UB 42, Miami (Ohio) 17
Thermilus detonates as UB routs Miami
Junior tailback scores three touchdowns for Bulls
Published: November 18, 2009, 10:23 pm
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OXFORD, Ohio — At this rate, the University at Buffalo might want to change its name to Tailback U.
The Bulls tabbed another from their bottomless pool of quality tailbacks — this time junior Brandon Thermilus, who rolled up 126 yards and three touchdowns, both career highs, as the Bulls broke a three-game losing streak to defeat Miami (Ohio), 42-17, in front of a sparse crowd Wednesday night at Yager Stadium.
The Bulls' offense started slowly until they gave the ball to Thermilus, who peeled off 93 yards and two touchdowns on just five first-half carries, helping the Bulls to a 21-3 lead.
It was a productive night for Thermilus in what has been an uneven junior season. The son of former Houston Oilers running back Alonzo Highsmith was chosen by coach Turner Gill to replace record-setting tailback James Starks after the Niagara Falls High product went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in August.
"It definitely feels good to be healthy and out there running with the guys," said Thermilus, who has been playing on a sore ankle for the last month. "We knew one of us had to step in and make something happen, just like when James went down. We went out and put it on the line."
Thermilus battled inconsistency and injuries while rushing for 311 yards and two touchdowns coming into Wednesday's game. But Thermilus had already reached his career high with 13:49 left in the third quarter. He scored his third touchdown on a 29-yard pass from Zach Maynard with 6:58 left that gave the Bulls a commanding 35-10 lead.
"Being injured hurts a little bit but you have to fight through it," Thermilus said. "It is what it is."
The Bulls moved up to 4-7 overall, 2-5 in the Mid-American Conference while winning in Yager Stadium for the first time in seven tries. Miami ended its season, its first under former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood, with a 1-11 overall record and 1-7 in the MAC.
Gill talked all week about the team maintaining its focus despite the fact that the Bulls were out of bowl contention. The Bulls were also playing without leading receiver Naaman Roosevelt, who was out with a knee injury, leading rusher Ike Nduka (ankle) and right tackle Andrew West, who was suspended for the game.
The Bulls responded by scoring 28 unanswered points after an early 3-0 deficit.
"We needed a victory like this," senior safety Mike Newton said. "We've been playing tough the last couple of weeks but it's unfortunate we haven't been able to come out on top. I think this helped out our confidence a lot."
The RedHawks controlled the ball during the early going but the Bulls defense, which yielded 385 yards of total offense to Miami, played classic bend but don't break. Junior safety Davonte Shannon finished with 15 tackles and Newton and sophomore middle linebacker Scott Pettigrew finished with 10 tackles each.
"The bottom line is you want to keep them out of the end zone," Gill said. "For the most part, we did that."
Midway through the fourth quarter, Domonic Cook forced a fumble by Miami's Brayden Coombs on the 1-yard line. Newton, who had an interception in the end zone in the first quarter, scooped up the fumble and returned it to the UB 25. It was that kind of night for Miami. It was that kind of night for the Bulls, who desperately needed a game like this.
"We got back to getting some turnovers," Shannon said. "We needed to get off the field and stop them at times and we did that."
Miami didn't score its first touchdown until 7:30 left in the third quarter, on a 6-yard pass to Dustin Woods. That cut UB's lead to 28-10.
The Bulls essentially brought the hammer down on the opening drive of the third quarter on a reverse to Terrell Jackson, the former high school quarterback, who lofted the prettiest pass of the night to a wide open Jesse Rack for a 30-yard touchdown. Rack was so open that he back-pedaled into the end zone.
The Bulls started slowly with only 16 yards of total offense in the first quarter. They didn't get their initial first down until 9:56 left in the second quarter. A lot of it had to do with Miami controlling the time of possession. The RedHawks went on two drives that totaled 24 plays while the Bulls ran six plays for 16 yards in the opening quarter.
The Bulls took a 7-3 lead with 6:49 left in the first half on a 3-yard run by Thermilus. Thermilus set up the score with a 27-yard run to the Miami 3. He wasn't finished.
Thermilus scored again with 2:27 left in the half on a season-long 31-yard run that gave the Bulls a 14-3 lead.
The Bulls took a 21-3 lead just before halftime on a bootleg run by Maynard from 2-yards out.
Miami got on the board first with a 37-yard field goal by Trevor Cook.
"We just needed a win," Gill said. "We didn't need a blowout, we just needed a win."
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