Smith Guides Chippewas to 38-37 Win at Miami

Sept. 10, 2005

OXFORD, Ohio - Central Michigan University quarterback Kent Smith passed for 356 yards, ran for 122 more, accounted for four touchdowns and led the Chippewas on a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes as CMU rallied for a 38-37 win over Miami in the Mid-American Conference opener on Saturday.

Smith's 478 yards of total offense broke the school record of 446 he set at Toledo last season, but the Chippewas (1-1 overall, 1-0 MAC) still needed two clutch plays in the closing moments to earn the win. Facing fourth-and-two from the CMU 40 with just under two minutes left, freshman Ontario Sneed bounced off left tackle and sprinted 60 yards to the end zone to tie the score at 37. Rick Albreski's fifth point-after of the day put CMU in front.

The RedHawks (0-2, 0-1) answered by moving the ball to the Chippewa 11-yard line and lined up for a field goal with 11 seconds remaining. Todd Soderquist's kick was deflected by Jacob Brown and missed wide left, securing the win for the Chippewas.

With the victory, CMU ended Miami's 10-game winning streak at home.

Smith became the first Chippewa since Erik Timpf in 1993 to rush and pass for at least 100 yards in the same game, while Damien Linson (five catches, 204 yards) became the first CMU player to collect 200 receiving yards in a game since Reggie Allen in 1996.

Kent Smith piled up a school-record 478 yards of total offense against Miami on Saturday.

CMU trailed by at least 10 points four different times in the contest, the final time being when Brandon Murphy scored on a two-yard run early in the third quarter. The Chippewas drew within three late in the period when Smith hit Obed Cetoute for a 12-yard score, but the RedHawks bumped the lead to six on a 25-yard Soderquist field goal with 3:13 left in regulation.

CMU took over on its own 20 after the kickoff, and five plays later Sneed broke loose for the score.

Miami jumped to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, as Josh Betts tossed 14-yard scoring passes to Martin Nance and Ryne Robinson. Nance's score came just 1:29 into the contest and was set up by a CMU fumble on the game's first play, while Robinson's touchdown came three plays after Betts hit Nance down the middle for 38 yards.

CMU answered just 26 seconds later. On the first snap following the kickoff, Smith hooked up with Linson for 74 yards. Linson made the catch outside of the left hash and nearly beat two Miami defenders to the right corner of the end zone. He was forced out of bounds inside the one, and Smith stretched the ball over the goal line on the next play.

The two teams combined for 30 points in the second quarter. Miami's Soderquist sandwiched field goals of 34 and 37 yards around an Albreski 33-yarder to bump the RedHawk lead to 20-10 midway through the quarter. The Smith-to-Linson connection was good for a 50-yard touchdown with 5:51 left in the half, and Smith added a 23-yard scoring run with 1:08 remaining in the period. Smith rolled right, then cut back left and scored just inside the pylon.

The RedHawks took the lead into the locker room courtesy of a seven-play, 77-yard drive that took just 41 seconds. Betts found Josh Williams from 18 yards just 21 seconds before the break.

Smith completed 26-of-36 passes on the day. Jacob Brown caught seven passes for 64 yards, while Sneed finished with 85 yards on 19 carries. The offense piled up 569 yards on the day.

Defensively, Pacino Horne and Isaac Brown collected 12 and 10 tackles, respectively.

Betts finished with 395 yards through the air for Miami. Robinson caught eight passes for 152 yards and Nance snagged seven for 104 yards.

CMU is on the road again next weekend, visiting Penn State. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m.

Chippewa fans can catch highlights of Saturday's thrilling win by tuning into The CMU Coaches Zone on Monday night. Head coach Brian Kelly and host Kurt Wilson will recap the win beginning at 7:30 p.m. on WCMU-TV.

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