Miami Game Notes vs. Massachusetts

Sept. 22, 2012 · Yager Stadium · Oxford, Ohio

General Notes

• Saturday marked the first ever meeting between Miami and Massachusetts, as the RedHawks now lead the all-time series 1-0. The game was also the first time Miami has ever played a team from the state of Massachusetts.


• Prior to the game, Miami completed its Cradle of Coaches Plaza with the unveiling of the statue of Paul Brown, a Miami player in 1928 and 1929 who was later elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Brown's statue was the eighth and final statue to be created for the Plaza.


• Saturday's game was Miami's 93rd Homecoming Game, as the RedHawks improved to 60-29-4 all-time in Homecoming games. Miami has now won two straight Homecoming games, its first time doing so since 2003 and 2004.


• Miami opened its 65th season of Mid-American Conference football Saturday. With the victory, the RedHawks improved to 42-19-1 (.685) all-time in MAC openers. It was just Miami's third MAC-opening win in its last eight tries. Saturday also marked the first ever MAC game for UMass, which is making their Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) debut this season.


• UMass won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Miami received the opening kickoff, which it has done in all four games this season.

Team Notes

• The RedHawks finished with a season-high 216 rushing yards on 42 carries. Miami entered the game with just 158 rushing yards on the season. The last time Miami rushed for 200 yards or more as a team was against Temple Nov. 23, 2010 when the 'Hawks totaled 253 rushing yards on 38 carries.


• Miami intercepted three passes Saturday against UMass as Justin Bowers, Dayonne Nunley and D.J. Brown each picked off a pass. The last time the RedHawks had three interceptions in a game was Jan. 6, 2011 when Miami picked off four passes against Middle Tennessee State in the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl.


• Miami's 14 points in the second quarter Saturday marked the team's most points in a quarter this year. The RedHawks totaled 10 points against Southern Illinois Sept. 8 in the third quarter. Miami had just 16 points in the second quarter all season entering Saturday's game.


• UMass racked up 471 yards of total offense compared to Miami's 408 yards, despite the loss. The RedHawks have now been outgained in total yards of offense in all four contests this season.


• Miami went for it on fourth and six at the UMass 25-yard line midway through the first quarter but failed to convert the first down. Miami also went for it on fourth down to run out the clock in the fourth quarter and did not convert. The RedHawks are now 0-for-4 on fourth down this year. Conversely, Miami also stopped UMass on a fourth-and-one in the second quarter while the Minutemen finished 3-for-5 on fourth down. Miami's opponents are now 4-for-6 on fourth down this year.

Individual Notes

• Sophomore wide receiver Dawan Scott hauled in a pair of touchdown passes from Zac Dysert in the second quarter, marking his first career multi-touchdown game. His first was a 49-yard touchdown pass, which was the third-longest reception of his career and second longest of the season. He then scored his second touchdown of the day on a 17-yard catch. The touchdowns were his first two of the year, giving him four for his career. He is the first RedHawk to score multiple touchdowns in the same game this season. He finished with three catches for 92 yards.


• Redshirt senior quarterback Zac Dysert finished 12-for-22 through the air for 192 yards and three passing touchdowns. His 12 completions give him 855 career completions, which breaks the school record held by Ben Roethlisberger (2001-03), who had 854. Dysert also moves into eighth all-time in MAC history for career completions. Dysert now has 1,330 career passing attempts, which moves him into 10th place all-time in MAC history (he already holds the Miami record). His three touchdown tosses give him 53 for his career, tying him with Charlie Batch of Eastern Michigan ( 1994-97) for 19th in MAC history, one shy of catching former RedHawk Josh Betts (2002-05), who is 18th in MAC history and second in Miami history. Late in the second quarter, Dysert threw his first interception since late in the fourth quarter against Ohio State on Sept. 1, snapping a span of 79 throws without an interception.


• Zac Dysert also had a strong day rushing, totaling 76 yards on the ground on 12 carries while also scoring a rushing touchdown, giving him four total touchdowns on the day. It is just the third time in Dysert's career he has totaled four touchdowns, throwing for four and rushing for one against Army in 2011 and throwing for five TDs against Buffalo in 2011. It was his 11th career rushing touchdown while the 76 yards rushing were the second-most of his career behind his 107 rushing yards against Kent State as a redshirt freshman in 2009. Dysert has now thrown at least three touchdowns in a game nine times in his career.


• Junior linebacker Chris Wade made a team-high 11 tackles, including eight solo stops. He has now recorded double-digit tackles in each of his last three games (35 total in his last three), including a career-best 13 last Saturday at Boise State, after entering 2012 with just 12 career tackles.


• Senior safety Justin Bowers snagged his first interception of the season and second of his career on the first play of the second half. He returned it 23 yards to the UMass 29-yard line, the longest return of his career as he returned his other interception on Nov. 3, 2011 vs. Akron for 10 yards. Bowers also made a career high six solo tackles and tied a career high with nine total tackles, matching his nine against Buffalo as a freshman in 2009. He had five solo tackles against Ohio last year.


• Freshman running back Jamire Westbrook had a career-high 17 carries for a career-best 105 yards as he became the first Miami running back to top 100 yards since Justin Semmes ran for exactly 100 yards against Akron Nov. 3, 2011. In the third quarter, he broke off a career-long 24-yard run after entering the game with a total of just 53 career rushing yards. His previous best effort was eight carries for 28 yards last week at Boise State.


• Sophomore running back Spencer Treadwell caught his second career pass in the fourth quarter, a 33-yard reception that went for a touchdown, his first career receiving touchdown. His only other catch was a three-yard completion last week at Boise State.


• Junior cornerback Dayonne Nunley picked off his first pass of the season in the fourth quarter in the end zone for a touchback. It was his 10th career interception, which moves him into a tie for eighth in Miami history with Milt Bowen (1999-01), Sheldon White (1984-86) and Bob Smith (165-67). He also made a career-high nine tackles in the game, including six solo stops.


• Junior punter Zac Murphy booted a season-long 61-yard punt in the fourth quarter. It was his fourth punt of 50 or more yards this year and 15th of his career. He averaged 47.3 yards per punt in the game on three punts.


• Junior defensive lineman Wes Williams compiled a career-high 10 tackles Saturday.