Miami Wins Sixth Straight vs. NIU
By: Jack Mueller
Six weeks ago, Miami were 1-4 after losing to Toledo on the road. After their first MAC loss, a return to the conference championship game seemed like a pipe dream. Today, the RedHawks are 6-1 in conference play and are one win away from traveling to Detroit to try and win their second straight Mid-American Conference title.
Miami defeated Northern Illinois 20-9 at Yager Stadium on Tuesday night to win their sixth straight game and set up a “win-and-get-in” game against Bowling Green in ten days. The RedHawks went into the halftime interval with a 17-3 lead after putting up over 250 yards of offense.
“That’s as good as a first half that Miami football has played.” said Head Coach Chuck Martin. “We got home with a nice victory.”
Reggie Virgil was the star of the show for the RedHawk offense. The senior receiver made the play of the night, catching a “reverse-pass” in the corner of the end-zone for a 30-yard touchdown. Virgil ended the night with four catches for 107 yards.
“My first two years were rough, but with Coach Martin and this coaching staff helping…I’m just glad I can help my teammates.” said Virgil.
On the other side of the ball, Brian Ugwu and the Miami defense dominated an NIU offense that boasted the best rushing attack in the conference. The RedHawk unit held the Huskies to just 128 rushing yards (they averaged 219 coming into the game). Ugwu was a key cog in the Miami defensive system, ending with 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.
“We had a very disciplined defense.” said Miami defensive end Corey Suttle “We did a good job holding our gaps.”
Miami’s secondary were no slouches either. Raion Strader continued to impress in the secondary as well, breaking up three passes. Eli Blakey also made an impact, picking off NIU QB Ethan Hampton with two minutes left in the second half.
“They’re getting better and better,” said Martin, referencing the early season struggles that his pass defense went through.
After both teams struggled to gain momentum on offense in the first 12 minutes of the game, the RedHawks broke the deadlock. Gabbert found Javon Tracy over the middle of the field for a 26-yard completion to bring Miami to the NIU 11-yard line. After a pass interference penalty brought the offense to the two, Dylan Downing punched through the lines and found the end zone for his first touchdown of the season.
Miami’s offense continued to roll in the second quarter, scoring on two straight drives. After a missed kick in the first quarter, Dom Dzioban bounced back, connecting on a 22-yarder to extend the RedHawk lead to double digits. Eight minutes later, Miami debuted a new play that caught the entire stadium off-guard. Brett Gabbert flipped the ball to Javon Tracy, who threw (yes, threw!) a perfect ball to Reggie Virgil in the corner of the end zone, which the senior receiver corralled for his eighth touchdown of the season.
“We had run that play in practice and Javon (Tracy) always talks about how good he can throw.” said Virgil, “I wanted to be the one to throw it, but he’s a better thrower than me.”
“Tracy came up to me and said ‘coach, when are you going to let me run the reverse pass?’ and I thought ‘that’s a heck of an idea’” said Martin “If there’s a team that doesn’t give up anything on defense and you might have to trick them, Northern Illinois is probably that team.”
After struggling with interceptions early in the season, Brett Gabbert had completed 117 straight passes without throwing an interception. That streak was broken late in the second half after Jashon Prophete jumped a route, snagging his first interception of the season with 1:45 left in the second half. NIU took advantage, scoring their first points of the night on a 47-yard field goal by Kanon Woodill, sending the visitors to the locker room down 17-3.
Both defenses opened the second half on fire. Neither team was able to score a single point in the third quarter. The Huskies held the RedHawks to just 30 yards on offense, forcing Alec Bevelheimer to punt the ball away twice. NIU began to build momentum on offense at the end of the third and to begin the fourth. It looked as if Miami had held their opponents to a third-and-long, but a roughing the passer penalty on Ugwu gave NIU the ball at the 12 yard line. The Huskies capitalized with a two yard touchdown run by Telly Johnson Jr., but a failed two point conversion kept the lead at eight.
Miami failed to respond on offense, giving the Huskies a chance to drive down the field and tie the game. That opportunity was short-lived though, as Corey Suttle burst through the NIU O-Line and forced the ball out of Hampton’s hands. Ugwu recovered the ball at the NIU 25, giving the RedHawks a chance to extend their lead. They did just that three minutes later, as Dzioban’s second field goal was good from 22 yards out.
“Before that happened I wasn’t in my gap when they got the score.” said Suttle “We don’t like being scored on but we were able to bounce back.”
Hampton was injured on the turnover, so freshman Josh Holst entered the game for the Huskies. He managed to lead NIU into scoring position, but time was not on their side. With 26 seconds left, the visitors were forced to try a field goal to bring the game within one score, hoping that following a successful kick, they would recover the onside kick. That did not come to fruition. Instead, Miami blocked the kick, securing their sixth straigh win and seventh of the season.
“It doesn’t get any easier,” said Martin looking at their next opponent, Bowling Green, “The schedule makers did us no favors.” The Falcons, like Miami, are in the hunt for a conference championship appearance. The RedHawks will have ten days to prepare, which Martin says is “huge”
“We’re exhausted, we’re beat up, we have a lot of guys that need the extra time.” said Martin, “This is the MAC Championship, this is all or nothing.”
Miami will take on the Falcons on the road next Friday at 12 E.T.