RedHawks Capture MAC Offensive Player and Coach of the Year
12/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 2, 2003
OXFORD, Ohio - Fifth-year head coach Terry Hoeppner and junior quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (Findlay, OH/Findlay) picked up two of the Mid-American Conference's biggest awards, garnering MAC Coach and Offensive Player of the Year, respectively, the Mid-American Conference Office announced today.
Hoeppner is the first Miami coach to earn MAC Coach of Year honors since Dick Crum won the award as a rookie coach in 1974 and just the third Miami coach overall since the award was started in 1965. Hoeppner has led the RedHawks to an 11-1 record this season, including a perfect 8-0 mark in the MAC and Miami's first MAC East Division title. After accepting a bid to the Dec. 18 GMAC Bowl versus Louisville last week, Hoeppner will lead Miami to its first bowl game since 1986, his first year as an assistant at Miami. The RedHawks' current 11-game winning streak is the second-longest in the nation after Oklahoma's 14-game streak and is tied for the longest in school history. Hoeppner was a runaway choice for MAC Coach of the Year, garnering 31 of the 47 votes cast by the MAC News Media Association. Also receiving consideration were Joe Novak of Northern Illinois (7 votes) and Gregg Brandon of Bowling Green (5 votes).
After a 56-21 win at UCF last weekend, the RedHawks moved up in the national rankings and are currently ranked No. 11 in the Bowl Championship Series, No. 14 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 15 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. Miami heads into this Thursday night's MAC Championship game versus Bowling Green with one of the nation's most potent offenses and one of the stingiest defenses, giving up 18.1 points per game.
The Miami offense is the fifth-highest scoring offense in the nation, averaging 42.0 points per game, thanks in great part to the MAC's Offensive Player of the Year Ben Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger, a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, has put together his best season to date, completing 69.1 percent (295-of-427) of his passes for 3,670 yards and 29 touchdowns, all new school single-season records. He is also just the third quarterback in MAC history to pass for 3,000 yards in three seasons and last week he broke the 10,000-yard plateau for his career, making him just the 30th player in NCAA history and just the fifth MAC quarterback to accomplish the feat.
Besides holding all of the Miami single-season and career passing records, Roethlisberger is making his way into the MAC annals as well. He currently resides in fifth place all-time in MAC career passing yards (10,013), fourth in touchdowns (76) and first in completion percentage (.653).
Roethlisberger was an overwhelming choice for Offensive Player of the Year, receiving 29 votes. Also named were Northern Illinois running back Michael Turner (9 votes) and Bowling Green quarterback Josh Harris (8 votes). Previous Miami honorees for MAC Offensive Player of the Year are Bruce Matte (1966), Bob Hitchens (1972), Terry Morris (1986) and Travis Prentice (1998).