--- Facing a win or die situation, our team rose to the occasion and defeated a tough and talented Air Force squad. The story would remain much the same as we entered the final games of the season, though the conference race would get put on the back burner for one week, as we stepped outside conference play to take on the RedHawks of Miami University out of the Mid-American Conference.
This could very well be considered a tune-up game for our final two conference games, as the RedHawks entered the game with a dismal 1-8 record. The only spot that could be considered bright on their offense was their rushing game, ranked #60 in the nation with 166.9 yards/game average. Passing was meager at best, ranked #92 while putting up 211.8 yards/game, and a total offense ranked #85 with 378.7 yards/game. That much said, our offense fared even worse. We entered with the #110 overall offense, putting up just 346.6 yards/game. Our rushing offense was ranked #69 (159.7 yards/game) and our passing defense was #111 (186.9 yards/game).
On the flip side, Miami did have an actual bright spot on defense, boasting the #27 nationally ranked rushing defense (145.8 yards/game). They had a decidedly much worse passing defense at #108 (273.2 yards/game) and an overall defense ranked #82 (419.0 yards/game). Our keys to victory, simple, limit Miami’s chances on the ground and chances in the red zone and discover an offense that could beat their top 30 rushing defense. While our rushing game could most likely still find success against the RedHawks, our passing game would be almost essential today unlike the game against Air Force. Miami won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A 25 yard kickoff return by Eric McGuire gave us the ball at the 27 yard line to start the game. Matt Leierer got us started on the ground on first down with a four yard run off the right tackle, before being stood up for no gain to leave third and 6. Max Rhodes would keep us breathing as he pulled in the third down pass from Adam Powers, good for a 16 yard gain up the right sideline and a first down at the 48 yard line. Staying in the air on first down, McGuire would snag in a pass over the middle between two defenders for a 12 yard gain to move the chains to the Miami 41 yard line. Returning to the ground, Leierer was able to pick up four yards on first down, followed by a three yard rush to leave third and three. Gambling through the air on third down, Powers lined up under center, dropping back and firing a pass to tight end Jack Long, who shouldered off a tackle attempt by the outside linebacker, before outracing three defenders to the end zone for a 34 yard touchdown pass, giving us a 7-0 lead with 5:30 left in the first quarter.
Kelly Hampton returned the kickoff 20 yards for the RedHawks to start them at their 21 yard line for their first drive of the game. Charlie Slater took the handoff on first down, gaining just one yard on the play. Our defense would get horsefucked the remainder of the drive as Miami promptly went no huddle. Quarterback Eddie Wright would keep the ball on second down, rushing for 11 yards on the option keeper and a first down at the 33 yard line. Slater would then proceed to burn us on an option pitch, gaining 19 yards up the right sideline to give Miami a first down at our 47 yard line. After a three yard rush by Slater, the RedHawks would go into the air as Wright found Thad Russell for a 13 yard strike and a first down at the 31. Slater would end up going backwards on the first down carry, as our blitz was able to break through and hit him right after the handoff to leave second and 16. It wouldn’t much faze Miami as Wright came right back and hit Ryan Andrews for a 13 yard pass to set up third and three. The RedHawks wouldn’t even need the third down conversion, instead going right for the throat with a 24 yard touchdown pass from Wright to Daniel Moore up the left sideline, tying the game up at 7-7 with 3:45 remaining in the first quarter.
A 31 yard kickoff return by McGuire would get us back in action from our 33 yard line. Starting once more on the ground, Leierer took the handoff for a 5 yard gain, followed by a stuffed run for a loss of four yards, putting us right back where we began with third and 9. Going into the air on third down, the play would end in utter disaster as the pass intended for Rhodes was intercepted by outside linebacker Adam Arnold and returned 39 yards for a touchdown, giving Miami a 14-7 lead with 2:16 left in the first quarter.
A 28 yard kickoff return by McGuire put our offense back on the field once more, lining up at our 32 yard line. Beginning the drive again on the ground, Leierer could only pick up two yards on the first down carry. Putting Powers right back in the saddle on second down, we headed into the air from under center, Powers hitting Long over the middle for a 16 yard gain and a first down at midfield. Despite the success through the air, we’d go right backwards as Powers was sacked for a 9 yard loss on first down, leaving us with second and 19. This time around, Powers would successfully complete his pass attempt to Rhodes, good for a gain of 17 yards to leave us facing third and two. Putting the ball into the hands of Leierer, he would fight his way to a three yard gain to get the first down at the Miami 39 yard line. That would be the last play as the first quarter came to an end, Miami University STUNNING the home Utah State crowd 14-7.
