 Almost two years ago, on Oct. 31, 2009, the Miami RedHawks benefitted from a fourth quarter Toledo fumble that bounced through a corner of the MU endzone to hold on for a 31-24 Miami victory. It was the only win for the RedHawks in a 1-11 (1-7 MAC) season.
Toledo finished slightly better, but still was under .500 (5-7, 3-5). Flash forward two years, and the two schools are pre-season picks to win their respective divisions. After seven weeks of 2011 play, the two are meeting – in a regular season matchup.
Both teams have experienced an almost mercurial rise since their 2009 meeting.
The RedHawks leapfrogged over the pack to win the 2010 MAC championship (and a bowl game). But after struggling through four straight losses to open 2011, some wondered if the RedHawks’ star had flamed out.
Toledo, after falling just short in the MAC West a year ago, also struggled early this season against some ranked and/or high profile opponents before embarking on a win skein once conference play began.
Entering Saturday’s matchup at the Glass Bowl, both teams are riding modest winning streaks.
Miami (2-4, 1-1 MAC) came from behind to beat Army, 35-28 at home two weeks ago. That gave former Miami player and new head coach Don Treadwell his first victory at the helm. Defenses ruled the day a week later when MU slipped past Kent State 9-3 on a windy day in northeast Ohio .
Toledo (4-3, 3-0 MAC) is fresh off a win over neighboring rival Bowling Green (28-21), a team that bested Miami earlier in the year. In the two previous weeks, UT posted wins over Temple (36-13) on the road and Eastern Michigan (54-16) at home.
Both Toledo and Miami have kept the training staffs busy. Some players returned – albeit less than 100 percent -- by game time. Others missed games or are out for the season.
Miami, for example, lost defensive lineman Mwanza Wamalumba just before the first game. He, like tight end Steve Marck, is gone for the season. Defensive end Will Diaz was one of several players who sustained injuries against Army, and he could be gone for the year after recording 5.5 tackles for loss prior to the injury. Defensive end Wes Williams has already missed three games because of a leg injury.
As much as those injuries dented the RedHawks’ defense, that unit has held up reasonably well. Injuries on the offensive side of the ball – particularly along the line – have been more difficult to overcome.
Center JoJo White returned for the Army game and lineman Matt Kennedy is back. That seemed to help the MU offense, and run game in particular, get untracked in a 35-28 win over Army. However, a stout Kent State defense and windy conditions made it difficult to evaluate an anemic offensive performance (166 yards of total offense) last week. Receiver Chris Givens did return to action and caught a 16-yard pass for the game’s only touchdown. The RedHawks – minus some key linemen - were shut out by Cincinnati three weeks ago and scored six points in their opener against Missouri .
“Treadwell, however, thinks his squad is moving in the right direction. “In the second half against Kent State, we were running the football and getting first downs. We just need to be more consistent in the red zone,” he said.
Toledo has been bitten by the injury bug, as well, but the Rockets remain on something of a roll. Offensively, they have averaged 39 points while winning each of their first three conference games. The 28 points in last week’s win at BG were the lowest UT output a 40-15 loss to No. 4 Boise State Sept. 16.
According to Rockets head coach Tim Beckman, numerous UT players have answered the call after injuries to teammates.
Following last week’s victory, he noted that three of the four players requested by the media for interviews—RB Morgan Williams, DE Danny Farr and QB Terrance Owens— were listed as second-string on UT’s depth chart. Williams, a senior filling in for starter Adonis Thomas, gained 136 yards (with three TDS) at Bowling Green and has 310 yards over the last three games. That’s nearly as much as he gained in one memorable night against Miami as a freshman, when he registered 330 yards.
Against the Falcons, DE T.J. Fatinikun, safety Jermaine Robinson and TE Danny Noble were the latest addi¬tions to the injury list. Farr came in, knocked down two passes and then made the play of the game, stop¬ping Bowling Green for a one-yard loss on fourth-and-one from UT’s six-yard line late in the fourth quarter.
At tight end, Colby Kratch caught a career-long 40-yarder. Robinson’s absence in the secondary, meanwhile, was covered by an interception from Taikwon Paige and a career-best three pass breakups by Desmond Marrow.
