Recap: Miami football inches out homecoming victory against the University of Connecticut Huskies

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky above Yager Stadium. Not even a speck of white as players trickled out of their respective locker rooms for warmups. 

Footballs sailed across the mural of pure blue, and fans made their way to their seats or different festivities scattered around the complex.

The Miami University RedHawks and University of Connecticut Huskies took the field for their fourth games of the season, with the former at a 1-2 record after a heartbreaking defeat to the University of Cincinnati Bearcats at TQL Stadium, and the latter coming off a 48-20 win against Southern Mississippi University.

The Huskies entered the season with 86 new players on their roster following a coaching change in the offseason. Head Coach Jason Candle came from Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponent the University of Toledo. He signed a six-year deal with UConn in December to take over for former head coach Jim Mora.

Before the game began, RedHawks Head Coach Chuck Martin made a few lineup changes, the most notable being that redshirt junior tight end Christian Ross would not play. Redshirt freshman tight end Brendan Loftus stood in his place on the line of scrimmage.

The RedHawks won the coin toss and elected to defer, giving the Huskies the ball first. On the first play of the game, junior quarterback Kalieb Osborne found sophomore wide receiver Ryder Treadway for a 24-yard reception.

​A holding penalty and strong stop on second down put UConn at third and five, but another chunk play for 18 yards to junior wide receiver Javon Brown over the middle put the Huskies offense at the 35-yard line.

A facemask penalty moved UConn from the 30-yard line after a 5-yard run to the 15, and on second down, the Huskies converted a 7-yard pass to Brown for his second reception of the drive to go up 7-0.

The UConn defense forced a Miami three-and-out and returned on offense. After a roughing, the passer penalty put the Huskies on the 24 for third and eight, and an 11-yard completion to junior running back Cyncir Bowers Jr. gave a new set of downs. However, three downs later, what looked to be a chance for a stop for Miami turned out to be its worst nightmare.

The RedHawks on 4th and 1 appeared to have stopped any opportunity through the middle, but Osborne faked the handoff and took the ball 38 yards to the house for a touchdown. The Huskies led 14-0 with 6:23 remaining in the first quarter.

After a couple of plays stifled by the UConn defense, Miami redshirt freshman quarterback David McComb completed his first pass of the day to senior wide receiver Maleek Huggins for 20 yards and a first down. Then, freshman wide receiver Scoop Smith used his speed on the outside near the visiting sideline to evade a defender for a 9-yard reception and another first down.

With Miami now in UConn territory, the RedHawks appeared to fall into a rhythm before a stop on fourth and one at the end of the first quarter gave the Huskies the ball back up 14-0.

On the UConn drive, Miami forced a fumble it recovered, but then turned it over to the offense on what was a bizarre play. Fortunately for the home squad, the defense was able to send the UConn offense off the field on the midfield ‘M’ with a punt on 4th and 10.

With 10:54 remaining in the first half, the RedHawks looked for anything to spark momentum.

On 2nd and 6, McComb found junior Ohio State transfer Damarion Witten for a gain of 31 as he leaped behind a defender to grab the ball and sprinted down the home sideline. Then, a 5-yard Smith run, aided by an illegal horsecollar tackle, gave Miami another 17 yards, putting them on the Huskies’ 32-yard line.

The RedHawks landed another 4th-and-1 opportunity, and this time with the required yardage and more. McComb’s play-action pass was completed to redshirt sophomore receiver Braylon Isom for 16 yards. And on the subsequent play, McComb ran wide left and stretched the ball over the plane and into the pylon for a touchdown. The 10-yard run capped off an eight-play, 90-yard scoring drive, bringing the RedHawks back 14-7, with 5:56 remaining in the half.

The Huskies looked to be driving despite a subpar field position off the kickoff, but the Miami defense came up strong and forced a punt with 3:07 remaining.

Miami’s drive began on the 13-yard line, and a long ball from McComb to Smith hit off a defender’s helmet. But a 15-yard gain on a reception from redshirt junior wide receiver Lynel Billups-Williams put the RedHawks on a clean slate.

​McComb kept firing deep balls: one to Witten that hit his hands and fell out, and another that was intercepted but called back due to defensive pass interference.

After the two-minute timeout, McComb fired another ball downfield, which found the outstretched hand of the late-added starter Loftus. The one-handed grab sent him into the end zone for his first collegiate touchdown and the longest reception of his young career at 58 yards. Just like that, the RedHawks tied the game 14-14.

“I knew my number was going to be called at some point this week, and we got the look,” Loftus said. “We hadn’t thrown it all week in practice, but my coach kept telling me, ‘We’re going to come back to it, stay with it,’ and I just blacked out in the moment. I was so excited when I scored. It was a great ball by David, but I knew it was going to be a big play when he called it.”

The Huskies didn’t shy away from pushing the envelope with a minute and a half remaining. After driving down the field, UConn made it into field goal range.

Freshman kicker Jack O’Connor stepped onto the field with the ball lined up at the right hash mark. And from 46 yards, he stepped into the kick. The ball flipped continuously in the air, but it sailed wide right, keeping the game tied at 14-14 at halftime.

