Ohio beats Wyoming 30-27 in overtime at Arizona Bowl

Associated PressDec 30, 2022, 9:22 PM EST

Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports

TUCSON, Ariz. — CJ Harris hit Tyler Foster on a 10-yard touchdown pass in overtime, lifting Ohio to a 30-27 win over Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl on Friday.

The Cowboys (7-6) labored offensively after the teams combined for three touchdowns in the first quarter. Andrew Peasley sparked Wyoming’s offense, orchestrating a six-play, 75-yard drive capped by Jordan Vaughn’s 5-yard TD run with 2:08 left in regulation.

The Bobcats (10-4) had time to answer, and Nathanial Vakos kicked a tying 46-yard field goal with 4 seconds left.

Wyoming’s John Hoyland opened overtime with a 29-yard field goal, but Foster pulled down the winning catch over a defender in the back of the end zone.

Ohio had a hard time revving up its passing game against Wyoming’s defense, relying mostly on the ground instead.

Sieh Bangura ran for 138 yards and scored on a 3-yard run. Harris hit Jacoby Jones on a 34-yard score and finished with 184 yards on 20-of-33 passing in his third start since Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year Kurtis Rourke went down with a season-ending knee injury.

The Arizona Bowl has produced some strange games through the years, and the 2022 version appeared as if it was going to follow suit.

Wyoming, which averages 127 yards passing per game, threw the ball on six of its first nine plays in an opening drive capped by Jordan Vaughn’s 17-yard touchdown run up the middle.

Ohio answered by picking apart Wyoming’s stingy defense, setting up Harris’ TD pass to Jones, who battled Wyoming’s Deron Harrell near the goal line.

Bobcats returner Sam Wiglusz then muffed a punt and Peasley hit Treyton Welch on a 17-yard touchdown pass the next play.

The wild ride smoothed out by the second quarter.

Wyoming all but stopped passing, Ohio struggled to complete passes and the teams traded field goals. Wyoming led 17-11 at halftime.

Ohio got into a brief offensive rhythm in the third quarter, taking an 18-17 lead. Bangura scored on a 3-yard option right after breaking off a 40-yarder midway through the third.

THE TAKEAWAY

Ohio won most of its games this season with an offense that averaged nearly 32 points per game. The Bobcats relied on their defense most of the day before their offense found its form late.

Wyoming labored offensively through most of the second half before Vaughn’s late touchdown. The Cowboys left Ohio with too much time and the defense, the Cowboys’ strength all season, couldn’t come through.

UP NEXT

Wyoming: One of the nation’s youngest teams will have much more experience next season.

Ohio State: The Bobcats hope to have Rourke back and healthy, but may have to replace several defensive players.

Finn, Stuart lead Toledo to first MAC title since 2017

Associated PressDec 3, 2022, 11:53 PM EST

Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

DETROIT – Dequan Finn passed for a touchdown and rushed for 86 yards on 18 carries as Toledo captured its first Mid-American Conference championship since 2017 by defeating Ohio 17-7 on Saturday afternoon.

Finn completed 16 of 25 passes for 154 yards. Jacquez Stuart rushed for 93 yards on nine carries, including a 29-yard touchdown. Micah Kelly added 53 rushing yards for the Rockets (8-5), who lost their last two conference games.

“We’ve been through a lot the whole year,” Finn said. “It’s been a rollercoaster for us. Up and down, fought through adversity and had some rough patches. But ultimately, we stayed together as one.”

Toledo is headed to a bowl game but since the MAC doesn’t have a postseason pecking order, its destination is unknown. The Arizona, Idaho Potato and Quick Lane bowls — the latter also at Detroit’s Ford Field — are the most likely possibilities.

“This is everybody’s goal,” Toledo coach Jason Candle said of the conference championship. “This is what everybody wants to do. This is where everybody says they’re going to be. It’s one thing to get there. It’s another to win it.”

Sieh Bangura rushed for 56 yards on 20 carries and the lone touchdown for the Bobcats (9-4), whose seven-game winning streak was snapped. CJ Harris completed 17 of 31 passes for 163 yards and was intercepted once.

Harris was making his second start since MAC Player of the Year Kurtis Rourke suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Ohio is 0-5 in the MAC title game.

“My heart hurts for our football team,” coach Tim Albin said. “This has been about our journey, not a destination. I boldly said on MAC (preseason) media day I thought we could make a championship run. That’s what we did and we came up short.”

The Rockets led 10-7 at halftime.

They drove 75 yards after the opening kickoff with Stuart scoring on his 29-yard run up the middle.

“Very efficient,” Candle said of first possession. “That kind of built some confidence to play efficient offense the rest of the way.”

Ohio tied it on Bangura’s 2-yard run midway through the second quarter, finishing off an 84-yard drive.

Toledo’s Thomas Cluckey kicked a 44-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the half.

The Rockets drove to the Bobcats’ 10 midway through the third quarter but passed up a field goal attempt and turned the ball over on downs.

Finn’s 16-yard scoring pass to DeMeer Blankumsee completed a methodical 16-play, 90-yard drive that gave Toledo a 17-7 lead with 10:36 remaining.

Ohio was limited to 262 yards of total offense.

“Their front seven controlled it, particularly in the second half,” Albin said. “We had trouble running the ball in between the tackles and it made us one-dimensional.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Toledo is now 4-3 in the MAC title game, with its previous championships coming in 2001, ’04 and ’17. Ohio’s long drought without a conference championship continued. The Bobcats haven’t won a MAC championship since 1968.

UP NEXT

Both teams are headed to bowl games TBD on Sunday. Toledo is bowl eligible for the 13th straight season.

Ohio coach Frank Solich stepping down to ‘focus on health’

Associated PressJul 14, 2021, 2:17 PM EDT

Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

ATHENS, Ohio — Ohio coach Frank Solich is retiring after leading the program through 16 seasons of unprecedented success to “focus on his health,” the school said Wednesday.

The school announced that Solich was stepping down less than two months before the start of the season and his 77th birthday.

Offensive coordinator Tim Albin was promoted to head coach. Albin received a four-year contract, Ohio athletic director Julie Cromer said in a statement.

Solich is the winningest head coach in the history of the Mid-American Conference with 115 victories. Including a stint as coach at Nebraska, his alma mater, Solich is 173-101 as a major college football head coach.

Under Solich, Ohio went to 11 bowl games after going to only two before he arrived. All five of the Bobcats’ bowl victories came during his tenure.

“We are so grateful for all that Coach Solich has given Ohio University, and especially, to our football program,” Cromer said.

Ohio won division titles and reached the MAC championship game four times under Solich. The Bobcats never did break through and win it all under Solich. Ohio last won the MAC in 1968. But the program never won more consistently than it did under the Cleveland native who played fullback at Nebraska.

Solich’s first head coaching job was at Nebraska, where he replaced Hall of Famer Tom Osborne in 1998.

Solich went 58-19 with the Cornhuskers, but following Osborne’s long stretch of lofty achievements, that wasn’t good enough.

Solich was fired after going 9-3 in the 2003 regular season. Nebraska’s last conference championship remains the Big 12 title it won in 1999 under Solich.

Albin has been an assistant under Solich at Ohio since 2005, directing some of the most prolific offenses in school history. Albin also worked under Solich at Nebraska.

“I am forever indebted to Coach Solich for all that he has offered me and taught me through the years, and I know he will always be part of our program,” Albin said.