ATHENS—The Ohio Bobcats held off a late comeback by the visiting Florida Atlantic Owls, to prevail 41-38, at Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium on Saturday night.
Not only did the win get the 'Cats their first non-conference win since 2019, it brought new career highs for quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who broke multiple personal records. The redshirt junior was 345 passing yards, which surpassed his 308 yard record. Rourke also threw four touchdown passes in the game, beating his previous record of three.
Florida Atlantic and it's high powered offense picked up where they left off last week, scoring on the opening drive of the game on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Je’Quan Burton from N’Kosi Perry with 11:10 remaining in the first quarter.
Two possessions later, freshman kicker Nathanial Vakos would put the Bobcats on the board with a 29-yard field goal with 7:00 remaining in the opening period.
The Owls soon responded and added their own 24-yard field goal, putting the score at 10-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bobcats would tie the game up to start the second quarter, as Rourke completed a six-yard tunnel screen pass to transfer wide receiver Sam Wiglusz. The score capped off a nine-play, 75-yard drive.
Wiglusz played a pivotal role on the drive, which included a 30-yard reception on third-and-seven and the six-yard scoring play to get Ohio tied up.
On the following drive, Florida Atlantic's N'Kosi would throw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jahmal Edrine to help the Owls retake the lead at 17-10 with 10:38 remaining in the half.
The Bobcats responded with a 36-yard field goal by Vakos with 1:24 left to close the gap to 17-13 in favor of the Owls before halftime.
Ohio would take the opening drive of the second half and march down the field in 11-plays and cover 87-yards to take the lead for good.
The drive would culminate with Rourke finding Wiglusz again for a 5-yard touchdown pass to put the 'Cats back ahead at 20-17 early in the third frame.
Ohio would extend their lead on their following drive as Rourke would toss his third touchdown of the evening. This time to sophomore wide receiver Miles Cross from one-yard out. The extra point by Vakos gave the Bobcats a 27-17 advantage with 4:24 remaining in the third period.
The Ohio defense got into the act as defensive tackle Rodney Matthews would cause a fumble while sacking N'Kosi Perry. Linebacker Bryce Houston would scoop up the loose ball and return it to the Owl 29 to set up Ohio's next drive.
Rourke continued his offensive onslaught to open the final period as he ran in from two-yards out to push the Bobcat lead to 34-17 with 12:20 remaining.
The Owls began to show life on offense again and answered on their next drive, cutting into Ohio's lead after another touchdown pass from Perry to Tony Johnson from 9-yard out to make the score 34-24 with 10:22 left in the game.
Ohio would respond with a five-play, 83-yard drive, that concluded with a Rourke touchdown pass to wide receiver James Bostic to put the Bobcats ahead, 41-24.
Florida Atlantic would respond with touchdowns in the following three drives cut Ohio's lead to 41-38 with 4:15 to play in the game.
The Bobcats were forced to punt on the following drive, giving the ball back to FAU at their own 41-yard line with 1:37 remaining in the game.
The Bobcats defense would rise to the challenge, forcing the Owls to turn the ball over on downs with :32 seconds remaining and secure the 41-38 victory for Ohio.
The Bobcats head to Happy Valley to face the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, September 10. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. and the game will be televised on ABC.
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