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All season long Ohio has dominated the first half, and the Bobcats continued that trend on their way to a 34-10 win over Buffalo.
After receiving the opening kickoff, Quentin Maxwell and Papi White hooked up for a 73-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and Ohio would not trail for the remainder of the game.
After the teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter, Quentin Maxwell found Elijah Ball for a 36-yard score through the air, that put the ‘Cats up 20 early in the quarter. With the score at 27-10 and Buffalo lining up for a field goal to end the half, Ohio broke through and blocked the kick all but wrapping up the contest.
Usually #MACtion leads to some wild finishes, but this game could not have been more opposite. An extremely boring second half yielded only a 1-yard touchdown run by Maxwell and Ohio was able to coast to another conference victory.
Buffalo outgained the Bobcats 413 to 392, but failed to finish drives against the best defense in the conference. Ohio was able to get to Tyree Jackson six times, boosting their average of three sacks per contest.
Leading the stout Ohio defense was Blair Brown, who was simply an animal with 11 tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss. Javon Hagan and Toran Davis had the pass defense taken care, combining for 13 tackles, two pass breakups and an interception.
As usual, Tarell Basham continues to make a case for MAC Defensive Player of the Year with 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.
The most interesting battle of the night was the quarterback matchup between Maxwell and Jackson. Maxwell threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns opposed to Jackson’s 302 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Maxwell also did his best to take pressure off of the injured Ohio backfield with 50 yards on the ground.
As the end of the season approaches, Ohio is in control of their path to Detroit. With their final game falling against second place Akron, the East is likely going to send Ohio up against Western Michigan, but that matchup is not on Bobcat minds right now.
Currently Ohio and Frank Solich are hoping to use their 12 day break to get healthy in the backfield. Ohio will play Central Michigan Nov. 15 on the road at 7 p.m.