Falcons Put the Whammy on Miami, 17-13

Saturday, October 15

Bowling Green, Ohio

12 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

3-4 , 2-1

Miami (OH)

3-4 , 1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Miami (OH)

Bowling Green

Harold Fannin Jr. scored the Falcons' first touchdown in Saturday's win

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

October 15, 2022 | Football

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BGSU defense allows just 189 total yards in come-from-behind win

By: BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University football team scored the final 10 points on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 15), rallying for a 17-13 win over Miami University in Mid-American Conference action at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.

Ta'ron Keith's 19-yard run with 11:31 left in the game gave BGSU the lead, and the Falcon defense held the RedHawks on Miami's final two offensive possessions of the game. Darren Anders stopped Miami quarterback Aveon Smith on a third-down scramble, forcing an MU punt with just over seven minutes to go.

BGSU picked up a pair of first downs, working nearly four minutes off of the clock before punting the ball back to MU. Then, Anders broke up passes on back-to-back plays before Anthony Hawkins and Walter Haire combined to stop Smith a yard short of the first-down marker on a fourth-down scramble. BGSU picked up a first down before a pair of kneel-downs ran out the clock.

Harold Fannin Jr. scored a second-quarter touchdown, and Mason Lawler hit a third-quarter field goal to get the Falcons within three points before Keith's fourth-quarter score put the home team ahead for good.

Jaison Patterson ran for a game-high 94 yards as the Falcons gained 176 yards on the ground as a team. The BGSU defense held the RedHawks to just 189 total yards (98 rushing, 91 passing) in the win.

Demetrius Hardamon had three tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks. One of those sacks resulted in a Smith fumble. As a team, BGSU has 10 tackles for loss on the afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Bowling Green won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Miami received the opening kick with the Falcons defending the south end zone.
The RedHawks' opening drive resulted in three points, as a Graham Nicholson field goal put the visitors on top with just over four minutes gone.
The teams traded punts before the Falcons drove 67 yards on a drive spanning the end of the first quarter and the start of the second. Matt McDonald completed passes for double-digit gains to Odieu Hiliare and Tyrone Broden on that drive, but on the 13th play of the possession, Yahsyn McKee intercepted a pass in the end zone to give the ball back to the RedHawks.
The Falcons responded by forcing a three-and-out, and Jake Rogers returned the ensuing punt 11 yards to the BGSU 44-yard line.
BGSU put together a second consecutive drive of over 61 yards. McDonald ran for 12 yards on a fourth-and-1 play, and the drive culminated with a one-yard rush by Harold Fannin Jr. with 7:13 left before the half.
The RedHawks scored a touchdown in the final minute of the half, as Aveon Smith ran for 16 yards before throwing a 19-yard scoring pass to Miles Marshall. MU took a 10-7 lead into the intermission.
The opening kickoff of the second half was fumbled by Bowling Green and recovered by Miami, giving the RedHawks possession at the BG 27.
On the ensuing drive, though, the Falcons held the RedHawks to seven yards on three plays, with Chris Bacon breaking up a third-down pass. Nicholson's 39-yard field goal made it a 13-7 Miami lead.
The teams exchanged punts, with BGSU taking over at the Miami 48. A 24-yard run by Fannin was followed by McDonald's 8-yard shovel pass to Christian Sims, putting BG inside the 10. The RedHawks held, and Mason Lawler's 22-yard field goal made it a three-point game with 4:44 to go in the third quarter.
The next Miami drive ended with an apocalyptic sack by Demetrius Hardamon, forcing MU quarterback Smith to fumble. Dontrez Brown recovered at the Miami 34-yard line.
McDonald completed a pass to Broden to get the Falcons inside the Miami 20, but the drive ended with a 31-yard Lawler field-goal attempt that hit the upright and bounced away.
The Falcons forced a three-and-out, taking over at their own 45-yard line with 13:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. A McDonald-to-Fannin pass picked up 17 yards, and after a CJ Lewis catch, Ta'ron Keith broke a tackle, cut left and went 19 yards for a score. Lawler's PAT made it a 17-13 Falcon lead with 11:31 to go.
On the next drive, Smith ran for a first down on a third-and-9 play to get the RedHawks just over midfield. But, several plays later, Darren Anders stopped Smith on a third-down scramble, forcing a Miami punt.
Jaison Patterson picked up a pair of first downs on the ground for the Falcons, who used several minutes of the clock before a third-down sack ended the drive. Sami Sir's punt gave the ball back to the RedHawks at the Miami 25 with 3:23 to go. After a QB rush on first down, Anders broke up passes on each of the next two plays. On fourth down, Smith scrambled up the middle, but was stopped by Walker Haire and Anthony Hawkins, short of the sticks, with 2:38 on the clock.
Two Patterson runs were followed by Miami timeouts, but on third down, Patterson went off right tackle for a six-yard gain and a first down. After another six-yard gain by Patterson, the Falcons were able to use back-to-back kneel-down plays to run out the clock.

STAT LEADERS

Jaison Patterson: 18 carries, 94 yards
Jamal Johnson: 6 carries, 31 yards
Ta'ron Keith 4 carries, 21 yards, 1 TD
Harold Fannin Jr.: 2 carries, 25 yards, 1 TD; 2 receptions, 25 yards
Tyrone Broden: 3 receptions, 42 yards
Matt McDonald: 16-of-29, 149 yards
Darren Anders: 7 tackles (4-3), 1 sack, 2 PBU
DJ Taylor: 7 tackles (2-5)
Demetrius Hardamon: 5 tackles (4-1), 2 sacks, 3 TFL, 1 FF
Walter Haire: 5 tackles (3-2), 1 sack, 1 QBH
Anthony Hawkins: 5 tackles (2-3), 1.5 TFL

GAME NOTES

Bowling Green rushed for 176 yards against Miami (OH), which is the most they have given up all year. The RedHawks entered the game No. 9 in the nation in rush defense, allowing 88.8 rushing yards per game.
BGSU held Miami (OH) under 200 yards of total offense, which is the third time the Falcons have done that to an opponent under Scot Loeffler. It was the first time since the 2019 Akron game. Bowling Green under Loeffler is 3-0 in those games.
Bowling Green allowed Miami (OH) to just 10 first downs. BGSU is 4-0 under Scot Loeffler when the opponent has 10 or fewer first downs.
BGSU held Miami (OH) to 189 yards of total offense. It is just the 11th time since 2000 (second time this season, vs. Cincinnati) that the RedHawks were held under 190 yards of total offense.
Bowling Green had four sacks, which is the fourth time this season they have notched at least four sacks.
TE Harold Fannin Jr. rushed for his second career rushing touchdown in the first half. It went for one yard. He later had a career-long 24-yard rush.

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM

"We had a great game plan. If you go and do the same old, same old versus Miami of Ohio, they're going to crush you in the run game. We did a bunch of things in the run game that we haven't done all year long." - Head Coach Scot Loeffler

UP NEXT

The Falcons will hit the road next weekend, traveling to Mount Pleasant on Saturday (Oct. 22) for a 1:00 p.m. EST kick against Central Michigan. The game will be streamed via ESPN3.