Buffalo bridges 15-point Miami lead, wins 34-31 in OT

Buffalo quarterback Jason Wright wanted his last throw back.

On first-and-10 inside Miami territory, Wright took the ball, stared down his receiver, and had the ball tipped at the line by multiple Miami defenders. Linebacker CJ Young would fall under the ball, giving the RedHaws the ball at their own 39-yard line.

It was Buffalo's third turnover in as many drives, as special teams missed a blocking assignment in punt protection to start the second half, resulting in Miami's Scoop Smith falling on the blocked punt in the endzone for a touchdown to put the RedHawks up 24-10, and Wright tossed an interception to Toney Coleman in the Miami redzone on the previous drive– which got him reprimanded by his position coach.

Wright trotted slowly back to the sidelines by his lonesome, aware he might have cost the team the game with 9:39 remaining in the third quarter.

Instead, from that moment on, Wright would light up the scoreboard, tossing two touchdowns and rushing for another in a frantic 34-31 overtime victory over the Miami RedHawks (5-4, 3-2 MAC).

The Bulls (6-3, 4-1 MAC) played from behind over most of the game after opening the contest with an Oliver Hautanen field goal from 33 yards out. Miami responded back with a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 21-yard touchdown catch by Braylon Isom to put the RedHawks up 7-3 with 5:29 to go in the first quarter. Rodney Nelson rang in the start of the second quarter with a 10-yard rushing touchdown to double the Miami lead at 14-3.

The teams stalemated for a bit from there, but back-t0-back defensive pass interference calls– and three penalties overall in four plays– would set up Buffalo in scoring position at the Miami two-yard line near the end of the first half, giving Jason Wright a chance to score on a QB sneak and cut the margin to 14-10.

Miami would get some assistance from a defensive penalty on their next possession, as Xavier Leonard was flagged on a third-and-five incompletion, placing the ball inside Buffalo territory. Momentum swung the other way, however, as a false start on third-and-10 forced Miami to settle for a field goal with 28 seconds left after failing to convert on third-and-15, putting the score at 17-10 at the halftime break.

Fast forward to after Wright's second interception of the third quarter, and the game started to gradually turn in UB's favor.

The RedHawks were forced to settle for a field goal on third-and-eight from the UB 24-yard line, and Kellan McLauglin hooked a potential field goal wide left, keeping the score at a 24-10 margin.

Now unsettled, Miami's defense would once again get caught for multiple penalties on Buffalo's next drive, committing an offsides, a defensive holding and (most crucially) a pass interference call on third-and-five inside Miami's five-yard line placing the ball first-and-goal at the two-yard line.

Wright's pass to Chance Morrow would convert for points, putting the game at 24-16 after Hautanen's extra-point kick missed short and to the left.

UB's defense had Miami cornered on third-and-eight with 12:34 remaining, but Caleb Heavner would manage to find Carl Jenkins Jr. for a 13-yard gain and Cornell Evans got hit with a personal foul, setting up Scoop Smith for a six-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse play to put the RedHawks back in command at 31-16.

The Bulls responded on both sides of the ball.

Wright and Morrow connected for eight points on the ensuing drive, connecting for a four-yard scoring strike and a two-point conversion to put the tally at 31-24 Miami with 8:56 remaining, while Will Clark chased down Caleb Heavner for a six-yard sack on third-and-nine from the Buffalo 33-yard line, taking the RedHawks out of field goal range.

UB killed the clock on a 14-play, 80-yard drive to eventually tie the game, with Jason Wright calling his own number on a QB sneak with 1:35 in regulation.

Will Clark came up clutch once again on the first play of the defensive series, getting to Claeb Heavner for the second time in as many snaps for a nine-yard loss, dooming the drive to a quick three-and-out taking only 28 seconds off the clock.

Buffalo opted to run the clock out and go into overtime, with Miami winning the toss and electing to go on defense.

Wright would finding Dwayne Early for a third-and-10 conversion after two-straight incompletions, helping to help set up Oliver Hautanen for a 27-yard field goal to take the 34-31 lead.

Miami's offense struggled to move the ball once again on their overtime possession, getting three yards on the run initially before a no-gain run and an incompletion forced another field goal try.

Things got worse for the normally stoic RedHawks special teams unit, as long snapper Trey Wallman was called for a false start due to not being set at the line.

The flag pushed the try from 40 yards to 45, and McLaughlin's kick would clang off the right upright, securing Buffalo's first win at Yager Stadium since 2015.

Buffalo posted one of their best offensive performances of the 2026 campaign, completely flipping the table on what was expected going in.

The Bulls, usually known for their ground-and-pound look, took to the skies vs. the RedHawks, passing for 358 yards and two touchdowns on the night. Chance Morrow hauled in an incredible 12 receptions for 199 yards, scoring both touchdowns for the Bulls, with Dwayne Early (four receptions, 80 yards) contributing on key conversions. Wright finished 22-of-46 passing for 358 yards, four total touchdowns (two each passing and rushing) and two picks.

Messiah Burch, who came into the game on a five-game streak of 100+ yard performances, was limited to 56 yards on 14 carries.

Ronnell Davis led the UB defense with nine total tackles (eight solo), while Sedrick Vessa notched seven tackles, including two TFLs and a sack. Will Clark was the hero of the fourth quarter, with four tackles, two TFLs and two sacks.

Oliver Hautanen hit on both of his field goal tries, though he did miss on an extra-point.

Miami, meanwhile, struggled offensively, converting on just 33 percent of third-down attempts and completing just over 50 percent in the passing game while failing to turn two interceptions into points.

Caleb Heavner finished 12-of-23 passing for 154 yards and a touchdown, with 13 carries for 28 pre-sack yards. D'Shawntae Jones led the rushing effort with 112 yards on 17 carries, averaging 6.6 yards per carry, a silver lining on an otherwise miserable day. Braylon Isom led the RedHawks in receptions (seven), yards (89) and touchdowns (one).

Linebacker Malcolm McCain gritted through an injury suffered last week and finished with 11 total tackles to lead Miami's defense, while CJ Young had seven tackles, a TFL and an interception on the evening. Roosevelt Andrews III collected another sack to add to his total as well.

Kellen McLaughlin was a goat in the archaic sense, converting on just one of three placekick attempts, his third game with multiple misses in 2026.

Despite now standing at 6-3, Buffalo is one victory away from claiming a bowl bid thanks to a scheduling quirk which saw them play two FCS teams in non-conference play. They're in the driver's seat for a potential trip to Detroit with a tiebreaker over Toledo in hand.

Miami can't seem to get away from one-score contests, and are now 3-3 in such games in the 2026 campaign. Now saddled with two conference losses, they're going to need a lot of help if they want to go to Detroit for a fourth-straight year.

UB plays Ball State next Wednesday night, while Miami hosts Ohio for the annual Battle of the Bricks next Tuesday night.