The 2025 Ohio Bobcats football team represented Ohio University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bobcats were led by Brian Smith in his first year as the head coach. The Bobcats play home games at Peden Stadium, located in Athens, Ohio.
Ohio entered the season coming off of 2024 season with a school record 11 wins and three straight seasons with at least 10 wins. The Bobcats are the defending MAC Champion after Ohio avenged its only MAC regular season loss with a 38–3 win over rival Miami in the 2024 MAC Championship Game. They won the MAC Championship for the first time since 1968. Ohio entered the season on an FBS leading seven game winning streak and a six game winning streak in bowl games after defeating Conference USA Champion Jacksonville State in the Cure Bowl. Brian Smith entered his first full year as head coach after earning his first win in the bowl, having replaced Tim Albin after Albin took the head coach position at Charlotte.
Ohio entered the season ranked 94th out of 135 FBS teams and fourth in the MAC in returning production as determined by the SP+ rankings. Among the returners is starting quarterback Parker Navarro who entered the year with a 12–2 record as a starting quarterback. After a somewhat sluggish start, Navarro caught fire during the 2024 season ending seven game winning streak. Navarro won MAC Offensive Player of the week four times in the regular season and again in the MAC Championship and was MVP of the bowl win.
On December 1, 2025, the university announced that head coach Brian Smith was on indefinite leave. No further details were provided. Defensive coordinator John Hauser was named the interim head coach. On December 16, the University terminated Smith for cause. The only information provided stated that he "violated the terms of his employment agreement by engaging in serious professional misconduct and participating in activities that reflect unfavorably on the University" and that the search for a new coach would begin immediately. Hauser was named full-time head coach three days after the bowl win on December 26.
The Ohio Bobcats drew an average home attendance of 21,007, the 95th-highest of all NCAA Division I FBS football teams.
Schedule
Preseason The MAC Football Kickoff was held on Thursday, July 24, 2025 at the Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan from 9:00 am EDT to 1:30 pm EDT. Ohio was represented by Head Coach Brian Smith, quarterback Parker Navarro, and safety DJ Walker.
MAC coaches preseason poll On July 24 the MAC announced the coaches preseason poll. Ohio was picked to finish third in the conference. They received three votes to win the MAC Championship.
Preseason award watch lists Maxwell AwardParker NavarroQBGr. Jim Thorpe AwardTank PearsonCBGr. DJ WalkerSRS-So.Walter Camp AwardParker NavarroQBGr. Davey O'Brien AwardParker NavarroQBGr. John Mackey AwardMason WilliamsTERS-So.Bednarik AwardDJ WalkerSRS-So.Manning AwardParker NavarroQBGr.
Season summary Ohio opened the season at Big Ten opponent Rutgers. After falling being by 17 following a blocked punt late in the second quarter, Ohio tied the game in the second half but could not get the win as the Scarlet Knights won 34–31 with a 4th quarter field goal. Navarro did well in the loss with 239 yards passing and 93 yards rushing. Ohio hosted Big 12 Conference opponent West Virginia in week 2 in front of a record crowd at Peden Stadium. Ohio overcame an early deficit to take the lead and held on through three Navarro 2nd half interceptions, with the defense forcing a three and out on each ensuing WVU drive, to defeat the Mountaineers by a score of 17–10. The following week, Ohio travelled to Ohio State to take on the No. 1 team for the first time in program history. Navarro missed most of the first half with a hand injury but came back to hit Chase Hendricks on a second half touchdown to pull the Bobcats within 13–9 before the Buckeye offense got going and Ohio State pulled away for a 37–9 win. The Bobcats ended non-conference play by hosting FCS Gardner-Webb. Gardner-Webb took an early lead but Ohio's offense took control of the game in a 52–35 win to get back to .500 on the season.
Ohio opened MAC play against Bowling Green in week 5. Ohio's defense forced four turnovers, including a first quarter pick-six by linebacker Cam Hollobaugh, in a 35–20 victory. In their first MAC away game the Bobcats jumped out to a 14–0 halftime lead but their offense sputtered in the second half and Ball State rallied for a 20–14 upset win. Ohio's offense recovered after a bye week in a 48–21 win over Northern Illinois as both Sieh Bangura and Duncan Brune each rushed for over 100 yards. The Bobcats fell behind early in their final Saturday game at Eastern Michigan, but their offense got moving in the second half and then withstood EMU's comeback attempt in a 28–21 victory. Navarro threw for a career high 315 yards in the win.
In the first midweek MACtion game of November, Ohio hosted Miami, who entered the game in sole possession of first place in the MAC, in the Battle of the Bricks rivalry. Running back Sieh Bangura returned a kickoff for a touchdown and rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown while Jalen Thomeson sealed the game his first career interception as the Bobcats gained a share of first place in a 24–20 win. The Bobcats lost control of their own destiny in the MAC in a battle between teams tied for first place the next week at Western Michigan. The Broncos kept Ohio's offense in check most of the game and held Navarro to 70 yards passing in a 17–13 loss. The Bobcats played conservatively and racked up 380 yards on the ground and six rushing touchdowns, with only 8 attempted passes, on a cold and wet weeknight against a winless Massachusetts team. The 42–14 win extended the home winning streak to 13 and marked the 3rd unbeaten at home slate in four seasons, and also kept hope alive to repeat as MAC champions going into the regular season game against Buffalo. On a windy day in Buffalo, New York, the Bobcats again relied heavily on their rushing attack, racking up 359 rushing yards and 506 yards of offense, to overcome three first half turnovers and defeat the Buffalo Bulls by a score of 31–26. The following day, a Miami victory over Ball State moved the RedHawks into a three-way tie for second place with Ohio and Toledo at 6–2 in the conference. Miami won the tiebreaker to advance to the championship game in spite of losing to both teams during the regular season. They played Western Michigan who, with a 7–1 conference record, finished the regular season in sole possession of first place in the MAC standings.
