ATHENS, Ohio — Senior quarterback Theo Scott passed for 236 yards and three touchdowns as Ohio defeated No. 12/14 Cal Poly 28-10 in a matchup of a Football Bowl Subdivision team against a Football Championship Subdivision squad Saturday night at Peden Stadium.
Scott completed 14 of 27 passes with no interceptions and he was not sacked.
Ohio scored two touchdowns in the first 17 minutes of the game and never looked back.
Errik Ejike intercepted a Tony Smith pass and ran 23 yards for the first score of the game with 7:08 left in the first quarter and Scott hit Lavon Brazill with a five-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter as Ohio built a 14-0 lea.
Cal Poly scored its first points on a 42-yard field goal by Chris Pinto with 2:37 left before halftime.
Ohio had two chances to score late in the first half but Matt Weller missed field goal attempts of 26 and 43 yards. He also missed a 39-yarder five minutes into the third period.
Scott connected with Taylor Price on a 42-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter as Ohio extended its lead to 21-3. Price, who caught 51 passes a year ago, is a Fred Biletnikoff Award candidate and finished with nine catches for 135 yards Saturday.
Scott’s third scoring toss spanned 62 yards to Terrence McCrae with 7:20 to go in the game.
Cal Poly’s only touchdown of the game came courtesy of the defense as sophomore safety Greg Francis returned an interception 54 yards with 2:36 remaining in the game.
Ohio’s ground attack was paced by Chris Garrett with 91 yards on 17 carries.
Cal Poly junior fullback Jordan Yocum established new career highs of 27 carries and 130 yards.
Smith completed just one of 11 passes for 12 yards. The completion was to Dominique Johnson in the first half.
Last week, Smith was 12 of 19 for 218 yards and rushed for 92 additional yards against Sacramento State. He was held by the Bobcat defense to 20 yards on 11 carries.
Despite the loss, Cal Poly had an advantage of 5 minutes, 52 seconds in time of possession an 239-186 in rushing yards.
Cal Poly, which did not have a turnover in its season-opening win over Sacramento State a week ago, turned the ball over three times Saturday as Smith threw a pair of interceptions and lost a fumble to the Bobcats.
Next week, Cal Poly plays its second Football Bowl Subdivision opponent in as many weeks, visiting San Jose State for a non-conference game at 5 p.m. in Spartan Stadium.