Opening up the second quarter at the Miami 39 yard line, Leierer got us moving on first down with a 7 yard rush, followed by a 4 yard gain to get a new set of downs at the 28 yard line. The first down handoff to Leierer on a Power O play would just send us backwards, tackled for a four yard loss on the play. Going into the air on second down, McGuire would pick up a new first down with a pass reception over the middle for an 18 yard gain to move the chains to the 14 yard line. A quick pass to Tyson Taylor out of the backfield picked up 5 yards, followed by a 6 yard rush by Leierer to set us up with first and goal at the 3 yard line. Leierer would need just one play to punch it in for a three yard touchdown, tying the game up at 14-14 with 6:22 left in the second quarter.
A 23 yard kickoff return by Slater got Miami lined up from their 21 yard line. First play of the drive would be more of the same of the last drive, as Wright kept the ball on an option keeper and torched our defense up the right sideline for a 23 yard gain, giving the RedHawks a first down at the 44 yard line. Thankfully our defense would find a backbone from that play on, stopping Slater on first down for a negative one yard rush, followed by a gain of just one yard on second down to leave Miami with third and 10. Wright would go into the air on third down and tried to hit Slater over the middle, but a timely knock down by the middle linebacker would bring the drive to a mercifully uneventful end. No return by McGuire on the 36 yard punt left us at our 20 yard line.
Lining up at the 20 yard line after the punt, we came right at the Miami defense this time around, as Powers dropped back from under center before firing off a pass to Long for an 18 yard gain up the middle and a quick first down at the 38 yard line. Dropping into the shotgun on the next play, Powers connected with McGuire for a gain of 17 yards, moving the chains to the Miami 45 yard line. We’d keep it going as Powers found Rhodes for a 13 yard completion, giving us our third first down in as many plays, this time from the Miami 33 yard line. Unfortunately the drive would come crashing to an end on first down as Powers tried to hit tight end Cedric McKinney over the middle, only to be intercepted by safety Chris Jacobs, giving Miami the ball at their 24 yard line.
Slater would get the RedHawks started this drive, and it would again be an ugly start for our defense, as he burned us for a 17 yard rush and a quick first down at the 41 yard line. We’d limit Slater to just a single yard gain on the next first down carry, followed by a one yard loss to leave Miami facing third and 10. We nearly got burned through the air on third down as Wright found an open Tyler Hollis over the middle, but one of our linebacker was able to collapse down on Hollis from coverage and tackle him for just a 7 yard gain, leaving Miami punting on fourth and three. Or rather we thought they were punting. Miami ran a fake punt, the snap going to fullback Anthony Lawrence, who would have had the first down without question if not for the raw strength of outside linebacker Casey Hunter, who singlehandedly brought down Lawrence to stop the conversion and force the turnover on downs at the Miami 49 yard line, one yard short of the first down marker.
Lining up after the turnover on downs, we opted to start this drive on the ground, as Leierer took the first down handoff for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush to get the first down. Leierer would keep plugging away on the ground with a 5 yard rush, followed by a 5 yard carry by Taylor to pick up the first down at the 28 yard line. Taking our chances once more through the air on first down, Powers was able to get back in the saddle with a 13 yard completion to Rhodes, moving the chains to the 15 yard line. A quick pass from under center was completed to Long for a 7 yard gain, after which a three yard run by Leierer left us just short of the first down, facing third and inches. We were forced to burn our first timeout to stop the clock with 51 seconds remaining. Leierer would take the third handoff and plow straight forward for a 5 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the one yard line. Letting the clock tick away after the conversion, Leierer would take the first down handoff and plow into the end zone for a one yard touchdown, giving us a 21-14 lead with 30 seconds left until halftime.
A 22 yard kickoff return by Hampton gave Miami the ball at their 24 yard line with just 26 seconds to go. A first down screen pass to Slater would pick up 8 yards, leaving Miami with second and two, but just 21 seconds remaining as the play went for a low gain and chewed up valuable seconds. Further more seconds were wasted as Wright was forced to throw the second down pass attempt away to avoid a sack, leaving third down and only 16 seconds, Miami stalled on their 31 yard line. Defensive tackle Lance Nash would put the proverbial stake in the heart of the RedHawks drive, sacking Wright for a 9 yard loss to leave fourth and 11 with just 10 seconds left. Miami would line up in the punt formation but would just let the clock expire without snapping the ball, sending us into halftime with a 21-14 lead.