On December 7, it was announced that the Bobcats would be playing in the Frisco Bowl against UNLV. The Rebels were the Mountain West Conference runner up, having finished the season 6–2 in conference and 10–3 overall after losing the championship game to Boise State Ohio defeated UNLV 17–10 for their seventh consecutive bowl victory and John Hauser's first ever win as a head coach. They were led by running back Sieh Bangura, who was named Offensive Player of the Game with 149 rushing yards. Ohio's defense held the high-powered UNLV offense to only 281 total yards. It set a school record for wins over four-year span with forty.
Game summaries at Rutgers
Statistics OHIORUTG First downs 24 24 Plays–yards 62-440 59-399 Rushes–yards 31-201 36-147 Passing yards 239 252 Passing: –– 21-31-0 18-23-0 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 28:15 31:45 Team Category Player Statistics Ohio Passing Parker Navarro 21/31, 239 yards, 3 TD Rushing Parker Navarro 9 carries, 93 yards, TD Receiving Chase Hendricks 9 receptions, 115 yardsRutgers Passing Athan Kaliakmanis 18/23, 252 yards, 2 TD Rushing Antwan Raymond 14 carries, 88 yards, TD Receiving Ian Strong 7 receptions, 100 yards
Ohio opened the season on a Week 1 Thursday game at Rutgers in SHI Stadium. Rutgers was led by 17th year head coach Greg Schiano who is 12–4 in season openers at Rutgers. Ohio entered 1–2 all-time against the Scarlet Knights. The two teams had last met in 2011 when Rutgers scored a 38–26 win.
Rutgers defeated Ohio 34–31. The Scarlet Knights took advantage of several key moments, including a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, and a perfect 5-for-5 on fourth-down conversions, including a game sealing 10-yard completion, to snap Ohio's seven game winning streak. The Scarlet Knights set the tone early with a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive to open the game. After converting a 4th and 3 earlier, running back Antoine Raymond capped the methodical drive with a 14-yard touchdown run on a 4th a 2, putting Rutgers on the board first. Ohio responded with a 10 play drive ending in a Mason Williams touchdown reception from Parker Navarro. Rutgers responded with another long drive but were held to a short Jai Patel field goal. After holding Ohio to a punt, Rutgers capitalized with a quick 54-yard touchdown pass from Athan Kaliakmanis to DT Sheffield who got behind the Ohio defense on the first play of the drive. Ohio responded with a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Bruno and the ensuing drive to make the score 17–14. Rutgers went up by 10 points again after Kaliakmanis connected with KJ Duff for a 6-yard touchdown pass. The Bobcats were forced to punt when a low snap led to a blocked kick by Kaj Sanders. The ball was recovered in the end zone by Cam Miller for a Rutgers touchdown, giving the Scarlet Knights a commanding 31–14 lead. Ohio stayed in the game with a David Dellenbach field goal just before the half to get within two scores.
Parker Navarro engineered back-to-back scoring drives on Ohio's first two-second half drives. First, he ran for a 17-yard touchdown, and on the next possession after forcing Rutgers' only punt, he threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jake Bruno to tie the game at 31–31. Rutgers went 77-yards and used 7:56 of game clock and retook the lead with another short Patel field goal with 11:14 remaining. The Bobcats were forced to punt. Rutgers was able to seal the game, holding the ball for 12-plays, with a 4th and 7 converted with a 10-yard pass from Kaliakmanis to Sheffield that allowed them to run out the clock.
Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis led the offense, throwing for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Antwan Raymond had 88 yards rushing and a touchdown while Ian Strong had 100 yards receiving. Ohio's offense was propelled by the dual-threat abilities of Parker Navarro, who threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 93 yards and a score. Despite the loss, Navarro was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week. This marked the fourth regular season week in a row for Navarro as well as being Offensive MVP of the MAC Championship and MVP of the bowl win. Ohio had 440 yards of offense, 41 more than Rutgers, in the loss. Chase Hendricks had 9 receptions for 115 yards to lead Ohio's receivers. Adonis Williams led Ohio with 11 tackles.
vs. West Virginia
Statistics WVUOHIO First downs 13 24 Total yards 56–250 79–429 Rushing yards 28–72 48–182 Passing yards 178 247 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 15–26–1 22–31–3 Turnovers 1 3 Time of possession 19:45 40:15 Team Category Player Statistics West Virginia Passing Nicco Marchiol 15/26, 178 yards, INT Rushing Jahiem White 6 carries, 40 yards, TD Receiving Jaden Bray 4 receptions, 69 yards Ohio Passing Parker Navarro 22/31, 237 yards, TD, 3 INT Rushing Parker Navarro 18 carries, 87 yards Receiving Chase Hendricks 9 receptions, 121 yards, TD