After an upset loss to Kentucky State last season derailed a chance for consecutive Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, Miles head coach Reginald Ruffin spent the week stressing the importance of Saturday's Homecoming tilt against the Thorobreds.

The Golden Bears heeded the words of their leader, putting on an impressive performance against KSU in a 35-0 rout in front of more than 12,000 fans at Sloan-Alumni Stadium. Running back Justin Hardy ran for 178 yards and two touchdowns, quarterback Joseph Cambridge threw for two more scores and the defense allowed its fewest yards of the season as Miles (4-3, 2-1 SIAC) remained perfect on Homecoming during the Ruffin era.

KSU (2-5, 1-2) never really threatened to score all afternoon. Turner Warren had just one field goal attempt (he was short from 41 yards near the end of the first half) and did not run a play from Miles' half of the field in the second half. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears seemingly moved the ball at will, racking up 429 yards of offense - 316 of those on the ground.

The lead culprit in the running game was Hardy, who was near unstoppable for the second consecutive week. He had two runs of more than 50 yards - the first coming on a 53-yard scoring run in the second quarter that gave Miles a 14-0 advantage it would take into halftime. The second was a 58-yard scamper in the early in the fourth quarter that set up his 1-yard blast to increase the lead to 28-0. For good measure, Ger'Kerry Jackson - currently fourth on the team's depth chart - broke free for a 46-yard touchdown run with 7:40 left that ended the scoring.

While the running game was in full force, Cambridge - in his second career start - did little to prove that his strong debut was a fluke. The freshman signal caller was 7-of-13 for 113 yards while adding 27 more yards on the ground. His 30-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Lee with 3:53 left in the first quarter put the Golden Bears on the board. Trey Smith also found the end zone when he caught a 25-yard pass that finished off a nine-play, 78-yard drive with just more than nine minutes left in the third quarter.

Defensively, N'Ktavious Floyd (10 total tackles), Anthony Hardy (nine solo tackles, two tackles for loss) and Austin Stephens (eight tackles, five solo) were all over the field. MarQuel Shelton (four tackles, two sacks, forced fumble) and Gregory Matthews (three tackles, one sack) spent a lot of time in the KSU backfield.

The Golden Bears continue their three-game homestand when they host Lane on Saturday. Kickoff is sceduled for 4 p.m.