Time after time, the Bobcats had the ball with a chance to take the lead or tie the game, and time after time they squandered the opportunity.
Four turnovers and 74 penalty yards doomed the Bobcats as they fell to Rutgers, 38-26.
“If we don’t turn it over as much as we did, we have a really good chance to win the game,” Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton said. “You can’t come in here and beat yourself against a really good team.”
Tettleton threw for a career-high 339 yards and three touchdowns. While the Bobcats’ offense was able to move the ball at times, untimely turnovers allowed Rutgers to maintain the lead.
On the defensive side of the ball, Ohio’s secondary had no answer for Rutgers receiver Mohamed Sanu, who caught a Big East-record 16 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
“We’ve got to give credit to him, he’s a good player,” Ohio safety Xavier Hughes said. “The mistakes killed us. We’re going to make sure we work on the little things and get those things corrected.”
Every time it appeared the Bobcats would come up with a big stop on defense, Sanu would haul in another catch to move the chains.
“I thought they threw the ball well and ran draws well,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “Their formations caught us lined up improperly, and they were able to take advantage of that in key third-down situations.”
Solich said the Bobcats knew they would have to shut down Sanu going into the game but were not able to do so.
“He just continues to impress,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “It’s very hard for a stationary or even moving linebacker or defensive back to keep up with him.”
After a LaVon Brazill touchdown catch tied the score at seven late in the first quarter, Rutgers scored back-to-back touchdowns to take a 21-7 lead.
Rutgers’ third touchdown of the half came on a fumbled punt return, which Rutgers recovered and dropped again before securing it for the score.
Ohio answered with a 42-yard field from Matt Weller as the first half expired to cut the halftime deficit to 21-10.
The kick was the 39thfield goal of Weller’s career, setting the all-time school record for career field goals.
Ohio pulled within four points on the first drive of the second half on a 31-yard touchdown catch by Donte Foster.
But again Rutgers answered with a four-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chas Dodd to Sanu.
A Ryan Boykin fumble led to an eight-minute drive in which Rutgers sealed the win with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Paul Carrezola.
“In order to beat them, we needed to play well, and that’s something we did not do,” Solich said. “When you’re turning the ball over, you can’t match a team point for point.”
Fan becomes seriously ill during game
A man watching the game from the west bleachers became ill at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Police officers and paramedics performed CPR on the man, who did not appear to respond to the treatment. He was later put on a stretcher, taken onto Ohio’s sideline and carted to a waiting ambulance.
The process was delayed slightly by play resuming after a media timeout. The cart operator attempted to deliver the man to the ambulance by cutting across the field, but the ball had already been snapped. After the play, Solich alerted the referee of the incident and cleared a path for the cart.
The medical personnel attending the man continued to perform CPR as he was taken to the ambulance, but the attempt did not appear successful.
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