Ohio reaches bowl eligibility with a 52-3 win against Akron

AKRON, Ohio -- Nathan Rourke threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns and Ohio routed Akron 52-3 on Tuesday night. The Bobcats (6-6, 5-3 Mid-American) clinched bowl eligibility for the 11th year in a row and for the 13th time in 15 years under head coach Frank Solich. Ohio also recorded a winning record in the conference for a fifth straight year. Rourke threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter, two more in the second and accounted for a fifth with a 1-yard run in the fourth. He threw a 53-yarder to DL Knock , 39 and 11 yards to Shane Hooks and 9 yards to Ryan Luehrman . Ja'Vahri Portis ran it in from 3-yards out with 6:41 remaining to end the scoring. Ohio outgained Akron (0-12, 0-8) in total yardage, 603-74, amassed 25 first downs to seven for the Zips and converted 10 of 15 third-down opportunities. Peter Hayes-Patrick gained 42 yards on 14 carries for Akron.