Opening up the second half, Hampton returned the kickoff 22 yard to give Miami the ball at their 21 yard line to begin the third quarter. Once again we would get absolutely torched on first down as Wright kept the ball on the option keeper, found a gap, broke a tackle, and burned our asses for a 48 yard rush, giving Miami a new set of downs at our 31 yard line. Our defense would find an answer on the next play, tackling Wright in the backfield for a two yard loss to leave second and 12. A two yard rush by Hollis left Miami looking at third and 10. Our defense would finally answer back on third down, as cornerback Leonard Hart intercepted the third down pass intended for Tavares Chase at our 8 yard line, returning it 20 yards to the 28 yard line.
Lining up after the interception, this was the drive our offense had to make a statement on. It wouldn’t be much of a statement to start as Leierer was dragged down from behind on the first down handoff, picking up only two yards. An 11 yard second down completion to Rhodes would get the first down at the 41 yard line and keep us moving down the field. A four yard rush by Leierer was followed by a 5 yard gain, leaving third and one just on the other side of midfield. Taylor would get the job done and then some with a 7 yard rush, good for a first down at the Miami 43 yard line. We’d continue plugging away on first down, but Taylor was only able to manage a single yard on the carry. Coming out in the shotgun on second down, Powers found McGuire on a slant route and completed the pass for a 12 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 29 yard line. Leierer tried to get us moving again on the ground on frist down, but he was quickly stopped for no gain on the play. Fullback Walter Johnson would get in on the action on second down, pulling in a quick short pass from Powers for a 7 yard gain, leaving us with third and three. We would leave the drive in the hands of Leierer, who would not let us down, gaining 6 yards on the third down play to pick up a first down at the 17 yard line. Miami’s defense started to show signs of wear and tear, as they left a giant gap open up the middle, allowing Leierer to rush for an 8 yard gain, followed by a four yard rush by Taylor to give us first and goal at the four yard line. Leierer would need just one try to find the end zone yet again, punching it in for a four yard touchdown. Instead of kicking the extra point, Miami would opt to challenge the touchdown call. We would get completely screwed over by the replay system, as they only reviewed the end of the run when Leierer got tackled short of the goal line. They didn’t bother to review the part of the play just before that when Leierer got the ball over the goal line before being pushed back and tackled inside the one yard line. So instead of celebrating a 14 point lead, we had to try again for a touchdown that was stolen from us by the replay system. Lining up on second and goal from inside the one yard line, Leierer would leave NO DOUBT this time, driving all the way into the end zone to give us a 28-14 lead with 2:10 left in the third quarter.
A 23 yard kickoff return by Slater gave Miami the ball at their 25 yard line. Miami would never have a chance on first down as Wright tried to keep the ball on the option keeper, only be to instantly tackled in the backfield for a 5 yard loss, putting Miami in a quick hole on second and 15. A second down pass intended for Slater, broken up by defensive end Caleb McBride, would leave the RedHawks facing third and very long. A third down screen pass to Slater would send Miami backwards even further, the play resulting in a one yard loss to force Miami to punt the ball away on fourth and 16. A 6 yard return by McGuire on the very short 32 yard punt gave us the ball starting at the Miami 46 yard line.
Starting our next drive inside Miami’s territory, Leierer got us off and running with a 6 yard carry, followed by an 8 yard rush by Taylor to get a first down at the 33 yard line. Taking a shot through the air on first down, Powers connected with McGuire for a 12 yard gain, moving the chains to the 20 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down intended for Benjamin Silva, Powers would find Rhodes for a 10 yard completion, giving us a first down at the 10 yard line. Powers tried to go right back to Rhodes on the next play, but the pass was broken up, leaving us with second down. Powers would try to hit Dre Martin over the middle on second down, but he overthrew the pass and it sailed out of the end zone, leaving third down. The third down pass attempt intended for Johnson would likewise be broken up, forcing us to settle for a field goal on fourth and 10. The 27 yard field goal by Doug Marcus was good as time expired on the third quarter, sending into the quarter break with a 31-14 lead.
Opening up the fourth quarter, a 26 yard kickoff return by Slater gave Miami the ball at their 28 yard line. Miami would try to go into the air on first down, but the drive would come to a one play conclusion, as the pass from Wright intended for Jamaal Carter was intercepted by cornerback Buck Castillo, giving us possession at the Miami 41 yard line.
