RedHawks Host Ohio in Battle of the Bricks

11/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football

Miami RedHawks (2-9, 2-5 MAC) vs. Ohio Bobcats (5-6, 3-4 MAC)

Game 12: Tues., Nov. 25 • 7 p.m.
Yager Stadium (24,286) - Oxford, Ohio
Series vs. Ohio: Miami Leads 52-36-2
Series Streak: Ohio - 1
Last Meeting: Oct. 26, 2013 (Ohio 41-16)
Television: ESPN2 • TBA (PxP) and TBA (Analyst)
Radio: Miami Sports Network • Tim Bray (PxP), Terry Bridge (Analyst), Greg Waddell (sideline)
Live Stats: www.MUredHawks.com

Twitter Hits
• The Miami University football team is in its 126th season of football and has an all-time record of 670-431-44 (.605).
• Miami is coming off a 34-27 loss at Central Michigan on Nov. 15 and has a 2-9 overall and 2-5 Mid-American Conference record entering the contest with Ohio.
• Head coach Chuck Martin is in his first year. Martin spent the past four seasons at Notre Dame and was 74-7 as a head coach for Grand Valley State University from 2004-09. He comes into Tuesday’s contest with a 76-16 record as a head coach.
• Miami leads the all-time series versus Ohio 52-36-2 in the “Battle of the Bricks.” The Bobcats won last season’s contest 41-16 in Athens.
• Andrew Hendrix currently ranks seventh in the nation in passing yards (3,062), 18th in passing touchdowns (22) and is 19th in total offense per game (301.5).
• Miami will honor 13 seniors at Tuesday night’s game versus the Bobcats.

Need To Know
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (670), MAC Championships (15), bowl appearances (10) and bowl wins (7).

• In 126 years of Miami football, the RedHawks have had just 31 losing seasons. Since joining the MAC in 1948 (66 years) Miami has had just 14 losing seasons.

• Since 2006 it has been a different story. Miami has had losing seasons in seven of the last eight years, which includes just one MAC Championship (2010).

• One six weeks ago, the RedHawks snapped a 21-game losing streak versus UMass. Miami’s previous win was on Oct. 27, 2012 at home versus Ohio (23-20).

• Head coach Chuck Martin, who earned that title on Dec. 3, 2013, brings an impressive resume to Oxford, Ohio. Not only was he 74-7 in six years at Grand Valley State (2004-09), he has coached in seven national championship games in the past 13 seasons. He has twice been named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) National Coach of the Year and has been a coordinator on both sides of the ball.

• Martin brought in nine new assistant coaches with him, four of which coached with him during his time at Grand Valley State: Matt Pawlowski (Defensive Coordinator), Eric Koehler (Co-Offensive Coordinator/QB), George Barnett (Co-Offensive Coordinator/OL) and Bill Brechin (Wide Receivers). Pat Welsh (Tight Ends) played for Coach Martin at GVSU.

About Ohio
Ohio enters Tuesday’s game with a 5-6 overall and 3-4 Mid-American Conference record. They are led by a pair of quarterbacks in JD Sprague (131.4) and Derrius Vick (147.9) in passing. A.J. Ouellette leads the Bobcats in rushing at 76.6 yards per game. Offensively, Ohio is averaging 20.2 points and 371.8 yards of total offense, while defensively they allow 25.2 points and 401.4 yards per game, both fifth-best in the league.

Series Versus Ohio
Tuesday’s contest will be the 91st meeting between the two schools, with Miami holding a 52-36-2 series advantage in the annual “Battle of the Bricks.” The RedHawks are 31-13-2 in Oxford, Ohio, which includes a 23-20 win in 2012 over a ranked Ohio squad.

Recapping Central Michigan
Miami trailed 34-27 with 1:52 remaining in the game from their own 20-yard line. Senior quarterback Andrew Hendrix led the RedHawks down to the Central Michigan 2-yard line, but could not punch it in. Overall, Miami had six plays from inside the CMU-10 but could not capitalize as time expired.

