Ohio defeated Akron for the seventh straight year Saturday, thanks to a pair of late Zips turnovers.
Fumbles have complicated games for Ohio all season.
The Bobcats have lost 10 fumbles and only recovered two, and have one of the worst turnover margins in the NCAA. Jovon Johnson, an Ohio linebacker, and Devin Bass, a cornerback, took steps toward improving those numbers Saturday, however.
Late in the fourth quarter of a tie game, Bass launched himself at an Akron wide receiver and knocked the ball loose. Johnson, who was in the vicinity of the tackle, grabbed the ball and returned it 24 yards to put the Bobcats in position to take the lead.
“I saw him catch the ball and as he was turning, I was just full force at him and he didn’t really see me as I was coming,” Bass said. “I didn’t really know what happened until I saw Jovon and realized he fumbled.”
Six plays later, redshirt junior kicker Josiah Yazdani drilled a go-ahead field goal from 22 yards clinch a 23-20 victory — the Bobcats’ seventh-straight against the Zips. It was Yazdani’s third field goal of the day.
The Zips had a chance to respond on their ensuing drive and gained 28 yards in less than a minute, but Josh Kristoff, a redshirt senior safety, made his second interception of the season and allowed Ohio to finish in victory formation. The Bobcats (4-4, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) are now in third place of the MAC East, just one game behind Bowling Green and Akron.
With only four games remaining, the Bobcats needed a victory Saturday. A loss would have left their chances of making the MAC Championship game or a bowl game slim at best.
“This one’s special,” Kristoff said. “We’ve been struggling the past couple weeks. We really knew we had to win this game and for us to battle and pull it out was a great feeling.”
Not only did the Bobcats win the turnover battle, but they also took the lead first after falling behind 14-0 during their previous two games. Coach Frank Solich said they wanted to score first and elected to receive the ball to begin the game.
On the first drive, redshirt sophomore quarterback JD Sprague found redshirt junior wide receiver Ian Dixon for a 49-yard touchdown pass to give Ohio early momentum. Although he completed fewer than half his attempts for the second straight week, Sprague threw for 197 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also gained 68 yards on the ground and didn’t suffer any sacks.
After losing by more than two touchdowns the previous two weeks, Sprague described Ohio’s offense as resilient during the team’s performance against Akron. The Zips (4-3, 2-1 MAC) also scored on their first drive, but the Bobcats responded after each score to tie the game or retake the lead.
“We’re still making steps, we just need to focus on ourselves. It’s not really anything we feel the other team is doing,” Sprague said. “We just shoot ourself in the foot.”
A.J. Ouellette, a freshman running back, also showed signs of resilience. He rushed for 74 yards and caught four passes for 30 yards and a touchdown while battling a nagging ankle injury. He said he “nicked” his ankle on his first play of the game but walked it off and finished with 23 carries.
“I knew it was going to bother me, but it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it was going to,” Ouellette said.
Despite forcing turnovers and scoring early, Ohio committed 11 penalties for 120 yards. Last week the Bobcats were penalized 16 times for 153 yards. The trend is one Solich hopes will go away in the future.
“Honestly they’re a smart group of kids and they’re not doing it intentionally, but they get so caught up in the game,” Solich said. “We can’t win if we continue to do that. You can’t overcome that very often.”
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