MOSCOW, Idaho – Ohio opened its season with a 45-28 victory against Idaho on Thursday night at the Kibbie Dome.

The Bobcats (1-0) scored the first 21 points, and the Vandals (0-1) only got as close as 10 points late in the fourth quarter.

Derrius Vick threw touchdown passes of 6 yards to Brendan Cope and 15 yards to Jordan Reid, and Jovon Johnson returned an interception 29 yards for a score as Ohio took control early.

Tight end Keith Heitzman added a 2-yard touchdown reception from J.D. Sprague in the second quarter, and the Bobcats led 28-13 at halftime.

Daz’mond Patterson’s 1-yard touchdown run sealed the victory, and Maleek Irons added a 17-yard touchdown run in the final minute as Ohio was trying to run out the clock.

The quarterback and receiver combination of Matt Linehan and Dezmon Epps kept the Vandals from getting blown out. Linehan was 35-of-47 passing for 285 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions, though Johnson’s pick was on a ball that went through a receiver’s hands, and the other one came on the final play of the game. Epps had 14 catches for 148 yards.

Ohio was effective and balanced on offense. Vick went 11-of-14 for 179 yards, playing all but the second quarter when Sprague was 7-of-9 for 92 yards.

Cope had a huge first half for the Bobcats, getting wide open over the middle for a 50-yard gain and then scoring the opening touchdown with a one-handed grab. He broke a tackle on a shorter pass in the second quarter to gain 65 yards, setting up Sprague’s scoring pass that made it 28-10. Cope finished with four catches for 129 yards.

Patterson received the majority of the running back time in the second half and finished with 84 yards on 13 carries. A.J. Ouellette had 48 yards on nine attempts, and Reid made four catches for 68 yards. Ohio finished with 489 yards of offense.

Elijhaa Penny ran for a pair of touchdowns for the Vandals and had 69 yards on 17 carries. Idaho finished with 391 yards of offense.

Both teams lost one fumble, and Ohio failed to cash in on a scoring chance when Josiah Yazdani missed a 31-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter. He made one from 37 yards out earlier in the half, giving the Bobcats a 31-13 advantage.

Idaho’s Austin Renkow had field goals of 40 and 20 yards in the first half.

Deon Watson’s 5-yard touchdown catch from Linehan, followed by the pair hooking up for a two-point conversion, got the Vandals as close as they were all game at 38-28 with two and a half minutes to go. Idaho attempted and recovered an onside kick afterward but it did not go the necessary 10 yards.

Ohio has its home opener at 7 p.m. next Saturday against Marshall.