Sophomore Eugene Harris breaks a tackle during his punt return touchdown Saturday against CSU. Harris and the RedHawks are looking for more explosive plays when they take the field in Cincinnati if they are to triumph over their Big East opponents.
Rivalries bring out the best and worst in athletes. The annual battle between the RedHawks and Bearcats is no exception.
Preparing to play the 113th installment of the fifth oldest collegiate football rivalry in the nation, Miami University and the University of Cincinnati (UC) know that Saturday's contest is more than just a football game.
"This game means so much, not only to our team but to our university and alumni," Miami head coach Shane Montgomery said. "You play for something tangible. The victory bell-someone is going to take that home. We haven't had that for two years and we'd like to get it back."
Beating UC is one of Miami's pre-season goals every year. Located just 35 miles apart, the two schools are in constant conflict.
Beyond the annual gridiron bout, Miami and UC fight over fans and recruits. Many of the players know each other from high school, having competed on either the same or opposing teams. If they don't know about the rivalry before reaching campus, freshman football players at Miami learn it rather quickly from just using the facilities.
"It's up in everyone's locker-a sign that says beat UC," Miami quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh said. "You go in the urinals and on the stalls it says UC. We got to go get it done."
The Bearcats are 1-1 on the season with a 40-7 win over Eastern Kentucky University and a 52-26 loss to Oklahoma University, then ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 and USA Today polls. Montgomery described UC as being tough on all three faces, with an explosive offense, a solid defense and an outstanding kicking game. With a week off to rest and prepare, UC looks to provide stiff competition for the RedHawks.
"If we play like we did Saturday, it will be a long night in Cincinnati," Montgomery told his players after Tuesday's practice.
Cincinnati enters the game without starting quarterback Dustin Grutza, who suffered a broken leg against Oklahoma and may miss the rest of the season. In his absence, junior Tony Pike gets the start at center for the Bearcats. Montgomery, however, said that he isn't convinced Pike will be the only one taking snaps for the Bearcats and expects to see UC use a rotation of signal callers.
As for his own team, Montgomery continues to back starting quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh and dismissed the idea of him sharing significant time with backup Clay Belton.
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"Daniel is still our starter," Montgomery said. "At some point Clay is going to get in there, we just don't know when that is."
Raudabaugh continues to show improvement as the season progresses. After throwing three interceptions and completing only 46 percent passes in Miami's season opener, he went on to complete 61 percent of his passes with only one interception in the next two games. Raudabaugh's stats could be even better if not for several costly drops by his receivers, most notably the potential touchdown tosses against both the University of Michigan and Charleston Southern University that went in and out of RedHawk hands in the end zone.
During the 2007 season, Raudabaugh earned his first career start against UC. This, in addition to Miami's embarrassing 47-10 loss in that game, motivates him even more heading into therivalry weekend.
"The last few years they got us and that will eat you inside," Raudabaugh said. "It's a big game for Miami, for the alums, for everyone involved. From Oxford to Cincinnati, everyone knows about this rivalry. It's bigger than us. It's for Miami and that 'M' that you earned on your helmet."
On defense, the RedHawks look to bounce back from a shaky performance against the I-AA Buccaneers. Miami gave up 328 yards of total offense and 27 points to CSU Saturday. With the game sandwiched in between a trip to the Big House and the UC rivalry game, the RedHawks faced plenty of distractions surrounding that contest. Montgomery insists this did not cause his team's sloppy performance.
"We hadn't won a game yet so I don't know how we could overlook anybody," Montgomery said. "As a coach, you want to make sure your players prepare the same way, whether you are playing Michigan, Charleston Southern or Cincinnati."
With all three of Miami's starting linebackers appearing on the pre-season Butkus Award watch list, defense was seen as a strength of this year's squad. Senior captain Joey Hudson tries not to worry about the hype and even admitted to resenting the poster on Miami's sideline in Yager Stadium that features him with Clayton Mullins and Caleb Bostic.
"I know that a lot of people outside and even guys in the locker room expect (the three starting linebackers) to carry the defense," Hudson said. "But it's not just about the three of us. It's about everybody. We see that stupid sign everyday but it's not anything we as individuals worry about."
As a senior, Hudson has been through this rivalry game before. He and Montgomery believe it falls on the seniors' shoulders to communicate the importance and magnitude of the contest to the freshman who have yet to experience it for themselves.
"Like a lot of people, I didn't really know before I came here what (the rivalry) was like," Hudson said. "I had never heard of the victory bell. I was living with a lot of seniors my freshman year and we didn't have the bell. I learned that pretty quickly."
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Nippert Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPN360.com, which is available at no cost to all college and university students with an .edu email address.
"I'm excited," Raudabaugh said. "We've only got one direction to go from here and that's up. Twenty minutes after that win (against CSU) when we sung the fight song we knew it was time to buckle up for UC. We got to go get the bell back."
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