Snoop Dogg at Chuck Martin postgame interview
Jeff Sabo
43
Winner Miami (OH) MIA 9-5 , 7-1
17
Colorado State CSU 8-5 , 6-1
Winner
Miami (OH) MIA
9-5 , 7-1
43
Final
17
Colorado State CSU
8-5 , 6-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
MIA Miami (OH) 6 3 20 14 43
CSU Colorado State 3 0 7 7 17

Game Recap: Football |

Miami Rolls to 43-17 Win Over Colorado State in Arizona Bowl

TUCSON, Ariz.– The Miami University football team scored touchdowns on five of its six second-half possessions and rolled to a 43-17 win over Colorado State in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop Saturday afternoon.

Kevin Davis piled up a career-high 245 all-purpose yards and two rushing touchdowns for Miami (9-5, 7-1 MAC) and was named the game's MVP. Jordan Brunson added a pair of rushing scores for the RedHawks, who produced their largest margin of victory in a bowl game in program history. The Rams end their season at 8-5 (6-1 Mountain West).
 
   
 HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The Rams got on the board on their opening drive, converting a 21-yard field goal. Miami evened the score later in the first quarter, capitalizing after Ambe' Caldwell forced a fumble that Ty Wise recovered at the CSU 34-yard line. The RedHawks got a 34-yard field goal from Dom Dzioban to make it 3-3 with 3:35 left in the period.
  • Less than three minutes later, Miami forced a second turnover, as Adam Trick pulled in an interception to give the RedHawks excellent field position inside the red zone. Dzioban drilled a 26-yard kick to give the Red and White a 6-3 lead heading into the second quarter.
  • Miami added another three points with 12 seconds remaining in the half, as 10-yard and 14-yard runs by Davis and a 14-yard completion from Brett Gabbert to Cade McDonald helped the RedHawks move into field goal range. Dzioban came through with a 24-yard kick to make it 9-3 at halftime.
  • The RedHawks put together a textbook scoring drive out of the locker room to start the second half. 17-yard and 40-yard completions to Kam Perry moved the ball to the CSU 17-yard line, and after three quick handoffs to Davis, Miami was in the end zone. Davis' four-yard scoring run put the Red and White ahead 16-3 with 12:35 left in the third quarter.
  • Another Colorado State turnover on the Rams' first possession of the third quarter set up another Miami score. Hard hits by Kaleb Martin and Matt Salopek led to a fumble recovery by Silas Walters in CSU territory. The RedHawks' up-tempo offense got in the end zone five plays later, as Gabbert followed a 22-yard third-down completion to Jack Coldiron with a 10-yard touchdown run up the middle to make the score 22-3 at the 10:26 mark.
  • The RedHawks' defense continued to come up big, as Caldwell made a fourth-down stop at the Miami 3-yard line, and Davis raced untouched 97 yards for a touchdown on the next play to stretch the Miami margin to 29-3.
  • After CSU finally broke through for a touchdown on a 56-yard pass, Davis grabbed the momentum back for the Red and White with an 81-yard return on the ensuing kickoff. Although Miami didn't score on that possession, a Wise interception and 54-yard return to end the third quarter positioned the RedHawks within five yards of yet another touchdown. Brunson eventually carried the ball in from two yards out to give Miami a 36-10 cushion with 13:30 remaining.
  • After Colorado State trimmed the lead to 36-17 on a short touchdown run, Brunson added a 12-yard scoring burst on a third-down play with 2:22 left in the game to extend the Miami advantage to 43-17. 
 
NOTES
  • Miami earned its first bowl win since 2021 and improved to 9-7 all-time in bowl games.
  • Davis finished with a career-high 148 rushing yards.
  • Salopek finished his illustrious career with 514 career tackles, the fifth-highest total in program history.
  • Cole Weaver, Braylon Isom, Drew Terrill and Kaleb Martin all made their first career starts.
  • Isom and Josh Ringer each made their first career catches.
  • Perry led Miami with a career-high 57 receiving yards.
  • Trick's interception was the first of his career.
  • Gabbert had his first rushing touchdown since Oct. 14, 2023.
  • Dzioban finished the year with 26 made field goals, one off the school single-season record.
  • Davis' 81-yard kick return was the longest for a RedHawk since 2019.
  • Miami's previous largest margin of victory in a bowl game was 21 points in 2003 (a 49-28 win over Louisville in the GMAC Bowl)
 
UP NEXT:

This concludes Miami's 2024 season.
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version