The Bobcats were in field goal range from the Miami 7-yard line with 9 seconds to go, but junior defensive lineman Wes Williams sacked Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton for a 3-yard loss as time expired in a thrilling finish for the RedHawks in the 89th meeting in the Battle of the Bricks.

Miami opened up a quick 13-0 lead in the first quarter off a pair of Patterson field goals from 40 yards at 9:05 and from 32 yards at 2:55, and a 54-yard touchdown strike from senior quarterback Zac Dysert to junior wide receiver Nick Harwell a 6:33. Ohio closed the gap with 48 seconds remaining in the opening quarter off a Beau Blankenship 5-yard run to pull within six, 13-7

Freshman running back Jamire Westbrook ran the ball in from one yard out with 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter, and the Patterson extra point put the RedHawks up, 20-7

Ohio trailed six points heading into halftime after a Tettleton 3-yard run and a Matt Weller PAT with 9:45 remaining in the opening half, 20-14.

Weller hit field goals from 45 yards at 12:03 in the third quarter and from 38 yards with 4:41 remaining in the game to cap the Bobcats’ 13-unanswered-point scoring surge that knotted the game, 20-20.

Miami took control with 4:41 remaining in the game. On third-and-two from its own 35-yard line, Dysert connected with Harwell on a 17-yard pass to continue the RedHawk drive. Freshman running Spencer Treadwell sprinted 30 yards over the left end on the next play to take the ball to the Ohio 18-yard line with 1:41 remaining. Miami was able to move the ball four yards on the ensuing plays before Patterson’s go-ahead field goal with 1:24 remaining.

The 31-yard field goal, Patterson’s third of the day, was the first RedHawk score since the 12-minute mark of the second quarter.

Ohio moved the ball 68 yards in eight plays over the next 1:06 to put the Bobcats on the Miami 7-yard line with nine seconds remaining. Williams and the Miami defense came up big with the RedHawks’ sixth sack of the day to preserve the win as time ran out.

Dysert finished the game with 311 yards on 21-of-36 passing, throwing one touchdown and one interception. Harwell finished with 138 yards receiving on eight catches and had one touchdown.

Junior linebacker Chris Wade and junior cornerback Dayonne Nunley finished with 11 tackles apiece to lead all players.

Tettleton finished 23-for-38 for 302 yards in the air for Ohio. Blankenship and Ryan Boykin combined for 148 yards rushing for the Bobcats.

Miami travels to play Buffalo Saturday, Nov.3 at noon.

The victory made the RedHawks the first team in FBS history to go from double-digits losses (1-11 in 2009) to double-digit wins (10-4 in 2010). Miami aslo finished with an eight-game turnaround, the second-best effort in FBS history.

Miami fell behind 7-0 late in the first quarter on an 18-yard touchdown run by Middle Tennessee's Philiip Tanner with 4:37 left in the first quarter. But Miami immediately answered back in a fashion seen many times in 2010. Boucher and Armand Robinson connected on a 70-yard catch-and-run down the sideline. It was the longest reception of Robinson's career and the longest in Miami bowl history. The play ended at the three-yard line where Merriweather took it in for the tying touchdown with 2:56 to play in the quarter. On the very next series, though, a 49-yard touchdown run by Dwight Dasher with 40 seconds remaining in the first quarter gave MT a 14-7 lead.

A 40-yard pass from Boucher to Nick Harwell on the third play of the second quarter set up Merriweather's second TD run of the game, another three-yarder. That tied the score at 14-all with 13:11 remaining in the second quarter.

Miami tried to take the lead before halftime, driving into the redzone in the final minute. But an 18-yard touchdown pass to Robinson was nullified by a penalty, then Boucher suffered just his second interception of the season to end the threat.

The RedHawk defense gave Miami its first lead as true freshman Dayonne Nunley picked off Dasher's pass and ran it in from 52 yards to put Miami on top, 21-14. It was Nunley's sixth interception of the season and marked the second time in school bowl history that a pick was taken back to the endzone.

