Falcons Rally for 37-29 Win over RedHawks

Saturday, October 7

Oxford, Ohio

2:30 PM

Bowling Green State University

1-5 , 1-1

Miami

2-4 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Bowling Green

Miami

Photo by: BGSU Marketing and Communications

October 07, 2017 | Football

Box Score

A 93-yard fumble return caps the scoring & gives BGSU a road W

By: OXFORD, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

OXFORD, Ohio – Brandon Harris returned a fumble 93 yards to the house to seal the first taste of victory in 2017 for the Bowling Green State University football team, as the Falcons defeated Miami University 37-29 on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 7). BGSU improves to 1-5 overall and, more importantly, 1-1 in Mid-American Conference play.

Teo Redding caught eight passes for 197 yards, including two huge scoring passes in the second half. On the first play after halftime, James Morgan hit Redding in stride with a spiral down the left sideline for a 75-yard touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter, Redding made a diving catch of a Morgan rainbow in the left corner of the end zone. That 28-yard score gave BGSU the lead for good with 12:15 to play.

However, the critical moment of the game occurred in the final two minutes. Backup quarterback Billy Bahl led Miami on a 76-yard drive over six plays to the BGSU 1, including back-to-back 27-yard completions. The RedHawks needed just a field goal to win, but a bad snap on first-and-goal was batted backwards. Brandon Harris scooped it up at his own 7-yard line and raced 93 yards for a touchdown. Down eight, Miami still had a chance to tie, but four incompletions from the BGSU 27 ended their hopes.

STAT PACK
OFFENSE
-- Teo Redding's 197 yards receiving are the most by a Falcon since Roger Lewis' 201 at Buffalo on Oct. 3, 2015.
-- BGSU's 275 rushing yards are the team's most since 346 vs Buffalo on Nov. 25, 2016. It is the fourth-highest total of the Jinks era.
-- Josh Cleveland rushed for 117 yards on 10 carries and now has 406 yards and a 5.64 average in 2017.
-- Cleveland surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for his career. He has 1,055 yards and a 6.1 career average.
-- Andrew Clair led all ball carriers with 121 yards on 16 carries. Both set new personal bests.
-- James Morgan threw three touchdown passes, his best total of 2017. He has four career games of three or more TDs; this is his first since last year at Northern Illinois.
-- Matt Wilcox, Jr. caught Morgan's first touchdown pass of the game; it was the first scoring reception of his career.
-- Grant Loy earned his first career completion on an eight-yard pass to Teo Redding in the second quarter.
-- BGSU's 505 yards of total offense are the team's most since 597 against Kent State last season and the second-highest total of the Jinks era.
-- The Falcons put up more total offense (505) against Miami than Notre Dame did last week (503).
-- Jared Wyatt earned his first career start today at wide receiver.

DEFENSE
-- Miami was only 4-for-12 on third downs today. Previously, opponents had converted 53.7 percent of third down attempts.
-- Brandon Harris' fumble return for a touchdown is the second scoring return of his career.
-- Harris' first was a 63-yard interception return in the 2016 opener at Ohio State.
-- Harris now has four career fumble recoveries to go with three interceptions.
-- Clint Stephens picked off a Gus Ragland pass in the end zone on Miami's first drive to prevent a score. It was the eighth pick of his career.
-- Stephens also had four pass break-ups, which doubles his previous game-high.
-- Armani Posey earned 16 tackles, which exceeds his personal best by five.

SPECIAL TEAMS
-- Joe Davidson punted only three times, but two of those were downed inside the Miami 20.
-- Davidson's longest of the day, a 47-yarder, was downed at the Miami 2.
-- Jake Suder made five kicks today with one field goal and four extra points.
-- Suder is now 10-for-11 on extra points and 8-for-9 on field goals in 2017.

UP NEXT
Bowling Green returns home next Saturday for what will be a critical Eastern Division showdown against the Ohio Bobcats. The contest, which will serve as the centerpiece for BGSU's 2017 Homecoming, kicks off at 3:30 p.m. at Doyt Perry Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN3. After today's action, Ohio and BGSU are tied with 1-1 conference records, both one game behind Akron (2-0).