25 Cradle Questions

The late, great Bob Hitchens

What is their body of work?

If you have been around a while, you know that Miami for many years was the MAC's pre-eminent program.  Back in the Doyt Perry era, they were BG's top rival.  In the mid-70s, they won 3 straight MAC titles.  After success under Randy Walker and Terry Hoeppner,  they chose Shane Montgomery to lead them out of the post-Big Ben era. They went 2-10 twice under Montgomery and 1-11 under Mike Haywood, his replacement.  Haywood was 10-4 (fog bowl year) in his second year.  He left for Pittsburgh, a job he would never actually have, and then Don Treadwell came in.  He was a disaster, 8-28, including 0-12 the season he was fired. 

In comes Chuck Martin.  Martin is a Brian Kelly guy, working with him at Grand Valley (where he also replaced Kelly and won 2 NCAA titles) before going to Notre Dame and then Miami.  It took him a little while to get things going (Coach Loeffler mentioned this at his presser).  He didn't win 8 games until his fifth season--2019, a MAC Championship season.

This year, they are 3-3. Most notably, they beat Kent 27-24 in their last game.  Also, they beat Northwestern in Evanston in a down year for the Cats. They also beat Robert Morris, while losing to UK, UC and UB.

The RedHawks have won the last 3 games in the series.  The last BG win was the crazy game in the Jinks era .  Loeffler has never beat Miami. Miami is a 7-point road favorite.

How experienced are they?

This is a very young team.  They have 14 juniors or seniors on their two deep.  They added 13 transfers in the portal.

Who are their nationally ranked players?

Eli Blakely is #19 in passes defended.

Ryan McWood is #10 in tackles

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are +4.

Offense

How is their QB play?

They started the year with Brett Gabbert at QB.  Third-team All-MAC, he was injured in the opener at UK.  He is unlikely to return. He was replaced by Aveon Smith, a R-FR.  His passing numbers are not great.  He is 11th in the MAC in pass efficiency, with 52% completion, 6 TD over 4 INT and 11.7 ypc. He is a dual-threat QB, something BG has struggled with.

What is their scoring and yards per play

They are not about scoring.  See defense.  They are 11th in scoring and 9th in yards per play. 

Can they run the ball?

They are decent, 4th in MAC at 4.5 yards per carry.  There are only 5 RBs in the MAC averaging 5 yards per carry or more. Their lead back averages 4.6 yards per carry.

Do they pass the ball?

As seen above, it's not great. Their leading WR is Mac Hippenhammer, with 22 catches.  Third-team All-MAC, had a 63-yard TD last year vs. BG.

How is their run/pass balance?

This team is run focused, running on 67% of their plays.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

At 32% they are last.

Do they score in the red zone?

It is poor at 4.1 points per trip.

Do they protect the quarterback?

Not great.  Sacks on 8 of their pass attempts.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

Here is where they excel. They lead the MAC in scoring defense and are 2nd in yards per play allowed.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are very difficult to run on.  They allow 2.8 yards per carry and the #2 team is 3.8.

That's #10 in the nation.  BG didn't run great against Buffalo's #12 defense.  This will be a challenge and I think you will see BG game plan the pass from the start.

Can they be passed on?

They are 3rd in pass defense efficiency.  They allow 60% with 10 TD and 5 INT and 11.7 yards per completion.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are 5th, allowing 37%.

Do they defend in the red zone?

Not great, 5.9 points per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

Not really.  Sacks on 6% of passing attempts.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 3rd in net punting. They have been blocked once.  No TD allowed.

Punt Return?

12 returns, long of 35, average of 6.5

Placekicking? 

They usually have good kickers.  This guy isn't great.  He's 9-12, 2 misses under 40 and blocked twice..  Long of 49.

Kickoff? 

Teams start on the 28.

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 25.

Intangible Miscellany

Look, this team (BG) is difficult to size up.  The point spread probably is generous to BG.  I'd like to say you never know which BG team is going to show up, but the good BG team has really only shown up once. It goes without saying that the team that showed up last week won't beat anyone and won't get 7 points against this team.  It seems to me that BG needs to be able to stop the run.  The Falcons are #10 against the run, but Miami is relatively one-dimensional.  Tackling simply must improve.  Then, the pass game must click.  I don't think the Falcons will run on Miami.  The Falcons are capable of winning this game but will need to find whatever is "missing."  Default performance will yield default result.