Austin Ertl (0) blocked two kicks for the RedHawks in Saturday's MAC Championship Game
Miami's Special Teams Extra-Special in MAC Championship Win
12/7/2023 10:59:00 AM | Football
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DETROIT— How many points was Miami's special teams dominance worth in Saturday's MAC Championship Game?
It's not a rhetorical question.
Open up the box score. Rewind the DVR. Do the math.
In a game that finished with a 23-14 scoreline, how much of the RedHawks' margin of victory can be directly attributed to the special teams unit?
From the very first play of the game (a 37-yard kickoff return by Keyon Mozee) to the very last minute (a field goal block by Austin Ertl), the Red and White put on an absolute clinic in that phase of the game.
"It's offense-defense-special teams: we believe in all three," head coach Chuck Martin said.
"We're really good on special teams; we've always been really good on special teams…we talked [today] about, how many fourth downs can we create?
"We're good on fourth down…let's take advantage of fourth down. We get to fourth down, [and] we feel really good. For most people, fourth down's the boring part of the game, but not for us. It's a critical part of what we do…
"We take it very seriously. And thank goodness, because it's helped us win a ton."
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Different players have stepped up for Miami all season to help the RedHawks finish number one in the country in ESPN's special teams efficiency rankings. And Saturday was no exception.
There was MAC Special Teams Player of the Year and Lou Groza Award finalist Graham Nicholson, converting three field goals and two extra points and recording five kickoff touchbacks.
Or Second-Team All-MAC selection Cade McDonald, darting between two Rockets on a punt return for 21 yards to set up the RedHawks' first touchdown drive.
How about Yahsyn McKee, another All-MAC performer, wreaking havoc on an attempted kick (where have we seen that before?) and chasing down Toledo's holder because UT couldn't even get a kick off.
(Did McKee get the perfect jump or was he offside? Agree to disagree.)
Speaking of struggling to get a kick off, don't forget Silas Walters and Caiden Woullard sprinting after Emilio Duran as the Rockets' punter ran for dear life before he was finally hit by Corban Hondru in the first minute of the second half. The ensuing kick rolled dead at the Miami 45-yard line and unsurprisingly led to more points for the RedHawks.
Good things happen when those kids are on the field." -Martin
Oh, and we haven't even mentioned Miami's punter yet. Three months ago, Alec Bevelhimer was a walk-on backup behind injured 2022 All-MAC punter Dom Dzioban. By the time the opening weekend of the season ended, Bevelhimer was a starter on scholarship. "We had this huge delay on the bus, and we were sitting on the tarmac for four hours, so we gave him a scholarship on the tarmac the night before the Miami [Fla.] game," Martin smiled.
"He got put on scholarship, and then he has this season."
By December, Bevelhimer was an All-MAC pick himself and averaging nearly 47 yards per punt Saturday in Detroit to win a ring.
"Been a backup his whole career," Martin said. "He was planning on being a backup this year and moving on with his life. Then he has an amazing, amazing year, and had another fantastic game…four [kicks] inside the 20…
"Big difference in the game."
However, perhaps the biggest standout for Miami's special teams Saturday was Ertl, a fifth-year senior from Wauwatosa, Wisc. Ertl blocked not one, but two field goals, tying the NCAA single-game record and becoming the first player in the country since 2017 to accomplish that feat. His pair of blocks gave Miami a half-dozen blocked kicks on the year, good for the second-highest total in the nation.
Ertl said special teams coordinator Jacob Bronowski and assistant coach Joe Bowen (who helps oversee the field goal blocks) deserve a lot of the credit for the plays he made up the middle. "It starts with the scheme…but when the block comes from the inside, it's really about push," Ertl said, mentioning interior linemen Woullard and Kobe Hilton as well. (Both Woullard and Hilton blocked kicks in the regular-season finale, a two-point win at Ball State.)
"It's something I've become more accustomed to; playing complementary football is a big part of being a winning team," Ertl added. "To win tight, close games, one special teams play can be the difference between winning and losing."
And if one key special teams play can make all the difference, it's no surprise with the amount of game-changing plays for the RedHawks Saturday that Miami went on to defeat Toledo for the program's 11th victory of the season, first defeat of a ranked team since 2012 and most importantly, 17th Mid-American Conference title.
It's just the latest milestone in a special season that will wrap up in next Saturday's Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando, Fla. And for Ertl, it's the perfect bookend to a five-year career with the Red and White that started in 2019 and ended in 2023 the same way: by lifting a Mid-American Conference trophy at Ford Field.
"Being able to grow up with your guys in college [is an incredible experience]," Ertl said. "My best friends are on this team.
"To finish it the way we did, with the people we did? That means the world to me."
Find more Front Row Features at MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: MIAMI SPECIAL TEAMS
Never seen a team so thoroughly dominate their opponent on special teams the way Miami Ohio did to Toledo in the MAC Championship pic.twitter.com/CzMvAAqChs
— Colton Denning (@Dubsco) December 3, 2023
Miami OH best special teams in the country
— Who Dey Jax (@j_herrmann13) December 2, 2023
Miami's been incredible on special teams today. Wow
— Sam Kasuga (@Kasuga_Sam) December 2, 2023
Miami OH special teams advantage is massive
— Nick Juskewycz (Sked) (@NickJuskewycz) December 2, 2023
miami proving how important special teams are
— 🍳 (@freewavenine) December 2, 2023
Miami is winning in all three phases right now but they are completely dominating in the special teams department https://t.co/MRsR5s9Pns
— 5th and Goal Sports (@5thGoalSports) December 2, 2023
Miami (OH) special teams is impressive to watch. They just out coach teams. Putting guys on the guards and jumping in the path of where the kicker should be aiming is just smart. Most teams come off the edge.
— Tommy Watkins (@tdubs313) December 2, 2023
Miami of Ohio has to have the best special team unit I have ever seen
— Coach Daring (@CoachDaring17) December 2, 2023
Miami is special teams U. Probably lou groza winner. Punter award semifinalist. And like 5 blocked kicks. Also really good kick returning
— Daniel Renfield (@danielren123) December 2, 2023
I want the special teams that Miami (Ohio) has. They have blocked FIVE kicks this year
— charity (@ceb3_) December 3, 2023
MAC Special Teams Player of the Year and Player of the Game Graham Nicholson!
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) December 2, 2023
Probably the best all around team special team performance i've ever seen by Miami in this game pic.twitter.com/IItpckC4SH
3 Phases of Football man .... Miami put on a special teams masterclass
— JE💫 (@JUSTERIC__) December 2, 2023
Miami Football will take on App State in the Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 3:30 p.m. in Orlando. Tickets are available now! For more information about the 2023 Miami Football postseason, which is presented by Left Field Tavern and Crown Charters, check out the Bowl Central page on MiamiRedHawks.com.
Players Mentioned
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