Oct. 19, 2002

Recap?|? Box Score

UB Stadium - Buffalo, NY

Team Notes

• Miami, 5-3 and 3-1 MAC, won its third consecutive road game and improved to 3-0 versus the MAC East this season. The RedHawks, who play at Toledo next Saturday, have not won four straight road games since it won the last four road outings of the 1998 campaign.

• Miami continued its recent trend of strong starts, scoring on its opening offensive possession for the third consecutive game and blanking the opposition in the first quarter for the third straight contest. Miami also scored on its first possession of the second half for the fourth straight game.

• The RedHawks led 28-0 at halftime, marking the first time in 12 games they held an opponent off the scoreboard in the first half. Last season's Oct. 27 defeat of Western Michigan was the last time.

• Miami's shutout was its first since it blanked the Bulls, 43-0, in 1999. The 49-point margin of victory was Miami's largest since a 56-0 defeat of Kent State in 1998.

• The RedHawk defense intercepted three passes and allowed a season-low 175 yards of total offense, including season-lows of 50 yards rushing and 125 yards passing.

• Miami's offense amassed 487 yards on the day, marking the third consecutive game in which it cleared 400 yards total offense. The 49 points were a season-high for the Red and White.

Individual Notes

• Junior running back Luke Clemens scored Miami's first two touchdowns on runs of 13 and 36 yards. It marked the fourth time this season that Clemens has scored multiple rushing touchdowns in a game. His 36-yard first-half TD run was Miami's longest scoring run this season.

• Clemens, who went over 1,000 career rushing yards on the day, finished the game with a team-high 98 yards on 15 carries. He has 1,097 career yards rushing.

• Senior wide receiver Jason Branch, who has four touchdown receptions in the past two games, pulled in two first-half scores to move into third place all-time at Miami with 16 career touchdown receptions. He also advanced on Miami's career reception (6th-108) and receiving yardage charts (9th-1,456), finishing the day with four receptions for 36 yards.

• Sophomore quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed three touchdown passes for the 13th multiple touchdown passing day in his 20-game old career. Roethlisberger, who completed 16-of-24 passes for 228 yards, recorded his 15th 200-yard passing day to tie Mike Bath (1997-00) for first all-time in career 200-yard passing days.

• Roethlisberger, who has 2,173 yards this season, became only the second Miami quarterback to pass for 2,000 yards in multiple seasons, matching the feat that Mike Bath (1997-00) first accomplished.

• Making his first start of the season, senior safety Paul Tripp made a career-high nine tackles, including two for losses.

• Sophomore wide receiver Michael Larkin hauled in a 39-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger in the third quarter for his sixth touchdown reception of the season. With an 11-yard reception in the third, Larkin became the fastest player in Miami history to clear 1,000 career receiving yards, achieving the feat in just 19 games-two games faster than Andy Schillinger (1984-87). He finished with three receptions for a team-high 62 yards.

• Senior linebacker Nathan Clayton, junior linebacker Terrell Jones and true freshman linebacker John Busing each intercepted Randall Secky passes in the second half for the first three interceptions by Miami linebackers this season. Clayton's and Busing's picks were the first of their careers, while Jones' was the second of his career.

• Junior running back Cal Murray, who missed three games earlier this season with a high ankle sprain, scored on a third-quarter touchdown plunge for his first touchdown since Miami's season-opening defeat of North Carolina.

• Sophomore running back Mike Smith, who finished the day with 68 yard rushing, scored on a 32-yard run in the fourth quarter. The touchdown was the first of Smith's career.