ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Central Florida has learned a lot this season, like how good Miami Ohio is.
Ben Roethlisberger completed his first 14 passes and threw for five touchdowns as the 16th-ranked RedHawks warmed up for the Mid-American Conference title game with a 56-21 rout of Central Florida.
Roethlisberger guided Miami (11-1, 8-0 MAC East) to touchdowns on each of its first three possessions, throwing a pair of 11-yard scoring passes and a three-yarder to make it 28-0 just six seconds into the second quarter.
Linebacker John Busing returned an interception 28 yards for a TD in the middle of Roethlisberger's assault. Miami's defense allowed just one first down in the first quarter, 42 yards in the first half and 22 yards rushing for the game.
"It was a tough task today," Central Florida coach Alan Gooch said. "Miami is ranked 16th in the country and maybe they should be ranked higher."
Gooch took over when Mike Kruczek was fired following a series of suspensions that sidelined four starters, including senior quarterback Ryan Schneider, for the season. The Golden Knights (3-9, 2-6) finished the year with four straight losses.
"They've learned over the past few weeks that they are going to have to overcome adversity in their life," Gooch said of his players. "How they overcome it is going to determine their success. That's one thing they can take from this."
They can take a lot more, like how good Roethlisberger is. A junior who is considered one of the best quarterbacks in the country, Roethlisberger completed 24-of-29 passes. By the time he threw his first incompletion, Miami had a 28-0 lead.
The RedHawks totaled 557 yards of offense en route to their 11th consecutive win, one behind top-ranked Oklahoma for the longest streak in the nation.
"They have a good football team and a quarterback that will be playing in the NFL someday and a very experienced defense," Gooch said. "My hat's off to them."
The East Division champion in the MAC, Miami faces the winner of Saturday's Bowling Green-Toledo matchup in the conference championship game Thursday. Miami already has accepted a bid to the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
