As the dark sky closed in on Miami’s Yager Stadium Saturday, so did the RedHawks’ pass rush on Ohio redshirt junior quarterback Tyler Tettleton.
Tettleton has maintained his poise in tough situations this season but his indecisiveness at crucial junctures in the Bobcats’ 23-20 loss likely cost Ohio its BCS ranking and national prominence, at least for the time being.
Miami (4-4, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) mounted six sacks in the game, the most important of which clinched a victory with Ohio (7-1, 3-1 MAC) on the RedHawks’ seven-yard line. Tettleton failed to successfully elude a collapsing pocket, and in one fell swoop Ohio’s perfect season was no more.
“(That’s) more sacks than we had given up all year long, said Ohio coach Frank Solich. “I’ll have to look at the film to get that one figured out.”
With nine seconds remaining in the game, Tettleton took the snap from center and faded back to pass from the seven-yard line. His options were blanketed in coverage and he tried to scramble to buy time, but the pocket collapsed and so did the Bobcats' storybook season.
“I was just trying to make a play," Tettleton said. "Everything broke and I was trying to make a play. I totally forgot, so it’s my fault.”
The final decision to go for the win rather than kicking a field goal raised questions about the Bobcats' play calling decisions.
“There’s a lot of blame that can be thrown around in terms of myself — we could have coached a better game — we could have executed a better game on both sides of the ball,” Solich said. “On the last drive, obviously no time outs left, you don’t have a chance to tell Tyler to make sure you throw the ball out of bounds."
Only six minutes into the contest, Miami freshman kicker Kaleb Patterson put the RedHawks’ first points on the board. From there on out, they never trailed.
After Ohio’s first drive quickly stalled, the Bobcats’ defense struggled to get off the field in a third down situation, allowing the RedHawks’ offense to convert a crucial third-and-10 situation on their second possession.
Miami redshirt senior quarterback Zac Dysert found his favorite target in junior wide receiver Nick Harwell for a 54-yard touchdown connection to extend the RedHawks’ lead to 10-0 with 6:33 left in the first quarter.
Following another unyielding Ohio drive, three consecutive Dysert completions set up a 32-yard Patterson field goal to further extend Miami’s lead 13-0 with 2:55 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bobcats' offense finally sputtered to life when Tettleton found redshirt sophomore wide receiver Chase Cochran down the near sideline for a 45-yard gain into Miami territory with 1:45 left in the first quarter.
Another Cochran reception brought the ball to the five-yard line, from which Ohio redshirt junior running back Beau Blankenship cashed in for Ohio’s first touchdown of the game. Redshirt senior kicker Matt Weller’s extra point cut the deficit to 13-7 with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Miami sophomore wide receiver Dawan Scott wrestled a jump ball away from Ohio redshirt senior cornerback Octavius Leftwich for a gain of 38 yards, which set up freshman running Jamire Westbrook for a one-yard score that gave Miami a 20-7 advantage.
On the following possession, redshirt junior Ryan Boykin spelled Blankenship and rattled off runs of 18 and 15 yards to help energize the offense. Tettleton connected with sophomore wide receiver Landon Smith for a 14-yard gain down to the three-yard line.
Tettleton finished off the drive with a three-yard dash to the end zone, to pull the Bobcats within six.
After an exchange of possession midway through the second quarter, Dysert marched the RedHawks’ offense down the field, completing five of his seven passes to move the ball to Ohio’s 10-yard line. The eighth pass killed the drive and with it, Miami’s hopes of extending its lead, as Dysert threw the ball into heavy coverage, where it was intercepted by Ohio redshirt sophomore safety Nathan Carpenter.
“Defensively overall, that was one of our best games,” said redshirt junior linebacker Keith Moore. “We had some big plays that didn’t go our way, some busted coverage. I guarantee if you take five or six of those plays away, we win. It’s a new ballgame. It’s unfortunate.”
Ohio took the first possession of the second half into Miami territory, but a pair of penalties pushed the Bobcats back to midfield. Staring at a first-and-34, Ohio gained 22 yards, but was unable to muster a first down. Weller was brought on to complete a 45-yard field goal, which made the score 20-17 with 12:03 left in the third quarter.
With 7:15 remaining in the third quarter, the Bobcats drove to Miami’s 27-yard line, where, on the ensuing play, Tettleton was sacked for a loss of 12 yards.
Weller was initially brought on to attempt to a 56-yard field goal. However, after a timeout Solich ushered his kicker off the field, opting to play for field position.
“I think he’s got the leg, but if it goes wide then they have great field position,” Solich said. “And it looked like it was coming down to a field position battle to some degree. We did not want to not get the three and give up that much field position.”
The fourth quarter began inauspiciously with the teams trading possession.
At the 8:50 mark, Tettleton’s legs helped drive Ohio across midfield. After Boykin was stopped for minimal gain, Tettleton found redshirt junior wide receiver Matt Waters up the middle for a 34-yard gain that landed the offense on Miami’s five-yard line.
Two consecutive sacks brought Ohio back to the 21-yard line, however. Weller then made another appearance, where he hit his second field goal of the game to tie the score at 20 apiece with 4:41 left in the game.
On the ensuing drive, the RedHawks marched down the field, knocking more than three minutes off the clock and kicking what would eventually be the game-winning field goal.
Ohio’s final drive — a 68 yarder — brought the Bobcats deep into Miami’s territory, where they were unable to convert.
“It sucks, but it’s not the end,” Tettleton said. “We still have a chance to get back to Detroit. That’s been our thing, ‘Unfinished business,’ so it’s not over.”
nr225008@ohiou.edu
