As the clock dwindled down on a chilly Tuesday in November, the Miami Redhawks won their sixth straight game and officially became bowl-eligible for the first time since 2010. The most impressive part is that they came back from a 0-6 start to finish 6-6, becoming the first team in FBS history to pull off such a feat.
Down six to the Ball State Cardinals with 5:44 left in the game, redshirt sophomore quarterback Gus Ragland threw a beautiful 27-yard pass to senior wide receiver Sam Shisso to put the Redhawks ahead 21-20. The defense, after being beaten up all night by Ball State’s rush, held the Cardinals to 20 points to bring home the W.
The team’s victory was met with cheers and joy from the few remaining students on campus as they rushed the field to join the Hawks and band in a rendition of Love & Honor, Miami’s fight song.
The midseason rush was led by Ragland, who went 6-0 in six starts this season. After recovering from an ACL tear last spring, Ragland guided the Redhawks to a historic season as they conquered Ball State in their final regular season game.
Honestly, I never thought I’d see the day. The Redhawks have worked their butts off to become a respectable team, despite the less than impressive start to the season. Coach Chuck Martin shoulders some of the blame, but he improved the team’s running game and defense to win out.
The Redhawks even had a shot at the MAC Championship game until MAC East rival Ohio Bobcats beat the Akron Zips last night 9-3 to head to the conference championship. Miami will find out their bowl placement on December 4, but they’re rumored to be in the Bahamas Bowl.
Even though the 2016 season is almost over, I’m excited to follow the future of Redhawk football. Who knows, maybe we’ll finally make our “Cradle of Coaches” proud again.
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