Senior Night
Miami will honor 16 seniors prior to Tuesday night’s game:  Chrishawn Dupuy, David Frazier, Andrew Hendrix, Tim Johnson, Jarrell Jones, Drew Kummer, Zach Lewis, Marcus Matthews, Albert Phillips, Quinten Rollins, Dawan Scott, Jeff Tanner, Spencer Treadwell, Tyler Tucker, Alex Welch , Mwanza Wamulumba and Lo Wood. Overall, this senior class has started 201 career games, lead by Lewis (39), Scott (33) and Matthews (30).

Hanging On
Since entering MAC play, Miami has turned the ball over just seven times (3 INT, 4 fumbles). In fact, despite the 2-9 record, Miami ranks fifth in the conference in turnover margin (+1).

Hendrix Leads The Way
While senior quarterback Andrew Hendrix has not yet even been on campus for an entire year (transfer from Notre Dame), he has taken the reigns of the Miami offense in a hurry. Through 11 games he has completed 207-of-420 passes for 3,062 yards and 22 touchdowns. Hendrix is currently on pace for 3,341 yards and 24 touchdowns. His current pace would rank him sixth all-time at Miami in passing yards and fifth in touchdown passes.

300 (Not The Movie)
Andrew Hendrix threw for 369 yards last week versus Central Michigan, his sixth 300-yard game this season which ranks fourth all-time in Miami history. Only Zac Dysert (19), Ben Roethlisberger (14) and Josh Betts (8) have more 300-yard games as RedHawks.

Streak Snapped
Hendrix threw an interception one month ago versus Akron to have a streak of 134 consecutive passes thrown without an interception snapped. Since throwing three picks in a loss to Eastern Kentucky, the senior has thrown just four interceptions in his last eight games (319 pass attempts), an average of one interception per 79.8 passes thrown.

Fighting Irish
Joining Andrew Hendrix on the offensive side of the ball from Notre Dame is tight end Alex Welch. Welch, who caught just one pass in 22 games for the Fighting Irish, has 23 catches for 296 yards and two touchdowns in nine games with Miami.

Welch Named to John Mackey Midseason Watch List
The John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end has announced its mid-season watch list and Miami University’s Alex Welch is one of the honorees. Welch, a fifth-year senior and a transfer from Notre Dame, is fourth on the team with 17 receptions for 218 yards and two touchdowns. He opened his Miami career with four catches for 28 yards and a score versus Marshall, had two catches for 59 yards and a touchdown at Buffalo and set career-bests in catches (5) and yards (63) in a 42-41 win over UMass. Welch was later named the John Mackey Tight End of the Week following his efforts versus the Minutemen.

RedHawks Named MAC Player of the Week This Season
• Quinten Rollins was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week (week 3) following a performance at Michigan that included eight tackles and an interception.
• David Frazier was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week (week 4) after recording five catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns in a loss versus Cincinnati. Earned the same award in week 7 versus Akron after recording nine grabs for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
• Andrew Hendrix earned MAC East Offensive Player of the Week after completing 32-of-58 passes for 437 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 91 yards on the ground in week six versus UMass. Hendrix earned the same award following the contest versus NIU in which he threw for 346 yards and two touchdowns and added three more rushing scores versus the Huskies.

Frazier Streaking
Through 11 games this season, David Frazier has four 100-yard games. He opened the year with 109 yards versus Marshall and added 106 the following week versus Eastern Kentucky. He established a career-best 162 versus Cincinnati and had 132 versus Akron. Frazier is just one of five RedHawks in school history (Nick Harwell, Martin Nance, Ryne Robinson, Armand Robinson and Andy Schillinger) to have at least four 100-yard games in a single season.

