Nov. 6, 2004
By MIKE BRANOM
Associated Press Writer
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Ohio's Stafford Owens scored on a 21-yard pass from Ryan Hawk in overtime, and the Bobcats snapped a four-game losing streak by hanging on to beat UCF 17-16 on Saturday night.
Ohio (4-6, 2-5 Mid-American) missed a chance to win in regulation, but freshman Brooks Rossman missed a 29-yard field goal at the final gun. In the third quarter, he missed a 42-yard kick that would've snapped a 3-all tie.
The Golden Knights nearly sent the game into a second overtime after Steven Moffett's 9-yard touchdown pass to Luther Huggins, but kicker Matt Prater missed the extra point. UCF (0-9, 0-6) set a school record by losing its 13th straight game.
On Ohio's second overtime play, Hawk had plenty of time to find Owens on a slant pattern and the H-back bounced off a defender before entering the end zone.
Hawk, who relieved struggling freshman Austen Everson in the third quarter, was 7-for-15 for 73 yards. Owens caught four passes for 47 yards.
UCF scored its overtime touchdown when Moffett rolled right and found a diving Huggins in the near corner. Moffett, also coming off the bench, completed four of seven passes for 93 yards and two TDs with an interception.
But Prater, a junior who had made 77 of 82 PATs in his career, pushed the kick wide right to set off a celebration on the Ohio sideline that quickly spilled out into the field. He also missed field goals of 31 and 45 yards in the first half.
It was Ohio's first win in three overtime games in the program's history.