ATHENS — One week after a disappoint loss on the road, the Ohio Bobcats returned home and defeated the Western Michigan Broncos 20-17 on Saturday to become bowl eligible.
The offense was led by Kurtis Rourke who completed 24 of 29 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown. Sam Wiglusz caught 10 passes for a game-high 155 yards and a score.
Ohio's defense forced the Broncos to become one-dimensional, limiting them to their lowest rushing total of the season of just 79 yards. The Broncos came into Saturday averaging 172 yards per game.
WMU quarterback Hayden Wolff scored on a three-yard run with seventeen seconds left in the third quarter, to leave the Bobcats (6-2, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) clinging to a 13-10 lead to begin the final period.
After the defense forced a punt, Rourke led Ohio on an eight-play, 78-yard drive ending in a seven-yard touchdown catch by Wiglusz to extend the Bobcats lead to 20-10 with 4:36 left.
Western Michigan (2-6, 1-3) answered with an eight-play drive to get within three points after Wolff hit Kenneth Womack for an eight-yard scoring pass with 2:21 left.
O’Shaan Allison ran the ball four straight times on Ohio's final possession, getting a first down to run out the clock and seal the win for the Bobcats.
Sieh Bangura had 86 yards rushing and a score for Ohio . Keye Thompson had 11 tackles in the first half, and Tank Pearson grabbed an interception.
Wolff completed 30 of 42 passes for 290 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Western Michigan.
Ohio will be back at home next Saturday for a 3:30pm kickoff against rival Miami, OH in the Battle for the Bricks.
W. Michigan 0 0 10 7 — 17
Ohio 3 3 7 7 — 20
First Quarter
OHIO–Gianni Spetic 28 field goal, 8:49.
Second Quarter
OHIO–Gianni Spetic 19 field goal, 0:02.
Third Quarter
WMU–Palmer Domschke 43 field goal, 7:17.
OHIO–Sieh Bangura 1 run (Gianni Spetic kick), 2:36.
WMU–Hayden Wolff 3 run (Palmer Domschke kick), 0:18.
Fourth Quarter
OHIO–Sam Wiglusz 7 pass from Kurtis Rourke (Gianni Spetic kick), 4:36.
WMU–Kenneth Womack 8 pass from Hayden Wolff (Palmer Domschke kick), 2:21.
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WMU OHIO
First downs 21 28
Total Net Yards 369 460
Rushes-yards 22-79 39-185
Passing 290 275
Punt Returns 1-27 1-(-1)
Kickoff Returns 5-123 1-10
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 1-0
Comp-Att-Int 30-42-1 24-39-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 1-9 1-2
Punts 3-32.0 3-48.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 10-97 7-75
Time of Possession 24:25 35:35
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Western Michigan, Hester 5-26, Wolff 4-23, Buckley 6-19, Abdus-Salaam 6-11, Kneeland 1-0. Ohio, Bangura 15-86, Allison 15-64, Rourke 6-33, Walton 1-5, Team 2-minus 3.
PASSING–Western Michigan, Wolff 30-42-1-290. Ohio, Rourke 24-29-0-275.
RECEIVING–Western Michigan, Womack 14-90, Thomas 6-68, Buckley 4-59, Hence 2-41, Dieudonne 2-23, Abdus-Salaam 2-9. Ohio, Wiglusz 10-155, Cross 6-63, Kacmarek 2-32, Walton 2-13, Bangura 3-7, Allison 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–Western Michigan, Domschke 46, 41.Ohio, G. Spetic 40, 26.
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