Oxford, OH – The Miami Red Hawks relied on it strong defense and two touchdowns by Rashad Amos to subdue a feisty Buffalo Bulls (3-8, 3-4) team, 23-10. The Bulls almost pulled closer in the final minutes with a play that went 80 yards for naught despite crossing the goal line. As one Miami fan nearby stated, “So goes our defense, so go our Red Hawks.” For collegefootballfan.com, we attended this game at our 85th FBS venue – only 49 more to go! As a bonus, we saw the two the MAC finalists on consecutive nights. Miami (9-2, 6-1) will face Toledo (10-1, 7-0), Champions of the West at Ford Field in Detroit on December 2. Toledo defeated Miami at Yager Stadium on October 21, 21-17. Should be a good rematch.
After a scoreless first period, most noticeable was that Buffalo QB CJ Ogbonna had no capability to throw a football. He finished 0 for 2 passing on the night, and both were feeble pass attempts out of bounds to avoid rushes. They were more like flips out of bounds as opposed to actual passes. Eventually, Head Coach Maurice Linquist shuttled in Cole Snyder sporadically. It was evident that when Ogbonna set up, it was to run. It made no sense to run a two-quarterback system under these circumstances. Miami had their number. By the end of the night, the Bulls totaled 131 rushing yards and 147 passing, 80 of which as mentioned came on one play that resulted in no points.
Miami defense carries the offense
Miami’s offense didn’t fare much better on the evening. They gained 180 on the ground. Amos led with 82 yards and two scores. QB Aveon Smith connected on 9 of 16 passes for 146 yards, 123 to Javon Tracy. The Red Hawks depended on few players offensively to carry them to aid their staunch defense. The Hawk defense allowed only 10.1 points per game in their previous six Mid American Conference games. Following Kenny Tracy’s 37-yard run to the Buffalo seven, they struggled and even lost a yard to the Bulls. Miami settled for Graham Nicholson’s 25-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Later in the period, the Red Hawks drove 61 yards that saw Rashad Amos ramble around left end for a 30-yard score to increase the lead, 10-0. At that point, it looked like the night was going to be long for the Bulls. They seemed to have little offense to answer the call. However, Snyder played the entire, next series starting from the 22. He completed three passes along the way to get to the Miami 30. From there, Alex McNulty booted a 47-yard field goal. The Bulls were on the board with :02 left in the first half, down 10-3.
What a difference one night makes
Two and a half hours north of Oxford the night before, what a difference in game atmosphere. Granted, Bowling Green versus Toledo is a rivalry between two teams about 20 miles apart and the game atmosphere was lively. Both teams came in with winning records. One sign was that the Buffalo Wild Wings across the street was busy, and some fans planned to be back after the game. They left cars there and walked over to Doyt L. Perry Stadium to watch the 32-31 comeback by Toledo over Bowling Green.
This evening, I walked into the BWW in downtown Oxford. No parking lot. Found a parking space with a meter that still takes quarters. Luckily, I keep some in the car for emergencies like this. There were a couple of dozen people there. Mostly empty tables. Basically, they depend on walk-in student business. Little pre-game activity here whatsoever. Drove to Yager Stadium. No traffic. Most of the empty lots available only accepted prepaid parking. I parked beyond the stadium in the one lot taking credit cards, and walked to Yager. When I entered, I stepped into a ghost town. Speaking of ghosts, I snapped some pictures of statues of famous coaches, most who have passed on, who mentored at Miami. Famously recognized as “The Cradle of Coaches,” Miami launched the careers of many head coaches from here into both College and Pro Football Hall of Fames.
Miami fans must be holding out for the Big One
Beyond the entrance gate past the statues, there were more players, marching band members, cheerleaders, and football recruits on the playing surface than there were people in the stands. Yager Stadium looked vast, but empty. Not many wearing the blue of Buffalo. Eventually, they announced 7,561 attended. Of course, colleges report seats sold, not how many fans actually passed through the turnstiles. Had to be less than that. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of following Miami gets at Ford Field when they face Toledo. The Rocket fan base seems more excited about their winning team, and it’s much closer to Detroit. Hopefully, Miami fans show their team more support at the title game.
Buffalo’s second leading passer of the game
Miami moved the ball on its opening possession of the third to the UB 20. Nicholson put it up from there to extend the lead, 13-3. Buffalo showed a sense of urgency on their next possession. In punt formation at the Miami 49, the center snapped directly to the up-back, Tadd Barr. Th
e third team QB tossed a lob pass to Darrell Harding who took it 27 yards for a first down. Ogbonna came back in to quarterback. The Bulls stayed on the ground, and Ogbonna finally scored from the three. The Bulls surprisingly made a game of it trailing by three going into the final period, 13-10.
In the fourth, Aveon Smith connected with his favorite receiver, Javon Tracy, who caught it along the left sideline and bounced off two defenders. He raced 51 yards downfield to the UB two. Amos finished up the drive to put Miami up, 20-10. Forcing Buffalo to punt from their eight on the next possession, they started at the Bull’s 45. On a fourth and one at the 20, Amos ran it down to the ten. Buffalo allowed Miami no closer than the four. The Red Hawks settled again for a Nicholson 24-yard FG with 3:14 left.
Almost had us a new game
Looking inept at the passing game all night and with no time-outs remaining, the Bulls appeared to be finished. Shockingly though, Snyder connected on a short pass to WR Marlyn Johnson for his first reception of the game on a second and 15 from the 20. Johnson took it to the middle of the field and raced Red Hawk defenders toward the goal line. As he crossed it, he was tackled from behind by DB Michael Dowell. As he fell, the ball came out and was pounced on by a teammate before the ball went out. The officials ruled it a touchdown. They said Johnson had control of the ball before the ball came out when he hit the ground.
It’s never “official” until replay says so
Of course, the play was reviewed. Not only did Johnson not have control when he crossed, but the replay indicated the teammate who recovered had his foot out of bounds. After eighty yards on one play and a supposed six-point differential with 2:24 left on the clock, instead they turned the football over to the Hawks at their 20. Miami could not run out the clock, and their punt put the Bulls on their 36. Miami sacked Snyder and forced the fumble. Game over, 23-10. Too bad the Bulls didn’t put up the score at the end. With Miami only up by six instead, and a pending onsides kick, we’ve seen stranger things happen. It would have made this defensive struggle more exciting at the end.
Next!
Buffalo hosts Eastern Michigan (5-6, 3-4) next Tuesday to finish out 2023. EMU will have bowl eligibility to play for at least. Miami visits Ball State (3-7, 2-4) on November 25 hoping not to look beyond the Cardinals before their championship bout with Toledo in Detroit for the all the MACtion marbles. Collegefootballfan.com stays local this weekend to see Middle Tennessee (3-7, 2-4) and UTEP (3-7, 2-4) play their next to last CUSA games of 2023. Neither looks to become eligible for a bowl game.
