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The Miami RedHawks finished the 2021 season with a 27-14 win over the North Texas Mean Green in the Frisco Football Classic on Thursday at Toyota Stadium to finish with a 7-6 record. It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
It was a fitting end to the season for the RedHawks, who won four of their final six regular-season games to become bowl eligible. It was also a nice bounce-back win for Miami as it fell short of winning the MAC East Division title with a 48-47 loss to Kent State on Nov. 27.
Before Thursday, Miami hadn't won a bowl game since the end of the 2010 season. It's also the team's third winning season since recording 11 winning campaigns in a row from 1995-2005.
Notable Stats
Brett Gabbert, QB, MU: 22/31 for 228 YDS, 2 TD, 0 INT
Austin Aune, QB, UNT: 15/32 for 228 YDS, 0 TD, 2 INT and 9 CAR for 28 YDS, 1 TD
Jack Sorenson, WR, MU: 7 REC for 116 YDS
Kenny Tracy, RB, MU: 14 CAR for 92 YDS, 1 TD
Damon Ward Jr., WR, UNT: 6 REC for 70 YDS
Brett Gabbert, Miami Offense Dominate
It comes as little surprise Gabbert, the brother of Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert, had an impressive evening against the Mean Green.
The sophomore completed 22-of-31 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns against zero interceptions. It was his sixth straight game with at least 200 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.
It has been quite the turnaround for Gabbert, who has upped his game over the last several weeks. Though it's worth noting the RedHawks had the best passing offense in the MAC during the regular season, having averaged 282.6 yards in the air over 12 games.
Gabbert entered Thursday's game with a 167.6 passing efficiency rating over his last five games, per Sports Reference. He also threw for 1,682 yards and 17 touchdowns against four interceptions in that span, so it should come as no surprise that he showed out against North Texas.
He made big plays when necessary, including an 11-yard strike to open up the second half to put Miami up 27-14, and didn't turn the ball over once.
It should also be mentioned that Miami entered Thursday's game with a subpar third-down conversion percentage at 38 percent, which ranked 79th in the FBS. Gabbert and Co. converted 50 percent (8-of-16) of their third downs against North Texas, which is a big reason why they won.
However, Gabbert isn't the only reason for Miami's turnaround success.
Senior wide receiver Jack Sorenson finished Thursday's game with seven catches for 116 yards. He entered with 961 yards and six touchdowns in his last seven games, a significant turnaround from the 329 yards and four scores he recorded in the team's first five games of the season.
Freshman running back Kenny Tracy was also impressive, finishing Thursday's game with 14 carries for 92 yards and one touchdown. It was his best game of the season, as his previous high was 50 rushing yards.
Mean Green's Rushing Offense Suffers Without DeAndre Torrey
North Texas' offense had been very one-dimensional during a five-game winning streak to close out the regular season. The Mean Green averaged 283 rushing yards per game in that span, largely because of DeAndre Torrey.
Torrey, who recorded 1,214 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 12 games, missed Thursday's game against Miami for unspecified reasons. However, North Texas was expected to perform well on the ground against Miami as Ikaika Ragsdale and Ayo Adeyi entered having rushed for 511 and 479 yards, respectively.
But Torrey's absence was glaring, as the North Texas offense finished with just 89 rushing yards and two rushing scores among Austin Aune, Ragsdale, Isaiah Johnson and Adeyi.
Further highlighting the team's issues on the ground, the Mean Green entered Thursday's game averaging 246.2 rushing yards per game (fourth in FBS). They didn't even come close to that mark against Miami.
In addition, the Mean Green's passing offense underperformed. Quarterback Austin Aune completed 15-of-32 passes for 228 yards and no touchdowns against two interceptions. One of those turnovers was costly, as the RedHawks charged down the field for a touchdown to go up 20-14.
The Mean Green's offensive struggles highlight how well the RedHawks defense played. Miami's rush defense entered having ranked third in the MAC, allowing just 150.7 yards per game on the ground. With that said, it explains why North Texas' rushing offense struggled.
Akron is expected to finalize the hiring of Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead following the Pac-12 championship game, according to The Athletic's Bruce Feldman.
Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports first reported the Zips identified Moorhead as their top target in their head coaching search.
Bringing the 48-year-old back to Northeast Ohio—he worked on Akron's staff from 2004 to 2008—will be a signal of intent from the school.
The Zips made a pair of bowl games under Terry Bowden in 2015 and 2017 but were unable to establish themselves as an upper-tier Group of Five program. They proceeded to take a big step backward under Tom Arth, posting a 3-27 record over the past three seasons.
Moorhead has served as an offensive coordinator for two schools routinely in the College Football Playoff discussion (Oregon and Penn State), and the former Fordham quarterback spent two years as Mississippi State's head coach with a 14-12 record and two bowl games (both losses).
The 48-year-old's hiring would be a major coup for Akron and a surprise given his profile.
