Game stories courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Staffs.
No. 19 Wisconsin 68, Bowling Green 17
Box Score
MADISON, Wis. - Bowling Green created three first-half turnovers before falling to Wisconsin by a score of 68-17 at on Saturday, Sept. 20, in front of 79, 849 fans at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. The Orange and Brown drop to 2-2 (0-0 MAC) with the loss, while the #17/19 Badgers improve to 2-1 (0-0 Big Ten).
Three Badgers – Melvin Gordon, Corey Clement and quarterback Tanner McEvoy -- rushed for over 100 yards. Gordon scored five touchdowns and gained 253 yards on 13 carries, while Clement ran for 111 yards on 16 carries. McEvoy completed 9-of-16 passes and rushed for 158 yards on 11 touches.
Roger Lewis led all receivers with a game-high five receptions for 68 yards for BGSU. Quarterback James Knapke completed 13-of-28 passes for 163 yards, while Andre Givens led all Falcon running backs with 67 yards on five carries and one touchdown. Fred Coppet also scored on the ground and averaged seven yards per touch on five rushes.
Defensive back Denard Turner registered a contest-high seven tackles for the BGSU defense, while fellow defensive backs Brian Sutton and Jude Adjei-Barimah each recorded six tackles apiece. Defensive end Bryan Thomas contributed with a sack in the first half that ended a Wisconsin drive.
True freshman punter Joe Davidson averaged 45.1 yards per punt. Two of his 11 punts traveled 57 yards.
After a Wisconsin opening-drive touchdown, defensive end Kendall Montgomery forced a fumble in Badger territory on Wisconsin's ensuing drive. Linebacker Nate Locke recovered the ball at the 35-yard line and Coppet rushed for a game-tying touchdown the very next play.
After another Wisconsin touchdown, Bowling Green cut the deficit to 14-10 with a Tyler Tate 28-yard field goal with 1:11 remaining in the first quarter. Knapke found Lewis for 36 yards four plays earlier to help set up the score.
With BGSU trailing, 21-10, in the second quarter, Knapke threw an interception in the end zone on third-and-goal that was returned for 43 yards. Three plays later, Gordon rushed it in from 50 yards out to give Wisconsin a 28-10 lead.
The Falcon defense forced two more turnovers in the first half to keep the game close into the second quarter, as defensive lineman Taylor Royster recovered a fumbled snap and true freshman defensive back Nick Johnson intercepted a pass at the BGSU four-yard line late in the second half.
Despite the BGSU takeaways, Wisconsin scored 27 second-quarter points to take a 41-10 halftime lead.
Givens rushed for a 60-yard touchdown with 11:37 remaining in the contest to snap a stretch of 51-straight Badger points. With the game out of reach, the BGSU defense stood tall in the fourth quarter and did not yield a final-quarter touchdown.
True freshman quarterback Cody Callaway saw action under center for the Falcons late, as he completed 2-of-5 passes for 15 yards while also guiding the Orange and Brown to the second-half touchdown.
Bowling Green will open Mid-American Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m against University of Massachusetts at McGuirk Stadium.
No. 11 Michigan State 73, Eastern Michigan 14
Box Score
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Eastern Michigan suffered a 73-14 setback to No. 11 Michigan State University Saturday afternoon, Sept. 20, at Spartan Stadium. Coming off a bye week, the nationally-ranked Spartans (2-1) opened up a 28-0 first quarter lead over the Eagles (1-3) to win the 10th meeting between the in-state foes.
Starting in his first game as an Eagle, quarterback Rob Bolden threw his first touchdown pass in a Green and White uniform. The senior completed a strike down the middle of the field to Lansing, Mich. native Tyler Allen for the 43-yard touchdown reception. In front of the hometown crowd, Allen caught his first career touchdown pass and was on the receiving end of the longest play of the season for EMU at this point. Allen ended the day with two catches for 53 yards, both personal bests for the senior Eagle.
