Ohio Football Wins a Four-Overtime Thriller Against Jacksonville State

Saturday, September 12

Athens, OH

6 p.m. ET

1-1 , 0-0

Jacksonville State

1-2 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	OT	OT	OT	OT	Final F
Jacksonville St.	7	10	7	0	0	3	0	0	27
Ohio	0	14	0	10	0	3	0	2	29

Ohio Football Wins a Four-Overtime Thriller Against Jacksonville State

9/12/2026 11:06:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Charlie Fadel

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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio football team (1-1) defended the Frank for the 14th straight time, posting a huge win in a four-overtime classic against Jacksonville State (1-2). The Gamecocks took an early lead but the Bobcats battled back, grinding out a win through the rainy conditions in the longest game in Ohio football history.

"What a game, what a win," Ohio head coach John Hauser said. "What a program win by everybody, offense, defense, special teams."

Individually, junior quarterback Matt Vezza (Elmhurst, Ill.) had 80 passing yards and one touchdown, while rushing for an additional 67 yards. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Riley Neer (Bellefontaine, Ohio) had four catches for 38 yards and a touchdown while junior running back Duncan Brune (Cologne, Germany.) had 66 yards on the ground. Fellow running back, graduate Victor Rosa (Bristol, Conn.) had 17 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, redshirt senior linebacker Michael Molnar (Mason, Ohio) led the team with 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Fellow Redshirt senior linebacker Jack Fries (Cincinnati, Ohio) was second with 11 tackles. Redshirt sophomore safety Darren James-Hamilton (Charlotte, N.C.) made three tackles, and returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.

The Bobcats won the toss and took the ball to start the game, but the offense was unable to get anything on the board. Jacksonville State got the ball for its first drive and went on an 88-yard scoring drive, punching it in from eight yards out.

Following an Ohio punt, Jacksonville State started the second quarter hot, scoring a one-play touchdown on a deep ball to take a 14-0 lead.

The Bobcat offense did not stay dormant for long, as after graduate quarterback Nick Poulos (Granite Bay, Calif.) went out with an injury, Vezza came into the game and lead the offense down the field for a score, throwing his first touchdown as a Bobcat to Neer.

After a long drive by the Gamecocks, they responded with a score of their own, knocking in a field goal to take a 10-point lead setting the score at 17-7 with 57 seconds left in the half. Ohio special teams responded to Jacksonville State's field goal as James-Hamilton caught the kickoff and torched the Jacksonville State kickoff team for a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown.

"The blocks that I saw, it was amazing," James-Hamilton said about his kick return. "I think I saw two (pancake blocks) running through… I just knew it had to go to the crib."

James-Hamilton's burst was the longest kickoff return since Sieh Bangura's 97-yard return against Miami last season. It also provided Ohio with some instant momentum, and cut the Jacksonville State lead to just three.

Ohio's defense was next to make a huge play, as Molnar forced a fumble that was recovered by Walker on the first play after the kickoff return touchdown. The Gamecocks blocked the ensuing Bobcats field goal attempt, and the Bobcats went into the half down by a score of 17-14.

Jacksonville State carried the momentum from the blocked kick into its first drive of the second half, as the Gamecocks went marching down the field for a touchdown to start the second half.

Ohio made its way down the field on the next drive, fueled by some strong runs from Brune, including a conversion on fourth and one. The Bobcats got inside the 10 on the drive, and they got on the board with a 23-yard field goal from graduate kicker Will Hryszko (Strongsville, Ohio).

After a defensive stop and a huge run that put Ohio inside the 10-yard line, Vezza left the game with an injury, allowing freshman quarterback Levi Davis (Lewis Center, Ohio) to make his debut as a Bobcat.

Davis handed it off to Rosa for the game-tying score, with Rosa's first touchdown as a Bobcat tying the game at 24-24 with less than two minutes remaining.

Jacksonville State was able to drive down the field and get into field goal range for a 38-yard try that was missed wide right, ending regulation.

The Bobcats' defense got a huge stop to start the first overtime period, but after a blocked field goal, the game headed into double overtime. Hryszko drilled a 43-yard field goal to start the second overtime, and after a massive tackle from Molnar on third down, it forced a field goal try from the Gamecocks that was good from 28 yards out, pushing the game to a third overtime period.

The Gamecocks first two-point try in the third overtime period was a pass to the end zone that fell incomplete, and Ohio's first two-point was an incomplete pass as well.

The next play was a successful conversion from Davis, who scampered in from three yards out to put pressure on Jacksonville State in the fourth overtime period.

The Bobcat faithful caused the Gamecocks to commit a false start, pushing them back to the eight-yard line. The ensuing two-attempt was a pass that found a receiver just short of the goal-line, and James-Hamilton made his second game-changing play of the game with a tackle to keep the Gamecocks out of the end zone at the one-yard line to win the game.

With the win, Ohio moves to 1-1 on the season and extends its home winning streak to 14 games, the second-longest in the country.

Up next, Ohio heads down south to play the South Alabama Jaguars on Saturday, Sept. 19. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and it can be seen on ESPN+. This game is the first game between the two teams since they last met in Athens on Frank Solich Field in 2024 for a game that Ohio won by a score of 27-20 in Peden Stadium.

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