Buckeye Rosters

Recap

Columbus, OH — In just the third-ever meeting, and the first in 89 years between the two schools, Ohio State came away with a hard-fought 27-16 victory over the visiting RedHawks.

Miami, which had been outscored 83-0 in its prior two meetings with the Buckeyes, led 10-3 late in the second quarter.

But the Buckeyes tied the game just before halftime on a 35-yard Steve Bellisari-to-Chad Cacchio pass. They took the lead for good in the third period by scoring 10 points on their first two possessions.

Miami, behind the play of quarterback Mike Bath, who rushed for 105 yards and threw for 236 more, cut the deficit to 20-16 heading into the fourth quarter.

But the RedHawks’ comeback bid was cut short when cornerback Nate Clements intercepted a Bath aerial with 11 minutes to play. Clements’ theft, the Buckeyes’ third pick of the day, led to a Jonathan Wells‘ TD and a 27-16 lead that was too big a deficit for Miami to overcome.

Wells and starter Derek Combs each rushed for over 100 yards, marking the first time since 1996 that a pair of OSU tailbacks had topped the century mark in the same game.