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September 2008
Dominant kicking game showing few results
By Pete Conrad
How good has Miami place-kicker Nathan Parseghian been this season?
He has converted 7-of-8 field goal attempts. That’s an 87.5 percent success rate which, if continued for the duration of the year, would blow away the single-season team record of 80 percent set by the great Gary Gussman, who made 20-of-25 attempts in 1987.
And remember, place-kicking has been both pitiful and painful over the previous few seasons, though Parseghian gave a glimpse of things to come when he kicked a team-record tying five field goals in the 38-29 loss at Ohio University last Novermeber 24.
Jake Richardson is on a record-setting pace, too. The Miami punter leads the nation by a wide margin with a 51.1-yard average. The school record is 45.0 by Gary Layton in 1994.
So why are the RedHawks 1-3 and looking so unspectacular on both sides of the ball.
With Parseghian it’s obvious. The RedHawks are struggling in the red zone, having to settle for field goal attempts instead of touchdowns. Not a good trend.
Miami’s defense, meanwhile, is showing few positive results for Richardson’s rocket-launching kicks which have dropped opponents deep in their own territory. Despite that big advantage, with the exception of the Michigan game this is a defense which hasn’t lived up to its potential, and coach Shane Montgomery knows it. But he remains hopeful that Jake’s big toe will start to pay dividends.
“That can be a big factor for us,” he said. “Not only is Jake Richardson punting well, but other than one punt return against Vanderbilt we’re covering well. We’ve got to take advantage of that on defense. We’ve turned the ball over a few times, but we really haven’t set up our defense on a short field. We’ve got to keep using Jake as a weapon there.
“Nathan has bene kicking the ball as well as he’s ever kicked,” Montgomery added. “If we can stay sound in those two areas, that can overcome some deficiencies in other areas.”
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Good timing for bye week
The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for Miami University’s football team.
The 1-3 RedHawks, who open Mid-American Conference play Oct. 4 at home vs. Temple, have several players nursing bumps and bruises.
Check out Pete Conrad’s story for more info: http://www.journal-news.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/miami/2008/09/25/hjn092608spmiaminotes.html
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RedHawks, red-shirt freshmen and rumors
By Pete Conrad
All rumors to the contrary, I get the feeling that nothing is absolutely set in stone for red-shirt freshman quarterback Clay Belton and the Miami RedHawks.
It was ominous that Belton was not at practice Tuesday. Coach Shane Montgomery declined to confirm or deny the rumors that the young quarterback was transferring away from Miami, which is standard operating procedure for college coaches.
If Belton does leave, that would leave an interesting and somewhat troubling question to be answered by Montgomery and his staff.
Who plays quarterback if something happens to starter Daniel Raudabaugh?
Sophomore Mike Scherpenberg was practicing with the second string on Tuesday, and he does have a little more experience than true freshman Zac Dysert, and he did have a decent performance in the annual spring game.
On the other hand, Dysert is said to have an abundance of potential, much like Belton. It would be tempting just to shove him into the field and say, “Kid, do your thing.”
On the other hand, I doubt that the RedHawks want to use up a year of Dysert’s eligibility, especially four games into the season, especially since he would need a big-time crash course to get up to speed, especially since he doesn’t have the reps to feel comfortable with the first string.
Back to reality, though.
Belton might be on his way out, but there is one thing about rumors I’ve learned over 35 years of sports reporting: Many sound like they can’t possibly be wrong, but are.
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Miami Report Card
By Pete Conrad
Miami at Cincinnati
Pass offense
C
Daniel Raudabaugh picked up some good passing yardage, he completed 28-of-42 passes, which is excellent, and it was good to see wide receivers Chris Givens and Armand Robinson make touchdown catches. But the one interception and 72-yard return by Mike Mickens was the single biggest play of the game. Still, the pass protection was pretty good.
Run offense
D
Not impressive. Thomas Merriweather really had to struggle against a strong UC defense to get his 50 rushing yards on 17 attempts. Near the Bearcats’ goal line, there was nothing.
Pass defense
F
As Miami linebacker Joey Hudson said, “for the second year in a row their second-string quarterback started against us and beat us.” Tony Pike sure didn’t look like a second-string quarterback, completing 20-of-24 passes with three touchdowns and no interceptions. And he was not sacked once. And senior Dominick Goodman, who is hardly a secret at wide receiver, was ridiculously wide open on a 49-yard gain early in the first quarter.
