BOWLING GREEN — Kurtis Rourke threw three touchdown passes and the Ohio defense dominated as the Bobcats routed the Bowling Green Falcons 38-7 on Saturday afternoon at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.
While it was a complete effort by the Bobcats, it was the defense that shined all afternoon. All told, Ohio forced four turnovers for the afternoon, two of which turned into defensive scores. The limited the Falcons offense to just 206 total yards for the game and 10 first downs.
"I'm really happy with the guys today," head coach Tim Albin said. "How the game went, I thought we handled ourselves very, very well. To the point where I'm very proud of our guys and what they're able to get done."
The defense would make the first big statement of the game, when Keye Thompson picked off a Connor Bazelak pass on the third play of the game, giving the Bobcats the ball at the BGSU 28.
Three plays later, Rourke would throw his first touchdown pass of the day, connecting with running back Sieh Bangura for 29 yards and Gianni Spetic would add the extra point to give Ohio a 7-0 lead.
Rourke finished the game 14 of 16 for 196 passing yards. He also ran the ball four times for 33 yards.
After forcing a three-and-out from BGSU, the Bobcats would quickly drive down the field, needing just 6 plays to find the end zone. Tight end Will Kacmarek would catch a 10-yard pass from Rourke — that deflected off a BGSU defender's helmet — to cap off the 79-yard drive and a 14-0 Ohio lead.
The defense would get into the scoring act on Bowling Green's following possession, as Torrie Cox Jr. would strip the ball from Jaison Patterson and Thompson would scoop up the loose ball and run it back 71 yards for the score and extend the Bobcats lead to 21-0 with 5:09 remaining in the opening quarter.
From that point on the Bobcats (4-1, 1-0 MAC) coasted.
Spetic would add a 27-yard field goal on Ohio's first drive of the second quarter and Ta'ron Keith would force a second fumble, that was returned for a score by Roman Parodie to give the Bobcats a 31-0 lead at the break.
Late in the third quarter, Miles Cross put finish touches on Ohio's scoring barrage, catching a 19-yard pass from Rourke to bump the score to 38-0 before Bowling Green would break up the shutout.
Ohio will be back in action on Oct. 7 when they host the Kent State Golden Flashes. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m..
Ohio 21 10 7 0 — 38
Bowl. Green 0 0 0 7 — 7
First Quarter
OHIO — Sieh Bangura 29 pass from Kurtis Rourke (Gianni Spetic kick), 13:08. OHIO — Will Kacmarek 10 pass from Kurtis Rourke (Gianni Spetic kick), 8:38. OHIO — Keye Thompson 71 fumble recovery and return (Gianni Spetic kick), 5:09.
Second Quarter OHIO — Gianni Spetic 27 field goal, 8:43. OHIO — Roman Parodie 28 fumble recovery and return (Gianni Spetic kick), 8:35.
Third Quarter OHIO — Miles Cross 19 pass from Kurtis Rourke (Gianni Spetic kick), 1:22.
Fourth Quarter
BGSU — Terion Stewart 4 run (Alan Anaya kick), 13:42.
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OHIO BGSU
First downs 19 10
Total Net Yards 328 206
Rushes-yards 37-127 22-102
Passing 201 104
Punt Returns 1-4 1-5
Kickoff Returns 2-44 3-49
Interceptions Ret. 2-21 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 16-19-0 17-32-2
Sacked-Yards Lost 1-0 3-19
Punts 3-34.333 6-35.833
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-2
Penalties-Yards 8-65 12-123
Time of Possession 34:13 25:47
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Ohio, Allison 13-42, Rourke 4-33, Bangura 9-26, Hunt 6-19, Quinn 2-15, Navarro 1-8, (Team) 1-(minus 1), Wheatley 1-(minus 15). Bowling Green, T.Stewart 12-107, Patterson 2-7, Mosley 1-3, J.Johnson 1-2, Keith 1-(minus 7), Bazelak 5-(minus 10).
PASSING–Ohio, Rourke 14-16-0-196, Navarro 2-3-0-5. Bowling Green, Bazelak 17-32-2-104.
RECEIVING–Ohio, Ja.Jones 4-85, Cross 3-34, Bangura 2-31, Wiglusz 2-26, Kacmarek 1-10, Hendricks 1-8, Hunt 1-3, Butler 1-2, Foster 1-2. Bowling Green, Hiliare 5-45, Keith 4-10, Ibrahim 3-12, Osborne 2-24, Hogan 1-13, Gazarek 1-5, Bench 1-(minus 5).
MISSED FIELD GOALS–Ohio, Spetic 50.
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