KENT, OHIO- Montre Miller broke up Miami's two-point conversion in overtime and the Flashes knocked off Miami 48-47 to capture the Mid-American Conference East Division.
The Flashes capture the East for the first time since 2012 and will face a familiar foe, Northern Illinois, who the Flashes faced the last time they made it to Detroit. The Flashes defeated Northern Illinois 52-47 at Dix Stadium earlier this season.
The game got off to a rocky start with Dustin Crum's first pass of the game getting tipped and intercepted. But in what proved to be a theme of the day, the Kent State defense forced a field goal as Miami went up 3-0. The Flashes answered back as Crum found Dante Cephas on a 17-yard strike to the back of the end zone, Cephas kept his feet in bounds, and it was 7-3 Flashes.
The Kent State defense continued to force Miami to settle for field goals, with Miami settling for a trio of them in the first half. After falling down 16-7, the Flashes rallied back in the second quarter, Marquez Cooper scored from five yards out and crossed 1000 yards for the season to make it 16-14. After forcing a punt, the Flashes got an Andrew Glass field goal as the half expired to take a 17-16 lead into the locker room.
Kent State would never trail again. In the second half, the Flashes got two huge runs from Xavier Williams as the senior scored on 79-yard and 50-yard bursts. Williams ended the day with a career-best 168 yards on the ground and those two scores. He had more rushing yards individually than Miami had allowed to a conference opponent all season.
Credit the Red Hawks who would not go quietly. Miami answered every Kent State score with one of their own. After Keshunn Abram scored on a 70-yard catch-and-run to go up 41-31 in the fourth, Miami scored the final 10 points of regulation. But the Kent State defense got another key goal-line stop that forced a field goal in the final seconds and sent the game to overtime.
In the extra frame, the Flashes took advantage of a pair of Miami penalties. Crum called his own number on third-and-goal and gave Kent State a 48-41 lead. It took Miami just one play to score on their possession in overtime, Miami elected to go for two, setting up Miller's game-winning play.
The Flashes rolled up 642 yards of total offense, the most allowed by Miami this season. Dustin Crum threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 50 career touchdowns for his career. Crum joins Jose Davis as the only Flashes in the 50-touchdown club.
Crum spread the wealth to eight different receivers, led by Abram, who tied a career high with 138 yards receiving. Dante Cephas had 79 yards on Saturday, giving him over 1,000 yards for the season. He becomes the first receiver at Kent State with over 1,000 yards since Eugene Baker in 1997.
Kent State rushed for 303 yards, with Xavier Williams (168 yards) and Marquez Cooper (126 yards) leading the way. Cooper crossed the 1,000-yard mark for the year, becoming the first back to cross 1,000 yards for the Flashes since 2012.
The victory moves Kent State to 7-5 on the season and 6-2 in the MAC while Miami falls to 6-6 overall and 5-3 in conference play. The Flashes and Huskies will play for the Rocket Mortgage MAC Championship next Saturday at Ford Field. Kickoff is set for noon.
