BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Ben Roethlisberger arrived at Miami of Ohio two years ago with a strong arm and little experience at quarterback.

Now he has the freedom to call his own plays.

''There's a lot of times we're standing on the sidelines trying to figure out what play he's checking,'' said Miami coach Terry Hoeppner. ''We're as interested as the fans in the stands to find out what's going to happen next.''

With Roethlisberger, it's usually something big. The junior has passed for 3,670 yards and 29 touchdowns this season while becoming just the fifth quarterback in MAC history to surpass 10,000 career passing yards.

He will be the center of attention Thursday night when No. 14 Miami and No. 20 Bowling Green meet in the Mid-American Conference championship game.

Both Miami (11-1, 8-0) and Bowling Green (10-2, 7-1) score at will - Miami averages 42 points and Bowling Green puts up 34 points per game.

''We're going to have to make sure that we score a lot of points and score them early,'' Roethlisberger said.

Roethlisberger spreads the ball around - 17 RedHawks have caught at least one pass this season.

''Ben makes it very easy to get open,'' said freshman receiver Ryne Robinson. ''You don't have to create much space at all with the way he throws.''

In the process, the RedHawks put up some gaudy numbers. They've scored the most points in MAC history (504) and posted their first undefeated conference season since 1977.

The last team to win all of its MAC games was Marshall in 1999.

This will mark the first time the Thundering Herd hasn't played in the MAC title game since it began in 1997.

Miami and Bowling Green are first-timers in the championship game.

The RedHawks beat the Falcons 33-10 at Miami four weeks ago.

The rematch may have more meaning for Bowling Green because Miami already has accepted an invitation to play Louisville in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

The Falcons, though, need a victory to assure that they'll get a spot in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit.

If they lose, the Motor City Bowl could select either Bowling Green or Northern Illinois, a team the Falcons beat handily this season.

Bowling Green quarterback Josh Harris is always a threat to run or throw and even catch a pass. But this year he's become a much better passer, throwing for 3,167 yards and 22 touchdowns.

''He's an exceptional runner and a very good thrower,'' Roethlisberger said. ''You can tell that offense is built around him.''

Miami is one of the few teams to have success this season against Harris, the son of former 10-year NFL veteran M.L. Harris.

The RedHawks came at Harris with lots of pressure and forced him into three fumbles in their earlier meeting. It was easily his worst outing of the year.

''Josh will be the first to tell you that he wasn't real sharp,'' said Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon. ''He missed some open guys that we exploited all season.''

Brandon said the offensive line will need to do a better job protecting their quarterback.

''We did have guys open, but they did a good job mixing things up on us,'' Brandon said.

Hoeppner gave credit to his defense.

''They were all forced errors,'' he said. ''They weren't self-inflicted wounds. That's always part of your goal to put a little doubt in the quarterback's mind.''