MTSU came right back on a 54-yard touchdown run by Tanner to tie the score at 21-21. The teams traded turnovers and punts before Miami started its go-ahead drive. DeMarco Paine returned a punt 44 yards to the Middle Tennessee 30. Five plays later, Chris Givens hauled in a 17-yarder with 54 seconds left in the third to put the RedHawks on top, 28-21.

As the fourth quarter began, MTSU was faced with a third-and-11 situation. Sophomore linebacker Evan Harris intercepted his sixth pass of the year, running it back 23 yards. MTSU's defense toughened, forcing a Trevor Cook 32-yard field goal attempt. The placekick was blocked and MTSU took over at the 44-yard line with 13:38 left in the game. However, Miami got the ball back quickly.

Boucher hit Givens on passes of seven and 17 yards, then connected with Nick Harwell on third-and-seven for a first down at the 8:15 mark. Three straight runs by Merriweather gave the RedHawks the ball at the two-yard line. A loss of three by Merriweather took the ball back to the five-yard line, but Boucher's five-yard touchdown pass to Harwell boosted Miami's lead to 35-21.

Interim Head Coach Lance Guidry's defensive backs then took control as cornerback D.J. Brown intercepted Dasher with 4:35 left, then safety Pat Hinkel sealed the contest with a piock in the endzne with just over two minutes to play.

Jerrell Wedge finished the game with 13 tackles, while the entire defense made three sacks and eight tackles for loss.

The RedHawks' celebration began shortly before the final whistle as Guidry was doused in Gatorade, then Boucher (Overall MVP), Merriweather (Offensive MVP), Nunley (Defensive MVP) and Paine (Special Teams MVP) collected individual awards from GoDaddy.com spokeswoman Danica Patrick.

I imagine the first response from many Miami fans is why they hired a new head coach who recently had his offensive coordinator duties yanked by Coach Weis. Well, to be completely honest, Haywood’s playcalling wasn’t stellar during the early part of the season. On the other hand, it was his first year calling plays and it’s not like the offense suddenly took off when Charlie resumed play-calling (ND was shut out by BC the first game Charlie took back play-calling). The issues with ND’s offense the past two seasons goes far beyond Haywood’s playcalling in my opinion. And given that Haywood’s not going to be calling plays for Miami (I’m guessing), I wouldn’t spend too much time worrying about why Charlie took playcalling back. As we’re learning with Charlie Weis, a track record as a star offensive coordinator doesn’t mean a guy will automatically be a great head coach. Likewise, Haywood’s short stint as ND’s playcaller shouldn’t mean much with regards to his ability to run and manage a program. (Of course, hiring an experienced OC would be a great first move for him)

Haywood’s strengths are that the players all really seem to like him. He comes off a bit dry on the interviews, but during the practice clips when he’s around the team he’s much more animated. I don’t know if he’ll keep up the same approach now that he’s the head coach though or let the assistants play the “player’s coach” role. I do know that the past few years he’s seen Charlie Weis make plenty of rookie head coaching mistakes, so hopefully for your sake he was paying attention. Working under Nick Saban and Mack Brown certainly can’t hurt either.

As for offense, ND’s offense was 100% Charlie’s even with Haywood being the OC. I imagine some sort of pro-style offense is what he’ll wind up fielding, but that’s just a guess based on what he’s worked under at ND, Texas, and LSU. His OC hire will likely be a bigger clue than whatever happened at ND. I do think that he likes running the ball more than the pass happy offense ND has fielded under Weis. Of course, as the running backs coach (he did a great job here) he also probably wanted to see his guys do more than pass block.

Switching to recruiting, we all thought his recruiting coordinator position at Texas was a clue that he was a dynamite recruiter. That isn’t really the case though. He was never ND’s top recruiter in terms of walking into living rooms and wooing recruits and parents alike. His RC experience at Texas seemed to be more related to running a recruiting operation and all of the organization and logistics that go with that. That’s doesn’t sound as exciting as getting a pure salesmen, but you need both to successfully recruit, especially in talent rich state like Ohio that so many other programs like to cherry-pick. ND has really been ahead of the curve lately in terms of identifying junior recruits and getting early interest and I think Haywood played a role in that. You can always hire a top recruiter for an assistant position to help close the deal once you’ve identified your top targets.

