CINCINNATI (AP) - Camerron Cheatham returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown, and Cincinnati quarterback Munchie Legaux had a hand in three more touchdowns Saturday night, leading the Bearcats to a 52-14 victory over Miami (Ohio).
Cincinnati (4-0) has won the last seven in the oldest nonconference series in the nation. The Bearcats' defense starred last year in a 27-0 win, Cincinnati's first shutout in Oxford since 1898, and got them going again on Saturday.
Cheatham's interception put the Bearcats ahead to stay. The RedHawks (3-3) had four turnovers, including a season-high three interceptions thrown by Zac Dysert.
Legaux played three quarters and went 12 of 23 for 157 yards. He had touchdown passes of 11 and 19 yards, and ran 1 yard for a score. Cincinnati's George Winn also ran for a pair of touchdowns against one of the nation's lowest-ranked defenses.
Miami has given up 56, 52, 49, 39 and points this season. Cincinnati's 52 points matched the most by either team in the series history - the Bearcats won 52-42 in 1999.
Both quarterbacks were coming off their best games.
Legaux led the first game-winning drive of his career for a 27-24 win over Virginia Tech last Saturday, throwing for a career-high 376 yards. Dysert set school records with six touchdown passes and 624 yards of offense in a 56-49 win at Akron.
The biggest difference tonight, though, was that Legaux had a defense to back him up. Miami came into the game ranked 117th nationally, allowing 517 yards per game, including 237 on the ground. The Bearcats piled up 343 yards - 186 on the ground - while pulling away to a 45-14 lead after three quarters, then rested their starters.
Dysert got the RedHawks off to an encouraging start, throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Dawan Scott on the opening drive. A bad snap foiled the extra-point attempt.
Things then unraveled quickly for the RedHawks.
Cheatham anticipated a sideline throw, picked it off and outran Dysert to the end zone for a 68-yard touchdown, the second of his career. Deven Drane picked off Dysert's deflected pass on the next possession, returning it 31 yards. Legaux threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to an uncovered Danny Milligan for a 14-6 lead.
Winn took advantage of Miami's weak run defense. He went 6 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter, and saved the Bearcats after a punt pinned them at their 2-yard line. Winn broke a 57-yard run, hurdling a defender to get into the clear. After Legaux missed an open receiver in the end zone, the Bearcats settled for a field goal and a 24-6 lead.
Dysert led a 75-yard touchdown drive that culminated in his 10-yard pass to Nick Harwell, then ran for the 2-point conversion that left it 24-14 at the half. He finished 25 of 49 for 303 yards.
Cincinnati dominated the second half. Ralph David Abernathy IV returned the kickoff 58 yards, and Legaux's 19-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce made it 31-14. Cincinnati kept it on the ground for a 62-yard touchdown drive culminating in Winn's 3-yard run that put it away.
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| Scoring Summary |
| MIAOH | Dawan Scott 19 yd pass from Zac Dysert (failed 2pt rush) |
| CINCY | Camerron Cheatham 68 yd interception return (Tony Miliano kick) |
| CINCY | Danny Milligan 11 yd pass from Munchie Legaux (Tony Miliano kick) |
| CINCY | George Winn 6 yd run (Tony Miliano kick) |
| CINCY | Tony Miliano 24 yd FG |
| MIAOH | Nick Harwell 10 yd pass from Zac Dysert (ZAC DYSERT 2pt run) |
| CINCY | Travis Kelce 19 yd pass from Munchie Legaux (Tony Miliano kick) |
| CINCY | George Winn 3 yd run (Tony Miliano kick) |
| CINCY | Munchie Legaux 1 yd run (Tony Miliano kick) |
| CINCY | Tion Green 2 yd run (Tony Miliano kick) |
| Team Stats | ||
| MIAOH | CINCY | |
| First Downs | 21 | 24 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 5-14 | 8-13 |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 1-4 | 0-0 |
| Plays-Net Yards | 72-379 | 73-429 |
| Rushes-Yds | 19-59 | 50-272 |
| Passing Yds | 320 | 157 |
| Kick Return Yds | 40 | 75 |
| Punt Return Yds | 11 | 0 |
| Passes | 27-53-3 | 13-23-0 |
| Punts | 3-113 | 3-124 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 2-0 |
| Penalties-Yds | 8-57 | 9-84 |
| Time of Poss. | 26:59 | 33:1 |
| Individual Stats |
| RUSHING |
| MIAOH: Dawan Scott 1-22, Jamire Westbrook 4-17, Zac Dysert 7-13, Erik Finklea 2-4, Spencer Treadwell 1-3, Robert Williams 1-3, Austin Boucher 3--3 |
| CINCY: George Winn 16-128, Tion Green 11-37, Deionte Buckley 4-32, Ralph Abernathy 8-27, Munchie Legaux 6-22, Brendon Kay 2-18, Jordan Luallen 2-8, Jameel Poteat 1-0 |
| PASSING |
| MIAOH: Zac Dysert 25-49-303-3, Austin Boucher 2-4-17-0 |
| CINCY: Munchie Legaux 13-23-157-0 |
| RECEIVING |
| MIAOH: Luke Swift 5-67, Dawan Scott 5-60, Nick Harwell 5-40, Andy Cruse 4-60, Dustin White 3-34, Steve Marck 2-37, Orlando David 2-16, Spencer Treadwell 1-6 |
| CINCY: Anthony McClung 4-55, Damon Julian 3-33, Travis Kelce 2-27, Ralph Abernathy 2-24, Danny Milligan 1-11, Kenbrell Thompkins 1-7 |
| Standings | |||
| Team | Standings | Conference | Overall |
| Miami (Ohio) | 4th Mid American East | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| Cincinnati | 1st Big East | 5-2 | 10-3 |