OXFORD — Ohio’s comeback attempt fell short, and after falling into a deep first half hole Wednesday, it couldn’t recover. The Bobcats lost 30-28 to Miami at Yager Stadium.
Here are the fast reactions:
Missed momentum, but a sign of life
Ohio thought it had generated momentum throughout the third quarter. Jared Dorsa intercepted a Gus Ragland pass, which stopped a Miami drive. The Bobcats scored a touchdown to cut into the RedHawks lead.
Late in the period, A.J. Ouellette had a 46-yard rush to set the Bobcats up. But a couple plays later, Louie Zervos missed a field goal, taking some wind out of Ohio’s sail.
On the ensuing Miami possession, Dorsa blew through the line on the RedHawks punt. Miami’s snap bounced to the punter and the Dorsa blocked the kick. Dylan Conner scooped the ball up and returned it for a touchdown. Ohio had life. The lead was just seven.
Comeback failed
Ohio was down seven and forced a punt with 7:22 remaining, but Miami downed the ball at the Ohio 1-yard line. On third and 6 from the 5-yard line, Nathan Rourke scrambled around in the end zone, avoided a sack, but stepped on the end line, resulting in a safety and a nine-point RedHawks lead.
Miami got the ball back from the free kick and melted time off the clock. On the next Ohio possession, Rourke found Andrew Meyer for a score. On the onside kick attempt that followed, Miami recovered. The Bobcats stopped the RedHawks and forced a punt, and they had 35 seconds to score with no timeouts, but couldn’t.
Trouble in the East
Ohio’s hopes of ending a 50-year Mid-American Conference championship drought took a massive hit. The Bobcats are now two games out of first place in the MAC East with two games to play. For Ohio to make it to the MAC Championship Game in Detroit, the Bobcats would have to beat Buffalo and Akron, while Buffalo would have to lose to Ohio and Bowling Green.
