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BUFFALO, NY - Ohio University ran for 367 yards on the ground and took advantage of four Buffalo turnovers to post a 42-20 victory on Saturday night at Peden Stadium.

Quarterback Dontrell Jackson rushed for 139 yards and threw a touchdown pass to lead the Bobcats (2-3, 1-2 in the MAC), who defeated Buffalo (1-5, 1-2) for the third time at Peden Stadium in the last four years.

The Bulls misfired early in the game when they had opportunities to put Ohio in a hole and never recovered. On Buffalo's first drive of the game, UB went 60 yards in 12 plays only to have a 32-yard field goal by Scott Keller (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central) bounce off the right upright.

Then on Ohio's first play from scrimmage, the Bobcats fumbled the ball inside of the 15-yard line and the Bulls had it in their hands only to give it back to Ohio. The Bobcats eventually scored on their next possession before the Bulls responded.

After six straight running plays, UB quarterback Joe Freedy (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) and split end Andre Forde (Penfield, NY/Penfield) continued their touchdown tradition of the last four weeks with another long score. Freedy hit Forde in stride for a 61-yard bomb to tie the score 7-7 in the first quarter. It was the fourth straight game that the two had connected for a touchdown pass and it was Forde's fifth touchdown of the season.

After the Bobcats went ahead, 21-7, the pivotal series of the game occurred. Senior safety Tory Smith (Centereach, NY/Half Hollow East) intercepted a Jackson pass and returned it 48 yards to the Ohio 19 with :30 left. After a completion and penalty set the Bulls up first-and-goal at the seven, Freedy had a perfect pass for a touchdown glance off the hands of junior Dahnel Singfield (Baltimore, MD/Dunbar). On the next play, Freedy was intercepted by Chris London and the Bobcats took all the momentum to the locker room.

That momentum stayed with Ohio in the second half as the Bulls turned it over three more times and could not make up ground despite twice stopping the Bobcats on first and goal inside the UB ten.

"Ohio was focused, well-prepared and they executed almost flawlessly and looked like the big-league football team that I saw on film," said UB coach Craig Cirbus. "Turnovers and careless plays on our part were catastrophic. We're working every day to improve them and it looked like it was worse tonight. It was as bad and ugly a football game as I've been around here in a long time."

Freedy completed 17-of-31 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns for the Bulls. Junior Albert Grundy (Springfield, PA/Valley Forge JC) had four receptions for 35 yards for the Bulls, while Forde had three catches for 85 yards and freshman Zeke McKine (Hollywood, FL/MacArthur) had three catches for 75 yards.

Defensively, free safety Craig Rohlfs (Cincinnati, OH/Moeller) led UB with nine tackles (eight solos) while Smith had nine tackles, one for loss, and his second interception of the season.