Despite becoming something of a scapegoat for ND fans, I still like Haywood and think he’ll be a pretty solid head coach for Miami. He’s a very hard worker, the players like and respect him, and he’s coached under some very successful and demanding coaches. He’s spent time coaching at various positions on both sides of the ball during his 20+ years as an assistant and by now should have some solid contacts in the coaching world, which helps when it comes to hiring assistants and recruiting. As with all first time head coaches, it will be important to see how he assembles his coaching staff and adapts to the more managerial role of head coach. Hopefully he’s up to the job.

Of course, you can also check out the discussion on our football board.

In a press release on muredhawks.com, Brad Bates has noted that a search for Coach Montgomery’s successor will begin immediately.

The Redhawks lost a lot of bodies last season at the WR position because of graduation including current NFLer Ryne Robinson. However, the cupboard is not bare and with proper protection, whoever is leading the Miami offense should have many targets to throw to.

The most experienced WR of the bunch is Redshirt Sophomore Dustin Woods (5'11" 188). Dustin had over 500 yards and 4 TD's last season and averaged over 20 yards per catch. Dustin missed the spring practices because of an injury but by all accounts appears to be ready to return to a starting spot this season.

Slated to return as a starter in the interior WR slot is Redshirt Junior Sean McVay (5'10" 183). Expect Miami to use Sean as many ways as possible as he's one of the quickest members of the WR unit and has the potential to make things happen after the catch.

Redshirt Freshman Armand Robinson (6'1" 197) should contend for one of the outside WR spots. After sitting out his first year, he emerged from spring drills as one of the team's top wide receivers excelling at making catches in traffic. A potential explosive WR who can also lay out an opposing defensive back. In H.S., Armand was the MVP of the Ohio North-South game.

One player who might push for playing time at the interior WR spot is former QB and Redshirt Junior Jared Elliot (6'5" 232). Elliott's shoulder injury prevents him from playing QB but Jared's an athlete who can run and has a terrific understanding of the offense. Not only that, Elliott is a terrific leader and should provide guidance to this young receiving corps.

Two other Redshirt Freshman contending for starting spots are Eugene Harris (5'10" 185) and Donovan Potter (6'2" 198). Harris has excellent hands and speed and has the highest vertical jump of anyone on the squad (38.5"). Donovan Potter was a late bloomer who worked hard during his redshirt season putting on 18lbs of muscle! Harris will push for time on the outside while Donovan plays at the inside or "H" spot.

There are two true Freshman WR's that should also push for starting time. Chris Givens (6'2" 198) was one of Miami's prized 2007 recruits. Like Armand Robinson, Givens was named the Ohio North-South MVP this summer. Jamal Rogers (5'11" 159) could be one of the fastest players on the squad. He's elusive and may be the player that Miami employs to return punts. Reports from camp this summer indicate that both Givens and Rogers are playing very well.

TIGHT ENDS

Miami has a stable of quality TE's this season and perhaps is the best unit since Matt Brandt left after the 2004 season. There are 3 returning letterwinners along with two promising true freshman.

Junior Tom Crabtree (6'5" 247) is the returning starter who had the most catches of any TE last season (14) and is also Miami's best blocking TE.

Pushing Crabtree is converted WR Junior Jake O'Connell (6'4" 256). O'Connell added almost 30lbs since last season and has worked very hard to be a more complete player. He scored two redzone TD's last season.

Junior Pat Shepard (6'4" 230) played mostly on special teams but may see more action this season at the TE spot as he showed a lot of progress this past spring.