Run defense
B
John Goebel and Jacob Ramsey gained some solid yardage against the RedHawks, but nothing spectacular. Martin Channels, Ben Bennett, Morris Council and Hudson combined for four tackles for loss.
Special teams
B
John Goebel had a 43-yard kickoff return to start the game in not a nice way for the RedHawks. On the other hand, Nathan Parseghian was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts, including a 41-yarder, which makes him 7-for-8 for the season. And the nation’s leading punter, Reily Township’s own Jake Richardson? Four punts, a 49.0 average. That’s spectacular and his average still drops a shade.
Intangibles
D
The RedHawks seemed like they were in a fog over the first half of the first quarter. It’s starting to be a pretty serious problem.
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Momentum swings help, then hurt RedHawks
By Pete Conrad
At first, it looked like the key play of the third quarter, maybe the key play of the game.
Miami had pulled to within four points of Cincinnati when Daniel Raudabaugh completed his second touchdown pass of the night at Nippert Stadium, this one a 34-yard toss to Chris Givens, to pull the RedHawks to within four points of the Bearcats, 24-20.
And then seconds later, a gutsy move by the RedHawks. An on-sides kick. And it was recovered by Miami’s DeAndre Gilmore at the UC 46-yard line. The momentum had changed, it seemed. The RedHawks were destined to surge ahead, it seemed. This was to be their night, it seemed.
But there is something about the Bearcats’ defensive secondary. It’s pretty good. Mike Mickens intercepted a Raudabaugh pass and raced 72 yards for a touchdown.
Late in the quarter Ben Guidugli caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Tony Pike. Earsly in the fourth quarter the Bearcats lead 38-20. The on-sides kick doesn’t seem so big now.
By the way, an oddity. After three quarters, both Raudabaugh and Pike had passed for 199 yards.
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Make that 17-10, er, 24-10, er 24-13
By Pete Conrad
By Pete Conrad
Daniel Raudabaugh’s second-quarter touchdown pass made the score UC 17, Miami 10. I had it incorrectly as 17-14.
What was I thinking? This Miami offense scoring back-to-back touchdowns against UC? So far this season, through a total of 10 quarters, Miami has exactly two touchdowns against Division I-A teams.
Of course, the 17-10 score didn’t last long. UC responded with a 20-yard touchdown run by John Goebel, and Nathan Parseghian ended the half with a 41-yard field goal for the RedHawks.
At halftime, it’s UC 24, Miami 13.
Still up for grabs.
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Miami playing ball control
By Pete Conrad
The Miami RedHawks are hanging with the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nipper Stadium by dominating one statistic.
Time of possession.
Although the RedHawks fell behind 17-3 when Tony Pike threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Mardy Gilyard with 11:27 left in the second quarter, Miami responded with a 13-play, 71-yard touchdown drive capped by Daniel Raudabaugh’s 10-yard strike to Armand Robinson.
It was the second straight long drive for the RedHawks, who had driven 76 yards on 14 plays to give themselves a first-and-goal from the UC 1-yard line, only to be stopped on three straight plays and have to settle for a Nathan Parseghian field goal.
After Raudabaugh’s touchdown pass, Miami held the advantage in time of possession 15:56 to 7:38.
With 3:12 left in the first half the Bearcats are clinging to a 17-14 lead.
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Emotions surge slowly toward Saturday
By Pete Conrad
The end of Miami University football practice on Wednesday, Sept. 17, when coach Shane Montgomery gathered his players in a huge circle, was a bit more sedate than the end of Tuesday’s practice, when Montgomery lashed into his players for poor play, poor practice, poor everything.
Did the RedHawks practice much, much better on Wednesday, looking like a new team? Or did Montgomery have a change of heart?
No. And no.
It’s the weekly ebb and flow of practice, of Montgomery carefully trying to prepare his players emotionally for Saturday’s contest at Nippert Stadium.
“One thing you don’t want to do is peak too early in the week,” Montgomery explained. “We weren’t anywhere near as high today as we will be Saturday.”
He added that Tuesday “is always a hard-work day, sort of a feeling-out day.”
