Maleek Irons rushed for two touchdowns Saturday afternoon as the Bobcats defeated UMass 58-42 at Peden Stadium.
The redshirt senior running back had a career-high 140 rushing yards. After sitting out last season due to a suspension, Irons has led the resurgence of Ohio’s rushing attack.
Irons, running back A.J. Ouellette and quarterback Nathan Rourke combined for 399 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Not all of the success came on the ground — Rourke was 23 of 32 passing for 270 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bobcats set a new program record with 664 total yards.
After back-to-back losses, Ohio had a sense of urgency entering its final nonconference game. Rourke admitted that the two losses could really hurt them at the end of the season; Ouellette said he would be disappointed if the Bobcats didn’t come out angry.
With the win, Ohio moves to 2-2 entering Mid-American Conference play next week.
The Bobcats' defensive woes continued though, allowing 451 yards. UMass had success with passing on the secondary, with missed tackles and deep touchdown passes. The worst was a one-play drive resulting in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Ford to Andy Isabella.
Evan Croutch finished with nine tackles, and Javon Hagan had an interception.
Ohio fell behind to a 14-0 deficit early in the first quarter. UMass started the game with a six play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Then on his first pass attempt of the day Rourke threw a pick six, which was intercepted by Isiah Rodgers.
The Bobcats responded with six straight touchdowns after the interception. The first was 19-yard pass from Rourke to White, and the one that put them on top for good was another connection between the two, a 12-yard touchdown.
White finished with six receptions for 82 yards and two touchdowns. The two touchdowns upped his season total to four, beating last season's total of three.
