Brown leads Ohio to 31-26 win; 1st win at Toledo since 1967

Dorian Brown had career highs with 212 yards rushing and 29 carries and Ohio beat Toledo 31-26 on Thursday night for the Bobcats' first road victory over the Rockets since 1967.

Ohio (6-3, 4-1 Mid-American) led 31-20 on Brown's 51-yard TD run with 8:08 left in the game and the Bobcats held the Rockets at midfield in the final minute for the first win in the series since 1988.

Quinton Maxwell passed for 159 yards and two touchdowns and the Bobcats never trailed.

Toledo (6-2, 3-1) capped the scoring on Logan Woodside's 10-yard pass to Jon'Vea Johnson with 3:28 left, but failed on the 2-point conversion attempt.

Woodside was 32 of 24 for 438 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Johnshon had six catches for 156 yards and two TDs and Corey Jones had seven catches for 115 yards and a score.

The Rockets cut the deficit it to 14-13 and 21-20.

Ohio rushes for 208 yards, 2 scores to beat Kent State 14-10

 Dorian Brown and Maleek Irons each rushed for one touchdown and Ohio gained 208 yards on the ground in a 14-10 victory over Kent State on Saturday.

Brown scored on a 49-yard run after breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage to give Ohio a 7-0 lead. Irons made it 14-0 midway through the second quarter when he powered it up the middle from 4 yards out. On Ohio's next possession, Irons was stripped by Kevin Bourne near the goal line after a 68-yard drive.

Ohio's Papi White fumbled a punt with just over five minutes left at their 12-yard line. But four plays later, Nick Holley's pass to Brice Fackler in the end zone fell incomplete with 3:45 left and Ohio ran out the clock with an eight-play drive. Brown had three 10-plus-yard carries on the final drive.

Brown carried it 12 times for 110 yards and Irons added 83 yards for Ohio (5-3, 3-1 Mid-American Conference).

Holley was just 12 of 29 for 101 yards for Kent State (2-6, 1-3).

Roback's 3 TD passes spark E Michigan over Ohio 27-20

Brogan Roback threw for a career-high 347 yards and three touchdowns to lead Eastern Michigan to a 27-20 win over Ohio on Saturday.

Two of the touchdowns were big-time receptions in the fourth quarter that allowed the Eagles (5-2, 2-1 Mid-American) to beat the Bobcats (4-3, 2-1) for the first time since 1999, and the first time on the road since 1994. EMU has won three straight on the road for the first time since 1967.

Sergio Bailey II reached over a defensive back to haul in a 14-yard pass early in the fourth quarter to make it 20-10 andAntoine Porter dragged several defenders into the end zone for an 11-yard score with 3:47 to play. Bailey, who had career highs of eight receptions for 143 yards, set up Porter's touchdown when he turned a 20-yard reception into a 57-yard gain.

After an Ohio field goal, a career-long 47-yarder by Louie Zervos, cut it to 27-20 with 3:47 left, the Eagles, who had a combined three wins the previous two seasons, ran out the clock.

Windham, defense lift Ohio to 30-24 win over Bowling Green

Greg Windham passed for one touchdown and ran for another and Ohio turned four Bowling Green turnovers into 17 points in a 30-24 win on Saturday.

A first quarter fumble recovery led to a field goal and second-quarter interceptions by Chad Moore and Javon Hagan led to touchdowns as the Bobcats (4-2, 2-0 Mid-American) opened a 23-7 lead.

Maleek Irons had a 17-yard TD run after the first pick and Windham hit Sebastian Smith for 15 yards after the second. Irons added a second TD of 2 yards just before halftime.

Windham finished 20 of 27 for 190 yards and also threw one interception.

James Morgan was 22 of 38 for 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Bowling Green (1-5, 0-2) but also had three interceptions. His 37-yard strike to Scott Miller pulled the Falcons within six with 1:27 to play, but Jordan Reid recovered the onside kick.

Ohio beats Miami (Ohio) 17-7

Greg Windham scored his team's only offensive touchdown and Ohio kept Miami (Ohio) winless with a 17-7 victory on Saturday.

Windham capped a 10-play, 73-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter to give the Bobcats (3-2, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) a 10-0 edge at halftime and they led the rest of the way.

Windham finished with 56 yards passing and the Bobcats amassed just 197 total yards. Kevin Robbins had a fumble recovery for a score and Louie Zervos kicked a 33-yard field goal.