Big Play Rokeem
Sophomore wide receiver Rokeem Williams has established career-highs in catches (35), yards (682) and touchdowns (3) this season and is averaging 19.5 yards per catch. Of his 35 catches this year, 15 of them have gone for over 20 yards this season. Only David Frazier has more 20-yard plays this season (22).

Breakout Party
Freshman wide receiver Sam Martin came into the UMass game with three career receptions. Versus the Minutemen, he had four receiving touchdowns, which matched a Miami/Yager Stadium record. In all, Martin finished the contest with eight catches for 111 yards and those four scores.

Special Plays on Special Teams
In the last two weeks the RedHawks have made several big plays on special teams. Two weeks ago Fred McRae had a 74-yard kick return to help set up Miami’s lone touchdown of the game, and this past week McRae and David Frazier each made plays that set up scores for Miami. Frazier had a 31-yard punt return (career high) in the second quarter. Two plays later Andrew Hendrix found Frazier for a 28-yard touchdown catch. Early in the third quarter McRae had a 47-yard kick return to set up another Miami touchdown to tie the game at 20-20.

RedHawks In The MAC
• Andrew Hendrix is second in passing per game (278.4) and total offense per game (301.5).
• David Frazier ranks fifth in receiving yards per game (81.9).
• Jarrell Jones ranks 14th in tackles per game (8.3) and second in fumble recoveries (3)
• Bryson Albright is fourth in sacks (6.0)
• Quinten Rollins ranks first in the MAC in interceptions (5) and fourth in pass defenses (14).
• Tre Clifton ranks fourth with three forced fumbles.

Difficult Transition
Spencer Treadwell must still be having mixed emotions on what has happened at Miami over the past year. Last season, Spencer was being coached by his father, Don Treadwell, who was beginning his third year as the RedHawks’ head coach. Don is now serving as the running backs coach at Kent State, the same position Spencer plays at Miami.

Man of Steals
Quinten Rollins, who spent the past four seasons with the Miami men’s basketball team, began playing football for the RedHawks during the spring. Rollins, who ranks 12th in MAC history with 214 career steals on the basketball court, has added a different sort of steal this season on the football field. Rollins recorded his first career interception versus EKU, with a jumping catch in the endzone to save a touchdown and added his second interception the following week at the Big House. He added a career-high two interceptions versus UC.

Other Rollins Basketball Stats
• Finished his career ranked second at Miami and 12th in MAC history in steals (214).
• One of only 15 players in MAC history to reach 200 steals.
• Ranked fourth all-time at Miami in assists (391), seventh in games started (106) and ninth in minutes played (3,448).
• Played in 116 career games.

Prove the SID Wrong
Quinten Rollins is believed to be the first college athlete to ever score a basket versus Duke inside Cameron Indoor, intercept a pass versus Michigan inside Michigan Stadium and intercept a pass inside Paul Brown Stadium. Rollins was 1-of-6 shooting versus the Blue Devils as a freshman during the 2009-10 season and intercepted a pass as a fifth-year senior inside the Big House and at Paul Brown Stadium.

Rollins Invited To Senior Bowl
The Senior Bowl, the nation’s most prestigious postseason individual invite, announced on Monday (Nov. 17) afternoon that Miami University’s Quinten Rollins has been invited to its bowl game. The contest will be played on Jan. 24, 2015 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, live on the NFL Network. Through 11 games the defensive back has 66 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, five interceptions, nine pass breakups and one forced fumble this season.

“Rollins might be the most intriguing prospect in the entire game when you consider that he started on the Miami basketball team for four years before playing one season of football for the RedHawks,” said Phil Savage, Senior Bowl Executive Director. “He created quite a buzz this Fall among the NFL scouts.”

Kern and Jones Out For the Season
Kent Kern and Jarrell Jones, two of Miami’s leading tacklers will miss the remainder of the 2014 football season with injuries. Both were lost in the contest versus Kent State on Oct. 25. Jones leads the team with 75 tackles, while Kern is third with 69 stops.