Lining up on first down at the 41 yard line, we tried to go for the jugular on first down, but the pass from Powers intended for Rhodes was broken up, leaving second down. McGuire would get us moving on second down, as he pulled in a pass from Powers for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 27, followed by an 11 yard pass to Rhodes to move the ball to the 16 yard line. Silva would pull down a first down pass from Powers for a 7 yard gain, leaving us second and three, upon which Rhodes would snag a pass from Powers for a 9 yard gain to give us first and goal at the one yard line. Taylor would finish off the drive on the next play with a one yard touchdown rush, increasing our lead to 38-14 with 7:33 left in the game.
A 25 yard kickoff return by Hampton gave Miami the ball at their 26 yard line, the RedHawks trying to stop the full scale implosion since the first quarter. After two straight incomplete passes, Wright would complete a third down screen pass to Slater, but he would only manage to gain a single yard on the play, forcing Miami to punt on fourth and 9 as the implosion continued to build. A 9 yard return by McGuire on the 39 yard punt gave us the ball at our 42 yard line.
Our offense came into the field on first down, just a mere 58 yards away from another touchdown. Leierer got our drive started with a six yard dash around the left end, followed by a one yard rush to leave third and three. Going into the air on third down, Rhodes would keep us in action with a 10 yard reception. A first down pass to Martin would also be complete for an 11 yard gain, moving the chains to the Miami 30 yard line. Staying with the pass, the next two passes by Powers were both incomplete, leaving us with third and long. Powers would try to sneak a pass past the outside linebacker and into the hands of McGuire, but it would be batted down to leave fourth and 10. The 47 yard field goal attempt by Marcus was batted at the line and fell well short of the end zone, giving Miami the ball at their 30 yard line.
Taking over after the missed field goal, Miami came out passing as Wright connected with Slater on first down for a 21 yard completion along the sideline, moving the chains to our 49 yard line. Wright would follow that up with a 13 yard pass to Trey Atkins, giving Miami a first down at our 36 yard line. The drive would screech to a halt on the next play as Wright would have his pass intended for Russell intercepted by defensive end Shaun Peterson, giving us the ball at our 40 yard line with 5:09 left in the game.
Lining up after the interception, Leierer got us off on the right foot with a 9 yard rush on first down, followed by a two yard gain to move the sticks to the Miami 49 yard line. A pair of rushes by Taylor went for gains of 3 and 4 yards, leaving us with third and 3. We would pick up the first down through the air as Powers found Rhodes for a 15 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 28 yard line. A pair of three yard runs by Taylor and Silva would leave us facing third and four. Taking a chance on the ground this time, Taylor would let us down as he’d manage just a single yard to bring up fourth and three. The 38 yard field goal attempt by Marcus was yet again no good, this time finding the length but not the accuracy, going just wide of the left upright at the last moment.
Miami took over on their own 21 yard line after the failed field goal attempt. The defense would win first down as defensive tackle Ernest Sims would get to and sack Wright for a 6 yard loss. Sims would get to Wright again on second down but Wright would lose the football during the sack, ruled an incomplete pass on the play to leave third and 16. A three yard completion to Slater would bring the drive to an end as Miami punted on fourth and 13. A 6 yard return by McGuire on the 33 yard punt gave us the ball at the Miami 46 yard line.
Lining up in Miami territory after the punt, we were down to the final plays of the game as the clock wore down. A pair of rushes by Taylor would net just two yards, leaving us with third and 8. Forced into the air on third down, Rhodes would keep us moving with an 11 yard reception, giving us a first down at the Miami 34 yard line. Powers would keep the ball on first down, rushing straight up the middle for a 4 yard gain to bring up second and 6. Taylor would take over on second down, picking up 5 yards on the play, before converting third and short with a 4 yard run to give us a first down at the 23 yard line. That would be the last offensive play necessary as we would need just a simple kneel down to run out the rest of the clock to make our 38-14 victory over Miami official.
With the fourth straight win, we improve to 8-2, 5-1 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Miami University drops to 1-9, 1-7 in Mid-American Conference play. Up next, it’s on the road for the final time this season, as Utah State travels to UNLV. The Rebels enter the game at 4-5, 3-3 in Mountain West action. UNLV opened their season with a 42-3 drubbing from #22 UCLA, but followed it up with a 38-21 win at Troy. Things took a downturn from there as UNLV went on a three game losing streak, losing 31-20 to Air Force, 24-19 at Boise State and 24-17 to San Jose State. They would turn things around and proceed to get on a three game winning streak, picking up a 24-20 win at Nevada, a 35-24 win against Fresno State and a 35-28 victory at Hawaii, before suffering a 35-16 setback to BYU.