The Miami coach said having the Cincinnati Bearcats on the schedule this week “probably is good for us.”
The thought of facing the rival Bearcats and winning back the spoils of this 1-on-1 war, the Victory Bell, does wonders for motivation. It’s something the team needs badly.
And the RedHawks really do take the Victory Bell seriously.
“We want our bell back,” Miami nose tackle Martin Channels said. “That’s the main thing.”
A lack of motivation, on the other hand, showed last week when it took the RedHawks most of the first half to get worked up about winning their game against Charleston Southern, even though Miami was 0-2 at the time.
It’s difficult to play at a high emotional level against a team you don’t know, probably have never heard of, isn’t even a Division I-A team. Especially when a week earlier you were playing in front of more than 100,000 fans. Even more especially when, on game day, you might be blinded by the glare coming off the thousands of empty metal bleachers on the student side of the field. Yes, Montgomery warned his players not to take Charleston Southern lightly, but high emotion is not something you can be talked into easily.
The main thrust of Montgomery’s biting comments to his team on Tuesday, however, were that if the RedHawks played no better against Cincinnati than they did against Charleston Southern, the RedHawks will lose that game. And it won’t be pretty.
“If we make some of the same mistakes we made last Saturday (against Charleston Southern),” he said, the Bearcats “will make it a long day for us.”
It’s not that Montgomery isn’t grateful for last weekend’s victory.
“It was a good win for us. We needed a win,” he said. “It was a bit closer than we wanted. It wasn’t a great football game. They made some plays on us early. After falling behind 13-0 our kids and our staff made a lot of good adjustments to get back in the game.
“We made some big plays on both sides of the ball, which we had not done the first two games,” Montgomery said. “We did do a good job of coming up with some big turnovers. Those two interceptions were huge. But we have to cut down on physical and mental mistakes. Those are things we can’t afford to do week by week.”
Montgomery added that “we played well at times.”
He knows this week, against this week’s opponent, that won’t be enough.
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Miami report card
From reporter Pete Conrad:
Miami Report Card Charleston Southern at Miami
Pass offense B Daniel Raudabaugh threw for 305 yards, Armand Robinson had a 50-yard reception plus an 18-yard touchdown catch, and Dustin Woods had a 49-yard catch. A good day, not a great day.
Run offense C Thomas Merriweather did rush for three touchdowns, but all were in short-yardage situations. The RedHawks averaged 2.7 yards per carry, which is below average, but some of the minus yardage came at the end when quarterback Clay Belton, making a late appearance, took a knee a couple times.
Pass defense C At times this aspect of the game seemed like a complete failure for Miami, which allowed quarterback Tribble Reese to throw four touchdown passes, a couple to impossibly wide-open receivers. Fortunately for the RedHawks, the interceptions by Joe Coniglio and Ben Bennett represented a swing of 21 points. Coniglio’s pick resulted in a Miami touchdown, and Bennett’s interception at the Miami 1-yard line and subsquent 78-yard return turned an apparent Charleston Southern touchdown into a Miami touchdown.
Run defense B Miami held the Buccaneers to 2.4 yards per rush, a solid job. “We really came out in the second half and went to work,” said Miami junior linebacker Caleb Bostic, who had five tackles, including one for a 10-yard loss. Joey Hudson led the way with 10 tackles and Clayton Mullins had nine. Sean Redwine had 1.5 tackles for loss.
Special teams A There was, of course, the 44-yard punt return for a touchdown by Eugene Harris. Jake Richardson averaged 52.0 yards on two punts after coming into the game with a national-best average of 51.6. Nathan Parseghian missed one of his two field goal attempts, but is 5-for-6 in field goal attempts and 6-for-6 in extra points.
Intangibles F There wasn’t much of a home-field advantage from the student side of the field for the RedHawks. Of the 13,800 people at Yager Stadium, fewer than 400 were on that side of the field. Possibly fewer than 300 if you don’t count band members.
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By Pete Conrad
Special teams continue to be very important and very good for the Miami RedHawks, who claimed their first victory Saturday, Sept. 13 by coming from behind to beat the Charleston Southern Commodores 38-27 at Yager Stadium.
