The Bobcats rout EMU to stay locked in a three-way tie for first place in the MAC.
Ohio (7-3, 5-1 MAC) is peaking at the right time, winning its third-straight game by blowout, this time behind an explosive defense and a career best effort by Ohio’s quarterback Parker Navarro.
Eastern Michigan (5-5, 2-4 MAC) hung tough for the first half but ultimately succumbed to a relentless Bobcat squad that overwhelmed the Eagles in the latter moments.
The first half was mostly a defensive struggle, with the field position advantage heavily in EMU’s favor with Ohio starting three drives between the 5- and 10-yard lines. The half was ultimately controlled defensively when it mattered on most drives, with Ohio’s offense gaining a slight advantage before halftime, 14-7.
Offensively, the Eagles used a lot of tempo, designed quarterback runs, and quick passes in the first half. EMU’s running game was generally stifled early until it found some traction in the second and third quarters.
The Bobcats’ defense had the first key series, forcing a punt on fourth-and-13 on a drive the Eagles started at the Ohio 46-yard line.
As the quarter wound towards the end of the first, Ohio appeared to gain the upper hand offensively, but EMU’s defense rose up this time to keep the game scoreless. On third-and-three with their backs against the wall at the Eagles’ 10-yard line, the defense smothered the Bobcats ground game to force a field goal attempt. Then Eastern denied the Bobcats points as Gianni Spetic’s field goal was blocked by the big paw of defensive end Joey Zelinsky.
As things moved on in the second, EMU got the scoring started, spearheaded by a 43-yard bomb from Snyder to Oran Singleton Jr., who caught the ball despite clear defensive pass interference by the only Bobcat defender in the area. The drive was capped on a forward pitch from quarterback Cole Snyder to running back Delbert Mims III for an 18-yard touchdown. On the play, Snyder rolled to his left, opening a hole in the middle where a waiting Mims III caught the ball and churned to paydirt, breaking through a tackle to seal the deal.
Pinned at their own five-yard line and down seven, Ohio’s offense found its rhythm. Facing boxes of seven or more to stop the run throughout the first half, the ‘Cats passing game responded, with some great plays by the receiving corps and quarterback Parker Navarro. The first pass was a 21-yarder thrown behind Chace Hendricks but caught. Then wideout Coleman Owen exploded for 34-yards, absorbing a big shoulder hit by Eagles safety David Carter Jr. to maintain possession. Rodney Harris II added a leaping catch to get inside the five. Quarterback Parker Navarro finished the drive on a three-yard option keeper.
EMU tried to respond to Ohio’s score but their late first half drive was squelched on a great athletic play by defensive end Ben McNaboe. The Bobcat defender first tipped the ball and, with a diving stab, scooped his hand under the ball for an interception merely inches before it hit the turf.
Ohio’s offense converted the defense’s effort into seven points in less than two minutes on an eight-play, 75-yard drive finished on a short run by running back Anthony Tyus III. Key on the drive was Parker Navarro finding space on the ground or through the air to move the ball into scoring position.
The game settled back into a defensive battle early in the second half with each side turning in a big play before Ohio pulled away on the scoreboard.
EMU came out of the locker room with a bang, turning the momentum back in their favor on a tip drill pick of Navarro by defensive back Quentavius Scandrett.
The pick was one of the last pieces of good news on the night for the Eagles. As the third quarter progressed, the affair became the Tank Pearson show as the Ohio cornerback made two great interceptions and almost had a third. The first was on a deep ball where, falling down, Pearson had the presence of mind to pin the ball against his body to maintain possession. The second was on third-and-three, where the Eagles went to the well on the short pass once too many times and Pearson jumped the slant route to give his offense great field position.
Parker Navarro capitalized immediately off of Pearson’s second interception as he kept the option around left end to streak to a 25-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the drive to extend the score to 21-7.
The EMU passing game never seemed to recover from the third interception but did manage three to bring the game to 21-10 on a 29-yard Jesus Gomez field goal.
The field goal was the high-water mark for the visitors in the second half as Parker Navarro and company ground the Eagles into submission. On the ensuing drive, the Bobcats moved 85-yards, consuming almost six minutes to extend the lead to 28-10. Ohio got another turnover deep in EMU’s territory and scored to round out the scoring at 35-10.
Notes
- With the win Ohio remains in a three-way tie with Miami and Bowling Green for two spots in the MAC championship game with only two games remaining.
- Ohio moves to 7-0 on the season when leading at halftime.
- With EMU loading the box to contain the run, the Bobcats found success in the passing game and salted the game away late with the running game.
- Ohio passed for over 200 yards in the first half after averaging 182 per MAC game coming into the contest.
- Parker Navarro was the clear catalyst, having a career day where he threw for 277 yards, ran for 102, and scored four rushing touchdowns which ties a Bobcat single game record.
Rich Barnes-Imagn Images
- Ohio wideouts made a season’s worth of highlight reel catches in one evening led by Chase Hendricks, Coleman Owen, and Rodney Harris II.
- Owen is closing on 1,000 yards for the year adding eight catches for 139 yards today for his fifth 100+ yard receiving game this season.
- TE Mason Williams stood out in the passing game with four catches.
- Defensively, Ohio is finding some real explosiveness down the home stretch of the season. Ohio has generated seven turnovers in the last three games after having generated five in the first seven games.
- The Bobcats held EMU’s second-ranked MAC offense to a total of 266 yards.
- Defensive end Ben McNaboe had a top-notch day with the interception and strip-sack of Cole Snyder in the fourth which was recovered by Kaci Seegars.
- Ohio defensive tackle Bralen Henderson has turned up the heat in recent weeks with some clean hard tackling. Henderson blew up a run in the third and forced a Snyder fumble in the fourth working off of a block.
- Linebacker Shay Taylor and safety Dustin Johnson finished with a combined 19 tackles. Defensive end Bradley Weaver was impactful early with two tackles-for-loss and a sack.
- The crowd was a factor well into the second half, noticeably vocal in support of the Bobcats.
- EMU had a tough day on the turnover front, which was an obvious difference. Coming into today’s contest as the 21st best team in the nation in turnover margin, the Eagles lost the battle today 4-1.
- Eastern dropped its third straight and needs a win in the last two weeks to make bowl eligibility. The final two opponents are contenders Buffalo Bulls and Western Michigan Broncos.
- Running back Delbert Mimms Jr. was clearly physically less than 100% but battled hard, leading the club with 92 total yards and a score.
- For the second consecutive week, EMU’s linebackers James Djonkam and Luke Murphy were the leading tacklers with a combined 19 stops.
- Oran Singleton led all EMU receivers with five catches for 70 yards.
- Ohio heads to Toledo next Wednesday at 7:00 PM ET for a contest with major title implications while Eastern Michigan hosts Buffalo at the same time and on the same night. Networks to be determined for both games.