ATHENS – As healthy as it has been all year, Ohio rolled to a 37-14 victory against Buffalo on a rainy Wednesday night at Peden Stadium.

Ohio (5-5, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) limited Buffalo to 134 yards of offense and seven first downs, and took advantage of four turnovers and a bad snap to run away from the struggling Bulls (3-6, 1-4 MAC).

A.J. Ouellete, finally back to 100 percent health, rushed 29 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Derrius Vick, making his first start since an injury against Eastern Illinois, added 44 yards rushing for the Bobcats, who gained 233 yards on the ground.

The Bobcats led 27-0 late in the third quarter and might have shut out Buffalo if not for two turnovers of their own – a fumble that gave Buffalo possession inside the Ohio 20-yard line and another that was returned 75 yards for a touchdown in the final two minutes.

"I thought our team played with a great deal of energy,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “I think the rest (11 days off) helped them. They were excited about playing, and I think it showed. We were able to get off to a pretty good start, which is something that we haven’t always done.”

But Ohio got plenty of help from the Bulls’ mistakes, which allowed the Bobcats to start inside the Buffalo 25-yard line four times, resulting in 20 points.

"This was not a good showing by any stretch of the imagination,” Buffalo interim coach Alex Wood said. “Everybody in that locker room knows it."

A 47-yard passing strike to Chase Cochran helped set up Ohio’s first score, a 33-yard Josiah Yazdani field goal after the drive stalled since Buffalo’s 20-yard line. A muffed punt recovered by Brett Layton set up the Bobcats’ first touchdown, a 2-yard Ouellette run that made it 10-0 with 6:08 left in the first quarter.

The Bulls, who had just two first downs in the first half, missed a chance to get within in a possession early in the second quarter. After a 9-yard pass play to the Ohio 18-yard line, the Bobcats stuffed them on two straight running plays, and then Buffalo’s Patrick Clarke missed a 36-yard field goal wide right.

Ohio responded with its longest sustained drive, moving 80 yards on eight plays, scoring on a 1-yard Ouellette touchdown that made it 17-0.

A Buffalo punt protector stepped into the way of the snap on the opening possession of the second half, and it gave Ohio possession at the Bulls 17-yard line, resulting in a 28-yard Yazdani field goal and a 20-0 lead. The Bulls fumbled on their first play from scrimmage on their next drive, and it was recovered at the Buffalo 9, leading to a 9-yard scramble for a touchdown by Vick.

Vick’s fumble that gave the Bulls possession at the Ohio 19-yard line finally led to Buffalo’s first points, and even then, they needed four downs to score. On fourth-and-3, Joe Licata completed a 12-yard pass to Ron Willoughby to make it 27-7.

An inadvertent whistle probably helped keep the Bobcats’ next drive alive, giving Ohio a second shot on third-and-4 on a play that seemed to be going nowhere, and the Bobcats converted a first down that eventually resulted in a 19-yard Yazdani field goal when Ohio could not punch it in after gaining first-and-goal from the 10.

Ohio extended its lead to 37-7 on a Dorian Brown 3-yard run with 9:18 remaining after taking over at the Buffalo 21-yard line on a Jovon Johnson interception of Licata, who desperately heaved the ball while pressured on a third-and-17 play.

A Toran Davis interception stopped Buffalo’s next drive, and a 38-yard pass from J.D. Sprague to Aaron Bradley had Ohio in position to possibly even score more points as time was winding down, but Tim Edmond’s fumble was returned 75 yards by Boise Ross to instead given Buffalo the final points.

"Coach has been stressing it,” Vick said. “You're remembered for the games in November. So far we're 1-0; that was our mission. “Now we're on to NIU and we have another little break so hopefully we'll have a nice scheme and be prepared for them."

Buffalo came into the game ranked fourth in the MAC in total offense, but Licata was just 9-of-20 passing for 74 yards, and Anthone Taylor was held to 37 yards on 17 attempts despite averaging nearly 120 yards per game prior to the effort. Even after the game, Licata ranks third in the MAC in passing efficiency.

Ohio played without corner back Devin Bass for disciplinary reasons, but had safeties Davis, Ingol and Devin Jones healthy.

“We made them one-dimensional by stopping the run,” said cornerback Ian Wells, who had a sack, a fumble recovery and two pass break-ups. “That's coach (defensive coordinator Jimmy) Burrow's philosophy every game. If we stop the run and make them pass, then we'll win games, and that's kind of what we did. When they had the pass, we made plays."

Quentin Poling led the defense with nine tackles, including his fifth sack, and Johnson had seven tackles in addition to his second interception.

With the victory, the Bobcats are one game away from being bowl-eligible, though winning both off their final two would increase their chances of a postseason game. They will have nearly two weeks to prepare for Northern Illinois.

“I know our players are really looking forward to the game,” Solich said. “They're excited about opportunities to go down the stretch here and play some good football. We'll have a chance to take some more time off, which I think will be a benefit to our team. Coming off that nine-game stretch, we needed that break that we got this past week. I thought that's one of the reasons that we had so much energy on the field."

The Bobcats host the Huskies at 8 p.m. Nov. 18 at Peden Stadium in a game that will be shown on ESPNU.