The shutout before a Family Day crowd of 19,047 was Miami’s first since the 2007 season.
“We made them look worse than they are,” 10th-year Miami coach Chuck Martin said of Falcons.
Fifth-year junior quarterback Brett Gabbert was an efficient 15-of-18 for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Graham Nicholson added two field goals. Miami piled up 352 yards of total offense while limiting Bowling Green to 135 yards. The RedHawks held the ball for 39 minutes, 29 seconds.
“We did a good job staying ahead of the chains,” Gabbert said. “That helped us put together some long drives. We were able to run the ball efficiently. That opened up the passing game.”
The RedHawks (5-1, 2-0 MAC East Division), who’ve won five straight games since a season-opening 38-3 loss at Miami (Fla.), are scheduled to play at Western Michigan of the MAC West Division next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
Miami went into the game tied with Ohio for first place in the MAC East Division. Bowling Green (2-4, 0-2 MAC East) couldn’t maintain the momentum from its momentous 38-27 win over the Yellowackets. The Falcons were 1-for-8 on third down, while Miami was 9-of-13.
Playing on a blustery day with a persistent wind from the north, Miami received the opening kickoff and put together a methodical drive that ate up 75 yards and 11 minutes, 31 seconds. Amos completed the drive with a one-yard run with 3:29 left in the first quarter. Gabbert was 6-for-6 for 58 yards on the drive.
“That first drive set the tone for the whole game,” Martin said.
The RedHawks defense helped overcome a turnover, forcing a punt after 6-foot, 215-pound junior safety Trent Simms forced a fumble that was recovered by 6-foot, 235-pound senior middle linebacker Darren Anders with 11 minutes left in the second quarter.
Miami avoided another turnover when a Gabbert interception was overturned by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Anders. That was part of a 10-play, 82-yard drive that was extended by a pass interception penalty in the end zone, helping set up Gabbert’s two-yard touchdown pass to 6-5, 230-pound junior tight end Nate Muersch.
“You look up toward the end of the half and it’s only 7-0 and we’re dominating the game,” Martin said. “You’ve got to keep fighting those demons. That drive at the end of the half was huge.”
The touchdown pass was the 56th of Gabbert’s career, tying him with current Miami quarterbacks coach Gus Ragland on the program’s career touchdown pass list. Zac Dysert is second with 73, 11 behind Ben Roethlisberger.
The 6-foot, 210-pound Gabbert finished the first half 12-of-14 for 114 yards, leading Miami to a 14-0 advantage. He also led Miami with 33 yards on seven carries. The RedHawks possessed the ball for 20 minutes, 40 seconds to the Falcons’ 9 minutes, 20 seconds in the first half.
The Falcons got into the red zone on their first possession of the second half, but 6-2, 242-pound junior middle linebacker Ty Wise came up with a shoestring sack on third down that forced them to try a 46-yard field goal into the teeth of the fierce wind. It sailed wide right.
Gabbert broke the tie with Ragland with a 39-yard touchdown pass to 5-10, 210-pound junior running back Kenny Tracy with 3:33 left in the third quarter. Tracy was wide open down the middle and reached the end zone untouched.
Wise stopped Bowling Green’s next drive with his first career interception. The RedHawks capitalized with the 6-foot, 185-pound junior Nicholson’s career-long 52-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the third quarter.
“In my four years here, I’ve never seen a defense demand excellence like we do,” said Wise, who was impressed with the crowd. “I was telling the guys that if this is what winning feels like, we need to do it every week.”
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