Jayden Higgins with four minutes and 15 seconds left in the game.
However, the Bobcats defense was right there to keep it at that. Graduate student defensive tackle Rodney Mathews (Memphis, Tenn.) intercepted a pass intended for Higgins and put an end to the Cyclones' hopes of a comeback.
"It's a big win. It's a huge win for the program, huge win for the school and for the Athens community to have that camaraderie," Houston said. "Having that love, and still being undefeated on The Frank, we take that personally, so we're just really happy and excited to be back."
Ohio will return to action on Sept. 23 at Doyt L. Perry Stadium against Bowling Green.
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