25 Questions from the Desk of President Harrison

1891 Miami team.  No mention of Florida.

What is their body of work?

Historically, Miami has been the most consistent power in the MAC.  That hit a speed bump one year after Big Ben and Terry Hoeppner left.  Over 12 of the next 13 seasons they had a non-winning record--unthinkable before that.  They flamed out two coaches before Chuck Martin came in.  Martin had 3 non-winning seasons, they went 8-6 with a MAC title in 2019, 2-1 last year and 5-5/4-2 this year.  In the MAC, they have beaten CMU, Akron, @BSU and UB, while losing to @EMU and @OU.  At 4-2, they are tied with Kent and the winner of their Black Friday matchup will take the East (almost for sure).

MU has won the last two in the series, but BG has won four of the last 7, including a Mike Jinks win.  Miami is a 17-point favorite.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

They have 13.  This is a very young team with a lot of FR in their depth chart.

Who are their statistical leaders? (Top 20 Nationally)

Jack Sorensen is #16 in TD Receptions, #6 in receiving yards

Matthew Salopek is #14 in solo tackles.

Ivan Pace is #15 in tackles

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are +3. 

Mud Game

Offense

How is their QB play?

It is good.  Brett Gabbert has battled injuries this year and there were some games split between him and AJ Mayer, but Gabbert has had all the snaps over the last 2 games.  He has the top pass efficiency in the MAC. He completes 67% of his passes, at 14.4 points per completion, which is a great combo.  And a 13:1 TD/INT ratio, which is very good.  He is not a big threat to run but he can do it a little.

What is their scoring and yards per play (MAC Games only from here on in)

They are #9 in scoring and #1 in yards per play, you just never see that kind of spread.

Can they run the ball?

They are 7th rushing the ball based on yards per carry.  They have only 5 rushing TDs.

Do they pass the ball?

As noted, they lead the MAC in pass efficiency.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 49% of their overall plays.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

They are 6th in the MAC.

Do they score in the red zone?

Not great, 3.9 points per trip.

Do they protect the quarterback?

Pretty good, sacks on 4.0% of attempts.

McGuffey.  As in Reader.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

They lead the MAC in scoring defense and #2 in yards per play allowed.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They have the best run defense in the MAC, allowing 2.7 yards per carry.

Can they be passed on?

They are #8 in pass efficiency defense.  They allow 64% completions and a 12:3 ratio.  

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are 3rd in the MAC.

Do they defend in the red zone?

Yes.  They have only allowed 14 red zone trips, least by a lot.  4.5 points per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

They are good.  They get sacks on 8% of opponent passing attempts. That' more than UT and you saw how that went.

Miami Alum

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 3rd in net punting.  They have been blocked twice.

Punt Return?

They are 5th in punt returns.  No TD, no blocks.

Placekicking? 

He is not great.  9 of 13 with a 49 long.

Kickoff? 

Opponents start on the 25.  No TDs.

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 27.  No TDs.

Intangible Miscellany

Well, you always have the last game in your mind.  You have a better defense than Toledo had and they are very tough to run against and they rush the passer.  That's exactly the formula that got BG blown out last week.  This is also a short week.  They need to have some kind of idea how to move the ball, or this one will be a repeat of the last one.  The defense is missing key players and Miami throws effectively--also a warning sign.  BG is going to need one of those surprising performances in order to make this competitive.  One note:  Miami doesn't need this game at all.