A wounded Ohio squad does its best in southern-style route.
Ohio (2-2) went to Lexington, Kentucky looking for an upset but it was not to be, as the Wildcats (2-2, 0-2 SEC) pulled away for the comfortable win.
The first quarter was more or less competitive, with Kentucky dealing the fatal blows on the scoreboard in the middle two quarters.
The Wildcats started the game with a few runs and short passes to try to find an early groove. The first play was a 18-yard catch and run by running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye. However, Ohio’s defense rose up after that and forced a punt after a total of four plays.
With starting quarterback Parker Navarro out due to an undisclosed injury, Ohio turned to first-year transfer Nick Poulos to guide the offense. Prior to his first career Bobcat start today, Poulos’ game experience with the Bobcats was the two quarters he played in relief last week against Morgan State in a 21-6 win.
Poulos was a gamer and got some things done but ultimately, and not surprisingly, the execution was too inconsistent to get much done on the scoreboard; the Bobcats’ first quarter drives totaled eight plays for 22 total yards.
Kentucky took a 3-0 lead courtesy of kicker Alex Raynor’s 30-yard boot to start the second quarter, moved the ball mostly on the ground and giving the backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt some snaps to run the ball. As they have done most of the year to that point, the Bobcats stiffened in the red zone stopping starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff’s scramble just outside the 10-yard line.
Defensive end Bradley Weaver and defensive tackle Cam Rice were out injured, which didn’t help a Bobcat run defense which was porous at times like the third drive of the game. Kentucky marched 80 yards for a score capped on a one-yard run by Sumo-Karngbaye.
The high-water mark of scoreboard competitiveness was the next Ohio drive, which looked like the Bobcats might cut into the 10-0 deficit. The Bobcats methodically moved 60 yards in 11 plays to get inside the red zone. Michigan transfer wideout Eammon Dennis, on his first offensive touch of his Bobcat career, took the jet sweep and eluded multiple Wildcat defenders before being dragged down at the 16-yard line. A long delay ensued to consider if Dennis fumbled but he was ultimately ruled down prior to fumbling. Ohio was not able to capitalize on the close call in its favor, when a botched exchange between Poulus and running back Anthony Tyus III a few plays later hit the turf and rattled around on the ground before being corralled by Wildcat linebacker J.J Weaver.
Kentucky converted its good fortune into a score, further extending the lead to 17-0, highlighted by a 42-yard floater from Vandagriff to wideout Dane Key, who had gotten behind an eight man zone for the first down. The Wildcat wideout was key on the drive, also contributing a 36-yard snag to take Kentucky down to Ohio’s two-yard line.
Ohio kept competing, as they always do, limiting additional damage in some spots. With Kentucky driving just before the end of the first half, Marcel Walker-Burgess ended the threat with a sack and forced fumble against Kentucky signal caller Vandagriff.
After an Ohio punt and Wildcat field goal, Kentucky had the biggest play of the third quarter when defensive back Maxwell Hairston pilfered a Poulos pass for a 25-yard interception return for a score to extend the lead to 27-0. Poulos appeared to throw to the flats late and Hairston broke on it for six.
To Ohio’s credit, they were able to avoid the shutout on a five-play, 51-yard drive to start the fourth quarter. The first of two key plays was a play action off of an option look where Poulus found wideout Coleman Owen for a 27-yard completion. Poulos then looked good on a 19-yard run that got the ‘Cats inside Kentucky’s five where running back Rickey Hunt Jr. scored on a short run a few plays later. The two-point conversion was no good.
Kentucky got its final points on a two-yard run by Gavin Wimsett, capping off a drive where the back up signal caller successfully moved the offense down the field covering 59 yards.
NOTES
- Heading into conference play, Ohio is ready to compete on defense and on special teams. Despite the 34 points surrendered today, the Bobbies kept it fairly competitive until the pick-six interception and should fare much better against MAC competition.
- Linebacker Shay Taylor played his first full game since a Week 1 injury and responded with nine tackles. Transfer safety Nick Johnson led the squad with 11 stops and JACK end Marcel Walker-Burgess continued his productive streak with seven stops and the sack previously discussed.
- What looked like a gelling offense after Week 2 is now a question mark heading into conference play. While the Bobcats should be fine running the ball in MAC play, the quarterback position is unsettled. Parker Navarro sat the second half of the last week’s contest after throwing three interceptions in the second quarter and the offense under Nick Poulus is a work in progress since that change. Poulus made some plays at times, but the execution on the whole was not there— albeit against a very good Kentucky defense. This is not a knock on Poulus, who came into a difficult situation for an inexperienced player. He wasn’t in town for spring ball coming out of JUCO and had to start in an SEC environment.
- A big area to keep an eye on heading to MAC play is turnovers, where Ohio has committed six in the last two weeks.
- Kentucky was looking to get its passing game in gear and made some progress on that front. Wideout Dane Key was aptly named as his seven catches and 145 receiving yards were essential in Kentucky’s effort.
- Quarterback Brock Vandagriff got off to a hot start, going 7-of-7 for 69 yards to start the contest. Vandagriff finished with a competent game, completing 17-24 throws for 237 yards while contributing 21 more on the ground.
- Kentucky was able to find some room on the ground against a Bobcat defense that hadn’t surrendered much all year. Coming into the contest, the Bobcats were allowing 105 yards rushing on average but the Wildcats had 103 by the early third quarter. The Wildcats finished with 206 on the ground led by Jamarion Wilcox who had 82 yards rushing on just eight totes.
The Bobcats host the Akron Zips next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN+, while Kentucky will have its hands full, hitting the road for the first time all season to take on fifth-ranked Ole Miss Rebels at noon Central time.