The Ohio football team opens midweek MACtion on the road Tuesday, Nov. 3, traveling from Athens to Akron to face the Zips at InfoCision Stadium with a chance to stay perfect in Mid-American Conference play, according to Ohio University Athletics. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET, with the game televised on ESPN2 and heard on The Varsity Sports Network.
Ohio enters the game 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the MAC, riding a five-game overall winning streak, Ohio University Athletics reported. A win Tuesday would be the Bobcats’ sixth straight victory overall and their eighth straight win over Akron in a series that reaches its 34th meeting.
The Bobcats’ last outing was a 24-20 thriller over Eastern Michigan on Oct. 24, won on a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown by Darren James-Hamilton in the final minutes and a game-ending goal-line stand, according to Ohio University Athletics. With that win, Ohio clinched bowl eligibility, extended the nation’s longest home winning streak to 17 games, and started 4-0 in MAC play for the first time since 1997.
Quarterback Nick Poulos threw for 266 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score against Eastern Michigan, Ohio University Athletics reported. Dom Dorwart caught four passes for a career-high 126 yards and a touchdown, including a 78-yard score that was the longest pass of Poulos’ career and the longest catch of Dorwart’s, while Riley Neer added five catches for 56 yards.
Defensively against Eastern Michigan, Michael Molnar led Ohio with 18 tackles and four tackles for loss, Jack Fries added 10 tackles and two sacks, and James-Hamilton finished with six tackles, an interception and the kickoff return touchdown, according to Ohio University Athletics. That defensive group will lead the Bobcats into Akron on Tuesday night.
Akron comes in off a bye week after losing its previous six games, most recently a 35-20 loss at Kent State in which the Zips outgained the Golden Flashes 422-376, Ohio University Athletics reported in its scouting report. Running back Jordan Gant rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries in that game, quarterback Brayden Roggow threw for 275 yards, and receiver Kyan Mason caught seven passes for 129 yards.
The last time the two programs met, Ohio beat Akron 30-10, with Parker Navarro and Coleman Owen connecting for two touchdowns, Ohio University Athletics reported. Tuesday’s Election Day kickoff puts the Bobcats’ perfect conference start on a national stage, with Ohio trying to hold its place at the top of the MAC as November begins.