Central Michigan overcame early miscues by its freshman quarterback, Cooper Rush, and a fumble by its star receiver, Titus Davis, to defeat the Miami Redhawks in Oxford, Ohio.
In the third quarter, Chippewas used timely passes to several of its wide receivers including Jerry Harris, Titus Davis and Anthony Rice to methodically move the ball 84 yards on 16 plays. The drive took 7:46 off the clock and was finished by a three yard touchdown run by Saylor Lavallii, giving CMU a 14-9 lead.
From there, the Chippewas imposed their will on the Redhawks by grinding out rushing yards resulting in another touchdown. Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore dazzled with a 16 touchdown run with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter.
The Chippewa defense throttled any further offensive efforts by the Redhawks. Cooper Rush was able to run out the final two minutes of game clock and the Chippewas were rewarded with a rare victory.