Kick return touchdowns by Eamonn Dennis and Coleman Owen highlight Ohio's 41-0 rout of Kent State

KENT, Ohio — Defense and special teams stole the show Wednesday night as Eamonn Dennis returned a kickoff for a touchdown and Coleman Owen scored on a punt return in Ohio's 41-0 victory over Kent State.

The Bobcats allowed just 114 yards and seven first downs against winless Kent State.

Dennis returned the second half kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, going basically untouched up the middle before breaking to the outside and outracing the coverage.

Later in the third quarter, Owen fielded a punt, avoided several arm tackles and stiff-armed a would-be tackler on this way to the house to put the Bobcats up 34-0.

On offense, the Bobcats piled up 407 yards, 258 rushing and 149 passing. Anthony Tyus III had 84 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Parker Navarro threw for 142 yards.

Navarro ran for a touchdown and backup QB Nick Poulos completed his only pass attempt for a short touchdown.

Josh Baka was a rare bright spot for Kent State with 12 solo tackles and 18 total.

The Bobcats (6-3, 4-1 Mid-American Conference) and Golden Flashes (0-9, 0-5) have met 75 times. Ohio leads the series 46-28-2.

Ohio climbed into a first-place tie with Western Michigan, Miami and Bowling Green. All four teams have already played this week.

__ Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football