Ohio opened midweek MACtion in grand style, locking up bowl eligibility in a rout of the Golden Flashes.
As they methodically move through the season, the Bobbies (6-3, MAC 4-1) reached an important milestone with the win over KSU (0-8, 0-5 MAC). By securing victory number six, Ohio clinched bowl eligibility for the third-straight season.
With the contending Bobcats dominating both lines of scrimmage throughout the first half, the game was a slow march towards inevitability as Ohio rolled to a 20-0 halftime lead en route to a lopsided win behind a grinding running attack and stifling defense.
With Ohio’s defensive line, particularly tackles like Cam Rice, CJ Doggette, and Bralen Henderson putting on a clinic in offensive line penetration, the Golden Flashes played consistently behind the chains with predictable results.
Compounding KSU’s offensive line struggles was a change at quarterback to start the contest, sitting Tommy Ulatowski (who was reportedly banged up prior to the game per the broadcast) in favor of lefty Ruel Tomlinson, a walk-on true freshman.
On the half, Kent State had six drives, with five punts and an interception of the tip-drill variety corralled by ‘Roman Parodie— which eventually led to a Gianni Spetic field goal. All totaled, KSU finished the first half with just 58 yards.
Conversely, Ohio didn’t play their sharpest on offense but were clearly ready to play and controlled the action on the ground in chunks, rolling to a total of 246 yards in the first half. The meat left on the bone for Ohio in the first two quarters was primarily made of three throws by quarterback Parker Navarro that were off the mark, including two in the red zone for potential touchdowns.
As the first half moved to the second, Ohio dominated the third quarter on special teams and defense to close things out.
Michigan transfer wideout Eammon Dennis began the second half with a bang on an explosive 96-yard kickoff return touchdown. Later in the third quarter, wideout Coleman Owen joined the special teams party, weaving his way through the coverage for a 61-yard punt return for another score and a 34-0 lead.
The defensive line had a day, with CJ Doggette leading the charge with a sack and 2.5 tackles-for-loss in the first half alone. Defensive end Kaci Seegars has stood out in spots the past few weeks with hard play and recorded a sack and two tackles-for-loss. DT Cam Rice came into the contest ranked 5th in the MAC with seven tackles-for-loss and added another today. In total, the ‘Cats racked up 13 tackles-for-loss and five sacks.
Ohio’s defense recorded its first shutout since December 19, 2018 when they blanked the San Diego State Aztecs to win the Frisco Bowl 27-0.
For the fourth time in five conference games, Ohio rolled up more than 200 yards rushing with 258 tonight.
A Bobcat bonanza on special teams played out tonight. In addition to the two touchdown returns and two Gianni Spetic first-half field goals, Ohio had other notable plays including when true freshman linebacker Stellan Bowman forced a fumble by blowing up a KSU kickoff returner.
For Ohio, there were several notables on the day— nearly too many to list— but the most important were those dealing with MAC race implications. The win helps Ohio apace in the MAC race for the top two spots, forcing a four-team tie atop 4-1 record (thanks in part to Western Michigan’s loss to Northern Illinois on Wednesday night.) Miami holds the tiebreaker due to a head-to-head win over Ohio. Joining Ohio and WMU are Miami (who holds the head-to-head over Ohio) and Bowling Green.
The Bobbies also notched blowouts in back-to-back weeks with tonight’s win, dispatching Buffalo 47-16 last week. Ohio also scored 40 or more points in back-to-back weeks for the first time since November 2019, when they hung 66 on Bowling Green followed the next week by 52 on Akron.
For KSU, they played with a lot of heart but are just depleted with injury and green with experience throughout the remaining roster in many spots. Tonight’s loss was their third shutout of the 2024 campaign, with Tennessee and Penn State blanking the team previously. Quarterback Tomlinson is the fourth quarterback to play for Kent State this year.
Safety Josh Baka was a bright spot for the Golden Flashes on the day with 18 total tackles and two passes defensed. Fellow safety Tevin Tucker was also all over the field finishing with 10 stops.
KSU sported slick helmets on Military Appreciation Night, white helmets with a K logo which looked like an American Flag.
Kent State’s biggest play of the first half was likely a freeze of Ohio kicker Gianni Spetic, where they forced him to redo a 55-yarder which he missed on the second attempt.
Ohio hosts Eastern Michigan next week at 7:00 PM Eastern time in an important battle for the MAC title battle while KSU heads to Oxford to take on the RedHawks on the same night and time. Stations to be determined.