Miami received the ball to begin the second half, and McComb found Billups-Williams for a 14-yard reception to start the drive. McComb also found Isom for a first down on 3rd and 8 thanks to a 35-yard reception down the home sideline. And from the UConn 26-yard line, the RedHawks could not move any farther downfield.

RedHawks redshirt junior kicker Kellan McLaughlin ran onto the field looking to give Miami its first lead of the game. However, a weak kick seemed to die midflight. The ball dropped onto the crossbar of the uprights and fell backward into the endzone; no good, with the game still tied 14-14.

The Huskies went three-and-out on offense, and the RedHawks looked stagnant before McComb broke off for a 32-yard run to the UConn 44. On 3rd and 9, Isom hauled in a ball for 10 yards and another Miami first down, his third reception of the day.

Then, the passing rhythm got sweeter, with McComb scrambling right to avoid a defender and flipping a ball forward to redshirt junior running back Rodney Nelson for 23 yards down to the UConn 11-yard line.

And all it took was one attempt from McComb to register his first passing touchdown of the day to Smith, who hauled in the 11-yard pass on the left side of the end zone, his first career receiving touchdown.

“Hopefully, we keep finding ways to get Scoop the ball,” Martin said. “He’s very dangerous when he gets it, obviously. You don’t have to be a brilliant head coach to figure that out.”

The nine-play, 83-yard drive for Miami put them up 21-14 with 3:48 remaining in the third quarter, the first lead of the day for the home squad.

After a couple of stalled drives, the Huskies came back into sync.

A 53-yard completion from Osborne to UConn’s leading receiver, senior Shamar Porter, put UConn on the Miami 10-yard line. A nine-yard scramble from Osborne on 2nd and 10 brought them to the one, and with 48 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Bowers punched the ball in, and the extra point was good for a tie game once again.

From the 30-yard line, the RedHawks began its drive. A 10-yard completion to Loftus from McComb made way for an even longer reception from sophomore wide receiver Carl Jenkins, who vacuumed in a ball on the sideline for a 38-yard gain to end the third quarter with the game still tied 21-21.

With the last completion, McComb exceeded the 300-yard passing mark with two touchdowns in the air and one on the ground. It was his second career 300-plus yard day in the air. 

As the fourth quarter began, McComb dropped back for three straight passes, none of which connected with his receivers, bringing on McLaughlin once more after missing the field goal in the third quarter. 

However, the kicking woes would continue for the RedHawks. From 40 yards, McLaughlin connected with the ball poorly and sent his attempt to the left, keeping the game tied 21-21 and giving the ball to the Huskies.

“We’re not executing,” Martin said. “Kellan is an amazing kicker. He will go weeks without missing a kick. We dropped the first one last week (against Cincinnati). We got the ball down, and then Charlie Brown’d him. It’s disappointing. You come to practice, and our battery is so good. But again, it’s our snapper’s first time at this level.”

A three-and-out for the Huskies following a holding penalty that erased a major gain gave the RedHawks a chance at redemption. But after a scramble and incomplete pass, McComb planted his already-braced left leg awkwardly and left the game for the blue injury tent, bringing in senior quarterback Caleb Heavner. 

Miami was forced to punt.

With all eyes on the tent and the Miami freshman quarterback, the RedHawks defense went to work. Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Zhaiylen Scott registered Miami’s first sack of the day for a loss of 4 yards, and redshirt junior linebacker CJ Young intercepted a pass just two downs later, putting the RedHawks in good field position.

“We knew we had to get at their quarterback,” redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Brach Rice said. “We didn’t want it to be in the offense’s hands. We wanted it to be in the defense’s hands, so if we handled our job, we knew we were going to win.”

An illegal block in the back penalty put the RedHawks back 15 more yards following the interception, but a couple of well-executed run plays and a crafty play design on 4th and 1 moved the RedHawks to the 20-yard line with 5:30 remaining, still tied 21-21.

After not making much more headway down the field, the kicking unit returned to the Yager Stadium turf with a different face lined up instead of McLaughlin: freshman Brady Stidham. 

On his first collegiate field goal attempt, he knocked the ball through the uprights to give Miami a 24-21 lead.

The Huskies gained possession with three minutes remaining, and after the two-minute timeout on the 42-yard line, the UConn offense went to work.

On third down at midfield following a false start penalty, Osborne found fifth-year tight end Matt Ragan for an 11-yard reception and a first down in the middle of the field with 47 seconds remaining.

Osborne looked downfield on 1st and 10. Incomplete, but just barely. Osborne dropped back again. Incomplete. With 30 seconds left, UConn had 3rd and 10 at the Miami 38-yard line.

Once again, Osborne dropped back and appeared to have found his receiver on the visiting sideline for a 9-yard gain, but Porter was out of bounds, drawing up 4th and 10 with 25 seconds remaining.

Osborne dropped back. Miami brought pressure. Two men in red jerseys broke through the line and chased the Huskies quarterback.

He launched the ball downfield.

No receivers were in the area. A turnover on downs sealed the Miami victory, 24-21.

“Being at home is always awesome,” Martin said. “Our record here has been really, really good for a while, and it makes a difference playing at home. Everybody’s comfortable, so it was great – a great homecoming win.”

The RedHawks will begin its MAC slate next Saturday at home against the Bowling Green State University Falcons. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET at Yager Stadium on Oct. 3.