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COLUMBUS, Ohio– The Ohio football program went on the road to face the No. 1 team in college football, Ohio State. After a tight game through three quarters, the Buckeyes pulled away to win 37-9.
"I think a lot of our guys are disappointed in the outcome of the game," Ohio head coach
Brian Smith said. "I think that they see what our true potential is as a team."
Two quarterbacks got playing time against Ohio State, with graduate student
Parker Navarro (Tempe, Ariz.) throwing for 94 passing yards and one touchdown and redshirt senior
Nick Poulos (Granite Bay, Calif.) throwing for 19 yards on four completions. Junior wide receiver
Chase Hendricks (St. Louis, Mo.) scored Ohio's lone touchdown after a deep reception in the third quarter.
The Bobcat defense made a handful of highlight plays against the Buckeyes, including interceptions by redshirt sophomore defensive tackle
Austin Mitchell (Avon, Ohio) and graduate student cornerback Michael Mack (Glenn Dale, Md.). Senior safety
Adonis Williams Jr. (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) led Ohio in tackling with nine total tackles, all being solo stops. Redshirt junior defensive lineman
Anas Luqman (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied the team's lone sack.
Redshirt kicker
Brack Peacock (Granbury, Texas) made his lone field goal attempt against the Buckeyes with a career-high 44-yard kick late in the first half. Graduate student punter
Magnus Haines (Massillon, Ohio) had seven attempts with a career high 54-yard punt.
The Bobcats got things started on the defensive end, earning a turnover on downs that had them backed up in their own end zone. After a third-down pass breakup by graduate student cornerback
Tank Pearson (Oxford, Miss.), Luqman made a big play on fourth and goal to put the ball in the hands of Navarro and the offense.
Ohio's strong defensive play continued throughout the first quarter, holding a strong Ohio State passing attack to just three points. At the end of the first, Ohio State held a 3-0 lead.
In the second quarter, the Bobcats continued to make big plays on defense. After surrendering the game's first touchdown a drive before, the Bobcat defense responded with an interception to set up the offense in field goal range.
A 44-yard field goal by Peacock at the end of the quarter made it 13-3 going into the half.
Coming out of the locker room, Navarro and Hendricks combined for the game's longest play – a 67-yard passing touchdown that brought Ohio within four points at 13-9.
"We showed the grit that our team plays with, the toughness that we play with, how aggressive we are and how hard we play," Hendricks said. "I think it just goes back to practice, just practicing the right way, practicing hard and preparing ourselves for these types of games."
Ohio State responded to the big pass play with back-to-back touchdown drives that put Ohio in a 23-9 hole at the end of the third quarter.
The Buckeyes continued their strong offensive play in the fourth quarter, scoring consecutive unanswered touchdowns for a final score of 37-9.
The Bobcats will be back in action Saturday, Sept. 20, when they return home to take on Gardner-Webb. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN+.
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