Bolden finished the day with two touchdown passes as he found Tyreese Russell from nine yards out for the senior tight end's first touchdown catch of the season and ninth of his career.
Allen led the Eagle offense in the air with 53 receiving yards, while Russell tacked on four catches for 38 receiving yards for the Green and White. Bolden capped off his first career start for the Eagles, completing 10 passes on 29 attempts and tallying 115 yards for two touchdowns.
On defense, Great Ibe, DaQuan Pace, and Anthony Zappone had 10 tackles apiece, while Kevin Johnson added nine to the Green and White's defensive effort. At the half, Pace tied his career-high of seven tackles in a single game and added three more in the final half of play. Ibe also matched his fellow defender, while Zappone registered five tackles in the first 30 minutes of the contest. The extra five in the second half set a career high for Zappone.
Michigan State was led by Delton Williams, who carried the ball 10 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns, while Nick Hill added 58 yards on 14 carries. MSU quarterback Damion Terry completed five passes on eight attempts, while starting quarterback Connor Cook completed 5-of-6 pass attempts with two touchdown passes.
The Eagles got on the board in the third quarter as Bolden led the offense on a seven-play, 65-yard drive that took up just 2:29 on the clock. After keeping the drive alive with a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-one, Bolden found Allen deep down the middle of the field for a 43-yard touchdown pass. It was the first career touchdown catch for Allen, while Bolden tossed his first touchdown pass as an Eagle.
Sophomore punter Austin Barnes blasted a 65-yard punt later in the third quarter to down MSU at its own goal line. The career-long punt by Barnes was the first punt over 60 yards by an Eagle since Jay Karutz booted a 62-yarder on Sept. 22, 2012, also against Michigan State. To end the third quarter, Pace continued the best game of his career with his first interception donning the Green and White.
Starting the fourth quarter with great field position, Bolden noticed Russell wide open on a crossing pattern in the center of the field. The senior tight end completed the play by securing the catch and rolling into the end zone for an EMU touchdown, giving the Eagles a pair of scores in a three-minute span.
The Spartans added back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter to complete the 73-14 decision over the Green and White.
After three-straight weeks on the road, the Eagles will have a bye week before remaining away from home. EMU will begin Mid-American Conference play, Oct. 4, against the University of Akron Zips. Kickoff from Akron, Ohio is slated for 2 p.m.
Marshall 48, Akron 17
Box Score
Postgame Notes
AKRON, Ohio - Akron dropped a 48-17 decision to Marshall University on Saturday at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field. In a match-up of former Mid-American Conference foes, Akron (1-2) was held to 92 yards on the ground and 343 total yards, but turned the ball over four times. The Zips entered the game tied for first in the nation with zero giveaways.
Junior QB Kyle Pohl threw for 151 yards (17-of-37) and redshirt freshman QB Tommy Woodson threw for 100 yards and a touchdown late in the game. Junior Zach D'Orazio netted 69 yards on five catches, including a diving grab that put the Zips in the red zone early in the second quarter.
Marshall QB Rakeem Cato led the Marshall charge, connecting on 17-of-31 for 210 yards and a touchdown to contribute to Marshall's 526 yards of total offense.
Junior LB Jatavis Brown and senior S Devonte Morgan led the Zips defensively with eight and seven tackles, respectively.
In its first possession of the game, Marshall (4-0) ended a nine-play scoring drive with an 11-yard rush from Cato, giving the Thundering Herd a 7-0 advantage at the 9:48 mark.
Following a 16-yard carry by Pohl, Marshall forced the first Zips' turnover of the season, giving the Herd the ball on UA's 42-yard line. Marshall used the possession to extend its lead to 10-0 on a 24-yard field goal.
Marshall scored on each of its four opening possessions as Cato found Angelo Jean-Louis on the end of a 24-yard TD pass, and a second UA miscue combined to set the Zips back 24-0 with 14:52 to play in the first half.
Akron junior CB Kris Givens brought an end to the Herd's offensive momentum by picking up his first career interception, but the Zips were unable to convert it into a scoring drive following a fourth-down interception in the end zone with 10:16 left in the first half.
