RedHawks Squeeze the Orange

by Michael Truax
8/29/07

The Miami RedHawks (2-3) secured their first home victory since November of 2005, beating the Syracuse Orange (1-4) with the strength of its running attack.

Miami was coming off of a crushing 42-0 defeat at the hands of the Colorado University Buffalo. The loss was the first time the RedHawks had failed to score a point since 1993.

Syracuse, on the other hand, seemed to be heading in the opposite direction. The week before the game this week, the Orange defeated the University of Louisville Cardinals, ranked #18 at the time, at Louisville. The Cards as a result have dropped out of the top 25 of most official polls.

Miami senior Cory Jones, taking the place of injured Brandon Murphy, scored both touchdowns for the RedHawks, the first of his college career. Murphy was hurt in the second game of the season against Minnesota, but had not been effectively replaced until Saturday.

Jones had been battling injuries through the first four years at Miami. He had only three rushes this season prior to the game against Syracuse, in which he had 12 rushes for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

The RedHawks scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, one coming after quarterback Mike Kokal connected with leading receiver Dustin Woods for 39 yards to the Syracuse two yard line. Kokal would finish the game with 150 yards passing and 63 yards rushing, while throwing three interceptions.

Going into the half Miami led 14-0, which allowed them to attack the Orange’s main defensive weakness, its run defense. Going into the game, Syracuse had given an average of 217.8 yards per game on the ground. The RedHawk running game, led by Jones, allowed them to keep the Orange off of the field for a chance to make a comeback.

With just over 9:16 to play in the third, Syracuse scored a touchdown on a 43 yard pass from Andrew Robinson to receiver Mike Williams, capping a five play drive over 76 yards in only 1:42, bringing the Orange to within a touchdown of Miami.

The defenses battled until Miami drove down to the two yard line, where the offense stalled. Trevor Cook kicked a 19 yard field goal to put Miami up by 10 points and two possessions, with 5:18 left in the game.

Orange quarterback Andrew Robinson manufactured a one-minute drive ending with a 28 yard touchdown pass to receiver Taj Smith, leaving 4:16, enough time to make the RedHawks nervous.

Miami, after a short possession, forced the Orange to turn the ball over on downs to effectively end the game.

“We’ve been lacking confidence (the past two games),” said RedHawk coach Shane Montgomery. The combined score of the last two games was 89-10 in favor of the opposition. “This is a huge win for us today.”

Montgomery praised Miami’s rushing game, which helped them move the ball and dominate the time of possession. “It was imperative that we got the run going,” said Montgomery. “There weren’t as many big plays by passing as we would have liked.”

Montgomery also noted that the decision to start sneaky quarterback Kokal over traditional pocket-passer Daniel Raudabaugh stemmed from analysis of Syracuse’s earlier games, in which they had trouble containing more mobile quarterbacks.

Mike Kokal said in the post-game press conference that he was not satisfied with his game.

“Once again, I wasn’t where I wanted to be.” Later, he would add, “But whatever it takes to win is whatever it takes to win.”

Junior linebacker Clayton Mullins acknowledged the success of Miami’s defensive line during the game.

“When we have success on the line, we turn them into a one (-dimensional team),” said Mullins.

Cory Jones entered the press conference on crutches, for what he said was a slight left-knee sprain. He gave his appreciation for the Miami offensive line.

“For the most part, the offensive line was creating huge holes, making it easy for me,” he said.

Kokal also discussed the good game of the offensive line, and said they had “blocked their tails off.”

NOTES:

-The 286 yard effort was Miami’s best since running for 399 yards in 1999 against Akron.

-Miami gave up a paltry 66 yards rushing to Syracuse, nearly twice the Orange’s per-game average. It led to the media jokingly asking in the press conference whether the RedHawks counted the run-stopping effort as a success or failure.

-Miami punter Jake Richardson had a great game, punting 6 times for an average of over 47 yards, with three inside the 20 yard line.

-Junior middle linebacker Joey Hudson recorded 10 tackles, 5 solo, with 1.5 for loss.

-Colorado University, who dismantled the RedHawks last week, upset the #3 Oklahoma Sooners 27-24 on Saturday.

-The RedHawks play the Kent State Golden Flashes away on Saturday, starting a three-week battle against Mid-American Conference teams. Miami will only play one more non-conference game, at Vanderbilt of the South Eastern Conference.