Parker Navarro accounted for four total touchdowns, all in the first half, and Ohio held on to beat Jacksonville State 30-27 in the Cure Bowl on Friday in Orlando, Fla.
Navarro racked up 366 yards — 254 passing, 112 rushing — and Anthony Tyus III finished with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown catch as Ohio (11-3) clinched its first 11-win season in program history.
“You couldn’t be more excited about a kid’s success because of the type of kid (Navarro) is,” Ohio coach Brian Smith, who was promoted from offensive coordinator to the head job after Tim Albin left for Charlotte, told the Orlando Sentinel. “He works so hard, cares so much, has such strong faith, and is such a great person that when someone like that has the success he’s having, you’re just so happy that being a great person is paying off for him.”
Jacksonville State (9-5) entered the game with the second-best rushing offense in FBS at 267.3 yards per game. The Bobcats held the Gamecocks to 38 rushing yards on 34 carries.
Tyler Huff completed 21 of 33 passes for 366 yards with a touchdown and an interception to guide the Gamecocks’ comeback efforts.
Down 30-14 early in the fourth quarter, Jacksonville State managed a 3-yard touchdown run by Tre Stewart with 9:52 left. The Gamecocks attempted a two-point conversion to make it an eight-point game, but Ohio’s Adonis Williams Jr. blew up the handoff in the backfield.
Ohio drove to the opponent’s 15-yard line, but Ky’won McCray batted a pass high in the air and tracked down the interception. The Gamecocks then rolled down the field, converting two fourth downs before Stewart punched it in again from the 1.
However, the Bobcats ran out the final 3:35. Tyus converted a key third-and-9 with a catch-and-run for 13 yards.
On Ohio’s third possession, Navarro kept the ball on an option, faked a throw on the run and scrambled in from the 17-yard line to open the scoring. Navarro’s 29-yard rush up the middle on the next drive helped set up his second touchdown, an 8-yard run.
Jacksonville State got on the board with just one play on the ensuing drive. Huff hit Cam Vaughn on the run for a 75-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 by first quarter’s end.
With 4:59 left in the second quarter, Navarro rolled right and scored on a 7-yarder. The PAT missed, leaving it 20-7 Ohio.
Ohio linebacker Shay Taylor was ejected after suplexing a Jacksonville State player and stepping on him afterward.
The Gamecocks couldn’t convert a 35-yard field goal, and Ohio made them pay as Navarro engineered an eight-play, 80-yard drive in just 1:16. He flipped an 11-yard TD pass to Tyus for a 27-7 halftime score.
A bad Ohio punt gave Jacksonville State possession at the Bobcats’ 20-yard line. Three plays later, Huff ran in from 7 yards to cut it to 27-14.
–Field Level Media