The Zips got on the board in the second quarter when senior PK Robert Stein put one through the uprights from 24 yards out to trail 31-3 at the intermission.
Midway through the fourth quarter, redshirt freshman RB Manny Morgan marched 11 yards into the endzone, topping off a nine-play drive for his first career TD, to help the Zips cut the deficit to 41-10.
Woodson then hit sophomore WR Mykel Traylor-Bennett in the endzone with a 24-yard strike with 1:36 left to play for the final score of the game (48-17).
Akron concludes non-conference play on Saturday, Sept. 27, when the squad travels to Heinz Field to face Pittsburgh. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN3.
Buffalo 36, Norfolk State 7
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. - There were a lot of questions surrounding the play of the University at Buffalo's defense in the past few games. The Bulls defense silenced their critics will a dominant 36-7 victory over Norfolk State on Saturday afternoon at UB Stadium.
The Bulls held Norfolk State to 215 yards of total offense, including 99 passing yards on just three completions. The three completions were the fewest by an opponent in UB's FBS era (since 1999). Adam Redden was just one of the many standouts on defense with six tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a forced fumble.
Norfolk State's lone touchdown came on a 68-yard pass play with 10:15 left in the first quarter. The UB defense held the Spartans to negative one yard of total offense the rest of the half to really set the tone.
"Overall, a solid performance," head coach Jeff Quinn said of his defense. "There was just that one early play that gave them seven points, but overall, I thought we had a very solid plan and the kids executed extremely well."
The Bulls got on the board first, in historic fashion, when Joe Licata connected with Devon Hughes on a 92-yard touchdown reception. It was the longest touchdown pass in school history, surpassing the 91-yard touchdown from Mark Taylor to Jamie Gasparre against Hofstra in 1996.
Following the Norfolk State touchdown to tie the game, Licata connected with Hughes again. The nine-yard touchdown grab gave the Bulls the lead for good.
Licata's third touchdown of the game came with 8:44 left in the second quarter when the junior signal-caller made a perfect back shoulder throw to Ron Willoughby from three yards out to give the Bulls a 20-7 lead. A 39-yard field goal by Patrick Clarke in the final seconds of the half gave the Bulls a 23-7 lead at halftime.
For the Bulls' fourth touchdown, Licata ran it in from the one-yard line. UB's final touchdown came with 9:40 left in the game when Tony Daniel, who came in to spell Licata once the game was out of hand, connected with Willoughby on a 17-yard touchdown. It was a tremendous catch by Willoughby who was able to get one foot down in the end zone before being pushed out of bounds.
Licata finished the game throwing for 229 yards and three touchdowns in blustery conditions that made it difficult to throw. He tied Cliff Scott (1991-94) for third in school history with 43 career touchdown passes.
Hughes was his favorite target as the senior wide receiver had five catches for a career-best 120 yards and two touchdowns. Willoughby had four catches for 64 yards and a pair of touchdowns as well.
Another Taylor led UB's rushing attack with a season-high 116 yards. As a team, the Bulls rushed for 169 yards in the game.
Boise Ross, playing in just his second game at cornerback, had five tackles as did junior linebacker Nick Gilbo. Gilbo added 1.5 tackles for loss. Max Perisse had the best game of his young career, finishing with four tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. As a team, UB had 10 tackles for loss and three sacks.
"I'm really proud of our defense – holding a team to three completions is really a significant accomplishment, head coach Jeff Quinn said. "I think also our run defense at times showed up and that certainly was important. We put some pressure on their quarterback and I thought overall our defense made a bigtime statement late in the game when they were going down and we were able to stop them – not only stop them, but take the ball away."
The Bulls open Mid-American Conference play next Saturday against Miami (OH) at UB Stadium.
Kansas 24, Central Michigan 10
Box Score
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Kansas pulled away for a 24-10 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday after Montell Cozart threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Justin McCay to break a fourth-quarter tie.
