Miami rolls to a 43-17 victory over Colorado State in the Arizona Bowl

Jeff Sabo

43

winner

Miami (OH)
MIA

9-5, 7-1

17

Colorado State
CSU

8-5, 6-1

winner

43

17

Colorado State
CSU

8-5, 6-1

Points by quarters

team	1	2	3	4	F
MIA Miami (OH)	6	3	20	14	43
CSU Colorado State	3	0	7	7	17

Match Review: Football | 12/28/2024 8:18 p.m

TUCSON, Ariz.– The Miami University football team scored touchdowns on five of its six second-half possessions to secure a 43-17 victory over Colorado State in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop on Saturday afternoon.

Kevin Davis collected a career-high 245 all-purpose yards and two rushing touchdowns for Miami (9-5, 7-1 MAC) and was named the game’s MVP. Jordan Brunson added two outstanding scores for the RedHawks, who posted their largest lead in a bowl game in program history. The Rams finish their season at 8-5 (6-1 Mountain West).





HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Rams got on the field on their first drive and converted a 21-yard field goal. Miami evened the score later in the first quarter and capitalized Ambe’ Caldwell forced a fumble Ty Wise recovered at the CSU 34-yard line. The RedHawks scored a 34-yard field goal Dom Dzioban With 3:35 minutes left the score was 3:3.
• Less than three minutes later, Miami forced a second turnover Adam trick He threw an interception and gave the RedHawks excellent field position inside the red zone. Dzioban hit a 26-yard kick to give the Red and White a 6-3 lead in the second quarter.
• Miami added another three points with 12 seconds left in the half on 10-yard and 14-yard runs by Davis and a 14-yard completion Brett Gabbert To Cade McDonald helped the RedHawks get into field goal range. Dzioban scored a 24-yard kick at halftime to make the score 9-3.
• The RedHawks had a textbook scoring drive coming out of the locker room early in the second half. 17-yard and 40-yard completions to Came Perry brought the ball to the CSU 17-yard line, and after three quick handoffs to Davis, Miami found itself in the end zone. Davis’ four-yard scoring run gave the Red and White a 16-3 lead with 12:35 left in the third quarter.
• Another Colorado State University turnover on the Rams’ first possession of the third quarter resulted in another Miami score. Hard hits from Caleb Martin And Matt Salopek resulted in a fumbled recovery Silas Walters in CSU territory. The RedHawks’ fast-paced offense got into the end zone five plays later when Gabbert added a 22-yard third-down completion Jack Coldiron He made the score 22-3 with a 10-yard touchdown run up the middle at 10:26.
• The RedHawks’ defense continued to play strong as Caldwell made a fourth-down stop at the Miami 3-yard line and Davis ran untouched 97 yards for a touchdown on the next play to extend the Miami lead to 29-3.
• After CSU finally broke through for a touchdown with a 56-yard pass, Davis got the momentum back for the red and white with an 81-yard return on the ensuing kickoff. Although Miami didn’t score on that possession, a Wise interception and 54-yard return at the end of the third quarter brought the RedHawks within five yards of another touchdown. Brunson finally carried the ball into the goal from two yards out, giving Miami a 36-10 lead with 13:30 left.
• After Colorado State cut the lead to 36-17 on a short touchdown run, Brunson added a 12-yard scoring burst on a third-down play with 2:22 to play to push Miami’s lead to 43- 17 expand.

NOTES

• Miami earned its first bowl win since 2021 and improved to 9-7 all-time in bowl games.
• Davis finished his career with 148 rushing yards.
• Salopek finished his illustrious career with 514 tackles, the fifth-highest total in program history.
• Cole Weaver, Braylon Isom, Drew Terrill And Caleb Martin all of them have made their first career entry.
• Isom and Josh Ringer Each of them made their first catches of their careers.
• Perry led Miami with a career-high 57 receiving yards.
• Trick’s interception was the first of his career.
• Gabbert had his first rushing touchdown since October 14, 2023.
• Dzioban finished the year with 26 made field goals, one shy of the school single-season record.
• Davis’ 81-yard kick return was the longest for a RedHawk since 2019.
• Miami’s previous largest margin of victory in a bowl game was 21 points in 2003 (a 49-28 win over Louisville in the GMAC Bowl).

NEXT:

This concludes Miami’s 2024 season.