It felt that way, however.
''This hurts as much as a league loss,'' MU coach Randy Walker said.
Miami, 6-2 overall, and 4-1 in the MAC can still play its way into the MAC Championship game by beating Toledo and Ohio U. on the road the next two weeks.
It won't be easy. Toledo beat Bowling Green 25-20 to go to 7-0 on the year. The Rockets went into Saturday's game ranked No. 24 in the country. Ohio U. is 7-1 and 5-0 and leads the MAC's East Division.
''This is a crisis point in the season for our football team,'' Walker said. ''We're coming off a disappointing loss to a huge rival, and we've got a big league game coming up.
''We have to respond. I'm sure Toledo is not going to feel sorry for us.''
Three straight
The Bearcats (6-2) clinched their third straight winning season. It is the first such streak by UC since it had four straight winning teams from 1974-77.
UC was 6-5 each of the past two years under Rick Minter.
''It means we're a program on the rise,'' linebacker Phillip Curry said. ''We have a great deal of pride in our school, our city and our program.''
He's No. 1
Curry had 15 tackles, making him the leading tackler in Bearcat history. Curry has 435 tackles, eclipsing former leader Karl Woods (UC 1977-80) who had 423.
''I'm just soaking in the win right now,'' Curry said. ''I'll think about it more when I go home and talk about it with my mom.''
Prentice's day
Miami's Travis Prentice gained 105 yards, but he lost 21 giving him a net of 85 for the day. It was only the second time this year he has been held to fewer than 100 yards.
The biggest set back was a loss of 5 yards on a fourth-and-one at UC's 16 with 2:27 to play in regulation. Had he gotten the yard, the game may have never gone to OT. v
Catching on
Miami tight end Damian Vaughn had 12 catches for 163 yards going into Saturday's game. Saturday, he caught eight balls for 78 yards. A roll-out pass to Vaughn was Miami's most reliable play all day.
''The (H-back and the tight end) are always in the game plan,'' Vaughn said. ''But today the opportunities were just there.''
New faces
Rodrick Monroe, the former UC basketball player turned tight end, caught his first career touchdown pass with a leaping, 9-yard grab in traffic.
Brent Petrus, the former backup quarterback who is now a wide receiver, replaced Cornelius Bonner (hamstring) in the lineup. Petrus caught one pass for 31 yards.
Trading places
Minter pulled a switch just before kickoff, informing tailback Daryl Royal that he would start ahead of Robert Cooper. Last Monday, Minter announced that he was benching Royal because he fumbled twice in last week's loss at Houston, but Minter instead used the ''demotion'' as a ploy to get Royal back in gear.
Royal, who rushed for 282 yards in last year's Miami game, rushed 16 times for only 14 yards Saturday, or 0.9 per carry. But he did score on a 1-yard run in the first overtime, giving UC a 31-24 lead.
Today's report
GAME STORY
WEIRDNESS KICKS IN FOR UC Paul Daugherty column
TURNOVERS KILL MIAMI
GAME STATISTICS
UC SEASON IN STORIES
This week
'THE GAME' SHOULD BE GREAT GAME Oct, 25, 1997
THE TOUCHDOWN MAN: TRAVIS PRENTICE Oct. 24, 1997
WALKER WOULD RATHER SEE UC LATER Oct. 22, 1997
Previous game reports
MIAMI 45, MARSHALL 21 Oct. 19, 1997
MIAMI 62, KENT 26 Oct. 5, 1997
MIAMI 24, VIRGINIA TECH 17 Oct. 5, 1997
MIAMI 38, ARMY 14 Sept. 28, 1997
MIAMI 49, AKRON 20 Sept. 14, 1997
BOWLING GREEN 28, MIAMI 21 Sept. 7, 1997
MIAMI 27, BALL STATE 10 Aug. 31, 1997
