MIAMI FOOTBALL

RedHawks bounce back to overwhelm Crusaders

Miami quarterback David McComb throws one of his three touchdown passes. The redshirt freshman completed all 13 of his passes while playing just one half. (MVSmith/MRO)

By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- After absorbing a thrashing in Week One, the Miami RedHawks (1-1) dealt out a thrashing Saturday afternoon at Yager Stadium. 
Redshirt freshman quarterback David McComb completed all 13 of his passes while throwing for three touchdowns and running for another as MU defeated Holy Cross (0-3) 45-7. McComb was pulled after two quarters as Miami took a 42-0 lead to the locker room. Head Coach Chuck Martin substituted liberally in the second half. 

Lynel Billups-Williams led RedHawk receivers with four catches totaling 73 yards with one TD. Maleek Huggins (3 catches, 54 yards) and Christian Ross (3 catches, 51 yards, 1 TD) also had multiple receptions. Damarion Witten's one catch was good for a 10-yard score. 

Miami's run game, meanwhile, churned . . . 

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Scoop Smith threads his way into the secondary for a first half gain. (MVSmith/MRO)

. . . out 201 yards. D'Shawntae Jones led the way, turning seven carries into 47 yards and a touchdown. 
"When you're bigger and more physical, you should be able to run the ball, and we did," Martin noted. "I thought our backs ran hard, and I thought they were physical. I thought we finished runs and ran through a bunch of tackles, and I thought we got movement up front. But again, we've got a ways to go there."

Defensively, MU held the Crusaders to 181 yards -- 75 of which came on 9-play third quarter drive that ended on David Lynch's 15-yard TD pass to Lincoln Fisher. 

Holy Cross had just two possessions in the second half. Part of the reason was related to weather as both coaches agreed to shorten the fourth quarter by five minutes due to incoming storms. Another reason was Miami's offense, which leaned on the run after intermission. 

After receiving the second half kickoff, MU ran 10 times in a 13-play drive that finished with Kellan McLaughlin's 24-yard field goal - his first 3-point boot of the season. The drive consumed over nine minutes. 

After the Crusaders touchdown drive, Miami stayed on the ground for a seven-play drive that trimmed another 9:33 off the clock. 

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Christian Ross turns upfield on his 34-yard touchdown reception. (MVSmith/MRO)

It was a different story in the first half as MU scored on all five possession -- as well as a Crusader possession. 

McComb got it started with a 3-yard run touchdown around the left side at 9:31. He then followed with a 34-yard TD toss to Ross late in the period. "He's dynamic; he makes my job super easy," McComb said of the transfer from Memphis. "I throw him a five-yard flat route, and he runs it for 50."

After a quick Crusader three-and-out, MU took advantage of two pass interference calls to drive 58 yards. Jones covered the last two, giving Miami a 21-0 advantage. 

Three straight passes resulted in another RedHawks touchdown with 10:31 remaining. McComb's 10-yard pass to Witten put the hosts up 28-0. 

Special teams got in on the act for Miami's fifth touchdown. When Scoop Smith blocked a Crusader punt, Leo Columbi scooped up the loose ball and sprinted 23 yards down the sideline for another MU touchdown. 

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McCombs' final touchdown toss of his abbreviated day went to Billups-Williams just inside the left pylon. That gave Miami a commanding 42-0 halftime advantage.

Amarium Knighten brings down a Holy Cross receiver after a short gain. (MVSmith/MRO)

"Obviously [the] first half was almost flawless, and there was a lot of good execution," Martin said. "We had more talent and physicality than them. Now if you do it the right way, you're going to have a chance for success. We scored every time we touched it, defense got all the stops" 

​MORE:
• Martin has emphasized getting better after many issues at Pitt in Week One. While he was pleased with the win over Holy Cross, he called it "good step forward." Miami faces rival Cincinnati in TQL Stadium next week, and the Bearcats talent level will be much closer to Pitt's roster. 
"What we did today, we've got to keep doing, but it's going to be harder. It's going to take more urgency, better footwork, more force, more fight."
• This was Martin's 73rd win as RedHawks head coach. That ties Gary Pinkel (Toledo) for wins while a MAC head coach. Grank Solich (115 wins) tops the list, while Herb Dromedi (Central Michigan) has the most conference wins (90). 
• Colombi's touchdown after the Scoop Smith blocked punt marked the first time Miami has scored on a punt block since Jermaine Agee did it last season (Sept. 27, 2025) vs. Lindenwood.
"The punt blocker gets more notoriety because that's a huge play, but we have a lot of starters that do dirty jobs on special teams, and that's why we've been so good at special teams."

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Special teams provided one of Miami's six touchdowns on the day. Leo Colombi (28) scooped up a Crusaders punt blocked by Scoop Smith (24) and returned it 23 yards for a score. (MVSmith/MRO)