Saturday, September 23, 2000
Miami sees Kent, not OSU
RedHawks not lingering on loss to Buckeyes
By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Terry Hoeppner figures his coaching license would be taken away if he weren't worried about a letdown going into today's 2 p.m. game with Kent at Yager Stadium.
The game is the home opener for Hoeppner's Miami University team, but it comes the week after the RedHawks' emotional 27-16 loss to Ohio State.
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KENT at MIAMI
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• Kickoff: 2 p.m. today at Yager Stadium (30,012), Oxford.
• Records: MU 2-1, Kent 0-3.
• TV: None.
• Radio: WMOH-AM (1450), WFMG-FM (101.3).
• Series: Miami leads 38-9 (last: 1999, MU 17-10).
• Line: Miami by 23.
• What to watch: Miami finally opens at home after three straight games on the road. Kent gave Miami a decent game last year — the RedHawks won 17-10 — but Miami has dominated in recent years. The RedHawks have won 11 straight meetings. In the four meetings previous to that, Miami outscored Kent 221-32. The RedHawks try to get their running game going. The RedHawks are averaging only 127 yards rushing a game. The other key is avoiding an emotional letdown after the loss at Ohio State last week.
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“You wouldn't be a coach if you didn't worry about it,” Hoeppner said of the letdown question. “But I don't think this team will allow that to happen. When we watched film this week, they got more and more respect for Kent. That's what you want. You don't want a team to go in and think they can name the score.”
Kent is 0-3 and has not beaten Miami since 1988. The RedHawks have beaten the Golden Flashes five straight years — outscoring Kent 238-42 from 1995 to '99.
Kent has won only two games in three years under coach Dean Pees. The Golden Flashes opened the season with road losses at Pittsburgh (30-7) and Purdue (45-10), and they lost last week at home to Division I-AA Youngstown State (26-20).
The game is a key East Division Mid-American Conference matchup for the RedHawks — only divisional records will be used to determine who gets into the MAC championship game. The Nov.11 game at Marshall looms large for Miami in the MAC East race, but a loss leading up to it would render it meaningless for Miami.
“We had a good week of practice,” Hoeppner said. “I think we'll be ready. I don't know if it's maturity or what, but this team only seems to be concerned with the final results.”
One thing Miami would like to improve today is it's running game, which wasn't very effective against Ohio State. Part of that was design; the coaching staff knew Miami would have to throw the ball well to win.
Last week, quarterback Mike Bath's 105 yards accounted for nearly all of Miami's rushing attack.
“That was by design,” Hoeppner said. “We used the back as decoys.”
Today, Miami will have a more conventional attack.
“Someone asked me if we had abandoned the running game,” Hoeppner said. “No. We thought the best chance to win against Ohio State was to throw.”
Steve Little and Cal Murray Jr. will continue to share the tailback duties. Little got the bulk of the playing time against Ohio State because the tailback blocked as much as he ran the ball.
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