Saturday, October 23, 2004
Miami welcomes winless Knights
By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor
OXFORD - Seven games into the season, the Miami rushing attack isn't where coach Terry Hoeppner would like to see it.
"We're still not running the ball as well as we'd like to," Hoeppner said of the offense that is averaging 104.1 yards a game, 56 fewer than last season. "That's something that's got our attention."
Improvement could start at 7 p.m. today when the RedHawks host the University of Central Florida and its conference-worst rushing defense in Yager Stadium.
Miami's ground problems are traceable to several factors. The offensive line lost three experienced starters from last year's team and then underwent a midseason position shakeup.
The RedHawks (4-3, 3-1 Mid-American Conference East Division) also have been losing at halftime in five of their seven games, forcing them to depend more on the passing game.
Hoeppner doesn't mind throwing the ball. Of Miami's 490 total plays, 249 have been rushes - including a season-high 45 in the 25-7 win at Buffalo last Saturday - and 241 have been passes. By comparison, UCF (0-6, 0-3) has run the ball 228 times and thrown it 191.
"We say we want to run it, and we do, but you need to be able to throw the football," Hoeppner said.
Miami should be able to run the ball against coach George O'Leary's Golden Knights, who are allowing an average of 221.3 rushing yards a game. That's the worst average in the MAC.
But Hoeppner doesn't expect it to be that easy against UCF, which is in its last season in the MAC before joining Marshall in a jump to Conference USA.
O'Leary is in his first season at UCF and 35th in a career that featured the 2000 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year award while he was at Georgia Tech.
"He's probably forgotten more football than I'll ever know," Hoeppner said.
Tonight is Miami's first night Homecoming game, and with the Pittsburgh Steelers on their bye week, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected to attend.
Miami vs. Central Fla.
