Ohio prevails after a wild second half, cementing a program-best season performance.
In a game pitting proud conference champions against one another, Ohio (11-3, 8-1 MAC) held off a furious comeback by Jacksonville State (9-5, 7-1 Conference USA) in a knockdown, drag-out affair where the tale of two halves couldn’t have been more different.
In the process, Ohio won 11 games in a season for the first time in program history and secured the Mid-American Conference’s first ever Cure Bowl trophy.
Ohio got the scoring party started with a seven-play, 79-yard drive for their first touchdown. The drive was a who’s who of the 2024 offense, as wideout Coleman Owen had 41 yards on four catches, running back Antony Tyus III had 20 yards rushing and a key third-down conversion, while quarterback Parker Navarro capped the drive on a 17-yard run.
After a Jax State three-and-out, Ohio moved through the Gamecocks like a hot knife through warm butter with Cure Bowl MVP Navarro accounting for 51 of the drive’s 64 yards on the ground, including a eight-yard rushing touchdown.
Photo by Dustin Markland/Getty Images
But with about one minute left in the first quarter and only 25 total yards to its credit, Jacksonville responded quickly to Ohio’s score on a 75-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tyler Huff to his leading receiver Cam Vaughn on a skinny post.
Jax State’s defense battled gallantly to hold Ohio’s offense in check in the first half, but the Bobcats’ attack was just too much.
The ‘Cats third touchdown drive of the first half alternated between Tyus III and Navarro on a clock-draining 11-play, 67-yard drive which saw Navarro getting to paydirt on a seven-yard run. Key in the conversion was a 17-yard run where Tyus III hurdled safety Fred Perry to pick up a first down on second-and-15. Tyus III also picked up a fourth-and-one at the Jax State 10-yard line to extend the drive on a run spearheaded by the sheer physicality of center Parker Titsworth and guards Christophe Atkinson and Carson Heidecker. The Ohio lead would stretched to 20-7— though importantly, Gianni Spetic would miss the extra-point attempt.
Photo by Dustin Markland/Getty Images
Things got heated late in the second quarter on a critical drive as players on both teams were called for personal fouls including a flagrant foul that resulted in Ohio linebacker Shay Taylor’s ejection. The Gamecocks looked poised to narrow the 20-7 deficit but the Bobcats defense had a different idea. On third and two at the 13-yard line, defensive end Bradley Weaver and linebacker Blake Leake converged on Huff for a five-yard loss.
The Bradley/Leake third down stop was critical as Jax State’s 35-yard field goal attempt by Garrison Rippa doinked off the left upright and was no good.
Ohio looked like they had it made in the shade, rolling to a 27-7 halftime lead on the backs of a dominant performance in all phases, but one of the wackiest second halves of the college football season unfolded amid the escalating physicality, which saw the Gamecocks mount a furious rally.
In fact, the final two quarters were so spicy for both sides that each would have needed a truckload of Tums to take the acid down a notch. The affair from this point on was pure mayhem, highlighted by an avalanche of penalties, turnovers, big plays and huge momentum swings.
Jax State got things rolling after pressure produced a poor Ohio punt which went out of bounds at the Bobcat 30-yard line. The Gamecocks quickly converted their good fortune with a touchdown on a seven-yard run by Huff to bring the score to 27-14.
After an Ohio punt, an errant pitch from Huff to star running back Tre Stewart rattled around on the turf, ultimately recovered by Bradley Weaver deep in Jax State territory.
Leading 27-14 and about to possibly take a three-score lead, the unthinkable happened when Ohio fumbled the ball on the very next play, giving the ball right back to Jax State.
With even the fans out of breath at this point, the Gamecocks kept the wild ride going when the first play of the ensuing drive was an electric 58-yard screen pass from Huff to wideout Jarod Bowie. Many of Bowie’s perimeter mates were big on the play, setting key blocks.