Of course, Toledo’s success also involves some “relatively” healthy bodies, as well. Among them is standout wide receiver Eric Page. The junior wideout has been on every opponent’s radar and any game planning must include a strategy for at least containing the versatile Page. He is a dangerous kick returner and a talented receiver.
In two of the last three games, he has been held under 50 receiving yards, but the Rockets also won both contests. His big play capabilities enhance a balanced UT offense that ranks second in scoring (34.7 ppg), third in total offense (430 ypg), fifth in rushing (175 ypg) and third in passing (255 ypg).
“You hear about Eric Page all the time because he’s such a dynamic player. He’s just an exciting receiver and a dangerous returner,” Treadwell said. “They’ve got so much more than just him. Their offensive line is as big as a Big Ten line. They utilize two quarterbacks and they’re both very effective.”
Because the Rockets use two quarterbacks, individual numbers don’t always reflect their capabilities. However, when it comes pass efficiency, junior QB Austin Dantin ranks first with a rating of 152.3, and sophomore Terrance Owens is fifth at 145.1.
Almost the opposite might be said of Miami QB Zac Dysert. He ranks 10th among MAC quarterbacks in pass efficiency (122.6). However, he is nonetheless regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the league. The junior has shouldered the load for a Miami offense that has struggled to run the ball and also yielded 21 sacks (third worst in the league). On at least two occasions, he escaped sacks to throw touchdowns in key situations. The latest such scramble was his TD throw to Givens last week.
Despite the low numbers in last week’s windy conditions against a tough Kent State defense, Dysert’s 250.5 ypg. passing average is second only to Western Michigan’s Alex Carder. Dysert is completing 60.1 percent of his passes. He has seven TD tosses and five interceptions through six games. Four of the touchdowns were against Army. None of the picks came in the last two games (Army and Kent State).
Dysert’s top receiver is Nick Harwell. While his four-game streak of games over 100 yards receiving came to an end Saturday, he is still second in the MAC with an average of 127.4 ypg.
Among other areas of note:
SPECIAL TEAMS: Certainly Toledo has a special weapon in Page, and kicker Ryan Casano is 7-of-9 on field goal attempts thus far. However, Miami’s special teams unit could figure prominently in Saturday’s outcome.
Both punting and place kicking have been an adventure for the Red and White. They came through for MU last week, however, especially with some clutch field-position punting by Zac Murphy. He had 11 punts for 391 yards (35.5 ypp), but two of his boots were inside the five-yard line and helped the RedHawks maintain a critical field position advantage. “We changed some of our punting schemes a couple of weeks ago and Zac is feeling much better about that. He had a couple of tremendous kicks that changed field position” against Kent State, Treadwell said.
TURNOVERS: Shanked and blocked punts were an albatross for Miami early in the year. The RedHawks hope they have turned the corner with that unit. If not, Toledo has the capability of taking advantage. The Rockets lead MAC teams in turnover margin with a mark of 1.43. They are a whopping plus-10 on the campaign, racking up eight fumble recoveries and eight interceptions against a total of six lost turnovers (three fumbles and three interceptions). Miami is seventh in turnover margin (0.17 tpg, minus-one).
RED ZONE: UT has played one more game than Miami, but the Rockets have nine more trips into the red zone. Toledo ranks fourth in red zone offense, with scores on 88.5 percent of its red zone possessions. Miami is 11th with a 70.6 percent scoring percentage. The latter figure is accentuated by place kicking and running game struggles. However, four red zone drives ended in lost possessions (two fumbles, one interception and one lost-on-downs).
TOLEDO RUN “D”: Toledo’s defense ranks third among MAC teams in defending the run (131.3 ypg) and is fifth in total defense (356.7 ypg).
LAST OF THE UNDEFEATED: Toledo is the only remaining team undefeated in MAC play. Miami has one loss (to BG). Neither team can afford a loss in what figures to be a very tight conference race down the stretch.
HOMECOMING: One week after a big win over rival Bowling Green, the Rockets will celebrate Homecoming against Miami.
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