ORLANDO, Fla. – Parker Navarro rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another in the first half as Ohio built a big lead and then held off Jacksonville State 30-27 in the Cure Bowl on Saturday at Camping World Stadium.

After building a 27-7 halftime lead, the Mid-American Conference Bobcats (11-3) scored just a field goal in the second half, but it was enough to beat the Conference USA champion Gamecocks (9-5) to win their sixth straight bowl game and set a new program record for wins in a season.

Navarro went 19-of-28 passing for 227 yards and rushed 15 times for 119 yards. Anthony Tyus III added 26 carries for 123 yards and caught Navarro’s touchdown pass. Coleman Owen made 11 receptions for 111 yards to become the program’s... <Read More>

No Photo Credit

Ohio blew out Miami 38-3 in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game on Saturday at Ford Field to win its first conference championship since 1968.

The sixth time was the charm. The Bobcats (10-3) had lost in all five of their previous MAC Championship Game appearances. They reached 10 wins in a season for a third straight season for the first time in school history and avenged a 30-20 loss to the RedHawks (8-5) during the regular season.

“Offensively, a masterful game plan by our offensive staff,” said coach Tim Albin, who earlier this week was named the MAC coach of the year. “We were on schedule all day. Time of possession; our... <Read More>

ATHENS – Ohio scored two quick touchdowns and took care of Ball State with a 42-21 victory Friday afternoon at Peden Stadium to clinch a spot in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game.

Parker Navarro accounted for five touchdowns, with three passing and two rushing, hitting Colman Owen for a pair of long scores early. The Bobcats (9-3, 7-1 MAC) finished undefeated at home for the second time in three years and will get a second shot at rival Miami.

“I could not be happier for our program and for our players to do it in front of our fans,” Ohio coach Tim Albin said. “To go undefeated again two out of the last three seasons, to finish the regular season with nine wins, and to my understanding, get a rematch in Detroit with... <Read More>

TOLEDO – Toledo is a win away from playing for the Mid-American Conference Championship Game after a great second half led to a 24-7 victory against Toledo on Wednesday night at the Glass Bowl.

Defense kept the Bobcats in the game before the offense came to life after halftime with a workhorse rushing performance from Anthony Tyus III, who carried 33 times for 125 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Parker Navarro added 104 rushing yards on 18 carries and found the end zone twice.

Ohio managed just 101 yards of offense before halftime but wound up with 367, including 238 on the ground. Toledo was held in check all game long, with just 194 yards on the night.

After punting five times in the first half and trailing 7-0, the Bobcats (8-3, 6-1... <Read More>

ATHENS – Parker Navarro tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns, the defense forced four turnovers, and Ohio ran away with a 35-10 victory against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night at Peden Stadium.

Navarro’s huge night included 106 yards rushing on 13 carries and 22-of-32 passing for a career-high 277 yards as the Bobcats (7-3, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) remained tied atop the league standings.

It was a shaky start for Ohio, which fell behind 7-0 on Cole Snyder’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Delbert Mimms III with 12:47 left in the second quarter.

After punting one more time following that score, the Bobcats finally got their offense going with a quick five-play drive that included a 21-yard completion to Chase Hendricks, a... <Read More>

KENT – Ohio took care of business in a big way with a 41-0 rout of winless Kent State on Wednesday night at Dix Stadium.

The Bobcats’ defense dominated throughout, and the offense looked pretty good too. Ohio (6-3, 4-1 Mid-American Conference) racked up 407 yards of offense, while Kent State (0-9, 0-5 MAC) finished with 114, including just 33 against backups in the fourth quarter.

Ohio’s first possession stalled and resulted in a Gianni Spetic 42-yard field goal. The Bobcats finished their second drive with an Anthony Tyus 19-yard touchdown run to make it 10-0.

After Ohio punted on its third possession, Kent State finally picked up a first down on its fourth drive, but Raman Parodie picked off Ruel Tomlinson two plays later, eventually... <Read More>

ATHENS – Parker Navarro and Ohio bounced back from a bad performance to destroy Buffalo 47-16 on Saturday at Peden Stadium.

Coming off of a 30-20 loss to rival Miami, the Bobcats blew out a Bulls team that came in with wins against Toledo and Northern Illinois.

Coming off a shaky performance against the RedHawks, Navarro went 14-of-19 for 231 yards and two touchdowns and ran 13 times for 81 yards. It also was a big day for Coleman Owen, who caught six passes for 146 yards and two scores and also had a 22-yard rushing touchdown.

As well as it turned out, the Bobcats (5-3, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) and Navarro had some struggles early. Navarro was intercepted by Marquis Cooper on Ohio’s second possession, and a missed 47-yard field goal... <Read More>

OXFORD – Ohio’s offense struggled as Miami rolled to a 30-20 victory in the 100th edition of the Battle of the Bricks on Saturday at Yeager Stadium.

