RedHawks Blank Zips

by Michael Truax
11/14/07

MIAMI BEATS AKRON 7 – ZIP
The Miami RedHawks moved one step closer to the MAC Championship Wednesday night by beating the University of Akron Zips, 7-0.

The game put the two Mid-American Conference teams on national television, Miami’s first wide coverage of the year.

The surprising defensive battle started early. Neither team reached midfield in the first quarter.

In the second, Akron drove to Miami’s 41-yard line, but stalled quickly and punted the ball away.

The RedHawks held a 10-play drive immediately following that, ending in an interception on the goal line. Miami quarterback Dan Raudabaugh threw another interception to end the quarter.

The two offenses struggled in the first half. Akron only crossed midfield once during the game, and ended up punting from the Miami 41.

Miami drove the field on two consecutive possessions, only to end in two goal line interceptions thrown by Raudabaugh. The RedHawks’ first drive of the third quarter also ended in a red-zone interception.

Akron punted on its first nine full possessions.

Through three quarters of the game, Akron (4-7) and Miami (6-5) were scoreless. Both teams were unable to move the ball on offense consistently.

“On offense, we did not execute as well as we could have today. I tried to force some balls in there inside the red zone,” said Raudabaugh.

In the fourth quarter, Miami finally caught a break, when the defense returned a fumble for a touchdown. Junior linebacker Clayton Mullins forced Akron quarterback Carlton Jackson to fumble the ball, which was recovered by senior defensive right end Craig Mester for a touchdown.

“All the guys were saying that I have stone hands,” Mester said. “Generally, I would think about landing on it, but I just saw the end zone.”

Jackson was placed into the game for only that single play, temporarily replacing usual Akron quarterback Chris Jacquemain.

"I thought we needed to change things up because we were not having success moving the ball. That decision bit us," said Akron head coach J.D. Brookhart.

Akron turned over four of their last five possessions, allowing two interceptions, losing one fumble, and turning over the ball on downs.

“Last year, that is a game that we do not win. It was not pretty. It was pretty by the defense. It was not pretty by the offense,” said Miami head coach Shane Montgomery. “With the discrepancy in turnovers, to think that our defense held them to zero points, our defense did a tremendous job.”

Akron (4-7) was held scoreless for the first time since Nov. 24, 2006 against the Western Michigan Broncos. The Zips lost that game 17-0.

LOW SCORES UNUSUAL?
The 7-0 victory was one of the lowest-scoring games in the history of Miami. The last time Miami won a game with a total of seven points between the teams was on Oct. 8, 1966, against Mid-American Conference opponent Kent State University. Miami won the game 7-0.

In 1981, Miami scored only a touchdown in a 7-3 victory against Cincinnati.

Miami has several scoreless tie games in its school history, including three meetings with Cincinnati. The very first meeting in 1888 ended a scoreless tie.

The Wednesday game was the lowest-scoring match in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly D I-A) this year so far.

DETROIT HAWK CITY?
Miami moved one step closer to the MAC Championship with the win over Akron. One University at Buffalo loss or Miami win would take Miami to the championship game in Detroit for the first time since 2004.

“We kept ourselves in first, control our own destiny, we just did whatever we had to do to win the game,” said Mullins.