SACRAMENTO, Calif. — That was one way to welcome a new member to the Mid-American Conference.
Ohio headed West on Saturday night for its first-ever matchup with Sacramento State, which joined the MAC this offseason after making the jump to the FBS level.
The Bobcats (5-2, 3-0 MAC) gave their new conference rival a warm welcome, dominating the Hornets (1-6, 0-4 MAC) from the jump in their own stadium for a 48-7 win. The 41-point margin of victory was Ohio’s largest since November of 2024.
Now winners of four straight, Ohio once again surged in the first half to a dominant advantage that all but ended the game by halftime. A week after leading Central Michigan 31-0 at the break, Ohio scored 27 first-half points while blanking the Hornets.
Nick Poulos finished 11-of-14 for 118 yards and one touchdown, adding 48 rushing yards. Levi Davis came in late in the second half, completed 3-of-4 passes for 32 yards and rushed for a 14-yard touchdown.
Duncan Brune recorded 55 yards and two rushing scores, while Irving Brown led the Bobcats with a team-high 87 yards and scored his first career rushing touchdown. Victor Rosa also crossed the goal line, adding 32 yards.
After catching his first touchdown as a Bobcat last weekend, Preston Bowman added another on a 67-yard scoring grab in the second half. He finished with a team-high 94 yards on three catches. Riley Neer hauled in five passes for 44 yards, all in the first half.
Ohio wasted no time taking the lead, forcing a quick punt on Sacramento State’s opening drive before a methodical, 11-play, 82-yard drive that concluded with a three-yard run by Brune for his first score.
The Bobcats followed that up with a pair of interceptions and touchdowns in the second quarter, successfully scoring on all five of their first-half possessions.
Will Hryszko connected on field goals from 37 and 50 yards, the latter of which was a career-high, while Brune and Rosa each added rushing scores from 14 and 16 yards out.
That gave the Bobcats 27 first-half points, and the defense matched it with a dominant effort, allowing just 74 yards to the Hornets in the opening half.
Barry Dillon snagged an interception in the second quarter that set up one of Hryszko’s field goals, while the defensive front completely took away any running room.
Darren James-Hamilton finished with a team-high six stops, while freshman linebacker Alex Brown notched a career-high five tackles. Michael Molnar, Isaiah Street and Tyler Gillison each recorded a sack and a tackle for loss.
The Bobcats put the nail in the coffin right out of the locker room, with Bowman’s acrobatic 67-yard touchdown making it 34-0 and giving several Ohio starters the rest of the night off.
Davis made it 41-0 with his 14-yard rushing scamper just before the end of the third, before the Hornets finally got on the board in the fourth on a 38-yard catch-and-run by Kenyon Shabazz.
Brown made sure to get involved in the scoring on the team’s final drive, flashing on a 50-yard rush before punching in his first career touchdown one play later.
That made it 48-7, capping off Ohio’s best performance this season as the team continues to trend upwards after a challenging non-conference slate.
The Bobcats return home for senior day next Saturday, October 24, when they’ll play Eastern Michigan at Peden Stadium.
In addition to the chance to start 4-0 in conference play, Ohio will also have the opportunity to win their 17th game in a row at home. With Ohio State’s win at Indiana on Saturday, the Bobcats’ home win streak became the longest in the FBS at 16 games.