ATHENS, Ohio- The rushing attack of Justin Roush and Kalvin McRae combined for 230 yards rushing while quarterback Ryan Hawk threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns as Ohio took down VMI 42-14 Saturday evening at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio.
Roush rushed for 130 yards on 16 carries and McRae gained 100 yards on 18 rushes, as the Bobcats (1-0) piled up 459 yards of offense. Hawk's 223 yards passing was split between nine different receivers, as he finished the night completing 13 of his 24 attempts.
VMI was led on offense by sophomore quarterback Jonathan Wilson, who completed 22 of his 38 passes for 216 yards passing and one touchdown. Nine of Wilson's completions went to junior wideout Zohn Burden, who finished the night with 100 yards receiving on 10 catches and two TD's, the second-highest total of his career. The 10 catches were a career-high for Burden.
Despite the even numbers in passing, the difference in the game would prove to be turnovers and rushing yards. The Keydets turned the ball over three times, including two that went directly for touchdowns, and were outgained 230-67 on the ground.
After the Keydets stopped the Bobcats on their opening drive, Ohio defensive back T.J. Wright picked off a Wilson pass and returned it for a 41-yard touchdown, giving the Bobcats a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest.
Ohio scored their second touchdown just four seconds into the second quarter, capping a 15-play, 54-yard drive that ate up nearly six-and-a-half minutes of clock. Senior tight end Ryan Antle hauled in a four-yard pass from senior quarterback Ryan Hawk to put Ohio on top by two scores.
VMI wouldn't be able to answer until after another Hawk touchdown pass, this time to Rudy Sylvan from 25 yards out. On the ensuing drive, the Keydets drove down the field, marching 71 yards in only three-and-a-half minutes, with the ninth play of the drive resulting in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to junior wideout Zohn Burden.
That concluded the scoring in the first half, as Ohio kicker Brooks Rossman missed a 43-yard field goal attempt with under two minutes ago, leaving the Keydets trailing just 21-7 at the half.
The Bobcats put together another scoring drive on their first possession out of halftime, going 49 yards in nine plays, as a nine-yard touchdown run by McRae gave Ohio a 28-7 lead.
In the third quarter, the Keydets were unable to capitalize on a pair of opportunities. Early in the period, after a sack by Todd Baldwin forced Ohio to punt out of their end zone, the Keydets began their drive at the Bobcat 34 yard line. However, the drive stalled at the 21, and freshman kicker Barrett Way missed a 38-yard field goal attempt.
On the ensuing drive, Ohio marched down the field, only to have their senior running back Justin Roush fumble inside of the 20-yard line, a fumble recovered by sophomore defensive back Jamaal Walton. The Keydets again couldn't take advantage though, as Wilson was sacked by sophomore linebacker Matt Muncy, who forced a fumble that was recovered by Tyler Russ for another Bobcat touchdown, as the third quarter ended with the score at 35-7.
Ohio tacked on another touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but the Keydets would put up another touchdown midway through the fourth.
VMI's second scoring drive would be a costly one though. The Keydets drove 55 yards to the Ohio 27 yard line, but a seven yard rush by Wilson resulted in an apparent injury to his left ankle at the 10:05 mark. He did not return to the game, and backup Josh Lyles threw a six-yard pass to Burden to cap the game's scoring with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game.
VMI returns to action Saturday afternoon, when they host Richmond in their home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Alumni Memorial Field. The game will be televised on Comcast Sports Net.
COACH CAL McCOMBS- "Any time you turn the ball over three times, you're going to have a hard time making a game of it. So you can carry it into the fourth quarter. You have to be able to stop the run, and Ohio University did a great job of executing the running game, I think they finished with over 200 yards rushing. Whenever you can do that, you're going to win a lot of football games, and if you can't stop a team from running for over 200 yards and turn the ball over 3 times, you're going to lose a lot of football games. We need to take better care of the football, do a better job of stopping the run.
I really felt that Hawk did a great job at quarterback for them today, moving around in the pocket, and got outside a couple of times and hurt us with some big plays. The backs ran hard, the offensive line blocked well, and we just weren't good enough to stop the run.
We didn't have a good night. I think that we can play better, we're looking forward to getting home, looking to see what we need to improve on. But you have to give Ohio U. credit, I thought they executed well on offense and Tim on defense did a good job of turning our offense into a guessing game. He would use zone blitzes, dropping eight and rushing three, slanting his line one way or the other, so that defense that they run can turn the game into a guessing game. They did a good job of mixing it up."