Perhaps Moorhead is looking to rebuild his reputation as a head coach to put himself in the frame for a Power Five gig in a few years. Winning 10 games with the Zips would almost certainly help him achieve that aim.
The Pittsburgh native may instead be looking to emulate Frank Solich.
Solich was fired by Nebraska in 2003 despite a 58-19 record and landed on his feet at Ohio in 2005. He remained with the Mid-American Conference program for 16 years as the Bobcats became a fixture in bowl season.
While every coach wants to win championships, having long-term job security and becoming a school legend at a program outside the blue bloods can provide a different type of fulfillment.
Considering the state of Akron, Moorhead probably won't yield immediate returns even if he targets reinforcements through the transfer portal. But he should have plenty of time to get the Zips back to relevancy.
Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler made history during Saturday's 56-44 win over Buffalo.
Per ESPN's Heather Dinich, Loeffler became the first coach to be ejected from a game for receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties since the NCAA implemented the rule change in 2016.
The penalties came on back-to-back drives in the third quarter. The first was when Buffalo had the ball and was lining up for a 3rd-and-2 play from Bowling Green's 17-yard line.
The officials called Loeffler for a second penalty during a television timeout after Buffalo scored a touchdown to help cut its deficit to 28-16.
After the second penalty was called, a Bowling Green running back Terion Stewart stepped in to pull his coach away from the officials.
Per The Athletic, the official rule calls for "an automatic ejection for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for any coach or player."
Loeffler's ejection could have been bad news for Bowling Green, as he also serves as the offensive play-caller. Associate head coach Steve Morrison took over play-calling duties for the rest of the game.
Morrison seemed to push all the right buttons in his expanded role. Bowling Green scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to earn its first conference win of the season.
Loeffler is in his third season as Bowling Green's head coach. The 46-year-old has a 6-20 record with the program, including Saturday's victory.
Central Michigan quarterback John Keller is in serious condition after a shooting at an off-campus party Saturday night, per Chris Low of ESPN.
CMU President Bob Davies confirmed the news Sunday that two individuals were shot and both were students. The other student is currently in stable condition.
"Local law enforcement, led by the Isabella County Sherriff, continues to investigate the incident and is searching for the suspect or suspects involved," Davies said.
According to the Central Michigan student newspaper (via Low), a fight broke out at a party, and someone retrieved a weapon from their vehicle before returning and firing at the individuals.
Keller was initially a unranked recruit out of Canton, Ohio, before signing with Cincinnati in the 2018 class. He transferred to JUCO program Pearl River after one year before returning to the Division I level with a transfer to Central Michigan in January 2020.
He sat out last season due to the NCAA transfer rules.
University at Buffalo junior running back Jaret Patterson turned in one of the greatest rushing performances in college football history Saturday, running for 409 yards and eight touchdowns in a 70-41 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Patterson set the single-game Mid-American Conference and Buffalo records for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He also tied Illinois running back Howard Griffith for the single-game FBS rushing touchdown record and finished with the second-most rushing yards by an FBS player in a single game.
He surpassed former Wisconsin and current Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon for second place on the single-game rushing yardage list and fell just 18 yards short of matching former Oklahoma and current Cincinnati Bengals running back Samaje Perine's record of 427 yards.
Additionally, Patterson became only the second player in FBS history to rush for 300 or more yards in consecutive games, joining Ricky Williams, who accomplished the feat in 1996 for Texas.
Patterson, who entered the game with 511 yards and eight touchdowns in just three contests for the now-4-0 Bulls, padded his stats in a big way against 3-1 Kent State.
The Glendale, Maryland, native accounted for each of Buffalo's five first-half touchdowns, as he scored on runs of three, 31, 42, 49 and one yards, and also rushed for 267 yards on 18 carries in the first half:
By virtue of Patterson's dominance, UB entered the locker room with a 35-24 lead in a game that was huge in deciding which team represents the East division in the MAC title game.
With Patterson leading the way, Buffalo rushed for 293 yards in the first half and racked up 389 yards of offense.
Patterson could have stopped there, but he was far from done, as he rushed for 142 more yards and three more touchdowns in the second half.
The record-setting running back's second-half touchdowns came from seven, 11 and 58 yards out:
Patterson had a chance to break the FBS single-game rushing yardage and touchdown records on UB's final drive, but head coach Lance Leipold pulled him in favor of backup Kevin Marks, who rushed for 97 yards and two scores on the day.
Overall, UB rushed for 515 yards as a team and gained 663 total yards. It also took firm control of the MAC East and is currently in line to play for the MAC title.
While Patterson will not receive Heisman Trophy consideration since he plays in the MAC and the Bulls will play no more than seven games, it can be argued there is no better running back in college football.
Patterson will almost certainly shatter most career UB rushing records if he returns in 2021 for his senior season, though he could be one of the top backs off the board in the 2021 NFL draft.
Regardless of what the future holds for Patterson, Buffalo's success in the 2020 campaign rests solely with his legs.
