Miami Student

Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: Sports

Miam's Jamal Rogers fumbles the ball during the first half of Saturday's Mid-American Conference Championship game. The RedHawks lost the game 35-10 and were eliminated from bowl game contention.

Despite picking off the MAC's top quarterback twice, Miami University couldn't complete the upset, falling in the Mid-American Conference Championship game Saturday in Detroit. The RedHawks hoped that sporting the MAC's best defense would be enough to contain Central Michigan University's top ranked offense, however, in the end, it was the Chippewas who took home the championship, winning 35-10.

"We did not play well enough to win," RedHawks Head Coach Shane Montgomery said. "The same things that have bothered us throughout the year were very glaring today. We had an inconsistent offense that when we had a chance to make some plays, did not make any plays. We missed a couple of big field goals today that could have made the game a little bit different."

The game started out slow and showed shades of Miami's Nov. 14 game against the University of Akron where both teams struggled to score. Central Michigan's quarterback, Dan LeFevour, hit wide receiver Kito Poblah for a three-yard touchdown to draw first blood and put CMU up 7-0, which was the way the first quarter ended. It was the first time that the Chippewas were able to hold their opponents scoreless after one quarter of play. Miami did have a couple scoring chances, including a 44-yard field goal, which kicker Nathan Parseghian missed wide left.

Miami's top ranked defense played strong during the first half, making LeFevour very uncomfortable in the pocket. Sophomore defensive lineman Martin Channels sacked LeFevour, while linebacker Caleb Bostic and defensive back Robbie Wilson intercepted the MAC's offense player of the year.

"I thought the defense, for the most part, played a very good football game," Montgomery said. "They gave us a lot of chances to stay in the ball game, and they wore down in the end. (Central Michigan) put it away in the end they made it a little bit more of a glaring score than it really was. We did not make enough plays when we had the chance."

Miami finally got on the board in the second half, after freshman wide receiver Eugene Harris was able to return a punt down to the Central Michigan 23-yard line. Parseghian hit a 38-yard field goal scoring the RedHawks' first three points, to cut the Central Michigan lead to just four.

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