Martez Walker had 56 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Chippewas (2-2), who were trying to start 2-0 on the road for the first time since 1985. They won at Purdue on Sept. 6.
Tony Pierson ran 74 yards for a touchdown on the game's opening play, and Cozart added a 30-yard touchdown pass to Corey Avery with about 2 minutes remaining to seal the win.
Cozart finished with 226 yards passing for the Jayhawks (2-1), a big part coming on the toss to McCay with 13:23 remaining. The third-down throw was caught underneath the coverage, and McCay slipped the grasp of safety Dennis Nalor and scooted untouched the rest of the way.
Cooper Rush added 178 yards passing, but he was unable to march Central Michigan downfield when the outcome was still in the question. After Kansas had regained the lead, Rush was sacked on third down to end one drive and threw short of the first-down marker to end the next two.
JaCorey Shepherd picked Rush off in the final minutes, allowing Kansas to run out the clock.
The victory may have been a crucial one for embattled Kansas coach Charlie Weis. The Jayhawks were routed 41-3 by Duke last week, and Weis is trying to prove he's made enough progress in two-plus years in charge to warrant the rest of his five-year contract.
It was just Weis's third win over a Football Bowl Subdivision school.
After failing to reach the end zone last week, the Jayhawks needed all of 18 seconds to accomplish the feat Saturday. Pierson took a handoff out of the shotgun, glided to his left and hit a crease, running untouched the rest of the way for the score.
It was the first touchdown for Kansas since the 10:17 mark of the third quarter of its opener against Southeast Missouri State, and only the fifth scored in the Jayhawks' first 10 quarters this season.
After that, the Jayhawks managed 95 yards on 33 plays the rest of the first half.
Playing without its top running back, Thomas Rawls, due to a suspension, Central Michigan fared little better with the ball. Rush was under constant pressure, a quartet of runners found no room to move and punter Ron Coluzzi started to wear out his foot.
The Chippewas' Brian Eavey hit a 37-yard field goal to make it 7-3 at halftime, and Matt Wyman connected from 27 yards for Kansas early in the second half.
Walker, who did not have a carry in the first half, finally sparked Central Michigan early in the third quarter. The sophomore carried six times on a tying touchdown drive, barreling over All-Big 12 linebacker Ben Heeney on the way to the end zone.
Kansas buckled down on defense, though. And when Cozart hit McCay to regain the lead, a sparse crowd, made sparser by a 27-minute weather delay, finally exhaled.
Story courtesy of the Associated Press
Penn State 48, UMass 7
Box Score
Postgame Notes
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - A four-touchdown second quarter gave Penn State a 34-0 lead at halftime as the Nittany Lions went on to defeat the UMass football team 48-7 on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium. Penn State ran for a season-high 228 yards improving to 4-0 this season.
The Minutemen (0-4) will open Mid-American Conference play next Saturday against Bowling Green (3 PM, ESPN3). The Homecoming match-up will be the first game back in renovated McGuirk Stadium since the Minutemen last played in their campus facility in 2011.
Penn State's Christian Hackenberg threw for 179 yards, while a trio of tailbacks scored touchdowns. Bill Belton scored a pair of rushing touchdowns as did Zach Zwinak. Akeel Lynch also posted a rushing touchdown with a team-high 81 yards.
Marken Michel led the UMass offense with 104 yards receiving on six catches. Tajae Sharpe scored the Minutemen's lone touchdown on a 77-yard catch-and-run from Blake Frohnapfel to finish with 99-yards receiving. Frohnapfel finished the game with 263 yards after going 17-for-33 through the air.
After holding the Nittany Lions to a pair of 40-plus yard field goals in the first quarter, UMass was unable to keep Penn State out of the end zone in the second quarter. Bill Belton scored a 24-yard touchdown nearly five minutes into the second quarter and then added a second with 8:48 to go giving PSU a 20-0 lead.
Zach Zwinak added a five-yard score and a one-yard score in the final four minutes of the half making the lead 34-0 at the intermission.