Ohio cornerback Tank Pearson’s touchdown-saving tackle of Bowie at Ohio’s 33-yard line turned out to be critical based on what happened from there.
A few plays later, with Jacksonville approaching the red zone, the drive came to a screeching halt when Ohio linebacker Blake Leake— with one hand and arm completely in a cast— intercepted Huff at the nine-yard line to snuff out the threat.
Ohio launched a 12-play, 66-yard odyssey off the turnover, chewing up over 7:30 of game clock. During the drive, the teams traded multiple penalties with the ball moving back and forth on the field like a jumping bean. The Bobcats finally prevailed on the sequence when kicker Gianni Stepic hit a 38-yard field goal to increase the lead to 30-14.
The play to start the fourth quarter was championship caliber, with Jacksonville State climbing back in the game on an 11-play, 75-yard drive to bring the score to 30-20. Key to the drive was the emergence of running back Trey Stewart, who ultimately capped the drive on a two-yard carry to begin his redemption after a diasterous first-half performance. Like their champion counterparts, Ohio rose up to deny the two-point conversion on a blitz where safety Adonis Williams Jr. stopped a jet sweep cold to preserve a two-possession lead.
Finally, Ohio appeared to have the Gamecocks on the ropes again with six minutes left in the fourth, driving deep into Jax State territory when linebacker Ky’won McCray made a stunning, athletic deflection of a Navarro pass. McCray then dove to the ground to make the interception.
With new life, the Gamecocks scored again to close the gap to 30-27. Running back Tre Stewart showed why he is Conference USA’s best, finishing things with two hard runs, including a one-yard run for his second score of the day.
The comeback was not meant to be however, as Ohio’s offense ran out the clock with three minutes and change remaining, as an incredible rugby-like 30-yard run by Ricky Hunt and company which has to be seen to be believed and a Tyus III swing pass to convert a third-and-nine would effectively seal the deal.
NOTES:
Both teams made their schools and the StaffDNA Cure Bowl proud through the grit and determination they displayed on the field today.
There was no quit in Jacksonville State despite the 20-point halftime deficit. Just the opposite as offensive and defensive players alike for Jax State dialed up the intensity in for the second half. Players like defensive end J-Rock Swain and linebacker Curley Young Jr. were excellent down the stretch. Young Jr. finished with 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and a pass defensed.
Ohio dominated the first half. Defensively, the mission was to limit a Jax State ground game which entered the contest second nationally with 267 yards rushing per game. Ohio defense allowed negative 39 yards rushing on 19 attempts in the first half (including sack yardage). Jax State’s Huff and Stewart came into the game with a combined 2,947 yards rushing this year but finished today with a total of only 29 yards rushing.
Offensively, the ‘Cats rolled up 309 yards total offense in the first half including 167 yards rushing for 7.3 yards per carry. The ‘Cats were led by Parker Navarro’s combined 365 yards and four touchdowns (three rush, one pass). One of the storylines of the season is how the Bobcats dominated the final two minutes of the first half offensively, scoring another touchdown in this contest in the waning moments.
Jax State found a way to stay in it offensively through the passing game where Huff passed for 349 yards and a score and wideout Cam Vaughn had a breakout game with 169 yards receiving on nine catches including a touchdown.
The 2024 season could arguably be the best in program history, as the ‘Cats picked up a bowl win to secure their first-ever 11-win season— two week removed from winning the MAC championship. As such, it makes sense that some players had record-setting seasons. Wideout Coleman Owen’s 11 catches for 141 yards today sets the Bobcat single season record for both receptions (77) and yards (1,246).
Parker Navarro is the first quarterback in school history to record six, 100-yard games in a season. Navarro’s 110 yards on the ground today makes him only the second quarterback in Ohio history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season (Navarro finished with 1053, Kareem Wilson is first with 1,072).
Running back Anthony Tyus III finishes with 1,214 yards rushing which is the sixth-best single season total in Ohio history.