With its back against the wall, season hanging in the balance and the Rynearson Stadium home crowd behind them, the Eastern Michigan University football team gave Ohio University all they could handle through the opening 30 minutes of play.
The second half, however, was a vastly different story.
The reigning Mid-American Conference champion Bobcats trailed for the majority of the action but tied the game up with a touchdown run from Sieh Bangura late in the third quarter. The Bobcats then took the lead with a touchdown pass from Parker Navarro to Chase Hendricks and put the game away with an additional Bangura touchdown with only 2:15 left on the clock.
From 5:01 remaining in the first quarter until 1:39 was left in the fourth, Ohio outscored Eastern Michigan 21-0 and flipped an early 14-7 deficit into a 28-21 victory once the action had wrapped up on Crosby Field.
Career days from dynamic duo Navarro and Hendricks headlined the Bobcats’ come-from-behind victory, with the sixth-year senior Navarro posting career highs in completions and passing yards, and Hendricks achieving his through receptions and touchdowns.
As a team, Ohio put up 487 total yards of offense, overcoming a red zone interception and a Hail Mary touchdown to end the first half, which was called back due to penalty. The Bobcats defense held the home team to seven points over the final three quarters.
Eastern Michigan’s fast start was powered by Noah Kim and Nick Devereaux's flourishing connection, with the quarterback finding the speedy wide receiver for a 38-yard opening drive touchdown — the first time the Eagles have reached paydirt on the opening possession all season.
Devereaux added another receiving touchdown late in the game, upping his tally to two for the second straight week. The graduate student also posted career highs with five catches and 121 yards on the day.
Kim continued to shine through the air and on the stat sheet, putting up 259 yards and two touchdown passes and adding yet another rushing score in the red zone. The sixth-year senior now leads all players on the team with five rushing touchdowns for 2025.
The ground game proved much more effective for the green and white at home this week compared to last week against Miami University. Dontae McMillan led the way with 49 yards on 10 carries, while Tavierre Dunlap added 33 yards of his own, and Kim contributed 30 to the offense’s 112-yard rushing total.
Defensively, the Eagles picked off two Navarro passes. One interception came from Tyrelle Deener — the defensive back notably playing with a cast on his hand — with the other occurring when Juan Salas intercepted Navarro’s attempted heave into the end zone before half.
With the win, Ohio improves its record to 5-3, now boasting a 3-1 record in the conference and likely controlling its destiny to return to the MAC championship game for a second straight year. Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan falls to 2-7, slipping to 1-4 in the MAC and seeing its bowl hopes become all but dashed.
Next week, Eastern Michigan takes its first bye week of the campaign after nine straight weeks of action but will return to the gridiron at home against Bowling Green State University on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, with the time still to be determined.
