MADISON, Wis.– The Miami University football team dropped its season opener 17-0 at Wisconsin Thursday night. The RedHawks (0-1) trailed 3-0 late in the third quarter before the host Badgers (1-0) pulled away. Adam Trick led the Red and White with two sacks. 
 
"Defensively, I loved our approach," head coach Chuck Martin said after the game. "I loved that they didn't get pushed around by a Big Ten offense; they fought like crazy and they did a lot of really good things."
 
"Coming into the game, we knew they were going to be really physical. That's kind of Wisconsin's identity," Trick added. "I was just proud of the guys and the fight we showed all night. [It's] something that we can use to push through the rest of the season – a good starting step for us [to] motivate us that when we all do our job, we can be a really good defense this year.
 
"Obviously it's not the result we ended up wanting, but we did do some good things tonight."
 
With 11 new offensive starters, Miami will look to build on its Week 1 performance on that side of the ball when the RedHawks travel to Rutgers for a non-conference matchup next Saturday.
 
"DQ [Dequan Finn] has played a lot of football, Kenny Tracy's played a lot of football, and that's it," Martin said, commenting that those two offensive veterans were playing 'at a different pace' this evening. "[Deion] Colzie's played some football. Everybody else out there: This was their first go-round, and it looked like it at times…
 
"We'll look at it, watch it, and get back at it…there is enough talent there, enough pride there, and enough character there...
 
"We're not easing into this thing. You'd like to have a softer landing, but [it's] a great opportunity to learn and get better."

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After an early exchange of punts pinned the Badgers at their own six-yard line, Wisconsin moved the ball 70 yards downfield before Miami forced back-to-back incompletions to set up a UW field goal try. Wisconsin kicker Nathanial Vakos converted from 42 yards out to put the home team up 3-0 with 1:39 left in the first quarter.
• The Badgers' next drive also lasted more than seven minutes, but again, Miami's defense kept UW out of the end zone. Back-to-back tackles from Trick, including a sack for a 12-yard loss, helped Miami get the ball back with 5:23 remaining in the half. Neither team got on the scoreboard before intermission, with Miami going to the locker room trailing just 3-0.
• A key Silas Walters fourth-down interception in the end zone thwarted Wisconsin's opening drive of the second half. The Badgers finally broke through later in the third quarter for their first touchdown of the game, taking a 10-0 lead on a three-yard slant pass from Danny O'Neil to Vinny Anthony II with 4:08 left in the period.
• O'Neil concluded the scoring with a one-yard quarterback sneak on a third-down play with 6:45 to go. Miami's longest drive of the game spanned 42 yards on the next possession, but Wisconsin's Preston Zachman ended the threat with an interception.

 
 
'SI-'LENCE THE CROWD: Walters' interception was the first of his career, and he nearly had a second pick later in the same quarter. The redshirt senior defensive back made his presence felt, finishing with eight tackles (to match fellow safety Eli Blakey for the highest total on the team) and also helping down a punt at the six-yard line in the first half.
 
"Si was all over the field, playing at an even higher level than a year ago," Martin said.
 
 
TONS OF TACKLERS: With Matt Salopek and Ty Wise graduating (and taking nearly 750 combined career tackles with them), Martin has said throughout the preseason that the Red and White would have to make stops by committee. That was the case tonight, with 21 different RedHawks making at least one tackle. "They were fighting," Martin said. "A lot of times, guys were getting blocked and it looked like a [big] play, but a guy would get off a block and dive and really get a guy to the ground. It wasn't one guy…there's other guys that played really hard and fought really hard and strained really hard."
 
 
COLE'S CATCHES: Cole Weaver, who owned two career catches heading into tonight's game, led Miami offensively with three grabs for 35 yards.
 
 
MAGIC 'TRICK': Trick set the tone defensively for the Red and White from the get-go, recording two tackles and deflecting a pass at the line of scrimmage on Wisconsin's opening series. This was the first multi-sack game of Trick's career.
 
"Coming into it, I knew the offensive lineman [Davis Heinzen]: We played him at Central Michigan last year, and that was my matchup…All week long, it was just in my brain to contribute in any way possible," Trick said. "The plays there that I was able to make and help the team out – [I'm] just thankful they came my way…
 
"There's a lot of positives to take away from tonight," Trick continued. "We're going to go in tomorrow, watch the film, and make those corrections. This is a great experience for a lot of guys on the team to get that foot in the water and experience what big-time football is like.
 
"Hopefully this will be a confidence builder and those guys are just going to keep getting better and keep working."
 

UP NEXT:
Miami travels to Rutgers to battle the Scarlet Knights on Saturday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. in Piscataway, N.J.