Miami, which trailed 13-0 early in the second quarter, scored the game’s last 21 points, an outburst sparked by Eugene Harris returning an Andy Brown punt 44 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter.
Two other bright spots this season have been the kicking of Nathan Parseghian, who is 5-for-6 in field goal attempts and 6-for-6 on PATs, and Jake Richardson, whose two-punt average Saturday of 52 yards did nothing to hurt his season average, which was a national-best 51.6 yards coming in.
Red-shirt freshman quarterback Clay Belton made a late appearance. Two series in the closing minutes, no passes.
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By Pete Conrad
Special teams continue to be very important and very good for the Miami RedHawks, who claimed their first victory Saturday, Sept. 13 by coming from behind to beat the Charleston Southern Commodores 38-27 at Yager Stadium.
Miami, which trailed 13-0 early in the second quarter, scored the game’s last 21 points, an outburst sparked by Eugene Harris returning an Andy Brown punt 44 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter.
Two other bright spots this season have been the kicking of Nathan Parseghian, who is 5-for-6 in field goal attempts and 6-for-6 on PATs, and Jake Richardson, whose two-punt average Saturday of 52 yards did nothing to hurt his season average, which was a national-best 51.6 yards coming in.
Red-shirt freshman quarterback Clay Belton made a late appearance. Two series in the closing minutes, no passes.
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By Pete Conrad
Special teams continue to be very important and very good for the Miami RedHawks, who claimed their first victory Saturday, Sept. 13 by coming from behind to beat the Charleston Southern Commodores 38-27 at Yager Stadium.
Miami, which trailed 13-0 early in the second quarter, scored the game’s last 21 points, an outburst sparked by Eugene Harris returning an Andy Brown punt 44 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter.
Two other bright spots this season have been the kicking of Nathan Parseghian, who is 5-for-6 in field goal attempts and 6-for-6 on PATs, and Jake Richardson, whose two-punt average Saturday of 52 yards did nothing to hurt his season average, which was a national-best 51.6 yards coming in.
Red-shirt freshman quarterback Clayt Belton made a late appearance. Two series in the closing minutes, no passes.
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Miami takes the lead, briefly
By Pete Conrad
News flash! For the second time this season the Miami University football team has taken the lead.
Joe Coniglio’s interception return to the Charleston Northern 1-yard line led to Thomas Merriweather’s 1-yard touchdown plunge with 14:09 left in the third quarter and a 17-13 lead by the RedHawks.
It was the first interception of Coniglio’s Miami career. He was pulled down less than a yard away from the end zone, which is a not-unknown area for Coniglio. As a fullback in high school he scored 42 touchdowns over two seasons.
Miami’s only other lead this season came in the opener at home against Vanderbilt when Nathan Parseghian’s 37-yard field goal in the first quarter gave the RedHawks a 3-0 advantage. Vandy went on to score the next 17 points.
Like the first lead, Miami’s second lead didn’t last long. The Buccaneers answered with Tribble Reese’s third touchdown pass of the day (perhaps one of Reese’s grandparents was a Trekkie) to regain the lead 20-17 with 10:51 left in the third period.
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Seven quarters later, another Miami touchdown
By Pete Conrad
It was starting to get scary. Charleston Southern took a 13-0 lead over Miami University when Tribble Reese threw his second touchdown pass of the day.
(Yes, the name is Tribble. One of his parents must be a “Star Trek” fan.)
Let me repeat that. Charleston Southern was leading Miami “The Cradle of Coaches” RedHawks 13-0. With 13:37 left in the second quarter it was Charleston Southern 13, Miami University 0. That’s Miami, the team with the three Butkus Award watch list linebackers, the team that battled the Michigan Wolverines on mostly even terms last wekend, with the zero after its name. Are we clear on this?
This is the Charleston Southern team with an 0-2 record, a team in the Football Championship Series (which used to be called Division I-AA) that had been outscored this season 93-30. Playing for the first time in Oxford. The winless team that does not have home-field advantage.
Do you see my point?
But now, finally, sanity is embarking on a comeback in Oxford. The world of Miami football is starting to make sense again.
Miami’s streak of seven consecutive quarters without a touchdown was snapped after Daniel Raudabaugh floated a long pass to Dustin Woods, a 49-yard gain to the Charleston Southern 4. Thomas Merriweather carried it in from there with 12:02 left in the second quarter of Saturday’s game at Yager Stadium.
