MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE Miami of Ohio keeps winning streak alive

The RedHawks routed Central Florida and broke the conference scoring record.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The wins are piling up for No. 15 Miami of Ohio and so are the points.
Ben Roethlisberger completed 24 of 29 passes for five touchdowns and 327 yards, leading the RedHawks to their 11th straight victory and a conference scoring record with a 56-21 win against Central Florida on Friday.
Miami (11-1, 8-0 Mid-American) last won this many consecutive games in 1972-73, and posted its first undefeated conference season since 1977. The last team to win all of its MAC games was Marshall in 1999.
The RedHawks' 504 points broke the MAC's single-season scoring mark of 495, set by Toledo last year.
"Not only have we won 11 in a row, we've won them convincingly," Miami coach Terry Hoeppner said. "It's a real tribute to the coaches and the players."
The RedHawks play for the conference title on Thursday against the winner of today's game between Toledo and No. 22 Bowling Green. Miami also has accepted a bid to the GMAC Bowl on Dec. 18, in Mobile, Ala.
Roethlisberger credited the warm weather for his performance. It was 80 degrees at kickoff, with the thermometers back in Ohio registering about half that.
"It was nice coming down from the snow we practiced in before we came here," said Roethlisberger, who tied the school record for scoring passes. "The ball just seemed to feel good in my hand, and I told [Hoeppener], 'I think I might be able to get 350, 400 yards.'
"And he said, 'Do it quick.' "
Roethlisberger was pulled after his only pass of the second half, a 27-yard touchdown to Michael Larkin that put Miami up 42-0. Roethlisberger and Larkin also had a 3-yard TD connection on the opening play of the second quarter.
With a 35-yard scoring pass to Martin Nance with 31 seconds remaining before halftime, Roethlisberger became the fifth quarterback in MAC history to surpass 10,000 career passing yards.
"It was a good game because it shows everybody's involved," Roethlisberger said. "We had a bunch of guys [14] catch balls and a bunch of guys [four] catch touchdowns, and two backs ran for touchdowns."
UCF (3-9, 2-6) finished with its worst record since 1984, which also was the last time the Golden Knights fired a coach in midseason. Mike Kruczek was replaced by interim coach Alan Gooch on Nov. 10.
Marshall 28, Ohio 0
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Marshall easily won the Battle of the Bell. Now it has a battle for a bowl.
Graham Gochneaur threw for one touchdown and ran for another to lead Marshall to victory over Ohio.
Marshall (8-4, 6-2 Mid-American) now must wait to learn whether its six-year bowl streak will be snapped. If so, it would mark the first time since 1990 that the Thundering Herd have not played a postseason game.
"If it doesn't happen, fine," said Marshall coach Bob Pruett. "But we gave ourselves an opportunity."
The MAC has never sent three teams to bowls. East Division winner Miami of Ohio will play in the GMAC Bowl and the winner of today's Toledo-Bowling Green game will head to the Motor City Bowl.
That leaves the Toledo-Bowling Green loser, Northern Illinois and Marshall at risk of staying home. Their bowl choices dwindled Friday when Navy (7-4) accepted a bid to the Houston Bowl.