Cincinnati Crowd
Jeffrey Sabo
27
Winner Cincinnati Cin 2-1 , 0-0
16
Miami (OH) MIA 0-2 , 0-0
Winner
Cincinnati Cin
2-1 , 0-0
27
Final
16
Miami (OH) MIA
0-2 , 0-0
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
Cin Cincinnati 3 7 7 10 27
MIA Miami (OH) 0 3 7 6 16

Game Recap: Football |

Cincinnati Tops Miami 27-16 for Victory Bell

OXFORD, Ohio– The Miami University football team dropped its home opener to Cincinnati 27-16 Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats won the 128th all-time Battle for the Victory Bell in front of a sellout crowd of 24,717 despite 339 passing yards by Brett Gabbert. Nathan Hawks hit field goals of 55 and 50 yards to help UC improve to 2-1 on the season, while Miami falls to 0-2.
   
 HOW IT HAPPENED
  • After the Bearcats opened the scoring with a 55-yard kick on their second drive, Miami answered back with an eight-play, 63-yard scoring drive, highlighted by a 43-yard completion from Gabbert to Cade McDonald. Dom Dzioban ultimately converted a 30-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3 early in the second quarter. 
  • Cincinnati re-took the lead with 10:37 to play in the first half, recovering a fumble at the Miami three-yard line and then throwing a touchdown pass on the next snap to make it 10-3.
  • The RedHawks grabbed momentum back before halftime, as Kobe Hilton forced a Cincinnati fumble at the goal line with 18 seconds remaining in the half to keep the visitors off the board despite a 95-yard, 16-play drive.
  • UC opened the third quarter with another long drive, leading to a one-yard touchdown run from Corey Kiner to make the score 17-3 at the 7:36 mark of the period.
  • Miami responded with a 58-yard scoring strike from Gabbert to Reggie Virgil to trim the margin to 17-10 just two minutes later. The Bearcats jumped offside on a 3rd-and-8 play to set up a key 3rd-and-3, and Virgil promptly ran past his defender on a deep post route for the RedHawks' first touchdown of the season. 
  • Cincinnati stretched the lead back to two possessions with a 65-yard touchdown run by Evan Pryor early in the fourth quarter. 
  • Gabbert marched the RedHawks 75 yards down the field in 11 plays, completing passes to six different receivers in the process, to get Miami within 24-16 with 7:57 left. McDonald capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown grab, but the ensuing two-point conversion try was no good. 
  • After Miami forced a three-and-out by UC, the RedHawks used a 51-yard connection from Gabbert to McDonald to get right back in the red zone. However, a fourth-down incompletion in the end zone ended the threat.
  • Cincinnati added a 50-yard field goal by Hawks at the one-minute mark to account for the final score.

 NOTES
  • Gabbert produced the sixth 300-yard passing game of his career and his highest yardage total through the air since Nov. 27, 2021.
  • McDonald finished with a career-high 135 receiving yards on eight catches.
  • McDonald's 51-yard and 43-yard receptions were the longest two catches of his career.
  • Virgil's 58-yard touchdown catch was his career long.
  • Silas Walters made a career-high 11 tackles.
  • Luke Evans and Andre Johnson made their first career starts for the Red and White.
  • The sellout crowd at Yager Stadium included a Miami-record student attendance of 8,469.
 
UP NEXT:
The RedHawks travel to Notre Dame on Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff in South Bend, Ind. is set for 3:30 p.m. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase from Miami - click here before the deadline (Wed., Sept 18 at 5 p.m.) to reserve yours!
 
Print Friendly Version