Ohio (7-3, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) left Peden Stadium Wednesday night with its heads held high after a dominant 35-10 win over Eastern Michigan (5-5, 2-4 MAC). The win pushed the team into a three-way tie for first place in the MAC.
Quarterback Parker Navarro had a record-breaking game with four rushing touchdowns, making him the eighth player in Ohio history to hold a share of the school record of rushing touchdowns in a game.
If four rushing touchdowns weren’t enough, Navarro also tallied a career-high 277 passing yards.
“We were just doing what we do, trusting the offense,” Navarro said. “Things just opened up; I don’t think it was anything super special. The guys up front handled business and made it easy for me.”
The Ohio offense didn’t get out to the start you’d expect in a game that ended with 35 points scored. At the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats were locked in a 0-0 tie, having only gained 83 total yards on offense.
While the offense faltered, the Ohio defense delivered yet another incredible performance, allowing the offense the time it needed to get going.
“We have a destructive defensive line, linebacker depth and the secondary just making plays,” Ohio linebacker Shay Taylor said. “I think what (our success) boils down to is coach (John) Hauser and coach (Nate) Faanes play calling. It’s been a blessing being coached by them.”
Ohio forced four total turnovers as a team while turning the ball over only once. Ohio coach Tim Albin has repeatedly harped on the importance of winning the turnover battle, which Ohio did handily Wednesday against Eastern Michigan.
“The turnovers were the difference in the game for the score to be what it was,” Albin said.
Ohio’s four turnovers were headlined by an incredible two-interception third-quarter from defensive back Tank Pearson.
“(Turnovers) boosts our confidence,” Pearson said. “We preach turnovers a lot during the week, whether that’s catching the ball, punching the ball out; that’s really going to boost our confidence and make us play better.”
Pearson’s first interception was an incredible diving catch on a 50/50 ball down the sideline that Eastern Michigan quarterback Cole Snyder underthrew, allowing Pearson to turn his body around and leap for the ball.
The Bobcat offense capitalized on the defense's incredible plays, scoring 21 of its 35 points off turnovers.
All five of Ohio’s touchdowns came on the ground, four going to Navarro and running back Anthony Tyus tallying one. However, Ohio had one of the season's most productive passing games.
The wide receiver trio of Coleman Owen, Rodney Harris and Chase Hendricks combined for 231 receiving yards. In the first of two touchdown drives in the second quarter, each of its core three receivers had a reception of 20 or more yards en route to a 95-yard scoring drive to take the lead into halftime.
“In the last 12 quarters, we’ve had a ton of explosive plays; maybe more explosive plays in any three-game stretch that I can remember,” Albin said.
After a slow start to the game for the offense, Ohio took a 7-point lead into halftime and never looked back. Ohio outscored Eastern Michigan 21-3 in the second half.
“From an offensive standpoint, we came out a little slow,” Hendricks said. “We ended up getting a big spark in the first half and then coming out in the second half, it was just ‘finish, finish, finish,’ and that’s been something we’ve been doing: finishing. Coming back in the second half, we just dominated.”
With the win, Ohio stays in a three-way tie for first place in the MAC with two weeks left to play.
“I love this team, and I like where we’re headed,” Albin said. “There’s still some things we can improve on but these guys are about it.”
