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MIAMI(OHIO) REDHAWKS @ NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES >>>> OVER 63.5
Miami-Ohio (2-2) at Northern Illinois (1-3) @ 7:35 PM EST.
FACTS & STATS: Site: Huskie Stadium (28,000) -- DeKalb, Illinois. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Miami-OH 1-1, NIU 1-1. Away Record: Miami-OH 1-1, NIU 0-2. Neutral Record: Miami-OH 0-0, NIU 0-0. Conference Record: Miami- OH 1-1, NIU 0-1. Series Record: Miami-Ohio leads, 7-3.
GAME NOTES: The Miami-Ohio RedHawks and Northern Illinois Huskies meet in DeKalb on Wednesday night in a clash of struggling Mid-American Conference foes. The RedHawks are coming off a solid 44-16 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats last Wednesday. It was the second straight victory for Miami which opened the season with losses to Ohio State (34-14) and Central Michigan (38-37). After the RedHawks tangle with the Huskies they will head home to face Akron before traveling to Ypsilanti to battle Eastern Michigan. The Huskies, who are coming off a bye week, have stumbled out of the gate, dropping three of their first four matchups. Northern Illinois' lone victory came against lowly Tennessee Tech by a 42-3 margin. The Huskies climbed back from a 21-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter in their last contest, but the team was unable to record the victory as it suffered a heartbreaking 48-42 overtime setback to Akron. After NIU battles Miami the squad will host Eastern Michigan next week before heading out on the road to tangle with Kent State. The last meeting between the Huskies and RedHawks was a battle of epic proportions. On October 12, 2002, NIU rallied back from a 27-7 deficit late in the third quarter to pull off an improbable 48-41 victory over Miami.
The RedHawks have played extremely well on the offensive side of the ball this season and are averaging 447.0 total ypg, including 315.8 ypg through the air. Miami is converting 45 percent of its third-down attempts, which has helped the team average 25 first downs per game. In the 28-point victory over Cincinnati last week, the RedHawks were once again consistent, racking up 174 yards on the ground and 365 yards through the air. The team converted 6-of-15 third-down chances, while winning the time of possession battle by more than six minutes. Brandon Murphy led the Miami ground game with 120 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Murphy continues to run well for the RedHawks as he leads the club with 438 yards and three touchdowns on the year. Quarterback Josh Betts also had a strong performance, throwing for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Betts, who had the dubious task of replacing former Miami standout and current Pittsburgh Steeler Ben Roethlisberger last year, has shined under center this season, completing 58.6 percent of his tosses for 1,255 yards and nine scores against just three interceptions. Wideouts Martin Nance and Ryne Robinson have made life as the RedHawks' signal caller much easier for Betts, as Nance leads the team with 31 receptions, 432 yards and five scores, while Robinson follows closely behind with 27 catches, 435 yards and three scores. The two combined for 14 receptions, 246 yards and three touchdowns against Cincinnati.
Defensively, is where the RedHawks have been less than stellar this year, as the squad is allowing 24.5 ppg and 408.5 total ypg. One major problem for the unit has been defending the pass, as the RedHawks are permitting 291.0 ypg with six touchdowns. Miami has negated some of the yardage allowed by forcing 11 turnovers (nine interceptions). In the RedHawks' most recent outing, the defense had by far its best performance of the season by holding Cincinnati to just 16 points on only 314 total yards. The unit gave up just 66 rushing yards, while recording an impressive five interceptions and collecting three sacks. Bryan Tyson led the way with 13 tackles, while Steve Burke tallied 11. John Busing, who had nine stops against Cincinnati, currently leads the RedHawks with 44 tackles on the year.
For the second straight week the Huskies scored 42 points, however, it was not enough as NIU was downed by Akron in overtime. The Huskies racked up 536 total yards of offense, including 486 through the air. However, they only mustered 50 yards on the ground, although the loss of star tailback Garrett Wolfe to a shoulder injury may have played a significant role. Wolfe finished the game with just 52 yards on 22 carries, but despite the rough outing, he is ranked seventh in the nation with an average of 126.5 ypg. While the ground game struggled, the passing attack was firing on all cylinders, as Phil Horvath completed 39-of-52 pass attempts for 486 yards and six touchdowns. The 486 yards snapped the school record which was previous held by George Bork, who threw for 445 yards against Illinois State on October 19, 1963. For the season, Horvath has been simply phenomenal in completing 70 percent of his passes for 1,187 yards and 11 scores. Shatone Powers and Sam Hurd have provided plenty of options down the field and thus far have combined for 44 receptions, 631 yards and eight touchdowns. Against Akron, Hurd grabbed 14 balls for 139 yards and three scores, while Powers contributed with six catches for 69 yards.
After having the luxury of facing a dreadful Tennessee Tech offense the week before, the Huskies' defensive unit had to step back into reality against a much better Akron squad. The Zips tallied a whopping 525 total yards, including 119 yards on the ground. Akron also converted 6-of-15 third-down tries, while converting all four of its red-zone scoring chances. After four games, it is apparent that the Huskies have had trouble stopping the run, yielding 170.8 ypg on the ground. Another problem for NIU has been its inability to force turnovers (just three in four games). Against Akron, Quince Holman led the way with nine tackles and three TFLs, while Keenan Blalark added eight stops. Blalark is second on the squad with 26 tackles this year, behind only Dustin Utschig who has a team-best 32 stops.
Both the Huskies and RedHawks have extremely effective offenses and at the same time neither team has played particularly well on defense. That said, expect a high scoring battle that should go down to the wire.
