But it was the takers, in this case the Troy Trojans, who had the most to celebrate two nights before Christmas.
Ohio suffered five turnovers, and could never make up the difference as Troy held on for a 28-23 win in the 2016 Dollar General Bowl inside warm Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Friday night.
The Trojans (10-3) became the first team in program history to win 10 games in a season since the school made the jump to FBS football.
Ohio (8-6), meanwhile, was left to wonder might have been once again. The Bobcats lost their final two games — on Friday and in the MAC title game on Dec.