AKRON, OH -- Whatever frustrations the Miami RedHawks may have had from not playing in 18 days, they were able to channel those vibes for a positive outcome Saturday. Other than a sputtering ground game, Miami shined in just about every other phase of play on the way to a 38-7 win at Infocision Stadium.
Quarterback Brett Gabbert and wideout Jack Sorenson renewed their aerial connection, combining for . . .
Gabbert, meanwhile, had seen just over one quarter worth of action in 2020. After sustaining a concussion against Ball State in Week One, he missed the following week as Miami fell at Buffalo.
"We know we didn't play our best football," said Miami head coach Chuck Martin, who added his team wanted to show it could play at a higher level.
A rivalry game with Ohio the following week might have given MU a chance to up its game, but Covid-19 issues with the OU roster wiped out that encounter.
According to Martin, the RedHawks' disappointment lasted about one day, and then MU turned its focus to Akron. The Zips, now riding a 21-game losing streak, took the brunt of it Saturday as Miami notched the program's 700th victory.
Miami's defense swarmed its way to seven sacks and held Akron rushing to a net four yards. Junior running back Teon Dollard, who averaged 183.5 ypg over the previous two weeks, managed just 22 yards on 13 trips against MU.
The RedHawks defense also contributed to scoring with a 62-yard pick six return by Emmanuel Rugamba. It was the only turnover of the game by either team and one of two long-distance scores for Miami. Sorenson turned a bubble screen into a 61-yard score at 9:35 of the first quarter.
Henry Beckett's 42-yard field goal early in the second stanza upped MU's lead to 10-0, and two more Gabbert-to-Sorenson strikes (29- and 28-yards) gave the visitors a 24-0 halftime advantage.
Akron's defense kept Miami's offense off the board in the third period. Part of the credit went to limited the RedHawks run game. Bubba Arsianian (11 tackles) and Brandon Bishof (9 tackles) were part of unit that gave up just 108 rushing yards. Forty-eight of those came from Gabbert scrambles.
Rugamba's pick-six interception came off a high throw that tipped off the receivers hands. Already moving forward as he made the catch, Rugamba sprinted his way to paydirt. That put Miami up 31-0 and Sorenson added one more TD reception (15 yards) with 11:37 remaining.
Akron tallied the game's final score when Zach Gibson hit Michael Mathison with an 11-yard pass at 8:08.
NOTES:
-- MU held a 416-146 advantage in total yards and 17-14 edge in first downs. However, Akron had the ball for 31:43.
-- The RedHawks were 9-of-15 on third down conversions, while UA moved the sticks on 3-of-11.
-- The Zips were flagged just three times, costing 15 total yards. Miami incurred nine penalties for 102 yards.
-- Junior wideout MAC Hippenhammer, formerly a Penn State Nittany Lion, caught five balls for 77 yards.
-- Akron QB Zach Gibson completed 16-of-27 passes for 141 yards with one TD and one interception.
-- George Qualis Jr. led Akron receivers with three catches for 50 yards.