Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

Miami drops 21st straight game

Photo by Lauren Olson
Photo by Lauren Olson

Photo by Lauren Olson, Photography Editor

Miami University couldn't stop the University at Buffalo's ground game, as the Bulls picked up 273 rushing yards to hand the RedHawks their 21st straight loss.

"Defensively was a struggle basically start to finish," head coach Chuck Martin said. "We had a very difficult time stopping the run. You give up [273] yards rushing, you can try to find how many teams have won a game in the history of football giving up [273] yards rushing, it doesn't happen very often. You don't have to look past that stat."

The team's first Mid-American Conference game had six lead changes, with Miami (0-5, 0-1 MAC) holding leads in the first, third and fourth quarters. The RedHawks were up 27-26 early in the fourth quarter, but failed to keep that lead.

"Didn't think we played bad at all," Martin said. "I thought we played very well for three quarters and two minutes. We gotta execute in the fourth quarter, which we haven't been able to do … We gotta win the fourth quarter at some point to win a game."

Buffalo (3-2, 1-0 MAC) junior Anthone Taylor did most of the damage for the Bulls, picking up 222 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries. It was a revenge game of sorts for Taylor, who wanted to go to Miami but had a scholarship offer revoked by Don Treadwell and his staff.

"I told myself if I ever got the opportunity to play against them that I'll make them regret the decision," Taylor told The UB Spectrum.

The offensive line, despite missing two starters for much of the game, had one of its better performances. But better isn't good enough for Martin.

"They were probably a little better, but they aren't close to being good enough to win a football game," Martin said. "We're measuring against putrid, where they can't run block or pass block to now occasionally they protect our quarterback. That's one of many positions that played better, but we got to continue play better there and every where else if we're ever gonna win one."

Senior Andrew Hendrix completed just 12 of 38 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns.

On scoring drives, Hendrix was an impressive 9 of 11 for 175 yards and three TDs. But on non-scoring drives, he was a woeful 3 of 27 for 63 yards.

"We need to be like 16, 17 or 18 for 38," Martin said. "We'd have 300 yards and we win the game. We didn't need that many more competitions, but we needed more than 12."

The RedHawks took plenty of shots deep throughout the game, because Buffalo's scheme was designed to stop the run.

"They load the box and basically play man coverage on the perimeter," Martin said. "At the end of the game, when I thought it was a two-minute situation, there were still eight guys in the box. I was shocked. I'm like 'they're giving us a chance.' We just throw one-on-one, make plays and we're gonna tie the game."

Miami's run game showed life, thanks in large part to a 61-yard touchdown run by senior Dawan Scott. The RedHawks finished with 133 rushing yards on 22 carries.

"A little better in the run game," Martin said. "We're a three on the scale of 1-100. But we're starting at least to be able to run the ball somewhat. Effectively at times, at least be able to manage the game better."

Scott finished the game with five carries for 69 yards and a TD, but left the game with a leg injury. Martin said in his Monday press conference that Scott's injury isn't season-ending, but he isn't sure if Scott will be able to play next week.

Miami's next chance to end its losing streak comes Saturday against the winless University of Massachusetts.