Ohio University Athletics Photo Used with permission

“It was probably as complete a ballgame as we’ve played for some time,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “I think our guys came with great intensity.”

The Bobcats (9-4) racked up a bowl-record 556 yards of offense, while the defense picked off Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year Keith Browning three times in the first half and finished with five sacks on their way to their second straight bowl victory.

Blankenship had a bowl record four rushing touchdowns, finishing the game with 104 yards on 19 carries. Cochran made three catches for 162 yards, while Futrell made five grabs for 133 yards. Tettleton went 14 of 22 for 331 yards and two scores, while adding a rushing score.

“We knew we were going up against a really good, aggressive front seven and our game plan was to take some shots down the field and let our playmakers make plays,” Tettleton said. “They did today and they stepped up in a big way.”

On the other side of the ball, Scott, who missed the last seven games with an injury, was a force in his return, finishing with five tackles, two sacks and an interception.

Ohio set the tone early, scoring quickly on its first two possessions for a 14-0 lead, and after ULM (8-5) answered, the Bobcats put up 24 straight points to pull away.

Futrell and Cochran had back-to-back big catches, gaining 26 and 51 yards, respectively, leading to a 3-yard touchdown pass to Donte Foster on the next play to cap off the Bobcats’ first drive.

With Scott applying pressure, Gerald Moore picked off Browning to get Ohio possession again, and the Bobcats responded with a touchdown on another big play – a 68-yard strike from Tettleton to Cochran.

“They did give us a lot of man coverage and their safety supports on the run very, very quickly,” Solich said. “Obviously, those were designed man routes to try to put points on the board quickly and to try to make some big plays. We were able to get it done.”

Jelani Woseley intercepted Browning on the Warhawks’ next possession, and after both teams punted, the Warhawks gained a turnover when Ray Stovall recovered a fumbled snap that Tettleton was not ready for. That led to a Browning 14-yard touchdown pass to Tavarese Maye on the second play of the second quarter.

Matt Weller kicked a 38-yard field goal to make it a 17-7 game, but ULM seemed poised to answer on its ensuing possession, driving to the Ohio 21-yard line. After an incompletion on second down, Browning was sacked by Carl Jones on third-and-3, leaving the Warhawks to attempt a field goal. It was blocked by Ian Wells.

Ohio’s next drive started with a 44-yard completion to Futrell, but it stalled at the ULM 10-yard line. This time, the Bobcats faked a field goal, with holder Matt Waters throwing to Tim Edmond, but he came up a yard shy of the first down.

But the Bobcats got their touchdown anyway after Scott fought fellow defensive lineman Antwan Crutcher for an interception. Tettleton scored from 1 yard out with 4:50 remaining in the first half, making the score 24-7.

Ohio University Athletics Photo Used with permission

Scott came through untouched to sack Browning on first-and-goal, and Browning threw three straight incompletions for the touchdown-or-nothing Warhawks as the first-half clock expired.

The Bobcats carried that momentum into the second half with two more Blankenship touchdowns – the first from 2 yards out set up by a 34-yard pass play to Futrell and the second a 1-yard run after pass completions of 18 and 9 yards to Donte Foster.

“We were kind of hitting on all cylinders and Tyler opened up the run as he was making plays downfield and so there were a lot of yards out there,” Blankenship said. “The coaches did a great job of coming up with a game plan to make plays and set the tempo. It’s just awesome to be a part of that offense when it gets going like that.”

ULM finally answered with a 1-yard touchdown catch by Kevin Steed, bringing the score to 38-14 with 2:40 left in the third quarter, but Ohio got the points back on the second play of the fourth quarter on a 2-yard Blankenship run. It was set up by a 43-yard pass play to Cochran.

“Guys were trying to make something happen and everybody was trying to make a play instead of playing their responsibilities,” ULM coach Todd Berry said. “There were a lot of busts, not in terms of not knowing how to do something, but in terms of turning a guy loose and obviously that showed.”

The Warhawks were held well below their averages of 442.7 yards and 35.5 points per game, gaining only 314 yards on 78 plays. Browning was just 21 of 39 for 219 yards.

ULM carried 38 times for only 95 yards. Browning also was the team’s leading rusher with 47 yards on 24 attempts. Brent Leonard was the leading receiver with seven catches for 76 yards.

It was the Bobcats’ fourth straight bowl game and second straight bowl win. They beat Utah State, 24-23, in last year’s Famous Idaho Potato Bowl for the first bowl victory in program history.

“Obviously getting on a little bit of a streak is in the right direction and what you’re after,” Solich said. “I’m so proud of our guys to be able to get that done.”

After a 7-0 start, an injury-plagued Ohio lost four of its last five games, but the team still managed to win nine games or more for the third time in four years. This year’s group of seniors posted a 36-18 record the past four seasons for the most wins in any four-year period in program history.

Tettleton and Blankenship shared co-offensive player of the game honors, while Gerald Moore, with four tackles and an interception, was the defensive player of the game.

Ohio’s 31-point margin of victory was the largest in any game in the bowl’s 37-year history.