Sunday, October 15, 2000
Miami 24, Bowling Green 10
Bath rebounds from rough start
By Dave Goldstein
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD — Miami averted disaster Saturday, turning in a gutsy second-half performance to beat Bowling Green 24-10 and avoid its third straight loss.
Facing a 7-0 deficit and a second half without hobbled wide receiver Sly Johnson, the RedHawks were in danger of suffering their longest Mid-American Conference losing streak since 1993. But the second half was a different story, thanks to an attitude adjustment stressed by Coach Terry Hoeppner.
“I walked around at halftime with a big smile on my face and I told the guys, "This is fun,'” Hoeppner said. “I told them to remember those tough January practices at 6 a.m. when they were preparing for this. I don't care what the score is, this is the good part, so I just told them to go out and enjoy it.”
The second half proved more enjoyable for the RedHawks, mostly because the offense got out of a brutal 30-minute rut. Quarterback Mike Bath completed 11 of 15 passes after going just 12 of 26 in the opening half.
His weak start included over- and under-throws, and prospects didn't look much brighter when Johnson, his favorite target, went down early in the second quarter with a strained quadricep. But Bath turned things around after a short benching in favor of reserve John Schacke.
“I'd been struggling, and I really needed that shot in the arm,” Bath said. “It gave me a chance to sit back, get my thoughts together and watch what was going on. It helped me in the second half.”
Bath was also helped by Hoeppner's decision to switch almost exclusively to a hurry-up offense in the second half. The no-huddle attack wore down a tired Bowling Green defense, with Miami scoring all of its points in the final 17:37.
Bath ran for a 27-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven at the end of the third, and then made a one yard plunge to give Miami its first lead, 14-10 early in the fourth. His efforts were complemented by a career day from running back Steve Lit tle.
After rushing for a meager 22 yards on 10 carries, Little finished with a career-high 149 yards on the ground, including a game-sealing 51 yard touchdown run with 1:19 left in the game.
Little's turnaround mirrored that of a team that looked capable of heading into its bye week reeling, after losing in consecutive weeks to Akron and Ball State, the recent standard-setter for futility.
Miami's defense, struggling of late, gave up a touchdown on a Bowling Green opening drive.
Bowling Green ....... 7 0 0 3—10
Miami ....... 0 0 7 17—24
BG—Pinchem 34 pass from Sahm (Knapp kick), 9:07.
Mia—Bath 27 run (Brumbergs kick), 2:37.
BG—FG Knapp 19, 14:57.
Mia—Bath 1 run (Brumbergs kick), 11:03.
Mia—FG Brumbergs 23, 8:35.
Mia—Little 51 run (Brumbergs kick), 1:19.
A—10,987.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—BG, Harris 18-103, Gibson 13-41, Clark 1-13, Fleming 1-4, Sahm 9-(minus 2). MU, Little 25-149, Bath 8-23, Goodman 1-0, McCullough 1-(minus 15), Schacke 2-(minus 16).
PASSING—BG, Sahm 15-34-2-216, Harris 1-2-0-6. MU, Bath 23-41-0-210, Schacke 1-2-0-12.
RECEIVING—BG, Bautista 7-106, Pinchem 3-56, Gerling 2-13, Gibson 1-24, Van Dam 1-9, Alexander 1-8, Durham 1-6. MU, Buxton 7-69, Tillitz 7-37, Branch 4-38, Johnson 3-43, Bilins 1-16, Little 1-12, Sullivan 1-7.
Sports Stories
DAUGHERTY: Brown embarrassed but steadfast
Spikes lost in the shadow
Who's got the edge?
Bengals-Steelers by the numbers
Players to watch
Louisville 38, UC 24
Minter wants what Louisville's got
Huggins honors Fortson, Martin
Little big man with dunk
Xavier players, fans woo recruit
Sato looks strong in intrasquad scrimmage
Reds to interview Showalter
Miami 24, Bowling Green 10