Miami Finally Won the Game That Tried to Get Away

Miami has spent much of this season learning how quickly a game can disappear. Cincinnati erased a 21-point halftime deficit, Bowling Green scored the winning touchdown with seven seconds remaining and UMass drove 91 yards before scoring with one second left on Saturday.

This time, Malcolm McCain made the play. The senior linebacker tackled Reece Adkins in the backfield on UMass' attempted game-winning two-point conversion, preserving a 20-19 victory and allowing everyone associated with Miami football to breathe again.

It was not comfortable, convincing or particularly attractive. It was still a road victory over a UMass team that entered as one of the MAC's biggest surprises, and it moved Miami to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play. After the past three weeks, surviving counts.

The Running Game Finally Became the Safety Net

Miami entered the afternoon needing its rushing attack to protect Caleb Heavner. For the first time since he became the starting quarterback, it actually did. The RedHawks rushed for 165 yards on 36 attempts while holding UMass to 65 yards on the ground.

Heavner led Miami with 54 rushing yards and a touchdown, Rodney Nelson added 52 yards and Scoop Smith scored on a well-designed 20-yard reverse. Miami's first touchdown drive featured five consecutive runs, including first downs on Heavner keepers of 29, 14 and four yards before Scoop finished the possession.

After Desmon Yharbrough stuffed UMass on fourth-and-inches, Nelson ran for 15 yards and Heavner scored two plays later. That stretch offered a glimpse of what Miami's offense can become without David McComb. It does not need Heavner to reproduce McComb's production through the air, but it does need a functional running game, selective quarterback movement and enough creativity to place the ball in the hands of players such as Scoop.

The passing game remains a concern. Heavner completed only 6 of 20 attempts for 95 yards, and Miami converted 3 of 13 third downs. However, he avoided a turnover, led the team in rushing and produced the touchdown that gave Miami a lead it never surrendered. That qualifies as progress, even if it leaves plenty to fix.

The Defense Won It Twice

Miami's defense nearly allowed another painful ending, but it was also the primary reason the RedHawks had a lead to protect. Roosevelt Andrews produced nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, while McCain added eight tackles, a pass breakup and two quarterback hurries before making the play that ended the game.

Yharbrough's fourth-down stop created Miami's second touchdown. Grant Lyons recovered a third-quarter fumble that led to three points, and the defense held UMass to only 65 rushing yards on 30 attempts.

UMass finished with 319 total yards, but before its final two possessions, the Minutemen had managed 13 points and spent much of the second half trapped near their own end zone. Then came the part Miami cannot ignore. UMass drove 91 yards in 2:21 behind third-string quarterback Logan Inagawa, converted fourth-and-6 and scored with one second remaining.

Miami committed a pass-interference penalty during the drive and again allowed an opponent to move almost uncontested with the game at stake. The final stop does not erase that failure, but it matters that Miami responded. McCain recognized the play, attacked the backfield and prevented the season from absorbing another devastating finish. The defense bent until there was nowhere left to bend, then finally made the tackle.

Special Teams Quietly Controlled the Game

Miami scored only 20 points, making every hidden yard especially valuable. Pierse Stainton placed six of his seven punts inside the UMass 20-yard line, Luke Myers blocked a punt and Lynel Billups-Williams returned another punt 20 yards to help create Miami's fourth-quarter field goal.

Kellan McLaughlin remained perfect one week after earning MAC Special Teams Player of the Week. He converted both extra points and made field goals from 27 and 47 yards, with the longer kick ultimately providing the winning point differential.

Miami's offense repeatedly failed to finish drives, but its specialists ensured those failures did not become empty possessions or favorable UMass field position. In a one-point game, that was decisive.

A Memorable Week for Heavner

Heavner has been asked to inherit a season that was designed around someone else. His first two starts have included a crushing final-minute loss and a road game that came down to its final second.

The broadcast also revealed that Heavner recently got engaged, so congratulations to him and his fiancée. Winning his first game as Miami's full-time starting quarterback probably made for a considerably more enjoyable week. Although after watching UMass score with one second remaining, planning a wedding may suddenly feel like the less stressful responsibility.

His passing numbers were rough, and Miami will need considerably more balance as MAC play continues. But Heavner protected the football, used his legs effectively and left Amherst with his first victory as the quarterback responsible for leading this team. That is worth appreciating.

Miami Survived, but It Still Has Work to Do

Chuck Martin and his staff deserve credit for building an early rushing plan around Heavner's mobility and producing a defensive response after last week's dreadful performance. Miami played with greater physicality, pressured the quarterback and finally received the ground production it expected entering the season.

The offensive approach after the first quarter was much less encouraging. Miami gained only 260 total yards, scored six points over the final three quarters and could not end the game after receiving the ball with 4:55 remaining. The recurring penalties also continued, with eight flags costing the RedHawks 64 yards. Those problems will matter against better MAC opponents, and they nearly mattered against UMass.

Miami still accomplished something Saturday that it failed to do against Cincinnati and Bowling Green. It found the final play. The season did not suddenly become what we imagined in August, and the bigger bowl dream remains mostly gone, but there is value in watching Heavner develop, Scoop create explosive plays and a defense attempt to grow around performances like the ones Andrews and McCain delivered. Miami did not reclaim the original hype, but it earned the right to keep looking for some.