ATHENS – Nick Poulos’ return provided a huge spark as Ohio had a huge first half and rolled to a 31-14 homecoming victory against Central Michigan on Saturday at Peden Stadium.

After missing most of the last four games, Poulos threw three touchdown passes in the first half when the Bobcats jumped out to a 31-0 lead at halftime. He was 11-of-18 passing for 158 yards and also rushed 16 times for 52 yards.

"It's great to get a win on homecoming," Ohio coach John Hauser said. "I thought the first half was as good as we probably played this year, offense, defense and special teams-wise."

He led Ohio (4-2, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) to a touchdown on the game’s opening drive. Duncan Brune capped it off with a 23-yard run.

Then it was the defense’s turn to begin its dominant first half, getting a stop on fourth-and-1 for a turnover on downs. The Bobcats scored again on offense, with a big 32-yard connection between Poulos and Riley Neer setting up a 1-yard touchdown pass from Poulos to Neer, making it 14-0.

Ohio’s next drive was stopped inside the 10-yard line, and Will Hryszko kicked a 24-yard field goal early in the second quarter, but the Bobcats again found the end zone after Michael Molnar forced a fumble that was recovered by Ty Neubert. Poulos threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Preston Bowman, pushing the advantage to 24-0 with 5:24 left in the half.

It seemed like Ohio’s chance to add to that advantage before halftime would fail when Poulos fumbled in the red zone with 1:18 left, but the defense forced another quick punt to get the ball back for Poulos and the offense with 36 seconds still remaining. He connected with Dom Dorwart on a 44-yard touchdown pass with six seconds left, making it 31-0.

Playing more conservatively in the rain on offense in the second half, the Bobcats were not as effective, but they did plenty enough to run out the clock with the game never in question.

Central Michigan (3-3, 1-1 MAC) finally got on the board with 25 seconds left in the third quarter on Jayden Clevereaux’s 15-yard touchdown run. Nick Woodford scored on a 20-yard touchdown run with 1:39 remaining in the game.

Neer caught four passes for 59 yards. Brune rushed 16 times for 91 yards, and Victor Rosa had 70 yards on nine attempts.

Angel Flores was 14-of-20 passing for 112 yards for the Chippewas and rushed 16 times for 27 yards. Braylen Naves caught four passes for 56 yards.

Molnar had a pair of sacks, and Jermaine Minnis finished with 12 tackles to lead Ohio’s defense.

The Bobcats take a long trip west to face MAC newcomer Sacramento State at 10 p.m. Saturday.