DaytonDailyNews.com

BOWLING GREEN — The Miami University football team is back in business.

Redshirt freshman Clay Belton made his first collegiate start at quarterback for the RedHawks, but it was true freshman tailback J.R. Taylor who stole the show as Miami beat the Bowling Green Falcons 27-20 on Saturday, Oct. 18, at Doyt Perry Stadium.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak and kept the RedHawks (2-5, 1-2 Mid-American Conference) alive and kicking in a MAC East Division race that remains wide open.

"What a tremendous team win today," Miami head coach Shane Montgomery said.

"I saw a different attitude on our team today," said Belton, who completed 11-of-23 passes for 129 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown pass to Chris Givens in the second quarter. "No one looked down. Everybody looked for each other to step up."

Miami's defense certainly stepped up, recording a number of big plays, and so did Taylor, whose 5-yard touchdown run with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter produced the winning points.

Taylor carried 18 times for 127 yards after tailback Thomas Merriweather was forced to the sidelines with an ankle injury in the first quarter. He got the call on the final six plays of the game-winning drive.

Miami also lost offensive guard Dave DiFranco for most of the second half.

"When DiFranco went out, we worried about our protection a little bit," Montgomery said. "We felt like we needed to run the ball and also take some time off the clock. Our offensive line took over the game."

Miami's final drive came about because of Robbie Wilson's interception. With 7:29 remaining, the senior strong safety tipped a pass at the Miami 5-yard line, caught it and ran it back to the 25.

"That was a huge play," Montgomery said. "They tried a fake screen, and Robbie did his job, stayed at home and tipped the ball. That was a momentum changer."

"It was one of those plays where I had a feeling more than anything," Wilson said. "I was thinking they'd try to fake it and try to make us bite on it ... and that's what happened."

Miami senior defensive end Joe Coniglio also came up big with two sacks, including a 10-yard loss in the closing moments which thwarted Bowling Green's last-ditch attempt at a comeback.

BG (3-4, 1-2) took a 20-14 lead with 4:37 left in the third quarter on a 34-yard field goal by Sinisa Vrvilo, but Miami's Nathan Parseghian kicked field goals of 37 and 36 yards to tie it with 11:51 to play.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.