OXFORD, Ohio – After the defense spotted it a lead, the Miami football offense heated up in the second quarter to blow open an eventual 44-3 rout of Bowling Green on Wednesday night.

The RedHawks (6-4, 5-1 Mid-American) scored 27 points in the second quarter to maintain their grip on first place in the MAC East Division. The victory also makes Miami bowl eligible for the second-straight season and third time in four years.

Things got off to an inauspicious start as Brett Gabbert was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage after his attempt was tipped at the line. MU's defense responded after an initial five-yard BGSU gain, forcing a four-yard loss on second down. After an incomplete pass, Bowling Green went for it on 4th-and-9 and Mike Brown picked off Matt Loy's pass and took it back 76 yards for a touchdown to give the Red & White a 7-0 lead less than a minute and a half into the contest.

Miami's defense forced a quick three-and-out on the next possession and a 14-yard return by Maurice Thomas set the Red & White up with the ball at midfield. MU kept the ball on the ground for the most part and got inside the 10-yard line to the nine, but stalled there. A 27-yard field goal by Samuel Sloman salvaged points on the drive as the RedHawks held a 10-0 lead with 8:22 showing on the clock in the first.

Following two drives where it collectively lost a yard, Bowling Green began its third possession with a 53-yard rush to reach the 15. Bowling Green would not gain another first down and eventually got on the board with a 26-yard field goal by Nate Needham to cut the gap to 10-3.

After a RedHawk punt, the Falcons drove the ball into field goal range, but Needham's 42-yard bid missed wide left to leave the RedHawks still up a touchdown. The ensuing possession didn't do any favors for MU as a sack forced a fumble that BGSU recovered at the MU 16. That drive also went nowhere and Mason Lawler got a try for a 35-yard field goal that also missed as the Red & White survived to still hold a lead.

With the lead and the ball, Miami's offense finally got on track. An 11-yard gain by Davion Johnson set the tone, but Gabbert heated up through the air. The freshman connected on three-straight passes, hitting Nick Manson for 12 yards, Jack Sorenson for 19 and getting Andrew Homer up the seam for a 35-yard score to make it a 17-3 ballgame with 11:25 to go in the half.

Miami's defense set things up for a short field on the next drive as Travion Banks intercepted a pass and got it to the BGSU 48. A quick pass to Tyre Shelton gained 17 and then Gabbert threw a strike to Sorenson for 24 yards to get the ball to the Falcons' one. Two plays later, Jaylon Bester leaped over the pile for a touchdown to up the lead to 24-3.

Some big plays by the Falcons put them in plus territory as they looked to eat into their deficit with a 29-yard connection from Loy to Christian Sims getting them to the RedHawks' 27. Facing 4th-and-6 at the 23, MU forced an incomplete pass and took over. Miami's offense wasted little time going to work as Shelton moved the chains with a 17-yard rush and on the next play Gabbert went over the top to find a wide open Jalen Bester for a 60-yard touchdown.

A three-and-out by Bowling Green set up Miami in good field position and it took just one play for it to turn into points as Bester found a hole and raced 59 yards to pay dirt to give MU a commanding 37-3 lead at the half.

Miami's first-team offense engineered one more scoring drive as Gabbert hit a deep ball by connecting with James Maye for 47 yards to get into the red zone. After reaching the five on some strong runs, Gabbert hit Quentin Hardy for a five-yard touchdown to push the lead to 44-3 with 5:58 to go in the third quarter, which capped the scoring.

After being outgained 96-41 in the first quarter, Miami turned it around and had a 384-179 edge in total yards over the final three quarters for a 425-275 advantage for the game. Gabbert hit his final eight passes to finish 9-for-15 for 225 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Bester led the ground attack for Miami with 85 yards on nine carries with a pair of touchdowns.

The RedHawks return home next Wednesday for a tilt against Akron. Opening kick is at 7:30 p.m.