| Road win puts Ohio in MAC East drivers seat |
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OHIO 31, TEMPLE 23
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- Ohio senior running back Vince Davidson ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns to lead the visiting Bobcats past Temple 31-23 Tuesday evening at Lincoln Financial Field. Ohio improved to 8-3 overall and 6-1 in the Mid-American Conference, while the Owls dropped to 8-3 and 5-2 in the league. It was also the eighth-straight road conference win for the Bobcats. Bobcat quarterback Boo Jackson completed four of his 12 pass attempts for 78 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Defensively, linebacker Chad Clemens led the way with seven tackles and two pass breakups.
Temple quarterback Mike Gerardi completed 28 of 42 passes for 321 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Eleven of those passes went to wide receiver Michael Campbell, who posted 131 receiving yards and two scores. Running back Matt Brown carried the ball 20 times for 72 yards and one more score. Temple's Amara Kamara was all over the field with 12 tackles, including two tackles for loss and one forced fumble.
Davidson put Ohio on the board first with a five-yard scoring run up the middle at the 5:38 mark of the first quarter. Jackson hit McCrae on a long third-down pass down the sideline for a 33-yard gain on third-and-16 to put the Bobcats in business at the Temple 4-yard line. The drive was set up by a Travis Carrie forced fumble and a Dak Notestine fumble recovery at the Owls' 47-yard line.
Temple's Brown plunged over from a yard out to even the score at the 13:07 mark of the second quarter. It was Temple's second third-down conversion of the drive after Gerardi found wideout Rod Streater for 22 yards on a wide receiver screen play on third-and-four from the Ohio 43. The two hooked up again on a 19-yard pass over the middle to give the Owls a first-and-goal at the Bobcats' one-yard line.
Jackson escaped the pocket and finished off a 10-play, 71-yard drive with a scrambling 16-yard scoring toss to wideout Riley Dunlop in the corner of the end zone to put the Bobcats up 14-7 with 7:03 left in the first half. Jackson hit wideout Donte Foster on a 26-yard pass across the middle for the longest play of the drive and converted a third-and-1 himself from the Temple 20 with a three-yard scamper to set up the score.
The Owls responded with a 45-yard field goal by Brandon McManus to finish a seven-play, 45-yard drive to pull within four with 3:10 left. Gerardi began the drive with a 28-yard pass to Alex Jackson and found wideout Campbell on a 12-yard pass on third-and-2 from the Ohio 37 to get the Owls deeper into Bobcat territory.
Ohio kicker Matt Weller responded with a 40-yarder of his own with just 14 seconds left to solidify Ohio's seven-point halftime margin. The Bobcats showcased their dual quarterbacking system on the drive with Phil Bates racking up 30 yards rushing on just three carries.
Defensive lineman Carl Jones set up the next Ohio score when he picked off a Temple wide receiver screen at midfield and rumbled 27 yards on the return. An Owl personal foul after the play gave Ohio a first-and-10 from the Temple 11. Running back Donte Harden carried the mail the rest of the way, spinning off a tackler and into the end zone from two yards out to give Ohio a 24-10 lead with just 9:30 left.
The Ohio defense stiffened again when linebacker Alphonso Lewis stuffed Temple's Brown on fourth-and-1 from the Ohio 44-yard line to give the Bobcat offense the ball with 6:51 left. That set up a 41-yard touchdown run up the middle by Davidson to put Ohio ahead 31-10 with 4:28 left.
The Owls put up two more touchdowns, a pair of scoring receptions by Campbell to pull within eight with 1:13 left, but Carrie recovered the ensuing onside kick to salt away the win for Ohio.
With two more touchdowns Tuesday, Jackson tied Theo Scott for the program's single-season touchdown mark with 23. Scott set the record last season.
The Bobcats will be back in action Friday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. ET when they travel to Kent State for their regular season finale.
Courtesy of Ohio U Athletics
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