Miami (Ohio) 35, Middle Tennessee St. 21
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 6, 2011
Where: Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
Temperature:
46°
Head Official:
Mark Curles
Attendance:
38168
By SportsDirect Inc.
Miami-Ohio made history with a 35-21 win over Middle Tennessee Thursday in the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
With the win, Miami-Ohio (10-4) becomes the first FBS program to win at least 10 games one year after losing at least 10 games. The RedHawks went 1-11 last season.
Austin Boucher threw two second-half touchdown passes to help Miami-Ohio prevail in a back-and-forth game. The RedHawks got two touchdown runs from Thomas Merriweather and a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown by Dayonee Nunley to end the season with their sixth straight win.
Middle Tennessee (6-7) led 14-7 after the first quarter, but never regained the lead after Merriweather tied the score at 14 early in the second quarter.
Nunley's interception return gave the RedHawks their first lead of the game at 21-14 early in the second half.
The Blue Raiders responded with a tackle-breaking 54-yard touchdown run by Phillip Tanner at the 12-minute mark of the third quarter, but couldn't overcome four interceptions by quarterback Dwight Dasher.
Boucher's hooked up with Chris Givens on a 17-yard touchdown pass late in third quarter and sealed the game with five-yard touchdown pass with 5;25 to play.
Miami-Ohio heads into next season with new coach Don Treadwell, a former Michigan State assistant. Defensive backs coach Lance Guidry acted as head coach Thursday.
Top Game Performances
Receiving
Middle Tennessee St. |
|
Miami (Ohio) |
Sancho McDonald
| Player |
Nick Harwell
|
3 |
Receptions |
7 |
43 |
Yards |
86 |
14.3 |
Avg Yards |
12.3 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary