ARKON – Ohio’s defense sacked Akron quarterback Kyle Pohl eight times and limited the Zips to 157 yards of offense in a 43-3 blowout of the Zips on Saturday at InfoCision Stadium.

Ty Branz led the way with 2.5 sacks while Tarell Basham had two for the Bobcats (4-1, 1-0 Mid American Conference). Thad Ingol returned a fumble 18 yards for a touchdown and had a 34-yard interception return.

The Bobcats special scored the first points of the game on a safety. Long snapper Miles Chapman forced a fumble on a punt and the Zips recovered it in the end zone.

Akron briefly took the lead by putting together a nine-play, 49-yard drive that culminated with a 31-yard Robert Stein field goal that made it 3-2 early in the game.

Ohio took advantage of good field position late in the first quarter, scoring on a 13-yard pass from Tyler Tettleton to Donte foster at the 3:02 mark. It was set up by a 29-yard pass to Anthony Talbert.

A 43-yard completion to Foster was the key play on Ohio’s second scoring drive, with a 1-yard pass to Troy Mangen giving Ohio a 16-3 advantage. Ingol’s interception led to a 1-yard Ryan Boykin touchdown run before Ingol’s return of a fumble forced by Josh Kristoff gave the Bobcats a 30-3 lead before halftime.

On a drive led by Derrius Vick, Ohio got a 35-yard Josiah Yazdani field goal late in the third quarter. Vick then led a touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter with the Bobcats scoring on a 1-yard Daz’ Patterson run.

Going even deeper on its bench, with J.D. Sprague at quarterback and Tim Edmond at running back, the Bobcats added a 28-yard Yazdani field goal with 1:47 remaining.

Tettleton went 14 of 21 for 171 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Foster caught four passes for 76 yards and Beau Blankenship carried 14 times for 67 yards.

Pohl went just 11 of 26 for 101 yards. No Akron receiver had more than two caches or 21 yards. Jawon Chisholm rushed 15 times for 60 yards.

Antwan Crutcher led the Bobcats in tackles with six, including 1.5 for loss.

Ohio’s eight sacks were its most in a game since 1999 and tied for second-most in a game in school history. Following a 38-0 victory against Austin Peay, Ohio held its opponent without a touchdown two games in a row for the first time since 1999. The Bobcats gave up just 57 yards after halftime.

The Bobcats host Central Michigan for homecoming at 2 p.m. Saturday at Peden Stadium.