Saturday, September 30, 2000
Stakes high for Miami
Win at Akron critical to East title hopes
By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Back in August, the media picked Akron second and Miami third, behind Marshall, in the Mid-American Conference East.
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MIAMI at AKRON
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• Kickoff: 7 p.m. today, Rubber Bowl (35,202), Akron.
• Records: MU 3-1 (0-0 MAC East), Akron 2-2 (0-0).
• TV: None.
• Radio: WCKY-AM (1360), WMOH-AM (1450), WFMG-FM (101.3).
• Series: Miami leads 6-3-1 (last: 1998, MU 20-14).
• Line: Miami by 5.
• What to watch: Akron has talent and experience. Quarterback Butchie Washington has started 31 straight games for the Zips. He has completed 50 of 110 passes for 817 yards. Sophomore tailback Brandon Payne was last year's MAC Freshman of the Year, but Jimmie Gray leads the team in rushing this year. Miami should be able to move the ball, as the Zips give up 425.3 yards a game.
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“Our main purpose in life has been to prove you guys (the media) wrong since,” MU coach Terry Hoeppner said.
The RedHawks get a chance today when they travel to Akron for a 7 p.m. game at the Rubber Bowl. Under the new MAC format, division games such as this one are critical.
An NCAA rule states that to conduct a conference title game, each divisional opponent must play the other teams in its division. Since the MAC is unbalanced with seven teams in the East and six in the West, only divisional records will be used to determine the respective champions.
In the past, a Miami victory over a West team counted the same as a victory over an East team.
The first tiebreaker is head-to-head.
“So if you lose to a division opponent, that opponent has to lose twice for you to beat them,” Hoeppner. “We look at this as a championship game.”
Akron comes in 2-2. The Zips opened with a 52-22 loss to No.4 Virginia Tech. They then lost to Central Michigan 17-7. Because CMU plays in the MAC West, that doesn't hurt Akron in the East race.
After the two losses, Akron rebounded to beat Central Florida. Akron beat Ohio University last week 23-20 with a field goal with 24 seconds left.
Miami has had its way with Akron lately. The RedHawks have won two straight and five of the last six.
The RedHawks won 32-23 at Oxford last year.
“They played us really close,” MU quarterback Mike Bath said. “We didn't play our best game. We'll have to play better this year.”
Akron is similar to Miami in that it has a very experienced quarterback. Butchie Washington will make his 32nd straight start today.
“I've been looking at the same offense for four years,” Hoeppner said. “They've improved a great deal. I've watched the evolution of that offense.”
Akron has a good stable of backs led by Jimmie Gray (300 yards on 56 carries).
The top receiver is Lavel Bailey, who averages 18.6 yards a catch.
Akron's defense gives up 425 yards a game, so the Zips may have trouble slowing down Miami's quick-strike offense.
The RedHawks have scored 43 touchdowns this year. Twenty-three of them have come on drives of 90 seconds or less.
Miami's three wide receivers — Sly Johnson, Eddie Tillitz and Ty Buxton — may be the best in the MAC. Buxton has 21 catches for 274 yards and one TD; Johnson has 18 catches for 369 yards (that's 20.5 yards a catch) and four TDs, and Tillitz has 22 catches for 267 yards and one TD.
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