Film session is not going to be much fun for Toledo's football team on Thursday. On the other hand, it'll be a riot for Western Michigan.
The Broncos (2-0) pulled off an incredible fake spike with 20 seconds left in regulation and trailing by four for the game-winning touchdown as a stunned Rockets team helplessly stood by.
Western Michigan quarterback Kaleb Eleby marched the Broncos 51 yards in four plays, reaching the Toledo 9-yard line with an 18-yard pass to D'Wayne Eskridge. With the clock running, Eleby hurried his offense to the line and motioned for a spike. Toledo bought it, never noticing Jaylen Hall take off from the line of scrimmage and become the only player on either team inside the end zone.
All Eleby needed was a soft pass to a wide-open receiver to capture the 41-38 victory.
The Broncos scored 13 straight points and recovered an onside kick with 44 seconds remaining to keep the game alive. It paid off in a massive way only moments later.
Former Central Michigan star Titus Davis died Wednesday at the age of 27.
The Detroit News' Tony Paul reported Davis had been diagnosed with renal medullary carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer, in July. The Wheaton, Illinois, native was the brother of Tennessee Titans wide receiver Corey Davis.
For two years, they were on opposing sides in college as Corey played for Western Michigan. They split their head-to-head meetings in 2013 and 2014.
Titus was a first-team All-MAC wideout as a junior and senior. He left the Chippewas as one of their greatest pass-catchers ever. He's fourth in school history in receptions (204) and first in both receiving yards (3,700) and touchdown receptions (37).
Davis' former Central Michigan teammates Miami Dolphins safety Kavon Frazier and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush mourned him:
Davis was involved in perhaps the most memorable play in program history when he found the end zone on the Chippewas' Hail Mary at the end of the 2014 Bahamas Bowl:
Davis went undrafted in 2015 and signed with the San Diego Chargers. He also enjoyed spells with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears.
Three Miami University football players have been charged with assault, criminal trespassing and/or disorderly conduct following an Oct. 3 brawl at Theta Chi fraternity in Oxford, Ohio.
Zach McAuliffe of WCPO-TV outlined the charges from the police report.
"According to the police report, student athletes James Bomba, 19, Terrell Rush, 18, and Dimitri Mitsopolous, 19, all face charges from the incident. Bomba was arrested and charged with assault and criminal trespassing, Rush, is charged with criminal trespassing and Mitsopoulous faces two counts of assault, two counts of trespassing and one count disorderly conduct."
Rush, a safety from St. Louis, has since released a statement to WLWT that he has been "cleared from any charges regarding the fight."
"I have been cleared from any charges regarding the fight, and it has been proven I was not involved. The detectives know, and I was not involved in any fight. I wasn't there. I walked up after the fact. I don't even know who was involved, but I know I wasn't. I have been wrongfully accused of the fight, and I have since then been cleared by Ohio detectives of fighting."
The three players, all of whom are freshmen, have been suspended from the RedHawks program indefinitely.
In addition, a fourth person, 18-year-old Santiago Sandri, has a criminal trespassing warrant out for his arrest, per McAuliffe. Sandri is not affiliated with Miami University.
TMZ Sports released video of the brawl, and numerous fraternity brothers and witnesses provided first-hand accounts to WLWT.
"They just started, like, throwing punches," one witness told the station regarding the alleged attackers.
The people in question were "uninvited guests" who "stormed the property" as members were sitting around a fire pit, per WLWT. One member said the fight was a "full-on ambush" and premeditated.
"They had three guys to one, just like chasing people down," the witness said. "Three people on one, beating them up and kicking them on the ground. It definitely felt like an attack because they had control of all of the area around the building."
A fraternity member spoke with WLWT as well.
"A mass of guys, and some had masks on, hoods up, gloves on, and it was just like a chaotic scene, and we went out there and we all started getting hit from like all sides."
Fraternity members told WLWT that five members were sent to the hospital, including one person who was struck in the eye with a golf club.
"He had taken a golf club to the eye, and he has a fractured orbital from it, but he's expected to recover and no surgery is needed," one member said of that reported injury.
Miami University released a statement that it is investigating the incident and that students can face university disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.
The Mid-American Conference will have a football season this fall.
Per the conference's official release, the season will consist of six conference-only games starting Nov. 4, with the MAC Championship Game taking place on Dec. 18 or 19.
Per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, the MAC is "likely" to play games on weeknights through the month of November before moving to Saturdays in December.
On Aug. 8, the MAC became the first FBS conference to announce it was postponing all fall sports due to the coronavirus pandemic.
MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher explained the decision to postpone in an interview with Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press.
"It would be naive to say that you don't give thought and consideration to what the financial ramifications of any decision are, but this was a health and well-being decision, first and foremost," Steinbrecher said. "We don't know what this will mean financially."
The MAC's vote to play football follows the Big Ten and Pac-12 recently reversing course to conduct a season this fall.
