For Ohio (9-3, 7-1 Mid-American Conference), it was simple: win, and you’re in. Friday, the Bobcats walked into Peden Stadium with an opportunity to advance to the MAC Championship game for the second time in three years. Ohio did just that with a dominant 42-21 win over Ball State.
“I’m happy for the staff, our administration, obviously our program, but most importantly our fans,” Ohio coach Tim Albin said. “They’re going to show out like no other every game.”
In addition to clinching a spot in the MAC Championship game, Ohio finished its second undefeated season on Frank Solich Field since the legendary coach's name was added to the stadium before the 2022 season.
“I could not be happier for our program and our players,” Albin said.
Knowing what was at stake, Ohio came out firing on all cylinders. Starting with the ball on offense, it took only five plays for quarterback Parker Navarro to find Coleman Owen wide-open for a 50-yard score.
The Bobcat’s hot start didn’t end there. After another defensive stop, Ohio came out on the offensive again with equally dominating success. A 34-yard rush by Anthony Tyus set Owen up for his second 40-plus yard touchdown in as many drives; this time, it was a 41-yard strike from Navarro that gave Ohio an early two-score lead.
“The run game set it up,” Owen said. “The O-line was blocking well up front, and (Tyus) was running well during those first couple of plays, and we got the look we needed for that pass play.”
The Cardinals and Bobcats traded punts for a handful of drives before Navarro, and the offense went down the field for their third score of the game. Ohio offensive coordinator Brian Smith worked to establish the run game late in the half with both Navarro and Tyus.
After a few impressive rushes by Tyus, Ohio capped off another scoring drive with a 20-yard rushing touchdown for Navarro, his first of two on the day.
Navarro, a three-time MAC Player of the Week award winner, delivered yet another incredible performance with five total touchdowns, three through the air and two on the ground.
“We certainly don’t get to this point without (Navarro),” Albin said. “Your football team takes on the personality of your quarterback, plain and simple. And he’s tough, so guess what? We’ve got a tough team.”
Navarro found success in the air thanks to his connection with fellow Arizona native Owen. With 142 receiving yards, Owen became the third player in Ohio history to have a 1,000-yard receiving season.
“Those individual stats are cool, but we have one more game that we’re really trying to get after,” Owen said. “That’s our focus right now.”
Owen moved into second all-time for Ohio in terms of receiving yards in a season and will have the chance to break the record in the MAC Championship Game.
Although Ohio dissected the Ball State defense, its own defense worked to slow one of the MAC’s top passers in Kadin Semonza.
Semonza put together a good game in the second half, finishing the game with 333 total passing yards, but it wasn’t enough to outweigh Ohio’s Navarro-led offense.
Where Ohio’s defense was really able to excel was in the run game. The Bobcats held the Cardinals to just 42 rushing yards, which created a run-yard differential of 222 yards in favor of Ohio.
“It starts up front,” Ohio linebacker Blake Leake said. “(That front) makes my life a lot easier; they get after the quarterback, and they dominate that O-Line.”
Up multiple scores, Ohio benched its starting players late in the third quarter and allowed its backups to get some reps in the fourth.
With the win, Ohio will shift its focus to rival Miami, where, for the first time in conference history, Ohio will compete against its rival for a MAC title trophy.
