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A BG ballcarrier stretches for the goal line during Wednesday's Bowling Green-Miami game. Below, quarterback Zac Dysert scrambles for yardage. Bottom, Nick Harwell tries to avoid the Falcons Aunre' Davis. Photos by Christina McGinnis.

BG is now 2-8 overall and 1-5 in the Mid-American Conference while Miami improves to 6-4 overall and is in a three-way tie for first in the MAC East at 5-1.

“We made too many mistakes. We didn’t value every play. We didn’t value the ball enough and that’s why we lost that football game,” BG head coach Dave Clawson said.

With 3:37 remaining in the first half and the game tied at 7, the Falcons made a bad snap on a punt and Miami recovered at the BG 15-yard line.
Four plays later Miami held a 14-7 lead.

“We gave them too many points,” Clawson said, noting the bad snap and other problems taking care of the football led to 17 Miami points

“It’s really bad football,” Clawson added. “When you do those things, you don’t deserve to win the game ... We’ve got to get it corrected.”

The Falcons rallied to tie the game at 21 with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Then BG had two opportunities to make something happen on offense and possibly win the game and the team didn’t respond.

Willie Geter’s 2-yard run and Kyle Burkhardt’s PAT tied the game at 21 with 6:59 remaining in regulation.

On Miami’s first play on the ensuing possession, BG’s Adrien Spencer forced a fumble after a completed pass. Teammate Eugene Fells made the recovery and was credited with a 13-yard return to the Miami 35-yard line. Fells actually got all the way to the 25-yard line, but a holding penalty pushed the ball back.

Still it was a great opportunity for the Falcons to build on the fourth quarter momentum and take the lead.

Three plays later, BG had lost 20 yards on a running play and two sacks, and the Falcons had to punt.

“It was a killer. The holding call on the fumble was a killer,” Clawson said.
After the BG punt, the Falcons’ defense held again, due in part to a 16-yard sack by Calvin Marshall. Miami was forced to punt with just over two minutes remaining.

“We were right where we wanted to be; you’ve got the ball; you’ve got to drive 50 yards for a chance to kick a game-winning field goal with no time left,” Clawson said. “The worst case scenario is that you are going to overtime.”

After the punt, BG had the ball at the its own 28-yard line. But on the first play from scrimmage, Matt Schilz threw his second interception of the game and the Falcons never got the ball back.

“It was a three-step drop and he (Schilz) thought Kamar (Jorden) was going to run a slant. Based on leverage, Kamar ran an out and he threw the ball inside anticipating the slant,” Clawson added.

D.J. Brown made the interception at BG’s 37-yard line and the RedHawks worked the clock while moving the ball to the 16-yard line. Cook then came on to give Miami the win.

“It’s been a rough season to say the least,” said BG junior safety Jovan Leacock, who finished with nine tackles. “All we can do is keep fighting.
“I don’t think anybody in the locker room quit,” he continued. “Some rough plays have definitely happened to us.”

MIAMI NOTES
- Tuesday’s win made the 6-4 RedHawks bowl eligible after a 1-11 finish in head coach Mike Haywood’s inaugural season of 2009. MU entered the game with a four-win improvement over last season, tying the RedHawks with Maryland (+4) for “most improved” honors nationally.
- Trevor Cook, who kicked the 33-yard game winner, was back in the lineup for the first time after missing several weeks due to a leg injury suffered while running the ball on a fake kick play at Central Michigan. He was 10-of-11 in field goals before the injury. He made one of two Tuesday, but successful kick was a game-winner.
-Tuesday’s victory marked the first time Miami won a game on the final play since Ben Roethlisberger completed a 70-yard pass to Eddie Tillitz in a 30-27 decision over Akron Oct. 13, 2001.
- Miami moved into a tie with Temple and Ohio for first place in the MAC East. All three have 5-1 league marks. Ohio, however, owns a head-to-head win over MU. Temple lost to Northern Illinois and OU fell to Toledo, both from the MAC West, earlier this year. Temple and Ohio meet next Tuesday in Philadelphia. Ohio closes at Kent State, while Temple visits Miami in the finale for both teams.
- The road team has won the last three meetings between BG and Miami. The latter leads the series 42-20-5.
- True Freshman Dayonne Nunley recorded his team-high fourth interception in the third quarter, pulling in a deflection off the receiver and managing to keep his feet in bounds before leaving the field of play.
- Sophomore  D. J. Brown set up the final scoring drive with his first career interception.
- Will Diaz got a hand on a third-quarter BG field goal attempt. It was the RedHawks fourth block of a kick in 2010 and second on a field goal.
- Tuesday’s victory was Miami’s third-straight road win. That is the longest MU road winning streak since the end of the 2005 season.
- The RedHawks play their final road game of 2010 next Wednesday at Akron.

BG NOTES:
When the fog settled in for the second half of the Bowling Green-Miami game Wednesday night, it was like watching one of those old black-and-white movies of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigating a crime on the English moors.
“The weather was unbelievable. I never experienced anything like it,” said BG junior safety Jovan Leacock. “It was heavy fog. It wasn’t light fog. It wasn’t a little bit of fog, it was a lot of fog.
“I think it made us choose wisely what plays we used offensively. Defensively, I think they ran the ball more with the fog. Everybody knows they are a passing team.
“It definitely affected the game.”