Miami Ohio University Athletics
RedHawks Face Notre Dame For First Time Since 1909
9/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
This Week's Matchup
Miami University and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will square-off on Saturday, Sept. 30 at Notre Dame Stadium. Opening kick is set for 5:15 p.m.
Television
The matchup with the Irish will be carried live on NBCSN. Paul Burmeister will handle play-by-play duties, with Doug Flutie serving as the color analyst. Katheryn Tappen will be on the sideline.
Radio
In its 11th year of its partnership with IMG College, the Miami Sports Network continues its coverage of Miami Football with a group of affiliates blanketing most of Southwest Ohio and Southeast Indiana. "The Voice of the RedHawks" Steve Baker will deliver the play-by-play coverage, while Terry Bridge will provide color commentary. Randy Hollowell will be the network's sideline reporter. Tune-in to one of Miami's gameday affiliates:
WMOH-AM 1450 (Hamilton, Ohio)
WFMG-FM 101.3 (Richmond, Ind.)
WDBZ-AM 1230 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
WONE-AM 980 (Dayton, Ohio)
WKBV-AM 1490 and 100.9 FM (Richmond, Ind.)
Coach to Cure
- Both coaching staffs will be wearing special arm patches in honor of the AFCA's Coach to Cure MD program. This is the 10th year coaches around the country join together to raise funds and awareness for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Fans are encouraged to donate by texting "CURE" to 50555 or visiting CoachtoCureMD.org.
Need To Know
- Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (681), MAC Championships (15) and bowl wins (7).
- In 127 years of Miami football, the RedHawks have had just 33 losing seasons. Since joining the MAC in 1948 (67 years), Miami has had just 16 losing seasons.
About Chuck Martin
- 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 16 seasons. Martin has an all-time head coaching record of 87-35.
- 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 was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Grand Valley State University on Oct. 23, 2015.
About Notre Dame
Notre Dame is 3-1 on the year and currently ranked in the top-25 of both major polls. Their lone loss came to then No. 15 ranked Georgia. They have wins over Temple, Boston College and Michigan State. Offensively they average 38.8 points and 459.2 yards per game behind a strong rushing attack that averages 293.5 yards per game on the ground. Defensively they allow 18.5 points and 388.0 yards per game and are led by Nyles Morgan, who has 34 tackles on the season.
Series vs. Notre Dame
Saturday's contest will be the second meeting between the two schools, but the first meeting was over 100 years ago. Notre Dame beat Miami 46-0 back on November 14, 1909 in South Bend, Ind.
Notre Dame Connections
There are many connections between the two schools, but three come to mind right away with head coach Chuck Martin, former coach Ara Parseghian and Miami University President Greg Crawford.
Chuck Martin: Coached at Notre Dame for four years, serving as the team's offensive coordinator/QB coach (2012-13) and defensive back coach/recruiting coordinator (2010-11).
Ara Parseghian: The College Football Hall of Famer coached at both Miami and Notre Dame. While with Miami he was 39-6-2 in five seasons, winning conference titles in 1954 and 1955. In 11 years with Notre Dame he was 95-17-4. Parseghian passed away on Aug. 2, 2017. The RedHawks will feature a sticker on their helmets with the simple word "ARA" to honor Coach Parseghian.
Greg Crawford: Greg Crawford, Miami's current university president, worked at Notre Dame from 2008-16. He became Miami's president on July 1, 2016.
Central Michigan Recap
A win can cure all ailments and a win is what the Miami football team got as it opened Mid-American Conference play with a convincing 31-14 win at Central Michigan last Saturday. Gus Ragland accounted for the RedHawks first three touchdowns on the day and averaged nearly 20 yards per completion, while the defense posted a second half shutout to secure their first league win.
Bounce Back in a Big Way
Last Saturday's win could go a long way to deciding how successful the 2017 season is. The week prior, Miami fell to arch-rival Cincinnati 21-17, despite holding a 17-6 advantage with under four minutes to play.
Who Were Those Guys
Prior to the contest with CMU, most fans may have never even heard of Sam Connolly or Matt Merimee, but they know them now. Connolly, starting at middle linebacker for an injured Junior McMullen, had a career-high nine tackles and an interception. Merimee played most of the second half after Tony Reid was ejected (targeting). Merimee came up with a clutch red zone interception to help secure the win. Connolly was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
Reid to Miss First Half of Notre Dame Contest
Senior safety Tony Reid will miss the first half of the contest at Notre Dame after being ejected in the third quarter at Central Michigan. Due to NCAA rules, Reid will miss the first half because of a targeting penalty in the third quarter.
Preseason Honors
Over the past four years, Miami had not received much attention in preseason honors. That has changed in a big way this year. Heath Harding was named to three different watch lists (Bronco Nagurski, Jim Thorpe and Bednarik), Danny Godlevske was honored by the Rimington Trophy, James Gardner earned two awards (Wuerffel and Biletnikoff) and Ryan Smith was named to the John Mackey Watch List.
