After three straight years of winning at least a share of the MAC East title, the RedHawks are finding it difficult to cope with their worst season this decade. (Sarah Macharg (illistration))
Fourth and one. The ball is on the 13-yard line and the RedHawks line up, attempting to gain the first down and hopefully punch the ball into the end zone. The score is knotted 7-7 and a touchdown would give Miami a 14-7 lead going into halftime. Quarterback Mike Kokal barks out the signals as he settles under center. Then a whistle. One of the linemen jumped. All at once, a simple push for one yard turns into a 6-yard play for a first down. The coaches decide a field goal is a safer bet. The attempt is no good. Little did they know those three points would be the margin of victory.
The 2006 Miami University football team has countless stories like this one. Countless missed opportunities, countless instances in which they simple beat themselves. Saturday's loss to Ball State was just another example of what has gone wrong in a season that began with so much promise.
While there is no way coaches could or would want to predict a 1-8 record after nine weeks, the lack of success this year was not a complete surprise due to circumstance. Injuries have decimated a lineup that was already depleted by last year's graduation, especially on the offensive front.
"(The injuries up front) have a snowball effect and it shows the continuity we need up front," said Head Coach Shane Montgomery. "That's been our major weakness on offense, our offensive line, because we haven't had any continuity."
Currently, two offensive linemen who entered the season as projected starters are out for the season after surgery. Neither Charlie Norden, one of Miami's two returning offensive line starters, nor Matt McKeown were healthy enough to even finish one game this season. 1,000-yard rusher Brandon Murphy has struggled with a high ankle sprain all year and wide receiver Josh Williams has been out since week three.
"When you have two offensive linemen out, a key wide receiver and your best running back out, it's tough and its demoralizing but when you go out there, you play with whoever you have because you don't have a choice," Kokal said. "We are not going to lay down for any team."
Despite injuries, the offense has still been able to gain yards, they just have struggled putting points on the board. Maddeningly enough, against Ball State and in two other previous losses, Miami out-gained their opponent but still ended up on the losing end.
"We have not made the plays when we've had a chance," Montgomery said. "We've got to have some guys step up (because) we haven't finished games. We've had two or three games where we've had a lead and haven't gotten it done, but at the same time I remain optimistic that we've had a chance to win into the fourth quarter. Our kids fight to the end but we just aren't getting it done."
Montgomery pointed toward the struggling running game as part of the problem in "getting it done."
Because of the weakened offensive line and Murphy's struggles, freshman Andre Bratton and junior Austin Sykes have had to grind out the yards.
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"We're just not getting the big plays in the running game that you hope you would get occasionally," Montgomery said. "When you take a starter like Brandon Murphy out, who had 1,000 yards last year (you miss) the big play capability. We haven't had any long runs this year, maybe three runs over 20 yards."
Because runs that long have been few and far between, teams have frequently been able to drop their linebackers and fill the passing lanes.
This has put even more pressure on Kokal, who has frequently had to scramble because there have been no other options.
Statistics alone tell the story: Kokal has the most rushing attempts of anyone on the team.
The deficiency in the run game has been a culprit of the RedHawks' failure within the red zone, though that has improved in recent games.
They only converted eight of their first 13 trips to within the 20 to begin the year, but then ran off a string of 14 straight trips that resulted in a score.
In the game against Ball State, they reverted back to their old ways, failing to convert on three separate occasions.
"We can move the ball all over teams but we need to make a play in the red zone," Kokal said. "I feel like we have been able to move the ball, but something happens in the red zone that we need to fix."
How do you rescue a season that has been a disappointment?
How does a head coach help his team turn the corner and stay motivated?
Are wholesale changes in store for the team?
According to Montgomery, the problem isn't in the strategy.
"We're not going to change what we are doing," he said. "I am not going to change my approach with the team it's been all year. We're not going to change the approach (or) X's and O's on either side of the field because we believe in what we are doing."
They believe in what they are doing but that doesn't mean they are locked into any specific course of action.
There is still room for change within the system and change must occur if they want to start winning games.
"We have got to keep going," Montgomery said. "We are going to have to find ways and be creative in terms of scoring points and moving the football. If we were 1-8 and losing by an average of 30 points a game, then I think you make some drastic changes."
Is the team buying into it? Though some might be discouraged with the current situation, the atmosphere at practice and attitude of the players has been anything but a defeated spirit. If anything, it is characterized by frustration and determination to turn it around.
"I have never lost this many games in my life, but we just come out to work every week," said senior strong-side linebacker Dontae Wright. "We are not losing games by teams beating us, we are losing games by us doing things wrong. So, that makes it harder and the most disappointing. I didn't expect that."
For the first time in the current players' collegiate careers, they are completely out of contention for the Mid-American Conference Championship. But there is still a possibility of finishing the season on a positive note.
"It's not hard to stay motivated," Wright said. "We are playing for pride, for your school and for yourself, not wanting to be a loser. It's easy to come out and play motivated football."
Almost even more important is how this season can affect the future of the program.
Both the players and Montgomery realize how the end of this season will affect them next year.
"We've got a lot to play for," Montgomery said. "We are the spoiler right now. We are not in contention, but we can be the spoiler and we have a lot to build on as we go into the future in terms of what kind of program we can have."
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