Then Raudabaugh completed passes of 21 yards to Eugene Harris and 23 yards to Andre Bratton, leading to Nathan Parseghian’s 22-yard field goal.
At halftime it’s Charleston Southern 13, Miami 10.
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Revamped line, stupefying start for RedHawks
By Pete Conrad
The Miami RedHawks started Game No. 3 on a very steamy Saturday afternoon, Sept. 13, against Charleston Southern with a slightly revamped offensive line, due to the injury last week to Bob Gulley’s shin.
Gulley, the starting right tackle, was hurt early in the game at Michigan and was replaced by red-shirt freshman Ken Staudinger.
The new starter against Charleston Southern, however, was Nate Williams, a 6-foot-5, 302-pounds sophomore from Parma making his first collegiate start.
He started at left guard, and senior Steve Sutter, who had started there the first two weeks, was shifted to right tackle.
The RedHawks don’t seem to have their heads in the game early on.
Miami’s first offensive series went nowhere, and the Buccaneers took a 7-0 lead midway through the first period when tight end Clayton Coffman found himself wide open in the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tribble Reese. And I mean wide, wide, wide open.
The RedHawks did drive deep into Charleston Southern territory on their second drive. And then lost the ball on a fumble at the 15-yard line.
Maybe it’s the disconcerting noise from the mass of fans on the student side of the field. All six of them.
Just kidding. There actually are more like 106 students in the student bleachers. If there is a lull in the action, I’ll count them myself for a more accurate figure. It shouldn’t take long.
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RedHawks haven’t lost hope or confidence, yet
By Pete Conrad
Judging from the demeanor of the Miami RedHawks following their 16-6 loss at Michigan last Saturday, the players and coaching staff still have a relatively high level of enthusiasm despite their 0-2 record, the third time in the last four years Miami has lost its first two games.
Place-kicker Nathan Parseghian, for one, remains upbeat.
“We still have all of our goals ahead of us — winning the (Mid-American Confidence), beating Cincinnati, going to a bowl game,” he said.
Head coach Shane Montgomery is saying pretty much the same thing as his team prepares for Charleston Southern, a team from Division I-AA or the Football Championship Series or the Football Subdivision or whetever the heck those second-tier teams are called nowadays.
But he knows that enthusiasm won’t last forever without some victories to back it up. He knows it, the players know it, we all know it.
“We need a win in the worst possible way,” he said, “because it sort of validates what you do each day.”
The RedHawks do need to win Saturday in the worst possible way. If they want to keep their goals — and a winning season, I assume, are among them — they need to beat Charleston Southern and they need to win convincingly. They need to score a handful of touchdowns. One touchdown every two games just doesn’t make it.
This could be a break-out game for the RedHawks. Or it might simply break them.
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Folks, we’ve got a game at Michigan
Nathan Parseghian’s second field goal of the game, a 23-yard boot with 6:36 left in the third quarter, has pulled the Miami RedHawks to within four points of the Michigan Wolverines, 10-6, Saturday afternoon at Michigan Stadium.
The Wolverines have not scored since the first seven minutes of the first quarter. Miami has shut down the pass, forcing the Wolverines into an almost exclusive running game, which is sputtering.
But Miami’s offense continues to make key mistakes, including three dropped passes.
The RedHawks converted three third-down plays on its most recent drive, but it stalled at the Michigan 6-yard line when Chris Givens was unable to hold onto a pass in the corner of the end zone.
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Richardson’s foot helps keep Miami close
By Pete Conrad
Michigan leads Miami 10-0 late in the second quarter at Michigan Stadium.
Part of the reason the Wolverines have not been able to pull away has been the punting of Miami senior Jake Richardson.
The Reily Township native has launched punts of 67, 55, 53 and a career-long 74 yards.
Nathan Parseghian hit a 27-yard field goal with 3:58 left in the half to put Miami on the board. Quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh has struggled again. He has fumbled twice, losing one, but his 42-yard pass to Dustin Woods to the Michigan 9-yard line put Miami in a position to score.
That play marked the first time all day Miami had been in Michigan teritory.
