{"id":398393,"date":"2026-09-13T04:35:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T04:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/398393\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T04:35:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T04:35:19","slug":"ohio-football-wins-a-four-overtime-thriller-against-jacksonville-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/398393\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Football Wins a Four-Overtime Thriller Against Jacksonville State"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOLLOW OHIO FOOTBALL:\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

ATHENS, Ohio\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The\u00a0Ohio football team (1-1)\u00a0defended the Frank for the 14th\u00a0straight time,\u00a0posting\u00a0a huge win in a\u00a0four-overtime classic against Jacksonville State (1-2).\u00a0The Gamecocks took an early\u00a0lead\u00a0but the Bobcats battled back, grinding out a win through the rainy conditions in the longest game in Ohio football history.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“What a game, what a win,” Ohio head coach John Hauser<\/a> said. “What a program win by everybody, offense,\u00a0defense, special teams.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Individually,\u00a0junior quarterback\u00a0Matt Vezza<\/a> (Elmhurst, Ill.)\u00a0had 80 passing yards and one touchdown, while rushing for\u00a0an\u00a0additional\u00a067 yards.\u00a0Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Riley Neer<\/a> (Bellefontaine, Ohio) had\u00a0four catches for 38 yards and a touchdown\u00a0while\u00a0junior running back Duncan Brune<\/a> (Cologne, Germany.) had 66 yards on the ground. Fellow running back,\u00a0graduate\u00a0Victor Rosa<\/a> (Bristol, Conn.)\u00a0had 17 yards and a touchdown.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Defensively,\u00a0redshirt senior linebacker Michael Molnar<\/a> (Mason, Ohio) led the team with 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.\u00a0Fellow Redshirt senior linebacker Jack Fries<\/a> (Cincinnati, Ohio) was second with 11 tackles.\u00a0Redshirt sophomore safety Darren James-Hamilton (Charlotte, N.C.) made three\u00a0tackles, and\u00a0returned a\u00a0kickoff\u00a098 yards for a touchdown.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bobcats won the toss and took the ball to start the game, but the offense was unable to get anything on the board. Jacksonville State\u00a0got the ball\u00a0for its first drive\u00a0and went on\u00a0an\u00a088-yard\u00a0scoring\u00a0drive, punching it in\u00a0from eight yards out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following an Ohio punt, Jacksonville State started the second quarter hot, scoring a one-play touchdown on a deep ball to take a 14-0 lead.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bobcat offense\u00a0did\u00a0not stay dormant for long, as\u00a0after graduate\u00a0quarterback\u00a0Nick Poulos<\/a> (Granite Bay, Calif.)\u00a0went out with an injury,\u00a0Vezza came into the game and lead the offense down the field for a score,\u00a0throwing his\u00a0first\u00a0touchdown\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0Bobcat to Neer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After\u00a0a\u00a0long\u00a0drive by the Gamecocks,\u00a0they responded with a score of their own, knocking\u00a0in\u00a0a field goal\u00a0to take a 10-point lead\u00a0setting\u00a0the\u00a0score\u00a0at\u00a017-7\u00a0with\u00a057\u00a0seconds\u00a0left\u00a0in the\u00a0half.\u00a0Ohio special\u00a0teams\u00a0responded\u00a0to\u00a0Jacksonville\u00a0State’s\u00a0field\u00a0goal\u00a0as\u00a0James-Hamilton\u00a0caught the kickoff and torched the\u00a0Jacksonville State\u00a0kickoff team for a 98-yard kickoff\u00a0return touchdown.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The blocks that I saw, it was amazing,” James-Hamilton said about his kick return. “I think I saw two (pancake blocks) running through\u2026 I just knew it had to go to the crib.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

James-Hamilton’s burst was the longest kickoff return\u00a0since Sieh Bangura’s<\/a> 97-yard return against Miami last season. It also\u00a0provided Ohio with some instant momentum, and\u00a0cut\u00a0the\u00a0Jacksonville\u00a0State\u00a0lead\u00a0to just three.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ohio’s defense\u00a0was\u00a0next to make a huge play, as Molnar forced a fumble\u00a0that was recovered by Walker on the first play after the kickoff return touchdown.\u00a0\u00a0The Gamecocks blocked the ensuing Bobcats field goal attempt, and the Bobcats went into the half down by a score of 17-14.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jacksonville State carried the momentum from the blocked kick into its first drive of the second half, as the Gamecocks went marching down the field for a touchdown to start the second half.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ohio made its way down the field on the next drive,\u00a0fueled by some strong runs from Brune,\u00a0including a\u00a0conversion on fourth and one.\u00a0The Bobcats got\u00a0inside the 10 on the drive,\u00a0and they\u00a0got on the board with a\u00a023-yard field goal from\u00a0graduate kicker\u00a0Will Hryszko<\/a>\u00a0(Strongsville, Ohio).\u00a0<\/p>\n

After\u00a0a defensive stop and\u00a0a huge run that put Ohio inside the 10-yard line, Vezza\u00a0left\u00a0the game with an injury,\u00a0allowing\u00a0freshman\u00a0quarterback Levi Davis<\/a>\u00a0(Lewis Center, Ohio)\u00a0to make his debut as a Bobcat.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Davis\u00a0handed\u00a0it off to Rosa for the\u00a0game-tying score,\u00a0with Rosa’s first touchdown as a Bobcat\u00a0tying\u00a0the\u00a0game at 24-24 with less than two minutes remaining.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jacksonville State was able to\u00a0drive down the field and\u00a0get into field goal range for a\u00a038-yard try that was missed wide right, ending regulation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Bobcats’\u00a0defense got\u00a0a huge stop to start the first overtime period, but after a blocked field goal,\u00a0the game headed into double overtime.\u00a0Hryszko drilled a 43-yard field goal to start the second overtime,\u00a0and after a\u00a0massive tackle from Molnar on third down, it forced a field goal try from the Gamecocks that\u00a0was good from 28 yards out, pushing the game to a third overtime period.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Gamecocks\u00a0first\u00a0two-point try in the third overtime period was a pass to the end zone that fell incomplete, and Ohio’s first two-point was an incomplete pass as well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next play was a successful conversion from Davis, who scampered in from three yards out to put pressure on Jacksonville State in the fourth overtime period.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bobcat faithful caused\u00a0the Gamecocks\u00a0to commit\u00a0a false start, pushing them back to the eight-yard line.\u00a0The ensuing two-attempt was a pass that found a\u00a0receiver\u00a0just short of the goal-line, and James-Hamilton made his second game-changing play of the game\u00a0with a tackle to keep the\u00a0Gamecocks out of the end zone at the one-yard line to win the game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the win, Ohio moves to 1-1 on the season and\u00a0extends its home winning streak to\u00a014 games, the second-longest in the\u00a0country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Up next,\u00a0Ohio\u00a0heads down south to play the South Alabama Jaguars on Saturday, Sept.\u00a019. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and\u00a0it can be seen on ESPN+. This game\u00a0is the first game between the two teams since they last met in Athens on Frank Solich Field in 2024 for a game that Ohio won by a score of\u00a027-20\u00a0in Peden Stadium.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

#OUohyeah\u00a0<\/p>\n