UMass started the game by forcing a Penn State three-and-out on defense before mounting a seven-play, 41-yard drive on its first possession. The Minutemen came away empty-handed, however, as Matthew Wylie's first career field goal attempt went just wide.
The Minutemen started the second quarter with momentum but an 11-play, 44-yard drive was halted on a fourth down conversion at the Penn State 31-yard line when Frohnapfel's pass to the end zone just missed Jean Sifrin.
Penn State added a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 48-0 lead.
The Minutemen broke up the shutout on the first play of the fourth quarter when Frohnapfel hit Tajae Sharpe over the middle for a 77-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown.
Western Michigan 45, Murray State 14
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Western Michigan improved to 2-1 on the season, defeating Murray State, 45-14, in the Broncos’ home-opener Saturday night. It was the second straight win for the Broncos, who racked up 605 yards of total offense.
Western Michigan started fast and finished strong, and the team’s playmakers produced highlight-reel performances. A crowd of 22,226 witnessed the Bronco victory, as the University celebrated the 23rd annual CommUniverCity night. WMU’s two-game winning streak is its first since the end of the 2011 season.
WMU’s offense set the tone on the first drive of the game, marching 66 yards and taking the lead on a 17-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Zach Terrell to sophomore Corey Davis. Murray State answered with a touchdown on its first drive to briefly tie the score at 7-7, but from there it was all Broncos. Murray State’s only other score of the game was a pick-six in the third quarter.
Bronco freshman running back Jarvion Franklin did not disappoint in his debut at Waldo Stadium, tallying three touchdowns and 168 yards rushing and another 30 yards receiving. One of those touchdowns came late in the second quarter, when he broke through the line and eluded Murray State with a double spin move to put Western Michigan up 24-7 headed into the half.
Franklin has had three touchdowns and over 100-plus yards rushing in all three of Western Michigan’s games this season. He entered this weekend as the Mid-American Conference rushing leader and after Saturday night has 531 rushing yards already for the year, averaging 177 per contest.
Davis was just shy of the century mark receiving, totaling 99 yards on seven receptions, with one touchdown. Redshirt sophomore Daniel Braverman also made seven catches for 61 yards. Braverman’s biggest play of the night came on a 65-yard reverse, dancing through the Racer defense for a touchdown that made the score 31-14 in the Broncos’ favor at the end of the third quarter. The speedy Braverman finished with 125 all-purpose yards.
Terrell connected on 20 of 29 pass attempts for 228 yards and scrambled for 48 yards and one touchdown. His only real hiccup was the interception for a touchdown to begin the second half. Terrell had been flushed from the pocket and attempted to make a throw on the run, but Murray State’s T-Ray Malone stepped in front and returned the ball 71 yards for a touchdown.
The 14 points allowed by the Bronco defense was the fewest points allowed by Western Michigan under second-year head coach P.J. Fleck. Murray State managed just 305 total yards, 214 in the air and 91 on the ground. The WMU secondary was impressive, making 10 pass break-ups. Junior linebacker Grant DePalma led the team with nine tackles including two and a half for losses. Donald Celiscar and Justin Currie each had eight tackles apiece.
Western Michigan heads to Virginia Tech (2-2) next Saturday, facing the Hokies at 12:30 p.m. The game will be televised on the ACC Network and ESPN3.
Arkansas 52, NIU 14
Box Score
FAYATTEVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Razorbacks were too much for the Northern Illinois University Huskies to handle Saturday night in Fayetteville, Ark. as NIU fell to 3-1 on the season after dropping a 52-14 decision at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Arkansas' special teams and defense accounted for its first two touchdowns, and while the Huskie defense played valiantly at times and held the Razorbacks below its per rush average, they could not hold up for the 34:38 that Arkansas held the ball as UA effectively mixed the run and the pass.
NIU saw its nation-leading 17-game road winning streak come to an end and dropped its first regular season contest in 27 games, since the 2012 season opener versus Iowa.
