Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies
NEWS

RedHawks hope to 'whiteout' Bearcats

Jeff Creech/The Miami Student
Jeff Creech/The Miami Student

Dan Kukla

Jeff Creech/The Miami Student

Strong opinions swirl through the air as Miami University's football team gears up for their big home opener against rival Cincinnati Saturday at Yager Stadium in the Battle for the Victory Bell game.

Bearcat Head Coach Brian Kelly has publicly questioned if it is even worth his time to bring his Bearcats down to Oxford for what has become a longstanding rivalry match up.

"We're a BCS conference," Kelly told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "We have to look at our schedule and find out is it in our best interest to travel to a non-BCS school. We have to think about that. That's going to be a decision that's made above my pay grade, but I have my influence in it and I make my opinion known."

Kelly's bold statements certainly came as a shock to Miami's team, as the annual rivalry game is one that players and coaches alike look forward to each and every season.

"That upsets us because it's a long going rivalry and we've won most of the games; we're up in the rivalry," redshirt sophomore quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh said. "We think that they don't have much support for that quote. They really haven't done much."

Miami and Cincinnati will meet for the 112th time Saturday, with the RedHawks leading the series 59-45-7. Miami has won the last three games played at Yager; Cincinnati last took the Victory Bell in Oxford in 1999.

"I think that the biggest thing is that we are very proud to be here at Miami," Miami Head Coach Shane Montgomery said. "We are very proud to play in the Mid-American Conference. It's been a great football conference for a long, long time, and we're proud of it. We feel like we can match up with anybody in the country. We have a lot of programs that are excited about coming to Oxford because they know that we are a very good program, and we're going to expect to win the football game on Saturday no matter who comes in here."

While trying to forget about Kelly's comments, the RedHawks are trying to figure out who will start under center this week.

Senior Mike Kokal, who has started 12 out of the last 13 games under center for the 'Hawks, was replaced by backup Raudabaugh in the fourth quarter of last weekend's overtime loss in Minnesota.

The switch brought an instant and drastic improvement to the play of Miami's team as a whole, as RedHawks were able to erase a 28-12 deficit in the last 6:35 of regulation.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

Raudabaugh led the charge with two touchdown passes and 222 yards gained through the air, compared to Kokal's performance in which he threw for only one touchdown and an interception.

Montgomery refused to name a starter for Saturday's game, but did allude to the possibility of playing both quarterbacks.

"I don't know if we're going to name a starter right now," Montgomery said. "There's a chance that you could see both guys. If we use Daniel on Saturday, it won't be as much that Mike doesn't deserve to play as that Daniel does deserve to play. I think the biggest thing is that we feel really good with both of them."

Montgomery stated that he has talked with both players individually about the situation so that they can each feel confident in their position on the team.

He realizes the value in having a seasoned senior veteran like Kokal at the helm, but understands that in the end it is how the players perform that matters most.

"I told Mike that we still have a lot of confidence in him," Montgomery said. "Mike needs to practice like he's the starter. He also needs to get off to a quicker start because he has been a slow starter at times. I told Daniel that he needs to be ready to be the starter, because there is a good chance that he could play and he needs to be ready for that."

Regardless of who starts, the RedHawks will have their hands full Saturday with Cincinnati.

Still undefeated after two games, the Bearcats have trounced both of their opponents by a combined score of 93-3, and are coming off a 34-3 thrashing of Oregon State.

"Well I think obviously they have a very strong defense," Montgomery said. "They're one of the top defenses in the country right now as far as a scoring defense and as far as total yards given up. I think they gained 13 turnovers in the first two games, which has got to be at the top of the country. We've given up some turnovers, so we've got to do a good job of hanging onto the football."

Miami will also be taking on the Bearcats without star running back Brandon Murphy, who is out for Saturday's game with an injury he sustained during the Minnesota game.

In addition to Murphy, junior Joey Hudson is doubtful and will most likely not play Saturday. Both players will be re-evaluated later in the week to determine how long they will be out.

Despite the challenges, Miami's players remain confident and excited about the upcoming match up. Raudabaugh was especially energized by the opportunity to take another crack at big conference school.

"We feel that we have some of the best skill positions on both sides of the ball in the MAC," Raudabaugh said. "Our line has been playing extremely well together. Both on offense and defense, they have just really come together as a unit. We trust each other and we're out there as a family. We're comfortable going up against anybody. Against UC, we're going to go out there and bring the bell home."


Read More

Trending