Ohio Beats Louisiana-Monroe 45-14 in Independence Bowl in Shreveport

Ohio only needed three passes to score their first touchdown. Tyler Tettleton hit Tyler Futrell Futrell on a 26-yard gain and Chase Cochran on a 51-yard strike. Then he passed to Donte Foster for a 3-yard score.

"Right out the gate they jumped on us and it seemed like we were kind of shell-shocked," Louisiana-Monroe linebacker R.J. Young said.

Just minutes later, Tettleton hit Cochran for a long 68-yarder that gave the Bobcats a 14-0 lead.

Louisiana-Monroe scored early in the second quarter when Browning made a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tavarese Maye making the score 14-7.

Ohio bounced right back, and pushed ahead 24-7 with Matt Weller’s 38-yard field goal and a 2-yard touchdown run by Blankenship.

Louisiana-Monroe coach Todd Berry said his guys might have tried a little too hard. "Guys were trying to make something happen and everybody was trying to make a play instead of playing their responsibilities," Berry said. "There were a lot of busts, not in terms of not knowing how to do something, but in terms of turning a guy loose and obviously that showed."

Ohio broke several Independence Bowl records, including the 31-point margin of victory and 556 total yards.

It was disappointing for the Warhawks, the team that started the season defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Ark.

"This will get us back to work," Berry said. "I would have liked it to have been a little cleaner. But I also recognize the opportunities for this football team next year. This will add fuel to the fire. We will have a great offseason because of what happened today and that’s what we’re going to use. This group will rally."

"It was probably as complete of ballgame as we’ve played in some time," Ohio coach Frank Solich said. "I think our guys played with great intensity and a great deal of heart. We showed we can play a great game against a really good team like Louisiana-Monroe."

Via [Washington Post]