MIAMI FOOTBALL

Miami offense sputters in loss to Northwestern

Wildcat defense holds MU to pair of field goals 

By MIKE SMITH
EVANSTON, IL -- Northwestern's defense limited Miami to a net 40 yards rushing and picked off two fourth quarter passes to preserve a 13-6 win over the RedHawks Saturday at Martin Field. 
It was a defensive battle for most of the day with . . . 

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Dom Dzioban accounted for Miami's six points with two field goals. (MU Athletics)

​. . . a pair of field goals -- one by each team -- accounting for all the first half scoring. 

"It was a long battle in the first half, and it was tough and it was physical," Miami head coach Chuck Martin said.

Senior Wildcat quarterback Mike Wright, a transfer from Mississippi State, turned the tide in the second half by using his legs. His 13-yard scramble up the middle put NU in front 10-3 with 9:42 left in the third quarter. Wright added several other runs and finished with a team high 65 yards rushing. Cam Porter was right behind with 13 trips totaling 63 yards. 

Martin noted he and his staff anticipated Wright -- a former SEC track participant -- would win the Wildcat quarterback battle for Week One. "The kid is a freak athlete, but (our defense) was excited about the challenge."

After a Miami punt, Northwestern came back for more. albeit the 10-play, 77-yard drive settled for a field goal. That put the Wildcats up 13-3 with 14:45 remaining. 

"They got it done in the third quarter," Martin said of Northwestern. "We had our opportunities (but) we didn't do anything offensively in the third quarter."

Six plays into Miami's ensuing drive, a Gabbert pass over the middle sailed off the leaping receiver's hands and was picked off. 

The RedHawks defense forced a quick punt, and MU followed with one of its better drives of the day. It covered 62 yards in eight plays, but bogged down at the Wildcat seven. Dom Dzioban, who hit a 43-yard field goal earlier, came on to kick a a 26-yard try. That left MU down 13-6 with 7:28 to play. 

Wright helped Northwestern eat some clock on the next drive, ripping off a 19-yard scamper to keep the 'Cats moving. When Miami stopped the drive, NU was at the RedHawks 27. Olsen tried another field goal, but it veered left. 

Miami took over with just 2:56 remaining. Gabbert's third-down pass to Reggie Virgil for a first down was the first of four straight completions as MU reached Northwestern's 35. His next throw, however, was picked off by Robert Fitzgerald with just 57 seconds on the clock. 

"Their defense is really tough," said Martin, who also praised his own defense. "They fought their tails off . . . (and) did everything they could to put us in a position to win."

As for the Miami offense, Martin noted the RedHawks were inconsistent. "We did move the ball some on offense, but (we had) a lot of longer fields (and) . . .  we weren't very good on third down.

"We'd be physical on one run and then get beat on the next. We'd be physical on a pass play, and then we'd get beat on a pass play. We'd get up and make some catches, and then we wouldn't get open."

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NOTEBOOK
>>> The game was played on Martin field, which was recently renovated for football while Northwestern builds a replacement for historic Dyche Stadium/Ryan Field. The temporary field holds about 12,000 and is right next to Lake Michigan. Fortunately, Saturday's game was played under relatively sunny and calm conditions. "The setup was amazing," Martin observed.

>>> Gabbert completed 22 of 37, totaling 227 yards with two interceptions in his return to action after last year's leg injury. He was sacked four times. His counterpart, Wright, was not sacked and completed 18 of 30 for a total of 178 yards. 

>>> The RedHawks threw 37 passes and rushed 24 times. Redshirt junior Jordan Brunson had eight carries for 33 yards, averaging 4.1 ypc. Transfer Dylan Downing carried three times for 14 yards (4.7 ypg). However, including losses, MU averaged 1.7 ypc overall.

>>> Senior Cade McDonald led MU receivers with eight catches totaling 105 yards. Reggie Virgil and Kevin Davis combined for seven receptions and 64 yards. 

>>> Dzioban's only miss of the day was a 50-yard field goal try. He converted boots from 43 and 26. 

>>> Alec Belvelhimer punted four times, averaging 39 yards per boot with a long of 45. 

>>> Miami converted 5 of 14 third down chances. Northwestern earned firsts on 5 of 11. 

>> Brian Ugwu and Matt Salopek recovered fumbles for Miami. The latter's recovery came inside the Miami one-yard line and denied Northwestern a touchdown just before halftime. 

>>>  Martin said he respected Northwestern but was disappointed in the outcome. "We came here to win a game, and we didn't get it done. . . They made more plays than we did." 

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