Miami University’s hopes of winning a Mid-American Conference East Division title literally got trampled Saturday afternoon.

Kent State came into Yager Stadium and rumbled to 399 yards on the ground, running its winning streak to eight with a 48-32 triumph before an announced crowd of 13,301.

“Give credit to a very, very good football team,” said RedHawks coach Don Treadwell, whose unit fell to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in the MAC East. “We anticipated that, but sometimes it’s necessary to see it up close, and then you can appreciate it even more.”

The Golden Flashes (9-1, 6-0) scored on their first three possessions and surged ahead 35-7 with 5:46 remaining in the first half.

MU quarterback Zac Dysert completed 37-of-50 passes for 455 yards and four touchdowns to help the hosts make the final margin a bit more respectable. Nick Harwell (10 catches, 122 yards, TD) and Andy Cruse (eight catches, 123 yards, two TDs) were his primary targets.

“It doesn’t really matter right now,” Dysert said of his big numbers. “It didn’t pay off, so the better team won today. They made a lot more plays than we did. We kept fighting and didn’t give up, which was nice to see out of our team. I’m very proud of them for that.”

Kent was powered by its thunder-and-lightning running tandem of 6-foot, 250-pound Trayion Durham and 5-8, 175-pound Dri Archer.

Durham, a Colerain High School product, ran 20 times for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Archer had 11 carries for 151 yards and two scores, and he added two receptions for 54 yards and a TD.

“I thought we came out hitting on all cylinders,” KSU coach Darrell Hazell said. “I thought we fell asleep a little bit in the third. But we did a good job when we had to answer a drive late in the game to keep those guys off balance.

“This is a huge win for our program. We’re still in the running for some very nice things.”

Mark Fackler and Zack Hitchens had interceptions for the Flashes, who sacked Dysert five times. The RedHawks gained just 26 yards on 16 carries.

Dayonne Nunley and Brison Burris picked off a pass apiece for Miami. Punter Zac Murphy was also a bright spot with a 47.6-yard average on five kicks.

Miami visits Central Michigan next Saturday and closes the regular season at home against Ball State on Nov. 23. The RedHawks can become bowl eligible by winning its last two games, and Cruse believes the team can bounce back from another tough defeat.

“I would like to hope so,” Cruse said. “Today would’ve been a great opportunity to do that coming off that loss at Buffalo. We’ve got good leaders on this team. We’ve just got to keep trusting everything and keep fighting.”