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Bad beginning in Ann Arbor
By Pete Conrad
Not a good start for the Miami RedHawks in their fourth visit to the University of Michigan’s “Big House.”
The RedHawks had a third-and-1 and tailback Thomas Merriweather was smothered at the line of scrimmage.
Following a beautiful punt by Jake Richardson, who drilled it high and long, 56 yards, quarterback Steven Threet hit Martavious Odoms with a short swing pass. Odoms broke up the middle and would not go down. Not, anyway, until he had gained 50 yards.
Four plays later from the Miami 9-yard line, Threet did a little fake hand-off and then took off up the middle. Nobody was within 5 yards of Threet when he crossed the goal line. Michigan 7, Miami 0 with 10:48 left in the first quarter.
On Miami’s next possession quarterback Dan Raudabaugh fumbled and Michigan recovered at the RedHawks’ 35. With 8:53 left in the period K.C. Lopata’s 47-yard field goal made it 10-0.
The RedHawks are looking a little dazed and confused. They’d better get un-dazed and un-confused in a hurry or it’s going to be a long day for Miami.
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How much longer will RedHawks, Wolverines clash?
By Pete Conrad
Don’t be surprised if this is the end of the line for the Miami RedHawks and Michigan Wolverines facing each other on the football field, at least for the foreseeable future.
There are no current plans for the RedHawks and Wolverines to play beyond Saturday’s contest in Ann Arbor, and key people in the Miami athletic department — Director of Athletics Brad Bates and football head coach Shane Montgomery, to be exact — have made it clear that they do not like what is called a “money game” in which Team A, which is from a very big conference, gives gobs of money to to Team B, which is from a smaller conference, to play a single game, always at Team A’s home site.
“One for none and you’re done,” is the way Montgomery puts it.
In essence, Team B is being paid to be cannon fodder for Team A. Sometimes the cannon is the one that gets blown to bits, as Miami has shown in the past at places like LSU. But it doesn’t happen very often.
One exception. Bates and Montgomery are quick to point out that Miami playing at Ohio State is a very good thing. Cannon fodder or not, this is a game that’s in the RedHawks’ best interests to play, even if it’s always at Ohio Stadium. (Can you imagine the Buckeyes agreeing to come to Oxford? Don’t think so.) It’s good for the fans, good for recruiting. The next RedHawk-Buckeye match-up, by the way, is scheduled for 2112.
And Miami will continue to play other Big Ten Conference opponents because the Mid-American Conference wants it that way.
“The MAC has made a big push to face Big Ten teams,” Montgomery said Monday, Sept. 2 at his weekly press conference. “You’ve seen more MAC teams playing Big Ten teams because of the 12-game schedule.”
The question is, which teams will wind up on Miami’s future schedules?
What Montgomery would like to see is more Big Ten teams agreeing to play home-and-home series with the RedHawks.
Of course, that cuts way down on the field of possible candidates.
Michigan? Nope.
Penn State? Iowa? Michigan State? Minnesota? Illinois? Wisconsin? Probably not.
Iowa? Well, the Hawkeyes and RedHawks did get together in a 2-for-1 deal which brought Iowa to Oxford. But that deal was agreed upon before Iowa became a national power.
The most likely candidate would be Northwestern, which also has played in Oxford, and which has a strong history with Miami, having played the RedHawks seven times.
Another possibility would be Indiana, which has many strong personal ties to Oxford, and which also has a history (14 games) with Miami football.
An intriguing candidate would be is Purdue, which has played Miami 13 times. Of course, the Boilermakers still might be mad about 1962. Purdue was a Top 10 team that year and lost 10-7 to the Redskins of coach John Pont and Ernie Kellerman and Tom Nomina and Bob Jencks.
Anyway, it’s unlikely Michigan will agree to come to Oxford. Bo wouldn’t do it. The late coach Schembechler had too little to gain and too much to lose and was too smart not to realize it.
So if you want to see the RedHawks in action against the Wolverines, this might be your last chance for a long while.
Unless you’re a hockey fan.
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How much longer will RedHawks, Wolverines clash?
By Pete Conrad
Don’t be surprised if this is the end of the line for the Miami RedHawks and Michigan Wolverines facing each other on the football field, at least for the foreseeable future.