Miami-Ohio (2-2) at Northern Illinois (1-3) @ 7:35 PM EST.
FACTS & STATS: Site: Huskie Stadium (28,000) -- DeKalb, Illinois. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Miami-OH 1-1, NIU 1-1. Away Record: Miami-OH 1-1, NIU 0-2. Neutral Record: Miami-OH 0-0, NIU 0-0. Conference Record: Miami- OH 1-1, NIU 0-1. Series Record: Miami-Ohio leads, 7-3.
GAME NOTES: The Miami-Ohio RedHawks and Northern Illinois Huskies meet in DeKalb on Wednesday night in a clash of struggling Mid-American Conference foes. The RedHawks are coming off a solid 44-16 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats last Wednesday. It was the second straight victory for Miami which opened the season with losses to Ohio State (34-14) and Central Michigan (38-37). After the RedHawks tangle with the Huskies they will head home to face Akron before traveling to Ypsilanti to battle Eastern Michigan. The Huskies, who are coming off a bye week, have stumbled out of the gate, dropping three of their first four matchups. Northern Illinois' lone victory came against lowly Tennessee Tech by a 42-3 margin. The Huskies climbed back from a 21-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter in their last contest, but the team was unable to record the victory as it suffered a heartbreaking 48-42 overtime setback to Akron. After NIU battles Miami the squad will host Eastern Michigan next week before heading out on the road to tangle with Kent State. The last meeting between the Huskies and RedHawks was a battle of epic proportions. On October 12, 2002, NIU rallied back from a 27-7 deficit late in the third quarter to pull off an improbable 48-41 victory over Miami.
The RedHawks have played extremely well on the offensive side of the ball this season and are averaging 447.0 total ypg, including 315.8 ypg through the air. Miami is converting 45 percent of its third-down attempts, which has helped the team average 25 first downs per game. In the 28-point victory over Cincinnati last week, the RedHawks were once again consistent, racking up 174 yards on the ground and 365 yards through the air. The team converted 6-of-15 third-down chances, while winning the time of possession battle by more than six minutes. Brandon Murphy led the Miami ground game with 120 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Murphy continues to run well for the RedHawks as he leads the club with 438 yards and three touchdowns on the year. Quarterback Josh Betts also had a strong performance, throwing for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Betts, who had the dubious task of replacing former Miami standout and current Pittsburgh Steeler Ben Roethlisberger last year, has shined under center this season, completing 58.6 percent of his tosses for 1,255 yards and nine scores against just three interceptions. Wideouts Martin Nance and Ryne Robinson have made life as the RedHawks' signal caller much easier for Betts, as Nance leads the team with 31 receptions, 432 yards and five scores, while Robinson follows closely behind with 27 catches, 435 yards and three scores. The two combined for 14 receptions, 246 yards and three touchdowns against Cincinnati.
Defensively, is where the RedHawks have been less than stellar this year, as the squad is allowing 24.5 ppg and 408.5 total ypg. One major problem for the unit has been defending the pass, as the RedHawks are permitting 291.0 ypg with six touchdowns. Miami has negated some of the yardage allowed by forcing 11 turnovers (nine interceptions). In the RedHawks' most recent outing, the defense had by far its best performance of the season by holding Cincinnati to just 16 points on only 314 total yards. The unit gave up just 66 rushing yards, while recording an impressive five interceptions and collecting three sacks. Bryan Tyson led the way with 13 tackles, while Steve Burke tallied 11. John Busing, who had nine stops against Cincinnati, currently leads the RedHawks with 44 tackles on the year.
For the second straight week the Huskies scored 42 points, however, it was not enough as NIU was downed by Akron in overtime. The Huskies racked up 536 total yards of offense, including 486 through the air. However, they only mustered 50 yards on the ground, although the loss of star tailback Garrett Wolfe to a shoulder injury may have played a significant role. Wolfe finished the game with just 52 yards on 22 carries, but despite the rough outing, he is ranked seventh in the nation with an average of 126.5 ypg. While the ground game struggled, the passing attack was firing on all cylinders, as Phil Horvath completed 39-of-52 pass attempts for 486 yards and six touchdowns. The 486 yards snapped the school record which was previous held by George Bork, who threw for 445 yards against Illinois State on October 19, 1963. For the season, Horvath has been simply phenomenal in completing 70 percent of his passes for 1,187 yards and 11 scores. Shatone Powers and Sam Hurd have provided plenty of options down the field and thus far have combined for 44 receptions, 631 yards and eight touchdowns. Against Akron, Hurd grabbed 14 balls for 139 yards and three scores, while Powers contributed with six catches for 69 yards.
After having the luxury of facing a dreadful Tennessee Tech offense the week before, the Huskies' defensive unit had to step back into reality against a much better Akron squad. The Zips tallied a whopping 525 total yards, including 119 yards on the ground. Akron also converted 6-of-15 third-down tries, while converting all four of its red-zone scoring chances. After four games, it is apparent that the Huskies have had trouble stopping the run, yielding 170.8 ypg on the ground. Another problem for NIU has been its inability to force turnovers (just three in four games). Against Akron, Quince Holman led the way with nine tackles and three TFLs, while Keenan Blalark added eight stops. Blalark is second on the squad with 26 tackles this year, behind only Dustin Utschig who has a team-best 32 stops.
Both the Huskies and RedHawks have extremely effective offenses and at the same time neither team has played particularly well on defense. That said, expect a high scoring battle that should go down to the wire.