The Bowling Green State University football team fell, 27-0, at Miami University on Saturday afternoon in a Mid-American Conference game at Yager Stadium.

Brett Gabbert was 15 of 18 for 170 yards passing and two touchdowns and Miami (Ohio) eased past Bowling Green 27-0 on Saturday for its fifth straight victory.

Miami (5-1, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) is off to its first 2-0 MAC start since 2010. The RedHawks’ lone loss came against the Miami Hurricanes in a season opener.

Gabbert added nine carries for 47 yards. Rashad Amos had a touchdown rushing and Kenny Tracy ran for a team-high 58 yards. Tracy and Nate Muersch each had a receiving touchdown, and Joe Wilkins Jr. made six catches for 70 yards.

Graham Nicholson made a 52-yard field goal to make it 24-0 and he added a 30-yarder in the fourth.

The RedHawks had the ball for nearly 40 minutes on Saturday, with 47 running plays and just 18 passing plays.

Miami scored on a pair of long first-half drives to take a 14-0 halftime lead, and the RedHawks’ defense held the Falcons (2-4, 0-2 MAC) to nine first downs and 135 total yards.

“On both sides of the ball I didn’t think we played well up front,” BGSU coach Scot Loeffler said. “The defense couldn’t get off the field.

“Offensively, we didn’t play well up front and I thought we had some tremendous opportunities. Guys were wide open. When you are playing a defense like this, you must make your plays when the plays present themselves.

“We only had the ball for 15 plays in the first half and we had two plays where we could have scored. We just didn’t make the plays.”

Bowling Green was shutout for the first time since 2019 at Notre Dame (52-0).

BGSU quarterbacks Connor Bazelak and Camden Orth combined to complete 11 of 23 passes for 72 yards for Bowling Green. Bazelak’s interception was thrown right to Ty Wise.

BGSU running back Terion Stewart led the Falcons, rushing for 63 yards on eight carries.Wide receiver Odieu Hiliare finished with four receptions, which extends his active streak to 41 games with a streak. He entered the week with the sixth-longest active streak in the nation.

The opening drive of the game saw the RedHawks put together a drive that lasted over 11 minutes. The 17-play drive culminated in a short touchdown run by Rashod Amos with just 3:29 remaining in the opening quarter.

On the Falcons’ first drive, BGSU quarterback Connor Bazelak completed three passes – all to Hiliare – for a total of 20 yards.

But, after BG picked up one first down and got near midfield, a third-down sack stalled the drive. Jackson Kleather’s 48-yard punt put the RedHawks at their own 14-yard line.

The next drive saw Miami keep the ball on the ground for the first seven plays before Brett Gabbert completed a pass to Joe Wilkins Jr. But, Trent Simms forced a fumble, with Darren Anders grabbing the ball and returning it 17 yards to the Falcons’ 37-yard line.

Stewart gained 12 yards on the next play from scrimmage. But, BG’s drive ended near midfield. The Falcons forced Miami into a three-and-out drive, keyed by an Anders sack of Gabbert on second down.

For the third consecutive drive, the BG offense picked up a first down, this time, on the strength of back-to-back Stewart runs that gained a total of 15 yards.

The RedHawks then held the Falcons, but for the second time in the game, Kleather got off a punt of over 45 yards (46 this time) that pinned the RedHawks inside the 20.

The Falcons seemed to be snakebit on the next drive. On the third play, Jordan Oladokun intercepted Gabbert near midfield, but the referee crew ruled that there was a roughing-the passer-penalty on the Falcons, and the ball remained with Miami.

Later in the drive, Gabbert scrambled for 13 yards and a first down, and a pass that was deflected by Cashius Howell was caught by a RedHawk receiver to put MU in the red zone.

Oladokun broke up a Gabbert pass in the end zone, but on the next play, a pass interference call on the Falcons set Miami up for a short Gabbert TD pass in the final minute of the first half.

The opening drive of the second half saw the Falcons put together a 15-play drive that took BG into the red zone. On that drive, Bazelak completed a 16-yard pass to Harold Fannin Jr, before Camden Orth gained a combined 14 yards on back-to-back carries.

On a fourth-and-6 play, Bazelak found Finn Hogan for 12 yards and a first down. But, Bazelak was tripped up on a third-down play, and a 46-yard field-goal attempt by Alan Ayana was just inches wide of the right post.

Miami kept the ball on the ground for the bulk of the next drive, but the final play came through the air as Gabbert found Kenny Tracy for a 39-yard scoring toss.

Stewart picked up 18 yards on the next drive to move the Falcons near midfield, but several plays later, an interception gave the RedHawks the ball in BG territory.

The Falcons held MU to just two yards on the ensuing drive, but Graham Nicholson hit a 52-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the third quarter.

Miami used the clock on the following drive, keeping the ball on the ground for 12 consecutive plays and using nearly 10 minutes before adding a 30-yard field goal.

Bowling Green held its fifth opponent this season under 400 yards of total offense (356). BGSU defensive lineman Ali Saad had a career-high six tackles.

BGSU is back on the road next weekend, taking on Buffalo on Saturday (Oct. 14), in a 3:30 p.m. start at UB Stadium.

Then, the Falcons return home to face Akron the following Saturday (Oct. 21), with kickoff time to be announced.

( — from Sentinel-Tribune staff, BGSU Athletics, and AP)