There are no current plans for the RedHawks and Wolverines to play beyond Saturday’s contest in Ann Arbor, and key people in the Miami athletic department — Director of Athletics Brad Bates and football head coach Shane Montgomery, to be exact — have made it clear that they do not like what is called a “money game” in which Team A, which is from a very big conference, gives gobs of money to to Team B, which is from a smaller conference, to play a single game, always at Team A’s home site.
“One for none and you’re done,” is the way Montgomery puts it.
In essence, Team B is being paid to be cannon fodder for Team A. Sometimes the cannon is the one that gets blown to bits, as Miami has shown in the past at places like LSU. But it doesn’t happen very often.
One exception. Bates and Montgomery are quick to point out that Miami playing at Ohio State is a very good thing. Cannon fodder or not, this is a game that’s in the RedHawks’ best interests to play, even if it’s always at Ohio Stadium. (Can you imagine the Buckeyes agreeing to come to Oxford? Don’t think so.) It’s good for the fans, good for recruiting. The next RedHawk-Buckeye match-up, by the way, is scheduled for 2112.
And Miami will continue to play other Big Ten Conference opponents because the Mid-American Conference wants it that way.
“The MAC has made a big push to face Big Ten teams,” Montgomery said Tuesday, Sept. 2 at his weekly press conference. “You’ve seen more MAC teams playing Big Ten teams because of the 12-game schedule.”
The question is, which teams will wind up on Miami’s future schedules?
What Montgomery would like to see is more Big Ten teams agreeing to play home-and-home series with the RedHawks.
Of course, that cuts way down on the field of possible candidates.
Michigan? Nope.
Penn State? Iowa? Michigan State? Minnesota? Illinois? Wisconsin? Probably not.
Iowa? Well, the Hawkeyes and RedHawks did get together in a 2-for-1 deal which brought Iowa to Oxford. But that deal was agreed upon before Iowa became a national power.
The most likely candidate would be Northwestern, which also has played in Oxford, and which has a strong history with Miami, having played the RedHawks seven times.
Another possibility would be Indiana, which has many strong personal ties to Oxford, and which also has a history (14 games) with Miami football.
An intriguing candidate would be is Purdue, which has played Miami 13 times. Of course, the Boilermakers still might be mad about 1962. Purdue was a Top 10 team that year and lost 10-7 to the Redskins of coach John Pont and Ernie Kellerman and Tom Nomina and Bob Jencks.
Anyway, it’s unlikely Michigan will agree to come to Oxford. Bo wouldn’t do it. The late coach Schembechler had too little to gain and too much to lose and was too smart not to realize it.
So if you want to see the RedHawks in action against the Wolverines, this might be your last chance for a long while.
Unless you’re a hockey fan.
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How much longer will RedHawks, Wolverines clash?
By Pete Conrad
Don’t be surprised if this is the end of the line for the Miami RedHawks and Michigan Wolverines facing each other on the football field, at least for the foreseeable future.
There are no current plans for the RedHawks and Wolverines to play beyond Saturday’s contest in Ann Arbor, and key people in the Miami athletic department — Director of Athletics Brad Bates and football head coach Shane Montgomery, to be exact — have made it clear that they do not like what is called a “money game” in which Team A, which is from a very big conference, gives gobs of money to to Team B, which is from a smaller conference, to play a single game, always at Team A’s home site.
“One for none and you’re done,” is the way Montgomery puts it.
In essence, Team B is being paid to be cannon fodder for Team A. Sometimes the cannon is the one that gets blown to bits, as Miami has shown in the past at places like LSU. But it doesn’t happen very often.
One exception. Bates and Montgomery are quick to point out that Miami playing at Ohio State is a very good thing. Cannon fodder or not, this is a game that’s in the RedHawks’ best interests to play, even if it’s always at Ohio Stadium. (Can you imagine the Buckeyes agreeing to come to Oxford? Don’t think so.) It’s good for the fans, good for recruiting. The next RedHawk-Buckeye match-up, by the way, is scheduled for 2112.
And Miami will continue to play other Big Ten Conference opponents because the Mid-American Conference wants it that way.
“The MAC has made a big push to face Big Ten teams,” Montgomery said Tuesday, Sept. 2 at his weekly press conference. “You’ve seen more MAC teams playing Big Ten teams because of the 12-game schedule.”
