Jarren Williams passed for 250 yards and one touchdown, leading host Miami to a 17-12 win over Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon.
Miami (2-2) got touchdowns from DeeJay Dallas (1-yard run) and K.J. Osborn (6-yard reception) as the Hurricanes survived an upset attempt by the Chippewas, who were 31-point underdogs.
Williams, a redshirt freshman, has passed for more than 200 yards in each of his four starts, and he has yet to be intercepted in 117 passes. He completed 17-of-24 passes on Saturday.
Central Michigan (2-2) was led by Ryan Tice, who made the second-longest field goal in school history, connecting from 55 yards. It was Tice's career long and two yards short of the CMU record.
Quarterback David Moore scored CMU's only touchdown on a 1-yard run.
Miami scored on its first possession, an eight-play, 85-yard drive that culminated with Dallas' run on fourth and goal. Hurricanes backup tight end Will Mallory was huge on that march, catching two passes for 59 yards.
After that, Miami's offense stalled the rest of the half, and Central Michigan closed its deficit to 7-2, getting a safety when Jacques Bristol sacked Williams in the end zone.
Miami started the second half like it did the first half -- with a long touchdown drive. Miami took the second-half kickoff and marched eight plays and 75 yards, capped by Williams' 6-yard pass to Osborn.
Central Michigan closed the third-quarter scoring with Tice's 55-yarder, cutting the Chippewas deficit to 14-5.
Miami's Bubba Baxa, who entered the game struggling on field goals (4-for-8), missed wide right on a 27-yarder with 11:46 left in the fourth quarter. But the miss was negated by a roughing-the-kicker penalty, and Baxa made a 22-yarder on the next play, giving Miami a 17-5 lead.
CMU then mounted an incredible 17-play, 55-yard touchdown drive, capped by Moore's 1-yard run. Due to numerous penalties, CMU ran 12 plays from within Miami's 11-yard line. The Chippewas also converted on three fourth-down plays.
Miami, which has yet to stop an opponent on a fourth-down try -- going 0-for-8 -- then held on for the win when cornerback Al Blades intercepted Moore's pass in the final minute.
It was the first career interception for Blades.
--Field Level Media
