ATHENS, Ohio – Ohio’s offense overcome a first-half shutout and the defense held on Miami’s final drive inside the 20-yard line, giving the Bobcats their sixth straight victory against the RedHawks in the Battle of the Bricks, 21-14, on Wednesday night at Peden Stadium.

Miami quarterback Zac Dysert was sacked by Mose Denton on fourth-and-10, putting an end to the RedHawks’ potential tying drive that had reached the Ohio 14-yard line with 1:19 remaining.

Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton topped the 100-yard mark rushing for the second straight game, carrying 12 times for 111 yards. He also accounted for all three touchdowns with second-half scoring passes and went 18 of 26 passing for 203 yards.

“It feels pretty good,” senior defensive tackle Jeff King said. “I’ve never lost to them and I didn’t plan on losing to them in my last game. It feels great.”

Dysert accounted for all but four of the RedHawks’ 433 yards of offense, completing 35 of 53 passes for 372 yards for a touchdown and adding 57 yards rushing with a score.

Miami (4-8, 3-5 Mid-American Conference) led 7-0 at halftime, but Ohio (9-3, 6-2 MAC) got its offense in gear in the third quarter, moving the ball into the red zone on its first four possessions after the break and going on top 21-7 on a 4-yard pass from Tettleton to Dunlop with 10:38 remaining.

But Dysert led the RedHawks back quickly with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that took only 2:12 and was capped off by a 16-yard touchdown pass to Nick Harwell, who finished with 14 catches for 163 yards.

After Ohio went three-and-out, Miami had 4:17 left to drive 83 yards for the tying score.

Miami converted a pair of third downs and on second-and-18, Dysert hit Harwell for a 21-yard strike to the 14. However, he threw three straight incompletions to bring up fourth down, and Denton got to Dysert from behind on a corner blitz.

“Our guys hung in there defensively,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “They’re not an easy team to stop. They’re going to get their passing yards. They really have gotten passing yards against everybody they played. … We blitzed in the end and that was important for us. We hadn’t blitzed a lot up until then, just when we really needed it.”

After taking the second-half kickoff, the Bobcats drove to the RedHawks 17-yard line, but Tettleton was picked off along the right sideline by Jaytee Swanson at the 10-yard line.

However, the Bobcats defense got the ball back for the offense quickly and Tettleton led a 13-play, 89-yard drive. He completed a 27-yard pass to Jordan Thompson and later an 11-yard completion to the tight end and finally connected with him again on third-and-goal for a 4-yard touchdown that tied the game with 5:49 left in the third quarter.

Miami moved to the Ohio 15-yard line on its next possession, but a sack for a loss of 13 yards by Keith Moore and Josh Kristoff pushed the RedHawks back. They attempted a pooch punt by Dysert on fourth down from the 28, but it carried into the end zone for a touchback.

A 27-yard third down completion to Donte Foster keyed the Bobcats’ go-ahead drive and he later hooked up with Foster for a 4-yard score with 11:58 to go.

After Miami went three-and-out, Ohio took possession at midfield, and on the first play, Tettleton changed directions and broke free to the 2-yard line. Finally, on third-and-goal from the 4, Tettleton hit a wide-open Riley Dunlop for a 21-7 advantage.

“I think they bit down on Jordan and we’ve been repping that all week in practice,” Dunlop said. “Our defense bit on it just like they did and it just leaves me wide open. The corner moved out and I was running a post and it just worked out perfectly.”

While the Bobcats moved the ball with ease in the first half, they were shut out in a half for the first time in the first two quarters.

With Ohio’s offense sputtering, Miami built an early lead, even though it missed opportunities, beginning on the opening possession.

Ryan Kennedy was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line, and on third down, Dysert was sacked by Curtis Meyers for a loss of 12 yards. Mike Krysinksi then missed a 30-yard field goal try wide left.

Miami took the lead on its second possession, scoring on a 2-yard scramble by Dysert with 3:04 remaining.

The RedHawks drove into Bobcats territory on their next two drives, but the Bobcats defense held.

Ohio’s best scoring chance of the first half came on the last play of the first quarter when Matt Weller missed a 48-yard field goal wide right.

“We just came out really slow and sloppy in the first half,” Tettleton said. “We put in some things at halftime that we really thought would hit them off guard. They were blitzing a lot in the first half and it was kind of throwing us off, but we made some adjustments and we came out and put some points on the board.”

The Bobcats clinched at least a share of the East Division title and a spot in their third MAC Championship Game in six years a week ago when they beat Bowling Green and the RedHawks lost to Western Michigan. But there was still plenty to play for, Dunlop said.

“It’s Miami,” he said. “It’s enough motivation. It’s all we need. We don’t need to try to hype each other up for a game like this, especially us beating them five times in a row before this. We hate them; we really do. It’s a rivalry. You’ve got to hate your rival. We didn’t need any extra motivation.”

Foster had five receptions for 65 yards for Ohio, while Donte Harden rushed 19 times for 71 yards.

Chris Givens made eight catches for 92 yards for Miami, but three Miami running backs combined to run the ball six times for just four yards.

Keith Moore, who played extended time in place of Noah Keller, led Ohio with 10 tackles, including 1.5 sacks.

“It was an injury that we’re probably not going to identify, but he could not play on it,” Solich said. “We’ll see. With 10 days before the next one, he has a chance.”

Center Skyler Allen also left the game with an injury that makes him questionable for the MAC Championship Game, Solich said.

Ryan Kennedy paced Miami’s defense with 10 tackles.

“I thought our guys did a great job of getting better as the game went on,” Solich said. “Certainly the second half was much better than the first half really in all three phases of the game.”

Next up for the Bobcats is the MAC Championship Game at 7 p.m. Dec. 2 at Ford Field in Detroit. Northern Illinois can clinch the West Division spot in the game with a victory against Eastern Michigan or with a Toledo loss to Ball State on Friday.