KENT, Ohio (AP) — Nathan Rourke passed for 284 yards and a touchdown and scored on an 8-yard run with 1:28 remaining to rally Ohio to a 27-26 victory over Kent State in its Mid-American Conference opener on Saturday.
Kent State used two first-quarter TD passes from Woody Barrett — including a 75-yarder to Isaiah McKoy — and three field goals by Matthew Trickett to take a 23-14 lead into the final quarter.
The Bobcats (3-2) used a 5-yard TD run by A.J. Ouellette to pull within 23-21 with 12:45 left. Trickett added his fourth field goal to push the Golden Flashes lead to 26-21 with 5:12 remaining. But Rourke directed a nine-play, 81-yard drive, ending with his TD run to give Ohio a 27-26 lead.
After Kent State (1-5, 0-2) stopped Ohio on a two-point conversion run, the Golden Flashes saw their bid for a comeback fall short when Javon Hagan picked off Barrett with 1:15 to go.
Justin Rankin carried 16 times for 123 yards for the Golden Flashes. Barrett passed for 271 yards and McKoy had eight catches for 118 yards.

Ohio U. Stats
Ohio 7 0 7 13 = 27
Kent State 14 3 6 3 = 26
First Quarter
KNT—McKoy 75 pass from Barrett (Trickett kick), 14:50
KNT—Carrigan 1 pass from Barrett (Trickett kick), 8:36
OHI—Ouellette 1 run (Zervos kick), 2:48
Second Quarter
KNT—FG Trickett 49, :00
Third Quarter
KNT—FG Trickett 40, 9:33
OHI—Meyer 59 pass from Rourke (Zervos kick), 6:32
KNT—FG Trickett 38, 1:11
Fourth Quarter
OHI—Ouellette 5 run (Zervos kick), 12:45
KNT—FG Trickett 28, 5:13
OHI—Rourke 8 run (run failed), 1:28
A—20,062.
———
OHI KNT
First downs 25 24
Rushes-yards 38-130 36-201
Passing 284 271
Comp-Att-Int 18-20-1 27-35-2
Return Yards 111 51
Punts-Avg. 2-40.5 2-40.5
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 1-1
Penalties-Yards 6-61 11-100
Time of Possession 31:29 28:31
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Ohio, Ouellette 18-72, Rourke 15-49, J.Ross 4-11, (Team) 1-(minus 2). Kent State, Rankin 16-123, Barrett 12-61, Shaw 8-17.
PASSING—Ohio, Rourke 18-20-1-284. Kent State, Barrett 27-35-2-271.
RECEIVING—Ohio, White 5-89, Meyer 4-90, Odom 4-59, Ouellette 3-32, Brown 1-8, J.Ross 1-6. Kent State, McKoy 8-118, Dixon 6-36, Harrell 5-52, Rankin 2-29, Woods 2-26, Carrigan 2-3, Dulka 1-10, Barrett 1-(minus 3).
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.