Saturday, October 30, 1999
UC-Miami brings out best in rivals
BY JOHN FAY and JOHN ERARDI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
To UC's Troy Evans and Miami's Dustin Cohen, the annual Cincinnati-Miami game is the game. They are local guys. And the Miami-UC rivalry, the oldest west of the Alleghenies, is everything to the local guys.
“This game means a lot to me, because it's local,” said Evans, a junior out of Lakota High School. “But it means a lot to everybody. We see these guys a lot. It's just important to win a game like this. It's good for recruiting, good for everything, really. It's exciting to go over there and play.”
“This game is even bigger down the line,” said Cohen, a senior linebacker out of Summit Country Day. “If you're going to live here, this is the game you'll remember.”
Last year's 41-0 blowout by Miami at Nippert Stadium notwithstanding, the game is almost always a competitive one.
That's what both sides expect at 12:30 p.m. today at Yager Stadium, despite UC's 2-5 record and Miami's 5-2 mark.
Miami is a 4-point favorite.
“When it's a rivalry, records and stats don't mean much,” Miami star Travis Prentice said.
Plenty of tickets are available. A crowd in the mid-20,000s is expected.
It is homecoming for Miami.
UC junior safety DeJuan Gossett, out of Wyoming, predicts a lot of hitting.
“They'll be tough,” Gossett said. “We have to play as a complete team.”
Cohen, playing in his fourth UC-Miami game, expects the same thing.
“The coaches tell you about it,” he said. “But you really don't know the intensity until you experience it yourself.”
UC's passing game has been getting a lot of attention on the highlight reels — 407 yards against Southern Miss last week will do that — but coach Rick Minter said UC has to run the football today.
“We always feel we need to try to run the ball effectively,” he said. “I've always felt there's a correlation between how many passing yards you make and how many victories you get — unless you're hitting a ton of big plays.”
Prentice comes into the game as the fifth-leading rusher (142 yards a game) in the nation and only 21 points away from breaking Ricky Williams' NCAA record for scoring.
But Miami's running game has not been great lately. Prentice got 149 yards against Kent the last time Miami played, but he got it mostly on his own.
“We didn't block anyone at Kent,” Miami coach Terry Hoeppner said. “After the game, one of our veteran linemen came into the office to apologize for their effort.”
Miami had last Saturday off.
“I couldn't have scripted it at a better time,” Hoeppner said. “The extra week gave our guys time to heal.”
Minter said he has made it clear to his players they are facing somebody truly special this week in Prentice: “a 220- to 230-pound guy who can run, who has that rare combination of speed and size and power.”
“But we tried to emphasize stopping (Wisconsin's) Ron Dayne, and he got (231 yards),” Minter noted.
UC junior defensive tackle Mario Monds said it is important “to not let Prentice get started.”
Once he gets through a hole, he's pretty much gone, Monds said.
“On film, one of the things that impresses you is his vision,” Monds said. “The great backs all have that. I don't know if it's purely natural or if it's working at it, but however he got it, it's there.”
Hoeppner said he expects UC to be ready, particularly after last year's game.
The last meeting was the most lopsided in the history of the rivalry, which dates to 1888 (today is the 90th game). It was truly an anomaly. Consider:
• The two previous games had been decided in overtime, with UC winning both.
• Three years ago, Miami won 23-17 on Ty King's 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
• Four years ago, the game ended in a 17-17 tie.
• The margin of victory in seven games before last year was a total of 42 points.
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