OXFORD, Ohio – After falling behind 14-3, the Miami football team's defense turned in a dominant performance in a 34-20 victory over Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.
The RedHawks' (2-3, 1-0 Mid-American) picked up four turnovers, returning one for a score, to win their MAC opener for the third-straight season.
After forcing a Bulls' opening drive punt, the RedHawks got past midfield on their opening possession as
Jaylon Bester set the tone with a 14 yards on his first two carries. MU faced 4th-and-inches at UB's 43 and went for it. While its play was stopped short and there was a fumble recovered by Buffalo in plus territory, video review found 12 Bulls on the field and the penalty kept the RedHawks' drive alive. Facing 4th-and-7 at the UB 35, MU tried to go for it but was stopped with a sack.
Buffalo's offense surged with that fourth down stop and found the end zone three plays later as Matt Myers lofted a pass to Antonio Nunn 20 yards to the back corner of the end zone to draw first blood on the day with 7:19 left in the opening quarter.
After a pair of punts,
Maurice Thomas flipped the field with a 22-yard return into Buffalo territory. The RedHawks got a first down, but stalled at the 35. Nonetheless,
Sam Sloman put points on the board by drilling a career-long 53-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter to cut the gap to 7-3.
Miami forced a punt and got the ball near midfield, but was stopped on a 3rd-and-1 rush and ultimately punted. Buffalo scored two plays later as Jaret Patterson took a handoff 82 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-3 with 11:51 remaining in the first half.
The teams traded punts and a personal foul on Buffalo's punt allowed Miami to start in favorable field position at UB's 46. Bester picked up a first down to move MU into field goal range where it appeared it would settle for a 43-yard kick by Sloman, but a personal foul on the play kept the RedHawks new life at the Bulls' 12. Bester picked up another first down to the one and Gabbert eventually snuck it in from there to pull the Red & White within 14-10 with 6:50 left in the half.
Defensively, Miami was revved up by the score as pressure on the quarterback led to a
Mike Brown interception at the Bulls' 47. The Red & White were unable to capitalize and ultimately punted to pin UB at its five. Three players later,
Ryan McWood forced and recovered a fumble and set up MU at the UB three with a shot to take the lead. While three-straight rushes produced no yards, Sloman connected on a 21-yard field goal to make it a 14-13 game at halftime.
Miami opened the first half with a punt, but the defense took matters into its own hands three plays later. Tremendous pressure by a blitzing McWood forced a quick Myers throw that went right to Brown, who took it 25 yards to the house to put Miami on top for the first time, 20-14 with 11:46 left in the third. It marked three-straight non-kneel down possessions that Miami forced a turnover.
The Red & White scored on their next two possessions, utilizing a short field to end up scoring on a Gabbert 13-yard connection to
Jalen Walker. On the next drive, Gabbert hit
James Maye for 52-yards down field to set up a four-yard touchdown rush by Bester to make it a 34-14 Miami lead with 2:14 remaining.
Buffalo got a touchdown back on the following possession, cutting the gap to 34-20 on a Kevin Marks 39-yard touchdown rush. UB stopped MU's next drive and threatened to pull even closer. The Bulls reached the RedHawks' 13, but were unable to find the end zone on a fourth down throw with 6:38 remaining, leaving it a two-score game.
Following another Miami punt, Buffalo had one more chance to drive closer, but
Lonnie Phelps got around the corner to strip Kyle Vantrease in the midst of a sack with
Josh Maize recovering the fumble to seal the game.
Miami's defense ultimately forced four turnovers on the day to help the team prevail despite Buffalo's 398-265 advantage in total yardage. Bester paced the RedHawks on the ground with a career-best 24 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown. McWood paced the defense with nine tackles, a pair of quarterback hurries and a forced and recovered fumble.
The RedHawks are idle until Oct. 12 when they head to Western Michigan for another MAC showdown.