The RedHawks built a 16-0 halftime lead and took a 30-6 advantage into the fourth quarter. The Bobcats finished with just 291 yards of offense and nearly half of those came in the last period after the game was decided.

Ohio’s own defense kept it close for a while. It held Miami (3-4, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) to a Dom Dzioban 28-yard field goal in the first quarter, but the offense did not pick up a first down on its first four possessions.

Eventually that led to a relatively short field for the RedHawks, and they capitalized with the game’s first touchdown on a Brett Gabbert 14-yard... <Read More>

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Ohio used a huge first half from quarterback Parker Navarro to build a lead and then held off Central Michigan late 27-25 for its first win at Kelly/Shorts Stadium since 2011.

Navarro and the Bobcats (4-2, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) held a 332-63 advantage in yards in the first half that resulted in a 24-0 lead. The Chippewas were nearly as dominant in the second half with a 25-3 scoring advantage, but the Bobcats were able to run out the clock late.

Most of Navarro’s 176 yards rushing came before halftime. He also finished the game 13-of-22 passing for 147 yards with one touchdown both passing and rushing.

Central Michigan (3-3, 1-1 MAC) chipped away in the second half and made it a 24-18 game with Marion Lukes’... <Read More>

ATHENS – Quarterback Parker Navarro returned from an injury to spark the offense, and the defense was stout as Ohio celebrated homecoming with a 30-10 victory against Akron on Saturday at Peden Stadium.

Navarro, who sat out a loss to Kentucky last week, went 12-of-18 passing for 204 yards and two touchdowns and ran 13 times for 113 yards and a score. Meanwhile, the defense held the Zips to jut 178 yards of total offense, including minus 18 on the ground, the first time since 2006, also against Akron, that Ohio has limited an opponent to less than 0 yards rushing.

"The guys are bought in,” Ohio coach Tim Albin said. “They want to be great. They take the coaching, and sometimes it's really hard coaching, especially after some of the penalty... <Read More>

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ohio hung tough for a while before Kentucky eventually overwhelmed the Bobcats 41-6 to wrap up nonconference play Saturday at Kroger Stadium.

Kentucky led just 3-0 after one quarter, and Ohio was in position to cut its deficit again to three in the middle of the third quarter, but a fumble eventually turned into a 14-point swing, and the Wildcats rolled from there.

With backup quarterback Nick Paulos starting, the Bobcats (2-2) were able to put up just 223 yards of offense, while the Wildcats (2-2) rolled to 488 yards.

Defense kept Ohio in it early. Kentucky’s first two drives resulted in a three-and-out and a 30-yard Alex Raynor field goal. The Wildcats finally broke through with the game’s first touchdown on the second... <Read More>

ATHENS – With the offense struggling, defense carried Ohio to a 21-6 victory against FCS Morgan State on Saturday at Peden Stadium.

Quarterback Parker Navarro was benched after throwing three first-half interceptions, but the Bobcats (2-1) were able to prevail by allowing only a pair of field goals and only 211 yards on the day to the Bears (1-2).

“We had some big stops,” Ohio coach Tim Albin said. “I just thought that going in the game we had an advantage with our with our defensive line versus their offensive line. I thought we had an advantage in the special teams, and that that's how it played out.”

Things started well enough for Ohio. Navarro led a touchdown drive on the Bobcats’ opening possession, throwing a 19-yard scoring pass to... <Read More>

ATHENS – Ohio scored a go-ahead touchdown shortly before halftime and then held off South Alabama in the second half to get into the win column with a 27-20 victory – the 600th in program history – in its home opener Saturday evening at Peden Stadium.

"I think it's pretty cool,” Ohio coach Tim Albin said. “There's a lot of former Bobcats and administrators that have a lot to do with that. In all the pictures of coach [Bill] Hess, he's got the block "O" on, and I wear that in his honor. Don Peden, right. Frank Solich. There's a lot of history in those 600 wins, and Brooke [Albin] and I are humbled to serve this university and be a part of it."

Responding to a game-tying touchdown by the Jaguars with 1:25 left in the first half, the Bobcats... <Read More>

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Anthony Tyus III and Coleman Owen had huge debuts, but Ohio could not finish enough drives or get enough stops on defense and dropped a 38-22 decision to Syracuse in its season opener Saturday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome.

A pair of long first-quarter drives resulted in only six total points, and Syracuse eventually proved too explosive, led by Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord, who completed 27-of-39 passes for 354 yards and four touchdowns.

Tyus, a transfer from Northwestern, posted 203 yards rushing on just 16 carries to lead the Bobcats, while Owen, who transferred from Northern Arizona, made 10 catches for 137 yards.

Tyus brought Ohio to within a point at 17-16 with a 13-yard touchdown run early in the... <Read More>

	View All Football Stories