Miami University
Marshall University
RedHawks Suffer Third Loss, 27-21
11/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov 10, 2001
OXFORD, Ohio (AP) - Running back Brandon Carey passed for two touchdowns to lead Marshall to a 27-21 victory over Miami on Saturday.
The win gave Marshall (8-1, 7-0 Mid-American Conference) the East Division title for the fifth consecutive year. Marshall has been the MAC champion every year since rejoining the conference in 1997.
Miami (7-3, 6-1) scored first on a 15-yard run by Steve Little at 11:01 in the first quarter. But Marshall tied the game at 6:33 on a 6-yard run by Franklin Wallace and took the lead at 1:59 on a 30-yard field goal by Curtis Head.
The Thundering Herd led the rest of the way.
Both teams went in with a seven-game winning streak, and with Marshall averaging 526 yards and 38 points a game. The only loss for the Thundering Herd has been a season-opening loss to then-No.1 Florida.
Marshall went ahead 17-7 on a 37-yard pass from Carey to Denaro Marriott five minutes into the second quarter, and Carey hit quarterback Byron Leftwich with an 11-yard scoring pass in the third quarter.
Marriott had seven catches for 132 yards, and Josh Davis had nine catches for 102 yards. Wallace rushed 26 times for 91 yards.
Leftwich was 28-of-41 for 285 yards. Miami's redshirt-freshman Ben Roethlisberger was 16-of-29 for 210 yards but was held without a touchdown pass for the first time in his career.
Leftwich went into the game with three straight 400-yard passing games. Roethlisberger's 2,415 yards and 21 TD passes are the most in league history for a freshman.
Little added a 17-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He rushed 13 times for 65 yards.
Miami vs. Marshall Post-Game Quotes
November 10, 2001
Yager Stadium -- Oxford, Ohio
HEAD COACH TERRY HOEPPNER
OPENING STATEMENT: "Congratulations to Marshall. They played a great football game. They controlled the ball in the first half. Our guys played hard. They didn't give up. It was a great game, totally expected."
ON MARSHALL QUARTERBACK BYRON LEFTWICH: "He was very effective on third down conversions. He's been doing it all year."
ON MIAMI: "I'm proud of our guys. The game hinges on five, six, or seven plays. They kept drives alive. They're a championship team. But I think you saw in us a team that's on its way to being a championship team. We fought for sixty minutes but just couldn't get the stop at the end."
ON MIAMI'S PENALTIES: "Penalties are a part of the game. The wind is a part of the game. The officials are part of the game."
ON CROWD AT YAGER STADIUM: "It was a great crowd. I really want to thank them. I was disappointed for the team that we were not able to take advantage of it."
MIAMI REDSHIRT FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK BEN ROETHLISBERGER
ON LAST SCORING DRIVE: "We were just trying to get down the field as fast as we could. We were trying to get some points on the board. I thought if we could get the ball back one last time, we could score. You've got to give Marshall credit, they made the big play when they had to."
MIAMI SENIOR DEFENSIVE LINEMAN GINO DiGIANDOMENICO
ON MARSHALL'S FINAL GAME-SAVING DRIVE: "We were prepared for what they had. It came down to us not making the big play when they had to."
ON MARSHALL QUARTERBACK BYRON LEFTWHICH: "I personally missed two opportunities to bring him down. He's a big boy who's hard to bring down. That hurt us today."
