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'Hawks aim to take Bell

Junior tailback Dan Green tries to shake a Bowling Green State University  defender for extra yards last Saturday. Green and the RedHawks are looking to give Head Coach Don Treadwell his first victory against the University of Cincinnati.
Junior tailback Dan Green tries to shake a Bowling Green State University defender for extra yards last Saturday. Green and the RedHawks are looking to give Head Coach Don Treadwell his first victory against the University of Cincinnati.

JM Rieger, Staff Writer

Junior tailback Dan Green tries to shake a Bowling Green State University defender for extra yards last Saturday. Green and the RedHawks are looking to give Head Coach Don Treadwell his first victory against the University of Cincinnati. (JESSI THORNE | The Miami Student)

The Miami University football team, still looking for their first victory of the season, will face off against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats (3-1) this weekend in the annual Battle for the Victory Bell, the fifth oldest rivalry in college football.

Miami (0-3 overall, 0-1 MAC) has struggled in the turnover department and they will face one of their biggest challenges this season in Cincinnati, who is tied for the best turnover margin in the nation. Meanwhile, the RedHawks have lost the turnover battle each of their first three games and have one of the worst turnover margins in the country.

"We need to stay focused and [improve] ball security [this week]," sophomore wide receiver Nick Harwell said. "We need to keep believing and play for each other."

Harwell has been one of the biggest offensive playmakers for a Miami squad that has struggled to move the ball down the field. The 'Hawks are 100th in total offense, 105th in scoring offense and are second-to-last in rushing offense. Harwell will go for his third straight 100-yard receiving game this weekend, which would put him elite territory with RedHawk great Martin Nance, who had three straight 100-yard receiving games in 2003 and four straight in 2005.

One of the biggest keys to the offense's success on Saturday will be the play of the offensive line. The Red and White gave up six sacks last week against Bowling Green State University, partially due to the absence of junior center JoJo Williams. Williams and redshirt junior offensive lineman Matt Kennedy are both day-to-day and the coaching staff has monitored their progress closely throughout the week.

Miami's offense has also struggled to put points on the board once they enter the red zone. The Red and White are six for nine in the red zone this season, while opponents are converting their red zone trips into points a whopping 93 percent of the time. Despite these obstacles, players and coaches are still optimistic about this season.

"We just need to play together," redshirt junior defensive lineman Mike Johns said. "We are doing a lot of things right. The first few games we were very undisciplined but I think we are correcting those things and have a good chance to win this game."

Defensively, the Red and White will look to shut down one of the most dynamic offenses in all of college football, led by redshirt senior quarterback Zach Collaros and senior running back Isiah Pead. Pead is averaging over 100 yards on the ground per game, while Collaros is completing 66 percent of his passes on the year.

Miami has played extremely well on the defensive side of the ball but may face one of their biggest challenges of the season this Saturday. The Bearcats are fourth in the nation in scoring offense and are averaging just under 50 points per contest.

"Offensively they've got a lot of weapons," Head Coach Don Treadwell said. "They have, in my opinion, one of the best running backs in the country. He is the real deal. Those guys in particular, [Collaros and Pead], make it obvious why they score a lot of points."

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Look for Miami to rely on their dominant passing attack to move the ball down the field, especially considering that Cincinnati is allowing over 280 yards per game through the air. Defensively, the RedHawks will have to make some adjustments to shut down Collaros and Pead, but expect them to continue to put pressure on the quarterback, which they began to do last week against Bowling Green.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET at Yager Stadium. If you cannot make it to the game, fans can listen to the game on Miami's IMG Sports Network or on WMSR at www.redhawkradio.com.