Miami coach Mike Haywood (center) talks to quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh and assistant coach Morris Watts.
People are often advised not to judge a book by its cover. After Saturday’s Miami game with Kentucky, Miami fans might be hoping the RedHawks aren’t judged by the first page, either.
Saturday marked the RedHawks first game under new head coach Mike Haywood, and while the RedHawks put forth a game effort, Kentucky left town with a convincing 42-0 victory.
The Rumble at the River, as the meeting had been dubbed because it was played at Paul Brown Stadium (home of the Cincinnati Bengals), took a decided turn in favor of Kentucky following a second quarter interception by Calvin Harrison at the UK 11 yard-line. He returned it 42 yards to the Miami 47. Four plays later, quarterback Mike Hartline found Randall Cobb along the left side for a 27-yard touchdown play.
Prior to the interception, Miami had managed to hold its own against its SEC foe. A late first quarter drive took the RedHawks to the UK 17-yard line, but Trevor Cook’s 34-yard field goal attempt was wide left. It was the last red zone appearance Miami would make all afternoon as the offense managed just 188 total yards. That included 62 yards rushing and 126 passing yards. Senior Daniel Raudabaugh came under increasing pressure as the game progressed and completed just 13-of-34 (38 percent) with two interceptions. One was returned for a third quarter touchdown. The other, Harrison’s second quarter pick, gave Kentucky momentum that it kept for the rest of the contest.
Three Wildcats scores before halftime put the visitors in the drivers seat. Cobb’s first TD of the day started the scoring. Tailback Derrick Locke went around left end for 16 yards and a touchdown at 6:50 of the second quarter. Chris Matthews, although well-covered, made a leaping grab for another Wildcat TD at 1:55.
“We had as many good catches in this game as we did in five or six games last year,” Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said.
A 34-yard pass to Cobb was the big play in an eight-play, 80-yard Wildcat drive to open the third quarter. Cobb, taking the snap out of a “Wildcat” formation, finished the drive by going 11 yards around the right side for a score. Lones Seiber’s kick made it 28-0.
“There will be a bigger expansion of that (formation) moving forward,” Brooks said of the Wildcat. “I think it is something that will really help us.”
Trevard Lindley’s 25-yard interception return down the left sideline (7:28, third quarter) and Moncell Allen’s nine-yard jaunt run (13:58, fourth quarter) rounded out the scoring.”
“Trevard (Lindley) simply to me is the best corner in college football,” Brooks said.
“We didn’t handle adversity well,” said Miami coach Mike Haywood, who acknowledged things went downhill after Harrison’s second-quarter interception. “It was a slide (downhill) from that point on.”
Brooks suggested the interception’s timing was coincidental to his some other developments. “We were in a little bit of a mystery as to what they were going to do,” Brooks said, alluding to the fact that Miami was openings its season under a new coaching staff. “We finally figured out what defenses they were going to play. Once we figured out what they were doing (up front), we were able to make some adjustments.”
Haywood indicated his team would be making its own adjustments during the coming week as it prepares for a road encounter at Boise State. “You make your biggest strides from your first game to your second game,” Haywood noted.
Both coaches felt Kentucky’s scoring binge during the middle portion of the game affected Miami’s game plan. “After that, to a certain point, you lose your play-action pass,” Haywood said. “It made them one dimensional when we got out front with the lead,” Brooks observed.
With the RedHawks forced into straight passing situations, Kentucky’s defense applied the pressure. While they only recorded two sacks, the Wildcats harried Raudabaugh on a number of occasions. “Even though we lost a lot of people (from last year) on defense, I thought we had some excellent people to replace them,” said Brooks, adding he was “very pleased overall” about the Wildcats performance.
Kentucky had 29 first downs on the day, while Miami recorded 10 first downs and 10 punts. The Wildcats converted 11-of-18 third down opportunities. Miami was good on 2-of-15.
Kentucky, which has now won15 consecutive non-conference games, gets a week off before facing state-rival Louisville Sept. 19.
Miami will go to Boise State for the first of three straight road games. The RedHawks have one home game (Oct. 3 against Cincinnati) over their next six contests.
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