Miami shuts down Buckeyes

MIAMI -- Ohio State's first road trip under interim coach Luke Fickell was forgettable.

Lamar Miller and a swarming Miami defense saw to that. Miller ran for 188 yards, Jacory Harris threw two first-quarter TD passes to Allen Hurns and host Miami topped No. 17 Ohio State, 24-6, Saturday night.

Buckeyes quarterbacks Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller combined to complete only 4 of 17 passes, and the freshman Miller had the giveaway that sealed Ohio State's fate when he had the ball punched out by Miami's Marcus Robinson with 9:21 remaining.

Mike Williams recovered for Miami, and a few minutes later, Al Golden's first win as their coach was complete.

Ohio State (2-1) is in danger of falling out of The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in nearly seven years. The Buckeyes have appeared in every poll since Nov. 28, 2004. And for the first time in exactly 23 years, the Buckeyes lost a road game to an unranked non-conference opponent -- the last time that happened was Sept. 17, 1988, a 42-10 defeat at Pittsburgh in John Cooper's first season.

Braxton Miller completed his last two passes on the game's final, meaningless drive. The four completions matched the program's worst total for any game in the last 15 years.-- AP