ATHENS, Ohio – After an embarrassing home loss last week to Kent State, Bowling Green got to play where they’ve been at their best – on the road.

The Falcons (3-2, 2-1) had won four consecutive Mid-American Conference contests away from Doyt Perry heading into this weekend and continued their streak by picking up a 21-9 victory over Ohio University on Saturday.

“We showed as a team we can bounce back as a team – defensively, offensively and special teams,” said BG quarterback Anthony Turner. “It’s a three part game and that’s what we played today to help us get a victory.”

Turner started the game at quarterback for BG after missing one week because of an injury. Although admittedly a bit rusty, throwing for 77 yards on nine completions, he got the job done by leading the offense to three touchdowns and allowing no turnovers.

“Today you could tell that he missed a week or two of practice, and he wasn’t completely in the groove, but the kid made plays when he had to,” said BG coach Gregg Brandon.

In place of an injured Dan Macon, Chris Bullock gained 114 yards on the ground for the Falcons at running back to go along with a rushing touchdown. Although Bullock has started only two games for BG, he’s contributed 213 yards on the ground on those games.

“I told [Bullock] before the game this could be a never look back game, and it was for him,” Brandon said.

Freddie Barnes rebounded from a tough game last week by doing anything and everything he could on offense. Barnes lined up at both quarterback and wide receiver during the game, accounting for 37 yards rushing and 68 yards receiving.

By rushing for two touchdowns against OU (2-3, 1-1), Barnes has scored two touchdowns in four of the teams five games of the year.

“You can count on him to do anything,” Turner said. “If you get in that situation where you’ve got to throw it up, you can throw it up to Freddie and he’ll make plays. Not only Freddie though, but Corey Partridge too.”

After struggling with injuries early in the season, Partridge is beginning to show why he’s the team’s best option at wide receiver. Partridge threw, rushed and caught the ball against the Bobcats, accounting for 69 yards in all.

Early on, BG had their first touchdown scoring drive kept alive by freshman punter Alonso Rojas, who was able to gain six rush yards on a fourth and three at midfield.

Fueled by a 30-yard run by Bullock down to the four-yard line, the Falcons scored when Barnes took the ball in himself.

After an OU field goal, Barnes struck again with a one-yard run to put the Falcons up 14-3 before halftime.

For the Falcons, the first half was all about proving to fans, opponents and even themselves that they had what it took to win.

“All we talked about was our character and pride – that was being tested,” Brandon said.

Thanks in part to some creative play calling and lots of misdirection, the Falcons’ offense continued to move the ball downfield in the second half.

Perhaps the highlight of the game was a wide receiver pass from Partridge to Barnes, which gained 31 yards. After catching the ball on the left side of the field, Partridge threw all of the way back to Barnes on the right side, setting up Bullock’s five-yard touchdown run.

“I’ve been itching to do that [play] since they made it up,” Barnes said. “I knew if we ran that it’s be a really big play for us.”

For the Falcons, this was a must-win to stay competitive in the MAC East.

“We lose this game we’re 1-2 in the conference, so we’d be hard-pressed to go where we want to go in the end so getting this win right here was real big for us.”

Although the Falcons have won five consecutive road games between this season and last, BG will be hard-pressed to continue that streak when they take on No. 1 Ohio State next week in Columbus. The next week, BG will be back at the Doyt for homecoming against Eastern Michigan.