FACTS & STATS: Site: Yager Stadium (24,286) -- Oxford, Ohio. Television: ESPN3.com. Home Record: Cincinnati 3-0, Miami-OH 0-1. Away Record: Cincinnati 0-1, Miami-Ohio 0-2. Neutral Record: Cincinnati 0-0, Miami-OH 0-0. Conference Record: Cincinnati 0-0, Miami-OH 0-1. Series Record: Miami-Ohio leads, 59-49-7.
GAME NOTES: The defending Mid-American Conference champion Miami-Ohio RedHawks are still in search of their first victory and seek that elusive win this Saturday afternoon when they host the Cincinnati Bearcats.
The Bearcats have won three of their first four games, but their lone loss came on the road against Tennessee, so it will be interesting to see how the Bearcats perform at Yager Stadium. In three home wins, the Bearcats were simply too strong, outscoring Austin Peay, Akron and NC State by a combined margin of 175-38.
As for the RedHawks, they opened the year with tough losses on the road to Missouri and Minnesota. However, the hope was the team would bounce back this past weekend at home against Bowling Green. That was not the case though, as the Falcons got past Miami-Ohio, 37-23.
In terms of the all-time series between the two schools the RedHawks hold a 59-49-7 edge over Cincinnati. However, the Bearcats have won the last five meetings and have done so in convincing fashion, winning by double figures in each game, including a 45-3 decision last year.
The Bearcats simply dominated NC State this past weekend and did so with a balanced attack that put up 503 total yards.
On the ground Cincinnati rumbled for 240 yards, with Isaiah Pead leading the way with 167 yards and one score. Quarterback Zack Collaros added 52 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and was equally impressive with his arm, throwing for 263 yards and two more scores.
Collaros' play has been just want coach Butch Jones needed from his signal caller, but what has given Cincy an edge in its three wins has been the ground attack. Collaros has scored three rushing touchdowns, but it has been Pead's show thus far, as the back has racked up 424 yards and five touchdowns.
Collaros should not be forgotten though and that is something opposing defenses will not do, because he is dangerous. Through four games, the quarterback has thrown for 784 yards and nine touchdowns against just one interception.
Coach Jones will continue to showcase an even split offensively this weekend with Collaros and Pead leading the way.
Outside of the loss to Tennessee the defense for Jones has been impressive. The team is allowing only 20.8 ppg and that number is only that high because Tennessee scored 45 points on the Bearcats.
Through four games the unit has been able to bottle up opposing ground games, limiting teams to just 89.2 ypg, a number bolstered by keeping NC State to -26 yards rushing.
The UC defense was able to keep the Wolfpack in the negative thanks to a persistent pass rush that collected six sacks. Brandon Mills grabbed two of those sacks, but leading the way in that area has been Derek Wolfe and his four sacks.
Constant pressure is needed since opponents are averaging nearly 300.0 yards per game through the air. Opponents have thrown eight touchdowns against the Bearcats, but the squad has eight interceptions as well, three of which are credited to JK Schaffer, who also leads the team with 28 tackles.
Don Treadwell is trying to figure out how to get his offense on track before it is too late. Through three games it is apparent Miami-Ohio is not where it needs to be to repeat as conference champion.
The RedHawks are producing just 17.3 ppg, due in large part to the inconsistent play of QB Zac Dysert.
Dysert has thrown for just 784 yards and only two touchdowns against four interceptions thus far. Two of those interceptions came in the team's loss to Bowling Green. Dysert did not have much time to get settled, because BGSU recorded six sacks.
A struggling ground game compounds the situation. In the loss to the Falcons the RedHawks totaled just 43 yards on a meager 1.4 yards per attempt. Over the previous two seasons the RedHawks have been held under 100.0 yards per game and so far in 2011 the team is hitting only 66.3 ypg.
Dysert is not the only player with overwhelming pressure. The entire defense also has a tough task at hand, trying to limit opponents to the best of its ability while the offense works through its problems.
So far the unit has been good, but not great and with no margin for error, good isn't good enough. Against BGSU, the defense held the Falcons to just 310 total yards, but the Falcons still managed to score five touchdowns.
Miami-Ohio did limit the Falcons to just 127 rushing yards on less than 4.0 yards per carry. That should make Treadwell happy since the team is surrendered 175.0 ypg via the run.
If the RedHawks are going to find the win column the defense will have to figure out a way to limit Cincy, but that definitely won't be easy because the Bearcats are playing at a high level.
The RedHawks are simply not strong enough offensively at this time to keep up with the Bearcats. Miami's defense might be able to keep the team in the matchup for a short time, but eventually Collaros and company will pull away, sending the RedHawks to their fourth straight loss.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Cincinnati 35, Miami-Ohio 17
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment