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Tiffin University (5-0, 4-0 GMAC) secured at least a share of the GMAC Championship with one of its strongest efforts of the year, a 31-16 win at Ohio Dominican.
The win saw the Dragons grab an early lead, fall behind in the second quarter, and then dominate the second half with a strong defensive effort and some big plays.
The victory also sets up the Dragons to win the title outright with a win over Findlay on April 24 on Senior Night. The Oilers and Panthers all have one loss this season, so a victory in their season finale would give TU sole claim to the title and a repeat of their 2019 GMAC Championship.
Tiffin got on the board in the first quarter with a 90 yard drive that ate up nearly 6:00 of clock time before Nick Watson went over the top on fourth down from one yard out to give TU a 7-0 lead.
The Dragons also set the tone early on ODU's first possession, sacking quarterback Evan Ernst twice with strong plays by Brandon Burks and Charle Cleveland.
ODU got on the board after a Panthers' punt put TU back on its own 12 yard line. Watson was chased into his own end zone, resulting in a safety with 31 seconds left in the quarter.
Two possessions later, ODU put together a 45 yard drive after getting good field position, chipping away with short plays before rushing the ball in from 5 yards out at the 8:38 mark of the second quarter.
Tiffin responded immediately with an epic 8:00 drive that ate up the rest of the half and covered 75 yards. The Dragons went 5 for 5 on third downs before Watson hit Anthony Lowe on a 13 yard TD strike with 23 seconds left that put TU up 14-9 at halftime.
The second half saw the Dragons' defense get even tougher, as they allowed only two first downs over the next 27:30. The Dragons increased their lead with a 43 yard drive that ended with another Lowe TD reception, this time covering 10 yards at the 5:01 mark of the third quarter to push TU's lead to 21-9.
While TU focused on using up the clock, TU's defense kept racking up sacks, finishing with 6 on the day. The Dragons also enjoyed a time of possession advantage of nearly 15 minutes (37:15 to 22:39).
Late in the fourth quarter, TU drove 74 yards and capped it off with a 28 yard field goal by David Orlando to put TU up 24-9 with 2:29 to play.
TU's only serious mistake in the game came on ODU's very next snap, as they connected on a 62 yard bomb for a quick score that made it 24-16 with 2:19 left.
But the Dragons again responded, covering the onside kick and then scoring on a 40 yard run up the middle by Watson to seal the victory 31-16.
TU had 23 first downs to ODU's 10 and outgained the Panthers 390-185. TU also held a big 221-72 rushing edge while holding ODU to just 1 for 10 on third downs.
Watson had a strong day, connecting on 18 of 35 passes for 169 yards and 2 scores while also rushing for 97 yards on 15 carries (6.5 ypc) with 2 more TDs.
Marcus Davis rushed for 111 yards on 16 carries (6.9 ypc), while Mason Gray had a big day with 80 yards receiving on 7 catches. Lowe finished with 54 yards receiving.
Defensively, Cleveland finished with 3 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 6 tackles, while Brandon Burks (sack), Landon Hall, and Marshawn Mankins had 8 tackles each. Tyler Richardson had a 39 yard interception return, while Chrystian Watkins also had 6 stops. Latrell Robinson and Devin Nzepuome also had sacks.