ATHENS — The Ohio Bobcats lost for the first time at home since 2021, as they fell to the Miami RedHawks 30-16 on Saturday afternoon at Peden Stadium.
Special teams and costly penalties proved to be the difference in the game, as the Bobcats had 11 of them for 78 yards and many of those came at critical times. Miami's special teams gave their offense a huge advantage with 100 yards in punt returns. As a result, the RedHawks had two drives start from inside the Ohio 20-yard line.
Ohio (6-3, 3-2 MAC) got the ball to start the game and drove down the field for the game's first points. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke hit Will Kacmarek along the Ohio sideline for a 36-yard gain. Then on the very next play, Rourke connected with Sam Wiglusz on corner route for 23 more yards.
Sieh Bangura finished the drive off with a one-yard score to put the Bobcats on the board. The extra point was blocked but Ohio had a 6-0 lead.
After the defense forced a three-and-out, Ohio's offense marched down the field again to the Miami 16. Unable to move closer, the Bobcats settled for a 33-yard field goal from Gianni Spetic to push their lead to 9-0 with 1:28 remaining in the opening quarter.
But from that point on, the Ohio offense sputtered. They managed just 106 yards over the next two quarters and didn't run a single play in Miami territory until the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, as the Bobcat offense stalled out, Miami's began to find its rhythm.
The RedHawks (7-2, 4-1) scored 30 unanswered points behind the play of quarterback Aveon Smith, who's three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and 46-yard touchdown strike to Kevin Davis gave Miami a 30-9.
Smith threw for 103 yards and ran for 22 more. Amos had 21 carries for 163 yards and a rushing score with 1:28 before halftime to give Miami a 13-9 lead at the break.
Ohio finally got their offense working again the fourth, as the Bobcats drove 75-yards in 11 plays to reach the end zone again when Rourke hit Tyler Walton on a one-yard touchdown toss to cut the deficit to 30-16 with 7:56 remaining.
But that would be the final time Ohio would score and Miami would go on to win.
The Bobcats will be back in action on Tuesday (Nov. 7) as they will be on the road against the Buffalo Bulls in their first midweek game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for either 7 or 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on a channel yet to be determined.
Miami 0 13 10 7 — 30
Ohio 9 0 0 7 — 16
First Quarter
OHIO–Sieh Bangura 2 run (kick blocked), 9:57.
OHIO–Gianni Spetic 33 field goal, 1:28.
Second Quarter
MIA–Graham Nicholson 26 field goal, 12:11.
MIA–Graham Nicholson 40 field goal, 4:20.
MIA–Rashad Amos 1 run (Graham Nicholson kick), 1:21.
Third Quarter
MIA–Graham Nicholson 32 field goal, 11:22.
MIA–Aveon Smith 3 run (Graham Nicholson kick), 6:48.
Fourth Quarter
MIA–Kevin Davis 46 pass from Aveon Smith (Graham Nicholson kick), 11:13.
OHIO–Tyler Walton 1 pass from Kurtis Rourke (Gianni Spetic kick), 7:56.
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MIA OHIO
First downs 14 19
Total Net Yards 291 363
Rushes-yards 46-188 26-50
Passing 103 313
Punt Returns 5-100 2-4
Kickoff Returns 3-13 0-0
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 7-11-0 25-39-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 3-16 3-13
Punts 4-47.2 6-46.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 7-69 11-78
Time of Possession 32:19 27:41
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Miami, Amos 21-163, Smith 15-22, Davis 3-5, Mozee 1-5, Team 6-minus 7. Ohio, Bangura 9-38, Allison 9-1, Rourke 8-11.
PASSING–Miami, Smith 7-11-0-103. Ohio, Rourke 25-39-0-313.
RECEIVING–Miami, Davis 3-61, Larvadain 2-24, Tracy 1-11, McDonald 1-7. Ohio, Wiglusz 5-79, Cross 6-79, Kacmarek 1-36, Walton 4-35, Hendricks 3-35, Bangura 3-26, Foster 3-23.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.
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