Miami (Ohio) freshman Noah Wezensky - who took over in the second half for starter Billy Bahl - made it 10-7 with a 12-yard scoring pass with 4:17 left in the third quarter.

But Robbins recovered a fumble for a score after Wezensky was sacked in his own end zone by Ohio's Blair Brown with 1:30 left in the game, sealing the Bobcats win.

Ohio downs Gardner-Webb 37-21 with big 1st half

 Quinton Maxwell threw two touchdown passes, Greg Windham added another and Ohio used a 30-point first half to beat Gardner-Webb 37-21 on Saturday.

Maxwell was 11 of 14 for 167 yards passing, including a 17-yard scoring strike to Sebastian Smith and a 13-yarder to Kyle Belack. Windham threw for 143 yards, opening the scoring with a 17-yard TD pass to Smith, who had six catches for 108 yards.

The Bobcats (2-2) scored on their first four possessions, outgained the Bulldogs 341-118 total yards in the first half and led 30-7 at halftime.

Papi White scored on a 14-yard run, Kent Berger sacked Bulldogs quarterback Tyrell Maxwell for a safety, and Bo Hardy scored on a 1-yard run for Ohio.

Khalil Lewis scored on a 31-yard run for the Bulldogs (1-3). Tyrell Maxwell scored on a 3-yard run and hit Willie Jackson IV on a 28-yard scoring pass.

No. 15 Tennessee holds off 4-TD underdogs Ohio 28-19

 Joshua Dobbs threw a pair of 20-yard touchdown passes to Josh Malone and ran for a third score as No. 15 Tennessee overcame injuries and a suspension to hold off pesky Ohio 28-19 on Saturday.

Tennessee (3-0) played without four starters - three were injured and defensive back Malik Foreman was suspended for team rules violations. During the first half, the Volunteers (3-0) lost two of its team captains to injuries - cornerback Cam Sutton and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

Vols coach Butch Jones said Sutton would be out "an extended period of time." Jones was optimistic Reeves-Maybin could return as early as next week but said the linebacker's status remained uncertain.

"When those two went down, we all got together as a defense and we were determined we were going to win this game for those two," Tennessee linebacker Cortez McDowell said.

Tennessee scored 38 seconds into the game on the first TD pass from Dobbs to Malone. The Vols continued to lead the rest of the way, though Ohio stayed close throughout.

Ohio, a 27-point underdog, was within 21-19 when Dobbs and Malone connected again with 11:07 left in the game. Ohio (1-2) wouldn't threaten again.

Malone has caught four of Dobbs' six touchdown passes this season.

"Our goal was to be 3-0 at this time, and we're 3-0... but I think every person would tell you to a person we've got to be a lot better going into conference play," Jones said.

Ohio's Louie Zervos was 4 of 4 on field-goal attempts and Sebastian Smith caught nine passes for 156 yards.

The Bobcats were seeking their second straight win over a Power Five opponent after winning 37-21 at Kansas last week.

"They've got a good football team," Ohio coach Frank Solich said of Tennessee. "They're very athletic and they played hard. All in all it was good football game. We just kind of ran out of bodies."

THE TAKEAWAY

Ohio: The Bobcats have never beaten a Top 25 team but had a real chance to pull off a history-making victory if they'd capitalized on opportunities. Ohio didn't recover any of Tennessee's five fumbles, and the Bobcats' offense continually settled for short field-goal attempts rather than reaching the end zone. Jones said the red-zone efficiency for both teams was the difference in the game.

The failure to finish drives has been a recurring problem for Ohio, as Zervos is 13 of 14 on field-goal attempts through the first three games of the season.

Tennessee: Injuries on defense and struggles on offense offer plenty of cause for concern as Tennessee prepares to enter Southeastern Conference competition. Tennessee shuffled its offensive line Saturday but continued to have trouble controlling the line of scrimmage against an Ohio defense that hadn't distinguished itself in its first two games.

UP NEXT

Ohio hosts Football Championship program Gardner-Webb in its last game before opening Mid-American Conference play.

Tennessee hosts No. 23 Florida, which has beaten the Volunteers each of the last 11 seasons. This starts a stretch of four consecutive games against ranked teams. Tennessee visits No. 16 Georgia on Oct. 1 and No. 17 Texas A&M on Oct. 8 before hosting No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 15.

Ohio builds big early lead, knocks off Kansas 37-21

Ohio's Greg Windham played like a fifth-year senior rather than a quarterback making just his second career start, though Kansas certainly did everything it could to help him out.

