You don’t end a 117-year drought the easy way.
You dig a 13-point deficit. You ride a superhuman performance by a star wide receiver who probably couldn’t have played without a painkilling shot. You convert fourth-and-6 against a safety blitz on a floater of a pass — a throw that would become part of history for one team or the other.
So it was for the Ohio Bobcats, who scored a touchdown with 13 seconds left Saturday night at Bronco Stadium to stun the Utah State Aggies 24-23 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The Bobcats rushed the field when the clock struck double zero, celebrating the first bowl win in the program’s history.
Their first season: 1894.
“This one obviously is kind of a goal-seeking answer to what these guys wanted to get done at the beginning of the year,” coach Frank Solich said. “To accomplish that and get the first bowl win in the history of Ohio football is really meaningful to me, these players, our staff and everybody associated with Ohio football.”
The Bobcats (10-4) clearly were elated.
On the other sideline, the Aggies were devastated.
For the third time this season, the rising program played on ESPN.
And for the third time, they squandered a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter — and allowed the game-winning TD in the final minute.
Auburn scored with 30 seconds left after recovering an onside kick. BYU scored with 11 seconds left on a tipped pass.
Since then, the Aggies (7-6) had recovered — winning five straight games by a TD or less to reach their first bowl in 14 years.
“Unbelievable emotion — up and down and back and forth,” coach Gary Andersen said. “It’s been the most gratifying season of my career, hands down. This crew of kids will be in my mind for the rest of my life. I believe they set a strong foundation for Utah State.”
The Aggies led 9-0 in the first quarter, capitalizing on two giant mistakes by the Bobcats (a safety and a fourth-down penalty that led to an Aggies touchdown), and raced out to a 23-10 lead in the third quarter on a pair of touchdown runs by senior Michael Smith.
“I’m sad inside,” Smith said. “I’m kind of shocked because I felt we were the best team by far, but at the same time, stuff happens. Adversity.”
On this night, the Aggies’ adversity came in the former of Ohio senior wide receiver LaVon Brazill — a star who might have become a legend by playing with a torn meniscus in his left knee. He didn’t practice all week and received a painkilling injection that dulled, but didn’t alleviate, the pain.
“I was wanting to win so bad,” he said, “I was like, ‘I’ll do whatever.’ ”
The Bobcats almost certainly wouldn’t have erased their deficit without him.
Late in the third quarter, quarterback Tyler Tettleton faked a run to the right, dropped back and threw a 44-yard TD pass to Brazill on a post route. He had his man beat, but by the time the ball got there he had to outjump the defender and hang onto the ball as he fell to the turf.
“He made some fantastic plays,” Andersen said.
The Bobcats’ last chance came with 2 minutes, 2 seconds remaining. They took over on their own 39-yard line and quickly reached the Aggies’ 18.
On third-and-3, the Aggies dropped into coverage and forced Tettleton to scramble out of bounds for a 3-yard loss.
On fourth-and-6, they sent a blitz — a similar call to one that clinched two victories during their winning streak.
“We’ve got two free hitters running at the quarterback, he throws off his back leg — what more can you ask for from a blitz?” Andersen said.
Tettleton usually throws to the outside against a blitz. But he also knew that his favorite target, Brazill, was headed over the middle.
“I have so much trust and faith in this guy,” Tettleton said. “… I just knew if I threw it up away from the defender he was going to have a chance to get it.”
Brazill beat his defender to the ball, made the catch and fought to within 6 inches of the goal line.
“That’s obviously a special play in the history of our school,” Solich said.
It took two plays for Ohio to capitalize. Tettleton faked the sneak, dropped back and faced pressure. He scampered to his right, rounded the corner and dove into the end zone with 13 seconds left. The PAT gave the Bobcats their first lead.
“I tried to make something happen,” Tettleton said, “… and it was wide open.”
So is the future at Ohio, where two goals have been scratched off Solich’s to-do list — the first-ever bowl win and the first 10-win season since 1968.
“We’ve been able to get to nine a few times and that was great for our program,” Solich said. “Now we all looked at it as we need to keep taking steps.’’ The way to do that was to get a 10th win and to get a bowl win.”
