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'Hawks soar past Rams

Freshman running back Tracy Woods rushes past a Colorado State defender Sept. 18.
Freshman running back Tracy Woods rushes past a Colorado State defender Sept. 18.

JM Rieger, Staff Writer

Freshman running back Tracy Woods rushes past a Colorado State defender Sept. 18. (MICHAEL GRIGGS | The Miami Student)

The Miami University football team brought their "A game" Sept. 18, routing Colorado State University (CSU) 31-10 and improving their record to 2-1 for the season.

It is the first time Miami has won two straight games since 2007, and is something Head Coach Michael Haywood is very pleased about.

"We are getting better each and every week," Haywood said. "We put a sign up on every player's locker this week that said, ‘Bring your A-game.'"

Miami did that and more, especially on defense where they held CSU to one total rushing yard the entire game. Junior linebacker Ryan Kennedy led the team in tackles for the second straight week, racking up eight total tackles that included five for a loss.

Kennedy and sophomore linebacker Evan Harris also changed the momentum of the game midway through the second quarter when Kennedy hit CSU freshman quarterback Pete Thomas while he was throwing, allowing Harris to pick off the underthrown ball and return it 56 yards for the score.

Miami also forced four turnovers on defense and forced Thomas to throw two interceptions.

"We had good schemes to stop the run," Kennedy said. "We tried to fly to the ball (because we know) if everyone flies around and hustles, it doesn't matter who you have in there (on defense)."

However, the Red and White did give up 305 passing yards to the Rams and allowed CSU to convert seven of 14 third downs, which is the second straight week they have allowed their opponent to convert 50 percent of their third down attempts.

Meanwhile, the offense once again used a balanced attack to expose a CSU team that entered the game ranked 109 in the nation in total defense. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Zac Dysert was 18-22 and threw for 231 yards to go with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Freshman running back Tracy Woods led the team in rushing, carrying the ball 19 times for 85 yards, while redshirt sophomore Danny Green ran hard as well, racking up 26 yards on six carries. Both running backs ran physically and complimented the offense very well with the absence of senior running back Thomas Merriweather, who left the game after one carry after claiming that he could no longer see. Later in the game, Merriweather regained his vision, but team doctors told Haywood to not play Merriweather to protect him for the rest of the season.

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One of the bright spots offensively came with less than eight minutes left in the third quarter when Dysert hit junior tight end Kendrick Bruton for his first career touchdown. It was the first time Bruton had been in the endzone in a game since his senior year in high school, and the score gave the RedHawks a 24-3 lead halfway through the third quarter.

Senior wide receiver Armand Robinson had another good game, but only had one reception for one yard at the half. Miami sealed up the victory when Dysert hit Robinson on a go route late in the fourth quarter, giving Robinson his second touchdown on the season.

After striking first with a field goal in the first quarter, CSU did not score again until late in the fourth quarter after Miami had racked up 31 unanswered points. The Rams scored a touchdown with 1:14 left in the game against Miami's second team defense. The score marked the first touchdown of the season for CSU, but it was too little too late as the RedHawks had all but wrapped up the game by the start of the fourth quarter.