Miami landed the top-2 TE's in Ohio in 2007 and I'm sure that coming into this summer both were expected to redshirt. Howerver, Ken Bruton (6'4" 240) worked his tail off after his senior football season ended putting on 20lbs of muscle. Bruton has terrific hands and may be the fastest of all the TE's. It may be difficult to keep him off the field in '07. Rob Reiland (6'3" 228) had more accolades than Bruton in High School and like Kendrick has terrific hands. There is no doubt that the TE corps is as deep and as talented as its been in years!

]]> 2007-08-16T21:24:00-05:00 http://www.miamihawktalk.com/home/news/story/position_analysis_running_back/ Nick preview the 2007 Running Backs Men's Sports, Football Editor's Note: This is a repost of NickSkin's position previews oritinally posted in our discussion forums. Rather than lose these posts to the pruner, we felt it appropriate to repost them to the front page. Thanks to Nick for all his hard work in developing this series.

Miami NEEDS to find a running game. Last year Miami rushed for only 87 yards per game and averaged only 2.7 yards per rush. Much of that statistic can be blamed on the patchwork offensive line but regardless the running back core needs to step up this season for Miami to be successful.

Last season, Miami's most productive running back was true freshman Andre Bratton (5'11" 182) who led the RedHawks with 285 total yards and a team-best 4.5 yards per carry average. Bratton also led the team with four rushing touchdowns, including back-to-back two-TD games vs. Northern Illinois and Buffalo. Bratton's freshman campaign showed that he's effective as a receiver out of the backfield, hauling in 14 receptions to lead Miami's running backs.

One reason Bratton was called upon was because Miami's most experienced RB Senior Brandon Murphy (5'8" 181) was banged up most of the season. Brandon was a 1,000-yard rusher and second-team all-MAC pick as a sophomore and is looking to bounce back from an injury-plagued junior campaign in which he missed four games and was restricted to 10 carries or less in four others.

The Redhawks return only 1 other RB with game experience in Senior Austin Sykes (6' 241). Sykes had a ton of promise coming in 5 years ago but injuries have held him back. He has shown flashes where he blasts through defenders and should provide Miami with a bruising RB in short yardage situations.

Coach Montgomery has a number of other options including RS Freshman Jamel Miller (5'11" 203). Miller was a scout team warrior last season and used his redshirt year to get bigger and stronger gaining 8 pounds during the year. Miami fans should be reminded that Miller came to Miami with a lot of accolades as he rushed for 5,165 yards and 54 touchdowns during his high school career, averaging an impressive 8.0 yards per carry. He rushed for 2,278 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior and 2,128 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior. He was a two-time Second-Team All-State pick and participated in the Ohio North-South All-Star Game.

This past recruiting class should provide Miami with yet another weapon in true Freshman Thomas Merriweather (5'10" 200), an explosive runner who was considered one of the top RB's in Missouri. So far this summer Merriweather has had terrific reports and it might be very tough to keep him off the field this season.

Finally, Miami brought in true Freshman TJ Lattimore (5'8" 171) as preferred walk-on. Lattimore was an All-State RB from Maple Heights, Ohio who participated in Ohio's North South game recently.

Miami's Mike Kokal (6'2" 215 SR) is the returning starter but there should be more competition this season then in years past.

Last season, Kokal started 10-of-11 games during his first season as a starter, passing for 219.9 ypg and completing 14 touchdown passes. However, Mike was sacked more than 40 times behind and injury-riddled and inexperienced offensive line. When he did have protection he showed he can shine and put up big numbers as he did at Purdue early in the season shredding the Boilermakers for 352 yards and four second-half touchdowns.

The players hoping to take Kokal's place this year include Daniel Raudabaugh (6'4" 214 RS Sophomore) who saw action in four games (Purdue, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Buffalo) last season including a game-time starter at Cincinnati, completing 21 of 48 passes for 190 yards and Clay Belton (6'5" 231 Freshman). Belton comes to Miami as its most heralded QB since Ben Roethlisberger. In high school, Clay passed for over 4,400 yards and 44 touchdowns in 2005 and 2006 earning first-team conference accolades as a junior, throwing for 2,700 yards and 30 touchdowns. A broken hand limited him to 1,700 yards passing and 14 touchdowns in 2006.