Hodge's INT in end zone helps Buffalo hold off Ohio 31-24

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Hodge INT saves game for Buffalo

Buffalo's Khalil Hodge's interception in the end zone denies Ohio from tying the game.


BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Tyree Jackson threw a pair of touchdown passes and Khalil Hodge had an interception in the end zone with 1:20 left to help Buffalo seal a 31-24 victory over Ohio on Friday.

Buffalo (6-6, 4-4 Mid-American Conference) has won three straight to become bowl eligible for just the third time since joining the FBS in 1999. Anthony Johnson caught 18 passes for 155 yards and two scores for the Bulls. Emmanuel Reed scored on a 1-yard touchdown that broke a 24-24 tie with 8:35 remaining.

Nathan Rourke threw for 265 yards and a touchdown, and ran for two more scores to lead Ohio (8-4, 5-3), which has lost two straight.

Rourke drove the Bobcats to the Buffalo 7 with 2:12 to play but on fourth-and-12, he scrambled to the right and attempted to connect with Andrew Meyer in the end zone, but Hodge won the jump ball to seal it.

Jackson threw touchdown passes of 31 and 54 yards to Johnson in the first quarter. Charles Harris returned a Rourke fumble 20 yards for a score, and Adam Mitcheson's 49-yard field goal gave the Bulls a 24-7 lead in first quarter.