By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

The Miami RedHawks weren't thinking about bowl games going into their nationally televised Mid-American Conference showdown with Bowling Green Tuesday night.

It's just as well, because most of the bowl-game honchos weren't thinking about Miami - at least officially. The only two bowls with scouts on hand at sold-out Yager Stadium were the GMAC and Motor City bowls, which already have tie-ins with the MAC.

That might change in the wake of the RedHawks' convincing 33-10 win over the Falcons. After struggling through a first half marred by three turnovers, Miami dominated the second half, completely eliminating the giveaways while outscoring Bowling Green 23-3.

The RedHawks displayed for an ESPN2 national television audience a marquee-level player in junior quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Miami also showed off an aggressive defense that forced the Falcons into four turnovers and limited them to 343 yards, almost 200 fewer than the MAC-best 529.5 the Falcons were averaging going into the game.

"The electricity created by that game is amazing," said Mike Harris, Miami's director of media relations. "It's the only thing they're talking about on campus right now."

With the win, the RedHawks probably will jump into the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

They also should move up in the Bowl Championship Series rankings after going into the game at No. 21. Bowling Green was No. 16.

"Our goal at the beginning of the season was not to be ranked in the Top 25," Roethlisberger said. "It was to win a MAC championship. We took a big step toward that, and we have another big hurdle in front of us next week."

Miami takes an eight-game winning streak into another nationally televised (ESPN2) night game at Yager Wednesday against Marshall. The Thundering Herd are one game behind the RedHawks in the MAC East Division and have a five-game winning streak in the series. They will play without injured quarterback Stan Hill.

The East Division champion travels to the home of the West Division champion to play for the MAC championship Dec. 4. Miami hasn't won a division title since the MAC split its teams in 1997. The RedHawks' last MAC championship and bowl game appearance was in 1986.

The GMAC Bowl, scheduled for Dec. 18 in Mobile, Ala., has first choice of which MAC school it invites to play the Conference USA runner up.

The GMAC also could pick a Western Athletic Conference team instead of a MAC team, but executive director Frank Modarelli described that possibility as a long shot.

If the GMAC doesn't pick the MAC champion, then that team plays a Big Ten team in Detroit's Motor City Bowl, which is scheduled for Dec. 26. That means Miami could go 11-1 in the regular season, lose in the MAC championship game and not go to a bowl.