Miami (OH) Scores 34 Straight to Bury Ohio
Ohio had 381 yards to Miami (OH)'s 361, a 17-0 lead, and a 17-7 lead at the half. It lost 34-17 anyway. Fun trick, if you can pull it off.
Ohio got its points early. Riley Neer caught an 8-yard touchdown from Nick Poulos in the first quarter, Duncan Brune plunged in from the 1 early in the second, and Brack Peacock added a 22-yard field goal. Then they stopped scoring. Not slowed down, stopped. Miami (OH) answered with a Scoop Smith touchdown pass to Maleek Huggins with 1:02 left before the break, and from the 17-0 mark Miami (OH) outscored Ohio 34-0.
D'Shawntae Jones cut it to 17-14 with a 1-yard run in the third, and Brady Stidham's 36-yard field goal tied it at 17-17 early in the fourth. A second Stidham kick, from 25 yards with 3:55 left, put Miami (OH) up 20-17. Then the thing got silly. Jones broke a 48-yard touchdown run with 1:45 to go, and 20 seconds later Amariyun Knighten returned an interception 58 yards for another score. Two touchdowns in 20 seconds. Take away the pick-six and this is still a 27-17 game, but it is a lot easier to explain than a 17-point margin.
The defense did the rest. Miami (OH) piled up four sacks, and Ohio fumbled away one ball and threw that one interception. The Miami (OH) ran 33 times for 208 yards while throwing for just 153. Ohio threw for 229 and ran for 152, and still scored zero in the second half.
Miami (OH) goes to 6-4, Ohio drops to 7-3. Fantasy-wise, Jones is the story: 23.5 points, a season high, from a back who had been averaging 8.2 over his previous three.