OXFORD, Ohio (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger passed for 282 yards and two touchdowns through a howling wind Wednesday night, leading No. 23 Miami of Ohio to a 45-6 victory that ended Marshall’s dominance of the Mid-American Conference.

Playing with their first national ranking since 1976, the RedHawks (9-1, 6-0) got their ninth straight victory and their most meaningful one yet.

Marshall (6-4, 4-2) had won all six MAC East titles since the league split into two divisions in 1997. Miami’s win clinched the title and a berth in the conference’s championship game.

There were no clashes during a wind-blown game that had bitter undertones from last year, when quarterback Stan Hill’s 1-yard run with 5 seconds left gave the Thundering Herd a 36-34 victory in Huntington, W.Va.

Fans stormed the field and Miami defensive coordinator Jon Wauford was led away in handcuffs, accused of knocking down a fan. Wauford resigned after the season, and a charge of misdemeanor battery later was dropped.

Three security officers stood watch over Marshall coach Bob Pruett on the field Wednesday. Most of the crowd of 26,286 had left by game’s end.

Roethlisberger had no problems throwing in a gusting wind that whistled through the end zone bleachers, making the goalpost uprights sway by more than a foot.

He put Miami ahead to stay with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Matt Brandt on a game-opening drive into the wind, and finished it off with a 10-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter.

The junior quarterback joined Marshall’s Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich as the only MAC players to throw for 3,000 yards in three seasons.

Roethlisberger completed 18 of 29 passes.

, also made the game’s signature play, putting his head down and running over linebacker Gladstone Coke for a 14-yard gain that kept the opening drive going.

By contrast, Marshall’s Graham Gochneaur had problems with the wind and the defensive pressure. His off-target throw into the wind was intercepted by linebacker Terna Nande and returned 43 yards for a touchdown that made it 21-0.

Gochneaur was making his fifth start in place of Hill, who had surgery to repair a torn knee ligament. He finished 14-of-25 for 113 yards with two interceptions, contributing to Marshall’s five-turnover game.

Mike Smith scored on runs of 2 and 17 yards as Miami pulled ahead 28-6 at halftime.

AP-ES-11-12-03 2245EST