Miami v. Buffalo, Recap

by Michael Truax
11/03/07

MIAMI DOWNS BUFFALO
The Miami RedHawks finally control their own destiny.

After defeating the University at Buffalo Bulls (4-6) on Saturday, the RedHawks (5-5) share the top spot in the Mid-American Conference East with the Bulls. Since the RedHawks won the head-to-head match on Saturday, they own the first tiebreaker if both teams finish with the same records in-conference.

Therefore, if the RedHawks win their next two games against the University of Akron and Ohio University, they will be locked into the MAC championship game at Ford Field in Detroit.

The Ohio Bobcats and Akron Zips are struggling this year, after finishing first and third in the MAC East in 2006. Ohio lost the MAC championship to Eastern Michigan last season.

On Saturday, the RedHawks lost the lead early, letting Buffalo running back James Starks run for 92 yards down the center of the field for a touchdown with 10:01 to go in the first. It was the second-longest rush in Yager Stadium history, bested by a 96-yard run by Kent State in 1996.

Miami responded two minutes later by kicking a 34-yard field goal to bring the score within four points.

Buffalo stalled after an four-minute, eight-play, 14-yard drive ended with a sack by Miami linebacker Joey Hudson on third down for a loss of 10 yards.

On the next possession, Miami would manufacture a 56-yard drive finished by a reception by running back Cory Jones for 17 yards and a touchdown.

With just under three minutes to play in the half, Miami added another touchdown on a run by true-freshman Thomas Merriweather to push the score to 17-7, Miami.

Buffalo was able to respond quickly, however. The Bulls moved the ball 70 yards in 2:27, capping the drive with a connection from quarterback Drew Willy to receiver Naam Roosevelt for a 13-yard touchdown.

With 0:24 to go in the half, Miami returner Jamal Rogers fumbled a kickoff, giving the Bulls possession deep inside Miami territory. The Bulls kicked a field goal as the period expired to tie the game.

The RedHawks responded in the third quarter with a 78-yard drive ending with Merriweather’s second touchdown of the game.

Miami forced Buffalo to punt after Joe Coniglio recorded his second sack of the day to end the drive.

Miami punt-return man Geno Harris couldn’t hold on to the ball, however, and fumbled at the RedHawk 27-yard line.

Buffalo could not take advantage of the RedHawk miscues, and lost three yards on three plays to kick a field goal to make the score 24-20, Miami.

Miami would score another touchdown in the quarter on a 6-yard Harris catch to end the drive of 83 yards.

With 2:54 to go in the game, Buffalo scored a touchdown on a 16-play, 80-yard drive. The Bulls brought the score within a field goal by successfully completing the two-point conversion.

On the next possession, Miami used only 0:22 of the clock on a three-and-out drive, with Buffalo utilizing time-outs to stop the clock.

Buffalo got the ball back with 2:27 left, down 28-31. Miami cornerback Jeff Thompson sacked Willy on the fifth play of the drive forcing a fumble, recovered by Travis Craven.

Buffalo was not able to stop Miami from running-out the clock to win the game, 31-28.

Miami ended the game with six sacks for losses of 48 yards.

Buffalo, despite the 92-yard run in the first quarter, ended the game with 103 yards rushing after figuring Miami’s 10 sacks and tackles for loss.

Cory Jones, a fifth-year senior, had the second 100-yard rushing day of his career. The first was against Syracuse University, another upstate New York program. Miami used seven different players as rushers throughout the game.

Miami quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh completed 20 of 26 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns. He completed several plays over 40 yards to keep Buffalo spread out on defense. The Miami offensive line protected Raudabaugh, who was not sacked once in the game.

“The bottom line is that Miami made more plays than we did,” said Bulls second-year coach Turner Gill. “We didn’t execute at the end, and they did.”

The RedHawks ended Buffalo’s three-game conference winning streak.

“It hurts—It’s supposed to hurt. But our boys will come back winners,” said Gill.

“We knew we were facing a good football team today,” RedHawks coach Shane Montgomery said after the game. He had said in a press conference the week before the game that “all you have to do is look at the standings” to see that the Bulls were a good team.

The RedHawk defense stopped the Bulls 10 times behind the line of scrimmage.

“We’re not a big defensive unit,” said defensive end Joe Coniglio, “But we can run.”

Coniglio said the long Starks run to begin the game was “just something to get us going.” After the 92-yard scamper, Starks averaged just 3.4 yards per carry.

The RedHawks will now turn their focus to Akron and Ohio University, their path to a possible postseason.

Last year, Miami finished 2-6 in the MAC. This year the team is 4-1 with two games left, poised to make it to the MAC championship for the first time since 2004.

As Montgomery once said, “All you have to do is look at the standings.”

GAME RECAP


DOMINANT DEFENSE
Miami leads the MAC East in score differential in conference games. Through five games, Miami has outscored its opponents by an average of 7.4 points per game. Central Michigan leads the MAC West, outscoring opponents by 18.75 points per game.

Miami is the only team in the MAC that hasn’t allowed more than 110 points in conference games. The RedHawks have allowed 92 points through five games, an average of 18.4 points per game.

Of the teams with a winning record (better than .500) in conference games, Miami is the only one that has scored fewer than 164 points in those games. Miami has scored 129.