AKRON—Bruised, bloodied and visibly upset, safety Michael Mitchell knew just how much Ohio’s loss to Akron hurt.

The 48-37 loss virtually killed any shot the team had of defending its Mid-American Conference East Division title and makes the Bobcats a longshot for a bowl game, even if they are able to beat Miami in a little over two weeks.

“Everything was riding on the line with us winning out and we couldn’t get it done,” Mitchell said. “It came down to the players and we couldn’t get it done; we couldn’t stop them.”

A week after putting together its best performance of the season, the Ohio defense hit a new low against Akron. Last week against Temple, Ohio gave up seven points, which is the least amount of points that it has given up all season. The 48 points the Bobcats (5-6, 3-4 MAC) gave up to the Zips were the most they had allowed since Nov. 22, 2003 when they gave up 49 points to then-No.23-ranked Miami.

Before this game, Akron (4-6, 3-3 MAC) ranked 11th in scoring offense with a dismal 19.3 points per game and dead last in total offense in the MAC with 309.1 yards per game. Against the Bobcats, Akron had 419 yards.

“We were as prepared as we could have been,” safety Todd Koenig said. “It’s hard to say what happened.”

Down 27-13 early in the third quarter, kick returner Josh Abrams sprinted down the sidelines for what appeared to be a 91-yard momentum-turning touchdown, but a holding call on linebacker Lee Renfro negated the score.

After the Bobcat offense stalled, linebacker Michael Brown grabbed his first interception of the season and returned it to the Akron 22-yard line. Kicker Michael Braunstein was forced to come in for his third field goal of the day after Ohio was able to muster just one yard on three plays.

Akron quarterback Chris Jacquemain capped the ensuing drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jabari Arthur to push Akron ahead by three scores at 34-16.

Later in the third quarter, quarterback Brad Bower found receiver Taylor Price on a 36-yard touchdown strike on fourth down and 10. After a successful two-point conversion, Ohio pulled within 10 points at 34-24.

The Bobcats had a big opportunity to swing momentum in their favor when Koenig picked off Jacquemain’s pass at midfield, but Mitchell was flagged for roughing the passer and Akron was able to milk some more time off the clock.

“(The penalties) were very frustrating,” coach Frank Solich said. “As far as the officials go, they called the game apparently the way they saw it.”

Trailing 34-31, the Bobcat defense had a chance for redemption, but on fourth down and 1, running back •Bryan Williams picked up the first down. Two plays later, Jacquemain scrambled outside the pocket and found Arthur again, this time from 22 yards out, to put the Zips up 41-31.

“It was obvious we needed a stop or a turnover and we didn’t get that, so the game stretched away from us a little bit,” Solich said.