Every win in the Battle of the Bricks is memorable.But some are

especially memorable.And Tuesday's 34-17 Miami victory in the 103rd edition of this historic rivalry was one for the record books.

The RedHawks overcame a 17-0 second-quarter deficit and ripped off 34 straight points to shock Ohio and hand the Bobcats (7-3, 5-1 MAC) their first conference loss of the season.

The comeback started slowly at first. A first down here. A third-down conversion there. A Scoop Smith touchdown pass. (Yes, a wide receiver pass; you read that correctly)

And then, after halftime, the avalanche picked up steam.

Drew Bellisari juking defenders.

Grant Lyons dominating the backfield.

Brady Stidham hitting clutch kicks.

And by the final two minutes, this midweek #MACtion game was a downright whirlwind.

Malcolm McCain forcing a fumble and then coming out of the pile with the ball.

D'Shawntae Jones rumbling 48 yards to pay dirt on the next play.

Amariyun Knighten weaving through Bobcats for a pick-six.

And somehow, someway, a 17-point deficit was a 17-point lead, the Yager Stadium crowd of 17,156 was in full-blown pandemonium mode, and the Miami RedHawks (6-4, 4-2 MAC) were bowl-eligible.

"Crazy, crazy, crazy," said head coach Chuck Martin. "Against a good team, to come from down 17?...

"That's why they call it MACtion. 17-0 to 34-17: 'Whoda thunk it?' Who at 17-0 thought we were gonna win going away?...

"I've been proud of a lot of wins in my life, but I haven't been more proud of a group," Martin continued. "To pull this one out was pretty special."

Bellisari came off the bench in relief of injured starter Caleb Heavner in the second quarter and threw for 99 yards, adding 64 rushing yards on three carries. The true freshman completed 53.3% of his passes without a turnover and sparked the biggest comeback victory for the RedHawks since 2014.

"With a freshman quarterback, I was [literally] going through the script with him at halftime: 'What do you like?'" Martin recounted, laughing about crossing plays off the list as they went. "It would have been a great movie...

"He didn't take a rep in fall camp. He didn't take a rep until David [McComb] went down after Week Four...

"Then he makes the 4th-and-10 play and saved the game...

"Could he be any calmer out there?," Martin asked. "Just couldn't be prouder of him."

"It was definitely crazy...we always talk about how you've got to be ready: 'Next man up,'" Bellisari told reporters after the game.

"You dream of moments like that your whole life...I was a little nervous, but at the end of the day, it's just ball.

"It's the same game you've been playing since you were a kid there out in the backyard. So, just go out there and have fun and let it loose."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Ohio took a 17-0 first-half lead, Miami put together a six-play, 55-yard touchdown drive to get on the scoreboard. Pressed into duty late in the second quarter, Bellisari connected with Braylon Isom for a key third-down conversion ahead of the two-minute timeout to keep the possession alive. Smith then found Maleek Huggins on a wide receiver pass from 15 yards away for a touchdown to pull the hosts within 17-7 with 1:02 to go. Ohio tried to tack on to its lead before the half expired, but Blayne Myrick came up with a pass breakup in the end zone on a fake field goal to keep the margin at 10.
• Miami closed within 17-14 on a one-yard Jones run with seven minutes remaining in the third period. The drive began with a 21-yard play-action completion to Lynel Billups-Williams to move the RedHawks into OU territory, and Bellisari moved the chains on 4th-and-9 at the Ohio 32 with a highlight-reel scramble that got all the way to the one-yard line.
• The RedHawks pulled even in the opening minute of the fourth quarter on a 36-yard Stidham field goal. Miami began the scoring drive at its own 40-yard line and capitalized on a 23-yard catch by Damarion Witten to get into the red zone before Stidham's kick tied the game.
• The Red and White took the lead for the first time with 3:55 to play, as Bellisari picked up 26 yards on a keeper (with an OU personal foul added on) to move into scoring position and Stidham knocked in a 25-yard field goal four plays later to put the hosts up 20-17.
• McCain made the biggest defensive play of the game on fourth down with 1:55 to go, forcing a fumble on a massive hit alongside CJ Young and then coming up with the football to prematurely end the visitors' drive. On the very next play, Jones raced 48 yards untouched to the end zone to make it a two-possession game. And on the Bobcats' next offensive snap, Knighten's 58-yard interception return put the exclamation point on a night that won't soon be forgotten.