"I give [Arkansas] a ton of credit," said NIU Head Coach Rod Carey. "They are a fine football team. They came out, made a big play in the kicking game, they didn't turn the ball over and made plays. We didn't. We'll go back, learn from this, watch the film and make good use of the bye week."
After playing on the road over the last three weeks, NIU has an open week coming up before opening a three-game homestand, and opening Mid-American Conference play, versus Kent State on October 4.
On Saturday, the Razorbacks' Korliss Marshall returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, putting the Huskies in an immediate 7-0 hole and later in the first quarter, NIU quarterback Drew Hare sacked and lost the ball. The fumble was picked up on the NIU 14 by UA's Darius Philon and returned for a touchdown.
NIU went three-and-out on its next drive and Arkansas drove 69 yards in 12 plays to score its first offensive touchdown of the game. Jonathan Williams broke four tackles to score from 15 yards out and the Razorbacks took a 21-0 lead with 21 seconds to play in the first quarter.
The Huskie defense came up with a stop on the Razorbacks' first drive of the second quarter. After Arkansas drove to the NIU 25, Marlon Moore recorded a tackle for loss on second down and an incomplete pass forced the Hogs to try a 43-yard field goal, which missed.
From there, NIU drove 74 yards in eight plays for the touchdown on its best offensive series of the game. Joel Bouagnon contributed a 25-yard run and Hare hit Aregeros Turner three times on the drive, including on the 11-yard touchdown play. It was the first career score for Turner, whose three catches in the game all came on the drive.
In addition to the 25-yard run, Bouagnon was the Huskies' leading receiver with a career high five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown - on an 11-yard screen pass in the final quarter. Bouagnon also gained 45 yards on a screen in the first quarter for his career long play. Hare completed 18-of-29 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
As a team, the Huskies were held to 123 rushing yards on 32 carries for the game.
Trailing 21-7 with 3:29 to play in the half, the Huskies could not hold off Arkansas in the final minutes of the half. The Razorbacks drove 71 yards in 10 plays and 2:40 for the touchdown. On the TD play, UA quarterback Brandon Allen was chased out of the pocket but scrambled to find Jared Cornelius in the end zone for the 10 yard score.
NIU struggled to put together anything offensively in the third quarter. Despite playing tough run defense and forcing a three-and-out on Arkansas' first series of the period, the Huskie defense could not withstand a second onslaught. With 3:34 to play in the quarter, Allen completed a 12-play, 68-yard drive with a two-yard run on the bootleg to give the Hogs a 35-7 lead.
The Huskie defense made one last stand following Tyler Wedel's rushing attempt on a fake punt fell one yard short and Arkansas got the ball on the NIU 34. As the fourth quarter started, UA faced first and goal from the NIU four-yard line. Alex Collins, who led the Hogs with 79 rushing yards, netted nothing on two carries and Sean Folliard stopped Allen for a loss to force Arkansas to kick a 21-yard field goal.
NIU then drove down the field for its second touchdown drive, using 10 plays to go 75 yards. Hare rushed for 19 yards and Stingily had a 21-yard pickup on the drive before Hare hit Bouagnon on the screen for the score. With 10:05 to play, NIU trailed 38-14.
The Huskies' onside kick attempt failed and on the first play from scrimmage, Allen hit Keon Hatcher for a 44-yard touchdown pass to make the score 45-14. Arkansas' reserves completed the scoring as Marshall, who had started the game with the kickoff return, scored on a 27-yard run.
The 52 points were the most given up by NIU since 2011, when Toledo scored 60 points in a game the Huskies won, 63-60.
Ohio 36, Idaho 24
Box Score
Postgame Notes
ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio improved to 2-2, beating Idaho by a final score of 36-24 in the 2014 home opener on Saturday (Sept. 20) in front of 25,211 at Peden Stadium.
Freshman running back A.J. Ouellette (Covington, Ohio) rumbled for 130 yards on 27 carries and found the end zone twice to pave the way to victory.