Final Score
38,
14
Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Powers had his ups and downs today. He did go 25-35 for 325 yards and a touchdown, but he also had two very bad interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 112 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries, Taylor had 45 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, Silva had three yards on one rush and Powers ended with -3 yards on 3 carries. Receiving, Rhodes was the top receiver with 136 yards on 11 catches. McGuire had 84 yards on 6 catches, Long had 75 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. In all, 7 receivers caught a pass today, four receivers had double digit yards, Rhodes was the only one with double digits receptions,
Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Horrible first quarter. Got off to a very poor start as Miami had their way with the defense using the no-huddle offense. Just torched us all the way down the field for the game tying touchdown. After some changes, primarily aborting any zone defense and sticking almost exclusively to man defense with the defensive ends playing QB contain and the defensive focus on the pitch man and QB, we largely shut down the Miami offense. We still got burned a couple times through the air as our focus was more on the run than the pass, but we were able to limit the damage the rest of the way, only suffering minor setbacks rather than catastrophes. Also a big day in terms of turnovers, as CBs Hart and Castillo, along with DE Peterson all recorded interceptions today.
Utah State Kicking – A horrid day for Marcus, going 1-3 in field goal with a 27 yard kick and misses from 38 and 47 yards out, while also going 5-5 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
Team |
1st Quarter |
2nd Quarter |
3rd Quarter |
4th Quarter |
Final Score |
|
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
|
7 |
14 |
10 |
7 |
38 |
Time |
Team |
Result |
Play |
Score |
First Quarter |
5:30 |
|
Touchdown |
M. Leierer, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick) |
7-0 |
3:45 |
|
Touchdown |
D. Moore, 24 yard pass from E. Wright (M. Patterson kick) |
TIED 7-7 |
2:16 |
|
Touchdown |
A. Arnold, returned interception 39 yards (M. Patterson kick) |
14-7 |
|
Second Quarter |
6:22 |
|
Touchdown |
M. Leierer, 3 yard run (D. Marcus kick) |
TIED 14-14 |
0:30 |
|
Touchdown |
M. Leierer, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick) |
21-14 |
|
Third Quarter |
2:10 |
|
Touchdown |
M. Leierer, 5 yard run (D. Marcus kick) |
28-14 |
0:00 |
|
Field Goal |
D. Marcus, 27 yard field goal |
31-14 |
|
Fourth Quarter |
7:33 |
|
Touchdown |
T. Taylor, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick) |
38-14 |
Game Stats
Miami University |
Stat |
Utah State |
14 |
Score |
38 |
8 |
First Downs |
31 |
200 |
Total Offense |
478 |
18 - 98 - 0 |
Rushes - Yards - TD |
50 - 153 - 4 |
10 - 19 - 1 |
Comp - Att - TD |
25 - 35 - 1 |
102 |
Passing Yards |
325 |
2 |
Times Sacked |
1 |
1 - 8 (12%) |
3rd Down Conversion |
10 - 14 (71%) |
0 - 1 (0%) |
4th Down Conversion |
0 - 0 (0%) |
0 - 0 (0%) |
2-Point Conv |
0 - 0 (0%) |
0 - 0 - 0 (0%) |
Red Zone - TD - FG |
5 - 4 - 1 (100%) |
3 |
Turnovers |
2 |
0 |
Fumbles Lost |
0 |
3 |
Intercepted |
2 |
0 |
Punt Return Yards |
21 |
159 |
Kick Return Yards |
81 |
359 |
Total Yards |
580 |
4 – 35.5 |
Punts - Average |
0 - 0.0 |
0 - 0 |
Penalties |
0 - 0 |
8:10 |
Time of Possession |
27:50 |
Utah State Coach Goals
Goal |
XP Reward |
Completed |
Win a Game |
100 |
x1 |
Score a Touchdown |
25 |
x6 |
Force a Turnover |
25 |
x3 |
Pass for 250 Yards |
25 |
x1 |
Rush for 100 Yards |
25 |
x1 |
Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead |
10 |
x1 |
Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards |
50 |
x1 |
Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards |
50 |
x1 |
Pass Completion Over 50% |
30 |
x1 |
100% Red Zone Efficiency |
50 |
x1 |
14-Point Comeback Victory |
50 |
x1 |
Score 21 or More Points |
50 |
x1 |
350+ Offensive Yards |
50 |
x1 |
10+ First Downs |
50 |
x1 |
4+ 3rd Down Conversions |
25 |
x1 |
Utah State Contract Goals Update
Goal |
Expectations |
Progress |
Target Wins Per Season |
7 |
8 |
Job Security Status
100%
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