Roethlisberger keys Miami win

The RedHawks beat Bowling Green, 49-27, for their first MAC title since 1986.
BOWLING GREEN (AP) -- Ben Roethlisberger was quick to credit his teammates for making him look good in the Mid-American Conference championship.
"All I had to do was put it out there and they made the play," the Miami (Ohio) quarterback said after the No. 14 RedHawks beat No. 20 Bowling Green 49-27 Thursday night.
Roethlisberger also praised his linemen for not allowing a sack.
"I still have a white jersey," Roethlisberger said with a grin.
Make no mistake, though, Roethlisberger was a major reason for the rout. He threw for 440 yards and four touchdowns, and spread the ball around to nine receivers.
Even when he was under pressure, he just calmly stepped up or rolled out, completing nearly everything he threw. He became just the second MAC quarterback to go over 4,000 yards in a season, joining Byron Leftwich. And he's only a junior.
"People that know football marvel," Miami coach Terry Hoeppner said. "It's only people who see him for the first who are surprised."
Next season
Roethlisberger, a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback, has remained quiet all year about whether he will return to Miami next season. He's projected to be a top pick in the NFL draft if he comes out.
Bowling Green had no answer for Roethlisberger, who was on target all night with short throws and then went deep when the Falcons played tighter coverage.
"I can't wait to play them when he's gone," Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon said. "When we did pressure him, he eluded it and found receivers, and they ran past us all day."
Miami (12-1) won its first MAC title since 1986. The RedHawks haven't lost since the season opener at Iowa. The last team to win all of its MAC games was Marshall in 1999.
Miami will play Louisville in the GMAC Bowl on Dec. 18.
Accepted bowl bid
After the game, it was announced that Bowling Green (10-3) accepted a bid to play in the Motor City Bowl Dec. 26.
Roethlisberger led Miami to scores on its first four possessions of the second half. He sealed the victory with a 55-yard scoring pass to Calvin Murray, who found a seam along the sideline.
That put the RedHawks ahead 42-20 with 17 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Falcons trailed 21-17 at the half, despite being out-gained 306 yards to 172.
But P.J. Pope fumbled on the first two possessions of the second half, giving the RedHawks the ball inside Falcons territory each time.
And Miami took advantage.
Big lead
Murray scored on a 1-yard plunge and Mike Smith ran 13 yards for the first of his two touchdowns, giving the RedHawks a 35-17 lead with 4:57 remaining in the third quarter.
"They pretty much blew the game open after those two turnovers," Brandon said.
Roethlisberger, the conference's player of the year, threw four touchdown passes for the third straight game and completed 26 of 35 passes.
He has 4,110 passing yards this year. Leftwich surpassed 4,000 twice with Marshall -- in 2001 and 2002.
Roethlisberger also broke Leftwich's MAC title game record of 421 yards set in 2001.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.