OXFORD, Ohio (Ticker) -- Ben Roethlisberger and 24th-ranked Miami of Ohio had been waiting for this game for a year, and it showed early and often.
Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes as the Redhawks bolted to a big lead and secured their first trip to the Mid-American Conference championship game with a 45-6 rout of Marshall.
It was the third straight year these schools met to determine the winner of the East Division. Marshall won the first two meetings, including last season's 36-34 home win that featured a questionable pass interference penalty.
Following the game, Miami defensive coordinator Jon Wauford pushed a Marshall fan amid a wild celebration on the field and was arrested for assault, charges that later were dropped.
Seeking their first conference title since 1986, the Redhawks (9-1, 6-0 MAC East) exacted revenge by building a 28-6 halftime lead. They cruised to their ninth straight win.
Roethlisberger completed 18-of-29 passes for 282 yards. The junior opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 14-yard toss to Matt Brandt and capped it in the fourth quarter with a 10-yard strike to Michael Larkin.
The win ended Marshall's six-year reign atop the East Division. The Thundering Herd (6-4, 4-2) also had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Marshall has won the championship game five times but suffered its worst loss in more than three years after committing five turnovers and allowing three consecutive scores in the first half.
After Roethlisberger scrambled for a first down on 4th-and-13, he found Brandt on a screen pass that went for a touchdown. Mike Smith capped Miami's next possession with a two-yard TD and linebacker Terna Nande returned an interception 43 yards just over two minutes later to make it 21-0.
Graham Gochneaur was 14-of-25 passes for just 113 yards for Marshall. He threw a five-yard TD pass to Darius Watts five minutes before halftime but was picked off twice.
Roethlisberger joined Marshall's Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich as the only players in MAC history to pass for more than 3,000 yards.
The Redhawks eclipsed the 40-point mark for the seventh time this season and completed their first undefeated home season since 1998. Cal Murray rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown and Smith added 80 of Miami's 212 yards on the ground.