Two fumbled punt returns. Inopportune penalties. An interception. A safety.

The result was a 37-21 victory for the Bobcats on Saturday that went a long way toward erasing the memory of a triple-overtime defeat to Texas State in their season opener.

"I'm proud of our guys the way they came back," Ohio coach Frank Solich said. "I thought it showed our resolve. They practiced well this past week. I think the signs were there that they were going to have an opportunity to play well, and to play to our potential hopefully."

Windham threw for 167 yards and a touchdown while running for 146 and another score. Dorian Brown added 122 yards rushing, Louie Zervos was 5-for-5 on field goals, and Papi White and Mason Morgan scored against a Kansas team coming off its first win in more than a year.

LaQuvionte Gonzalez had a 99-yard kickoff return for the Jayhawks (1-1), but he also muffed those two punt returns.Montell Cozart threw for 198 yards and hit Steven Sims Jr. for a pair of TDs, but the dual-threat quarterback also struggled to deal with constant pressure.

"Offensively we have to do a better job early in the game to help our defense out," Kansas coach David Beaty said. "The defense, every time I looked up, they were out there."

The Bobcats blitzed to a 25-0 lead and led 28-7 after a first half as lopsided as they come: They had a 359-21 edge in offense, 18 first downs to one, and controlled the ball for 22 minutes, 56 seconds.

"We just couldn't get off the field," Jayhawks safety Fish Smithson said. "It doesn't matter how long we were out there, we still have to get stops."

The Jayhawks still managed to make it interesting.

Cozart connected with Sims on a 74-yard touchdown pass on the second play out of the locker room, and then hit Sims from 22 yards out a few minutes later to trim a 28-7 halftime lead to 31-21.

But an Ohio defense that allowed 630 yards to Texas State held the Jayhawks to three straight punts, deflating a crowd that began to dwindle. And Windham showed the poise of a fifth-year senior rather than a quarterback making his second career start, scrambling for a crucial first down midway through the fourth quarter that kept the clock moving and the Kansas offense on the sideline.

"I feel like we have a run game," Solich said, "and if you have a run game you have a chance."

The outcome at Memorial Stadium was nothing new for Solich, who went 6-0 against the Jayhawks when he was with former Big 12 rival Nebraska. But it was all-too-familiar for Beaty, who hoped to build on a win over Rhode Island last week that ended the Jayhawks' 15-game losing streak.

"We are still in that process of building this program," he said. "We've talked to them until we're blue in the face, one win doesn't make you special. You have to go back to what got you there."

STAT DISPARITY

Ohio had the ball for 43:38 while Kansas had it for 13:56, a massive disparity in time of possession. The Bobcats also went 6 for 7 in the red zone while the Jayhawks failed to drive inside the 20.

JAYHAWKS' HURT WING

Cozart took a shot along the sideline late in the game, hurting his shoulder. Cozart said he could have returned to the game while Beaty said he was being cautious by turning to Ryan Willis. "I didn't want to take a chance on it," Beaty said, "because I saw the way he fell."

THE TAKEAWAY

Ohio: The Bobcats ran for 329 yards without top running back A.J. Ouellette, who hurt his foot the previous week. He was on crutches when the captains went on the field for the coin toss.

Kansas: The Jayhawks were 0 for 8 on third down, failed to pick up both fourth downs, which in turn kept their defense on the field far too long. They were ultimately gassed by the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT

Ohio: Tries to beat another power-five opponent when it visits Tennessee on Saturday.

Kansas: Heads to Memphis on Saturday to face a team that beat the Jayhawks 55-23 a year ago.

Davis sacks Ohio QB to give Texas State 56-54 win in 3rd OT

Ishmael Davis sacked Ohio quarterback Greg Windhamon a two-point conversion attempt in the third overtime to give Texas State a 56-54 victory over Ohio on Saturday.

The teams had amassed 110 points before a defensive stop made the difference for Texas State which gave new coach Everett Withers his first win.

Windham had just hit Elijah Ball on an 18-yard scoring strike and Ohio was within two points of tying the game. Windham retrieved a low snap and looked up to see Davis in his face.

Tyler Jones, who threw for 418 yards and four touchdowns for Texas State, caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from halfback L.G. Williams to start the third overtime and then slipped a shovel pass to Gabe Schrade for two points and the win.

Texas State's Marcus Ripley kicked his first collegiate field goal from the 27 as the clock clicked to zero to send the game into overtime.