The Green & White struck first with redshirt junior quarterback Derrius Vick (Lincoln, Neb.) connecting to sophomore wide receiver Sebastian Smith (Columbus, Ohio) for a touchdown, putting the ‘Cats up 7-0 with 10:12 left in the first quarter. Smith finished with three receptions for 65 yards and a score.
The Bobcats never looked back after that score and never trailed throughout the entire contest.
Vick was injured in the first half and did not return. Redshirt sophomore quarterback JD Sprague (Cincinnati, Ohio) came on in relief of the injured Vick and went 8-13 for 167 yards and rushed for a score.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Quentin Poling (Spencerville, Ohio) capped off the night with his third interception with just under a minute to play, sealing the victory for the Green and White.
The Bobcats return to action next Saturday (Sept. 27) at home to face the Eastern Illinois Panthers. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET at Peden Stadium and can be seen on ESPN3.
Cincinnati 31, Miami 24
Box Score
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- A gritty effort by the Miami University football team — which included 364 yards of total offense, and five pass break ups and two interceptions by the defense — came up just short as the RedHawks (0-4) fell to the Cincinnati Bearcats (2-0) in the Battle for the Victory Bell on Saturday night at Paul Brown Stadium, 31-24.
Miami came out firing in the first quarter as senior quarterback Andrew Hendrix completed passes for 14 and 6 yards to sophomore wide receiver Jared Murphy and senior tight end Andrew Welch, respectively, before capping a 6-play, 48-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown strike to senior wide receiver David Frazier at the 10:59 mark of the first quarter to hand the RedHawks a quick 7-0 lead.
After the Bearcats knotted the game at 7-7 off a touchdown at 6:32 in the first, senior defensive back Quinten Rollins came up with his third interception in as many games with 2:47 to go in the first quarter at the Miami 25 yard-line to thwart the Bearcat drive. The interception set up a 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that included a 41-yard pass from Hendrix to Frazier and was punctuated with an 18-yard touchdown scamper by freshman running back Paul Moses at the 14:15 mark in the second quarter to record his first collegiate touchdown and hand Miami a 14-7 lead.
The Bearcats came back with 17 unanswered points over the final 7:52 of the opening half to carry 24-14 lead into the break.
Just 54 seconds into the second half, Miami closed the gap when Hendrix hit Frazier on a 74-yard passing touchdown on the second play of the series as the RedHawks pulled within 24-21. It was a career-long pass for Hendrix and career-long reception for Frazier. UC again pushed its lead to 10 points when the Bearcats scored on a 29-yard passing touchdown with 3:08 to go in the third quarter to put the score at 31-21.
Junior kicker Kaleb Patterson put the RedHawks within a touchdown just under two minutes into the final quarter when he inched out a 49-yard field goal to close the gap to 31-24. The RedHawks had a chance to tie score with about six minutes to go in the game, moving the ball to the Cincinnati 1-yard line for a first down, but was unable to come away with any points as the Bearcats went on to the seven-point win.
Hendrix finished with 262 yards passing, throwing for two touchdowns and completing 13-of-26 attempts with an interception. Frazier amassed a career-high 162 yards receiving on five catches. Defensively, senior defensive back Jarrell Jones led Miami with nine tackles. Rollins accumulated a career-high eight tackles, including four solo stops, and added two pass breakups and two interceptions. His second interception came just over a minute into the third quarter and included an 8-yard return.
As a team, the RedHawks were just six yards behind UC’s 370 yards of total offense and notched 102 rushing yards to the Bearcats’ 99 with a time of possession of 31:54.
Miami rounds out a three-game road stretch when the RedHawks travel to Buffalo for a 3:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 27 in the Mid-American Conference opener for the RedHawks. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Toledo 34, Ball State 23
Box Score
Postgame Notes
TOLEDO, Ohio - In a contest delayed nearly three hours due to severe weather, Toledo outlasted Ball State, 34-23, at the Glass Bowl Saturday night. The delay lasted 2:41, which meant the game did not finish until 12:42 Sunday morning.