JUST LIKE THEY 'DREW' IT UP: Ask a dozen different people which one play made the biggest difference in flipping tonight's momentum and you might get a dozen different answers, but it's hard to argue with Bellisari's third-quarter run to set up Miami's second touchdown. In a 4th-and-long play that lasted 13 seconds, Bellisari danced around the pocket, took off, ducked under a would-be tackler, and got within inches of scoring. One minute, Miami was in a 3rd-and-17 hole with a 16.8% chance of winning (according to the ESPN app), and literally the next minute, it was somehow a one-score game.

"We don't win if he doesn't make that play," Martin said. "There's nobody open. He scrambled and then he almost gets in – an amazing play...Drew scrambled, and next thing you know, he's showing some acceleration and knifes through there to get the ball to the one and all of a sudden now we're rolling.

"That was huge."

DETERMINED DEFENSE: "For the first time all year, it felt like Miami's defense was in the house," Martin said. The RedHawks held Ohio scoreless for the final 37-plus minutes of the game and held OU to 3-of-18 on third-down conversions (16.7%) for the night to go along with the two crucial takeaways in the final two minutes. "They always say turnovers come in bunches, and it holds true," said McCain.

"Credit to our defense: They shut them out after they scored 17 points," Bellisari said. "It took everybody, not just one person tonight."

BRINGING THE NOISE: "The crowd was amazing," McCain said. "We had great student attendance; I could see the crowd was into it. That motivates us to put on a good show for them."

"The fans were amazing...they were loud...and it was huge for us," said Martin. "On a Tuesday night? We got the momentum, and then the defense is getting those stops, and the place is getting loud... It was a great, great, great university win...

"It was incredible...there was a big, big crowd. We're appreciative; it meant a lot in the comeback for sure."

SPECIAL-TEAMS STANDOUTS: Stidham made field goals from 36 and 25 in the fourth quarter, marking his first collegiate game with multiple makes and surpassing his previous career long of 33. Pierse Stainton placed six of his eight punts inside the 20-yard line, with an average of 43.4 yards and a long of 61 yards.

LYONS' ROAR: Lyons recorded two sacks, marking his third multi-sack game this year. Lyons becomes one of only five players nationally with a pair of sacks in three different games this season.

SCOOP N' SCORE:Scoop Smith has now created a touchdown in six different ways this season, including kickoff return, rush, reception, recovering a blocked punt, blocking a punt someone else recovered for a touchdown, and now a touchdown pass.

McCAIN MAKING MOVES: McCain led all players with 12 tackles, marking the fifth game of his career with at least 10 tackles. "He didn't practice at all last week; he didn't practice at all this week," said Martin. "He's just sitting there and rehabbing and paying attention and then he goes out there and plays out of his mind with no practice. He doesn't have to [do that]...but he goes out and battles for his teammates. Pretty amazing."

WHAT A RUSH: Jones finished with a career-high 115 yards on 18 carries and a pair of touchdowns, producing his second consecutive 100-yard game. His 48-yard touchdown run marked the longest rush of his career.

COMEBACK CENTRAL: The RedHawks overcame a deficit of at least 17 points to win for the first time since October 4, 2014, when Miami beat Massachusetts 42-41 after trailing 41-14 early in the third quarter.

MARTIN'S MILESTONE: With tonight's win (his 78th at Miami), Martin moved into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time win list for Mid-American Conference coaches, passing Doyt Perry (77).

TO THE HOUSE: Knighten recorded the first pick-six of his career and Miami's second this season (Myrick vs Akron, 10/17).

ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER BOWL: Miami is now bowl-eligible and will look to head to the postseason for the sixth year in a row. The RedHawks have been bowl-eligible in 10 of the past 11 seasons.

BEATING THE BOBCATS: "It means everything," Martin said after the game when asked about pulling out such a dramatic win in such an important rivalry. "Coming back from 17 against anyone – even if it was the worst team on our schedule— still would have been a great comeback. You don't come back from 17.

"But doing it against a quality team like OU, it means more. And then [in] a rivalry game?...

"It's a great rivalry. It's intense...[like] in hoops last year, that was an amazing game," Martin said, referencing the men's basketball 110-108 overtime thriller in Athens that secured a perfect season. "Anybody that watched that thing, it made it even better that it was OU, right? That would have been great against anybody, but the fact it was OU and at OU made it even so much more awesome, right?...

"To do this against them is pretty awesome."

Miami is now 57-44-2 vs. Ohio and 34-16-2 at home in the Battle of the Bricks.

UP NEXT:
The RedHawks travel to Kent State next Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.