Roster Breakdown
While Miami's roster is finally starting to trend toward upper-classmen, the youth of this roster is still shocking. Coming into the 2017 season Miami has 124 players on its roster and just 12 seniors. Roster breakdown includes: Sixth-year seniors (1), fifth-year seniors (5), seniors (6), red-shirt juniors (19), juniors (13), red-shirt sophomores (16), sophomores (9), red-shirt freshmen (22) and freshmen (33).
Close to 4-0?
You are what your record says you are, but the RedHawks could easily be 4-0 this season. In the loss to Marshall Miami surrendered two kickoffs for touchdowns and a pick-6, yet still had a chance to come away with the win, but failed to convert on a 41-yard Hail Mary as time expired. In the loss to Cincinnati, Miami was up 17-6 with just under four minutes to play, but fell 21-17.
Taking Its Time
Through four games this season Miami ranks 25th in the country in time of possession, holding onto the ball for an average of 32:43 per game. In the opener versus Marshall Miami had the ball for 35:44 and followed that up a week later with a time of possession of 35:31 versus Austin Peay. Against UC, Miami had the ball for just 29:40 and recorded a time of possession of 29:59 in the win over CMU.
Dominant Defense
Miami's defense currently ranks 27th in the nation in total defense (310.8) and 33rd in scoring (19.0), but even that doesn't tell the entire story. Versus Marshall, the Thundering Herd had two special teams TD's and a pick-six and the Bearcats added a pick-6 in that contest as well. If you were to remove those 28 points, the Miami defense would rank 11th in the country, allowing just 12.0 points per game.
Mostly Tweetable Defensive Notes
- Overall, the Miami defense has allowed just 48 points in four games.
- Miami has just three sacks this season.
- Miami has six interceptions and three forced fumbles this year, which ranks 13th in the nation in turnovers forced.
- Miami's defense has allowed just nine scores this season (5 TDs and 4 FGs).
- The opponent has reached the Miami red zone just 10 times this season, coming away with two touchdowns (20%) and four field goals (40%). Overall, the Miami red zone defense ranks fifth in the nation (60%).
- Miami has also forced three turnovers in the red zone.
Position Change?
While Doug Costin may be a bit big to play defensive back at 6-2, 285 pounds, he still is filling up the stat sheet with pass breakups. Costin currently leads the team with five pass breakups.
Gardner Coming Out Strong
James Gardner entered 2017 with high expectations after finishing as a third-team All-MAC player a year ago, with 45 catches for 750 yards and six touchdowns. This season he has 16 catches for 294 yards and two scores, while averaging 18.4 yards per catch.
Meet Luke Mayock
Filling in for an injured James Gardner versus UC was redshirt sophomore Luke Mayock. Mayock had not seen much time the first two games, but that may now change. Versus the Bearcats, Mayock had career highs in catches (4), yards (74) and his first career touchdown.
In Gus We Trust
After beginning last season 0-6, head coach Chuck Martin turned to quarterback Gus Ragland. Ragland led Miami to six straight wins over Kent State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Buffalo and Ball State. The now junior quarterback finished last season, throwing for 1,537 yards, 17 touchdowns and just one interception.
Nice Way to Start a Career
Ragland began his career by throwing 203 consecutive passes before throwing an interception late in the contest versus Mississippi State in the 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl. In all, the Cincinnati, Ohio native has thrown just three interceptions in 325 career pass attempts (1 INT every 108.3 pass attempts).
Ragland Timeline
ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â'¬ ' Verbally commits to Miami on Dec. 13, 2013
ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â'¬ ' Redshirted the 2014 season and played 86 snaps in 2015.
ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â'¬ ' Suffered an ACL injury in April of 2016 during a spring football practice.
ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â'¬ ' Came back to start versus Kent State on Oct. 15, 2016 and won six straight games and helped Miami reach a bowl game.
Godlevske and Thomas Lost For Season
Danny Godlevske, Miami's starting center suffered a season ending injury in week one versus Marshall. Godlevske was on the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation's top center. Maurice Thomas suffered a season-ending injury versus UC and was Miami's kickoff specialist.
Nate Becker Returns From Injury
While tight end Ryan Smith has been getting much of the national pub to begin the 2017 season, tight end Nate Becker was actually predicted to start last year before suffering a season ending injury during the 2016 fall camp. Becker is now healthy, giving the RedHawks multiple options at the tight end position.
Diamond Returns For Sixth Year
Miami got some great news from the NCAA last spring, when it was announced that Jordan Diamond would be granted a sixth year of eligibility, due to missing two seasons because of injury. Diamond, a transfer from Auburn, started all 13 games at guard last season in his first year with the RedHawks.
Blessing in Disguise
Back in 2015, Heath Harding was battling an injury earlier in the season that he just couldn't shake, which forced him to miss the final nine games of that season. While missing the season was frustrating for the Dayton, Ohio native, there was also a major positive. The injury allowed Harding to redshirt the 2015 season, giving him a fifth year. Without that injury in 2015, Harding would not currently be a part of this 2017 season.
