Monday, August 17, 1998
OXFORD -- Opening the season at North Carolina Sept. 5 and then marching to West Point Sept. 12 doesn't faze Miami football coach Randy Walker.
And it doesn't bother him that the next two games are against the Mid-American Conference's defending division champs Toledo and Marshall.
It's that Homecoming Game against Bowling Green, or those final three games against MAC doormats Northern Illinois, Kent and Akron that worry him.
"I don't know if we're the best team or not in the league, but we have to make sure we win the ones we should win," said Walker, recalling how losses to Ball State in '95, Akron in '96, and Bowling Green in '97 cost his team MAC titles.
Walker loves playing the big boys. When Miami knocked off No. 12 Virginia Tech last year and earned the priceless publicity of CNN Play of the Day, he received mail from as far away as Berlin and Israel.
"Sure, you'd like to open against some Division III schools, but one of the traditions here is playing against good competition," Walker said. "It's been an aspect of our program and it should be. You need to be careful with scheduling. You can overschedule, but I don't think we've done that."
But Walker wants to get some home games in return. The Red- Hawks have just four of 11 at Yager Stadium this season and Walker wants at least five. Miami would like to schedule more two-for-ones, like it has with Iowa, instead of no return trips. The Hawkeyes come to Oxford Sept. 7, 2002, while Miami goes to Iowa in 2001 and 2003.
-Geoff Hobson