The question is, which teams will wind up on Miami’s future schedules?
What Montgomery would like to see is more Big Ten teams agreeing to play home-and-home series with the RedHawks.
Of course, that cuts way down on the field of possible candidates.
Michigan? Nope.
Penn State? Michigan State? Minnesota? Illinois? Wisconsin? Probably not.
Iowa? Well, the Hawkeyes and RedHawks did get together in a 2-for-1 deal which brought Iowa to Oxford. But that deal was agreed upon before Iowa became a national power.
The most likely candidate would be Northwestern, which also has played in Oxford, and which has a strong history with Miami, having played the RedHawks seven times.
Another possibility would be Indiana, which has many strong personal ties to Oxford, and which also has a history (14 games) with Miami football.
An intriguing candidate would be is Purdue, which has played Miami 13 times. Of course, the Boilermakers still might be mad about 1962. Purdue was a Top 10 team that year and lost 10-7 to the Redskins of coach John Pont and Ernie Kellerman and Tom Nomina and Bob Jencks.
Anyway, it’s unlikely Michigan will agree to come to Oxford. Bo wouldn’t do it. The late coach Schembechler had too little to gain and too much to lose and was too smart not to realize it.
So if you want to see the RedHawks in action against the Wolverines, this might be your last chance for a long while.
Unless you’re a hockey fan.
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How much longer will RedHawks, Wolverines clash?
By Pete Conrad
Don’t be surprised if this is the end of the line for the Miami RedHawks and Michigan Wolverines facing each other on the football field, at least for the foreseeable future.
There are no current plans for the RedHawks and Wolverines to play beyond Saturday’s contest in Ann Arbor, and key people in the Miami athletic department — Director of Athletics Brad Bates and football head coach Shane Montgomery, to be exact — have made it clear that they do not like what is called a “money game” in which Team A, which is from a very big conference, gives gobs of money to to Team B, which is from a smaller conference, to play a single game, always at Team A’s home site.
“One for none and you’re done,” is the way Montgomery puts it.
In essence, Team B is being paid to be cannon fodder for Team A. Sometimes the cannon is the one that gets blown to bits, as Miami has shown in the past at places like LSU. But it doesn’t happen very often.
One exception. Bates and Montgomery are quick to point out that Miami playing at Ohio State is a very good thing. Cannon fodder or not, this is a game that’s in the RedHawks’ best interests to play, even if it’s always at Ohio Stadium. (Can you imagine the Buckeyes agreeing to come to Oxford? Don’t think so.) It’s good for the fans, good for recruiting. The next RedHawk-Buckeye match-up, by the way, is scheduled for 2112.
And Miami will continue to play other Big Ten Conference opponents because the Mid-American Conference wants it that way.
“The MAC has made a big push to face Big Ten teams,” Montgomery said Tuesday, Sept. 2 at his weekly press conference. “You’ve seen more MAC teams playing Big Ten teams because of the 12-game schedule.”
The question is, which teams will wind up on Miami’s future schedules?
What Montgomery would like to see is more Big Ten teams agreeing to play home-and-home series with the RedHawks.
Of course, that cuts way down on the field of possible candidates.
Michigan? Nope.
Penn State? Michigan State? Minnesota? Illinois? Wisconsin? Probably not.
Iowa? Well, the Hawkeyes and RedHawks did get together in a 2-for-1 deal which brought Iowa to Oxford. But that deal was agreed upon before Iowa became a national power.
The most likely candidate would be Northwestern, which also has played in Oxford, and which has a strong history with Miami, having played the RedHawks seven times.
Another possibility would be Indiana, which has many strong personal ties to Oxford, and which also has a history (14 games) with Miami football.
An intriguing candidate would be is Purdue, which has played Miami 13 times. Of course, the Boilermakers still might be mad about 1962. Purdue was a Top 10 team that year and lost 10-7 to the Redskins of coach John Pont and Ernie Kellerman and Tom Nomina and Bob Jencks.
Anyway, it’s unlikely Michigan will agree to come to Oxford. Bo wouldn’t do it. The late coach Schembechler had too little to gain and too much to lose and was too smart not to realize it.
So if you want to see the RedHawks in action against the Wolverines, this might be your last chance for a long while.
Unless you’re a hockey fan.
