Ohio Football Claims Homecoming Victory Over Central Michigan

Saturday, October 10

Athens, OH

3:30 p.m. ET

4-2 , 2-0

Central Michigan

3-3 , 1-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Central Mich.	0	0	7	7	14
Ohio	14	17	0	0	31

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Ohio Football Claims Homecoming Victory Over Central Michigan

10/10/2026 7:47:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Charlie Fadel

ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio football team (4-2 overall, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) returned home to play its homecoming game against Central Michigan (3-3 overall, 1-1 MAC) in a game that saw the Bobcats dominate in the first half before closing out a 31-14 victory.

"It's great to get a win on homecoming," Ohio head coach John Hauser said. "I thought the first half was as good as we probably played this year, offense, defense, and special teams-wise."

Individually, graduate student quarterback Nick Poulos (Granite Bay, Calif.) threw for 158 yards and three touchdowns. Junior running back Duncan Brune (Cologne, Germany) ran for 91 yards and a touchdown, while graduate student running back Victor Rosa (Bristol, Conn.) ran for 70 yards. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Riley Neer (Bellefontaine, Ohio) had 59 yards and a score, while redshirt freshman wide receiver Preston Bowman (Pickerington, Ohio) had 14 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Dom Dorwart (Leonardtown, Md.) had 42 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, redshirt freshman linebacker Jermaine Minnis (Hyattsville, Md.) had 12 tackles while redshirt junior cornerback Kendall Bannister (Woodbridge, Va.) had six tackles. Redshirt senior linebacker Michael Molnar (Mason, Ohio) had five tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble. Redshirt junior safety DJ Walker (Aliquippa, Pa.) had four tackles, while redshirt freshman Ike Ackerman (Omaha, Neb.) had one sack.

Ohio started the game with a touchdown drive, as Brune took the handoff 23 yards to the house to give the Bobcats an early 7-0 lead. Brune has excelled on homecoming before, rushing for a career-high 126 yards on homecoming against Northern Illinois last season.

Central Michigan got into Ohio territory on its first drive, but the Bobcat defense forced a stop on a fourth-and-one run to get the ball back.

The Bobcats went on another eight-play scoring drive, with Poulos finding a wide-open Neer in the end zone for a three-yard touchdown. The score gave Ohio a 14-0 lead just before the first quarter ended. That was Neer's fifth touchdown of the season.

After forcing a quick three-and-out, Ohio strung together a drive to set up graduate student kicker Will Hryszko (Strongsville, Ohio) for a 24-yard field goal to take a 17-0 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the second quarter.

Ohio's defense kept making plays, with Molnar flying into the backfield for a strip sack on the next Chippewa drive, giving the ball right back to the Bobcat offense.

With the short field position, the Bobcats made quick work of getting back into the end zone, as Poulos found Bowman for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 24-0.

The offense got the ball back with less than a minute to go in the second quarter, but Poulos kept firing, launching a 44-yard bomb to Dorwart for a touchdown to close out the first half.

Central Michigan made it across midfield on its second drive of the third quarter and went for it on a fourth-and-five, only for Molnar to make another huge play, getting his second sack of the game and getting the defense off the field.

The Chippewas got on the board with a rushing touchdown with less than 30 seconds left in the third quarter, making the score 31-7 going into the fourth quarter.

Both teams were trading possessions in the fourth quarter until Central Michigan was able to tack on another touchdown before the end of the game, cutting the score to 31-14.

Ohio finished the game with the ball, running out the clock to finish off a 31-14 victory on homecoming. The win marked the 16th straight win at home for Ohio and the fifth straight win on homecoming.

Up next, Ohio heads west to take on Mid-American Conference newcomer Sacramento State. Kickoff in Sacramento is set for 10 p.m. EST, and the game can be seen on ESPN+.

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