12-03-2003, 06:26 PM
All eyes on QBs for MAC title game
By JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press Writer
December 3, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) -- Ben Roethlisberger is a classic drop-back passer, who has picked apart defenses for more than 10,000 yards in his career.
Josh Harris is a triple-threat, beating opponents with his sharp passes, electrifying runs and even a reception off a trick play.
The play of those two quarterbacks will be a big factor in deciding who will win the Mid-American Conference championship game on Thursday night.
Roethlisberger leads the offense for No. 14 Miami of Ohio (11-1, 8-0), throwing for 3,670 yards and 29 touchdowns this season. He's just the fifth quarterback in MAC history to surpass 10,000 career passing yards, and he's only a junior.
Harris has been nearly as prolific for No. 20 Bowling Green (10-2, 7-1), throwing for 3,167 yards and 22 touchdowns. Harris has also run for 679 yards and 11 TDs and even caught a 48-yard score last week.
``He's an exceptional runner and a very good thrower,'' Roethlisberger said. ``You can tell that offense is built around him.''
Miami is one of the few teams to have success this season against Harris, the son of former NFL player M.L. Harris.
The RedHawks came at Harris with lots of pressure and forced him into three fumbles in a 33-10 victory at Miami four weeks ago. It was easily the worst outing of the year for Harris and the Falcons.
``Josh will be the first to tell you that he wasn't real sharp,'' Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon said. ``He missed some open guys that we exploited all season.''
He said that this time the offensive line will need to do a better job of protecting their quarterback.
``We did have guys open, but they did a good job mixing things up on us,'' Brandon said.
RedHawks coach Terry Hoeppner gave credit to his defense.
``They were all forced errors,'' he said. ``They weren't self-inflicted wounds. That's always part of your goal to put a little doubt in the quarterback's mind.''
Roethlisberger wasn't particularly sharp in the first meeting either, fumbling once and throwing an interception at the 1-yard line.
The rematch may have more meaning for Bowling Green because Miami already has accepted an invitation to play Louisville in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
The Falcons, though, need a victory to assure that they'll get a spot in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit.
If they lose, the Motor City Bowl might select Northern Illinois instead, even though the Falcons beat the Huskies handily this season.
Both Miami and Bowling Green score in bunches -- Miami averages 42 points per game and Bowling Green has scored 34 per game.
``We're going to have to make sure that we score a lot of points and score them early,'' Roethlisberger said.
Hoeppner said Roethlisberger has become much better this year at understanding the offense and is more confident in changing plays at the line of scrimmage.
``He checks off a lot,'' Hoeppner said. ``There's a lot of times we're standing on the sidelines trying to figure out what play he's checking. We're as interested as the fans in the stands to find out what's going to happen next.''
Roethlisberger spreads the ball around -- 17 RedHawks receivers have caught at least one pass this season.
``Ben makes it very easy to get open,'' freshman receiver Ryne Robinson said. ``You don't have to create much space at all with the way he throws.''
In the process, Miami put up some gaudy numbers. They've scored the most points in MAC history -- 504 -- and posted their first undefeated conference season since 1977.
The last team to win all of its MAC games was Marshall in 1999.
This will mark the first time that the Thundering Herd hasn't played in the MAC title game since it began in 1997.
Both Miami and Bowling Green are first-timers in the championship game.
The RedHawks haven't won the conference title since 1986 while the last time Bowling Green did it was in 1992. Both, though, have more MAC titles -- Miami 13 and Bowling Green 10 -- than any other schools.
By JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press Writer
December 3, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) -- Ben Roethlisberger is a classic drop-back passer, who has picked apart defenses for more than 10,000 yards in his career.
Josh Harris is a triple-threat, beating opponents with his sharp passes, electrifying runs and even a reception off a trick play.
The play of those two quarterbacks will be a big factor in deciding who will win the Mid-American Conference championship game on Thursday night.
Roethlisberger leads the offense for No. 14 Miami of Ohio (11-1, 8-0), throwing for 3,670 yards and 29 touchdowns this season. He's just the fifth quarterback in MAC history to surpass 10,000 career passing yards, and he's only a junior.
Harris has been nearly as prolific for No. 20 Bowling Green (10-2, 7-1), throwing for 3,167 yards and 22 touchdowns. Harris has also run for 679 yards and 11 TDs and even caught a 48-yard score last week.
``He's an exceptional runner and a very good thrower,'' Roethlisberger said. ``You can tell that offense is built around him.''
Miami is one of the few teams to have success this season against Harris, the son of former NFL player M.L. Harris.
The RedHawks came at Harris with lots of pressure and forced him into three fumbles in a 33-10 victory at Miami four weeks ago. It was easily the worst outing of the year for Harris and the Falcons.
``Josh will be the first to tell you that he wasn't real sharp,'' Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon said. ``He missed some open guys that we exploited all season.''
He said that this time the offensive line will need to do a better job of protecting their quarterback.
``We did have guys open, but they did a good job mixing things up on us,'' Brandon said.
RedHawks coach Terry Hoeppner gave credit to his defense.
``They were all forced errors,'' he said. ``They weren't self-inflicted wounds. That's always part of your goal to put a little doubt in the quarterback's mind.''
Roethlisberger wasn't particularly sharp in the first meeting either, fumbling once and throwing an interception at the 1-yard line.
The rematch may have more meaning for Bowling Green because Miami already has accepted an invitation to play Louisville in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
The Falcons, though, need a victory to assure that they'll get a spot in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit.
If they lose, the Motor City Bowl might select Northern Illinois instead, even though the Falcons beat the Huskies handily this season.
Both Miami and Bowling Green score in bunches -- Miami averages 42 points per game and Bowling Green has scored 34 per game.
``We're going to have to make sure that we score a lot of points and score them early,'' Roethlisberger said.
Hoeppner said Roethlisberger has become much better this year at understanding the offense and is more confident in changing plays at the line of scrimmage.
``He checks off a lot,'' Hoeppner said. ``There's a lot of times we're standing on the sidelines trying to figure out what play he's checking. We're as interested as the fans in the stands to find out what's going to happen next.''
Roethlisberger spreads the ball around -- 17 RedHawks receivers have caught at least one pass this season.
``Ben makes it very easy to get open,'' freshman receiver Ryne Robinson said. ``You don't have to create much space at all with the way he throws.''
In the process, Miami put up some gaudy numbers. They've scored the most points in MAC history -- 504 -- and posted their first undefeated conference season since 1977.
The last team to win all of its MAC games was Marshall in 1999.
This will mark the first time that the Thundering Herd hasn't played in the MAC title game since it began in 1997.
Both Miami and Bowling Green are first-timers in the championship game.
The RedHawks haven't won the conference title since 1986 while the last time Bowling Green did it was in 1992. Both, though, have more MAC titles -- Miami 13 and Bowling Green 10 -- than any other schools.
