It was a good week for Miami. In fact, it was a great week. After beating Temple University 23-3 on Tuesday night to increase their record to 8-4 (7-1 MAC), the Miami RedHawks went from “worst to first” in one year, something that virtually never happens in college football.

“One” is a significant number to Miami. Last year, they were worst in the MAC winning just one game and going 1-11 and 1-7 in the conference. This year saw the historic turnaround, with Miami losing just one game in conference at 7-1. Occasionally, there have been some worst to first teams in professional sports and once in college basketball, but rarely, if ever, in college football, where recruiting, coaching, graduations, and competition all have an impact.

With Kent State’s 28-6 victory over Ohio University, Miami officially won the MAC East and now head to the Marathon MAC Championship game to play Northern Illinois next Friday December 3. Kent State dominated the game leading 14-3 at the half. After scoring twice in the fourth quarter, Kent State scaled their 28-6 victory sending Miami players and fans into a state of jubilation.

When Mike Haywood came to Miami, everyone felt that they had the right coach for the job. With a new system and many new players, Haywood’s team won one game in his first season, but the players learned what they needed to do to succeed. This year, his second year began with a big game against ranked Florida, and Miami showed signs that it was a totally different team. Then, through the year, Miami beat Central Michigan, Kent State, Bowling Green, and Buffalo with only one conference misstep losing 34-13 to Ohio.

Miami has less than a week to now prepare for the high-octane offense of Northern Illinois which stampeded Eastern Michigan 71-3 Friday. Miami will do everything that can to get ready to meet the team that was predicted to be in the Championship and showed throughout the year they belonged. But give Miami players credit and kudos especially to Coach Haywood. Yes, it was a great showing for Miami going from “worst to first,” and they are looking for another great week as they look to go from “worst to best” in the MAC.

Miami will be going to a bowl game for the first time since 2004. The MAC has three guaranteed bowl tie-ins: Little Caesars Pizza, GoDaddy.com and uDrove Humanitarian. Two of those bowl spots go to the participants in the MAC Championship Game.

The Miami RedHawks and Ohio Bobcats face off this weekend in Oxford, renewing their annual “Battle for the Bricks” contest. Not only are the two in-state rivals battling for bragging rights, but also for first place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East division. Yes you heard that right. Miami, the team who has spent much of the last two seasons in the basement of college football, is playing for the top spot in the East division mid-way through the season. Both teams come into the game at 4-3 overall, the only difference is that Miami has an unblemished 3-0 record in conference, while Ohio sits at 3-1. Miami has loads of confidence entering the game, after winning their first road game in two years last weekend at Central Michigan. Defeating Ohio will no doubt be tough, but a win for Miami on homecoming weekend in Oxford would keep the RedHawks in first place, somewhere no one expected them to be eight weeks into the season.

Miami Will Win If: Zac Dysert can have another game like he did last weekend at Central Michigan. Dysert lit up the Chippewa defense last Saturday, completing 29-of-47 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns. Miami have fans have been waiting for the sophomore quarterback to put up numbers like that in 2010, and if he can sustain it, Miami will be tough to stop on the offensive side of the ball. Dysert has found some new targets besides junior Armand Robinson, who is the second leading receiver in the conference with 56 receptions for 599 yards and three touchdowns. While Robinson has been impressive so far this season, for Miami to continue to play well, Dysert needs to look for other wide outs. He found one last week in sophomore Andy Cruse, who caught eight passes for 179 yards including the game winner with 19 seconds left. With an almost non-existent run game; expect Miami to dial up a lot of plays for Dysert to look for both Robinson and Cruse.

After getting embarrassed two weeks ago by Cincinnati in a 45-3 loss, the RedHawk defense really stepped up last week against CMU, holding the dangerous Chippewa offense to only 20 points. Miami will need another strong performance from their defense on Saturday to have a chance at winning. The RedHawks will need to slow down Ohio’s dual-threat quarterback Boo Jackson, who has thrown for 913 yards while running for 247 more. Ohio uses a two-quarterback system, so if the RedHawks can slow down Jackson and back-up Phil Bates (399 rush yards and 152 pass yards), it will give the team a good chance to win the game.

Prediction: There is no doubt that this is the biggest game to take place in Oxford in a long time. It will be homecoming at Miami, so Yager Stadium will be the loudest it has been all year. Miami is no doubt one of college football’s most improved teams in 2010, and I think they will show that on Saturday. Miami has a great opportunity Saturday to take control of the MAC East division in front of their home fans, and I don’t think they will let this opportunity get away from them. Dysert has another big game in a close contest. Miami Over Ohio 34-24. 

With 19 seconds remaining in a 20-20 game Saturday afternoon in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, Zac Dysert and the Miami RedHawks showed why this year is different, why this year, the Miami RedHawks are for real. With overtime looming, Dysert took the snap with just under 20 seconds left in the game and rolled to his right. Dysert launched a pass down the field to a wide, and I mean wide open Andy Cruse that went for 71 yards and the game-winning touchdown. The score secured the 27-20 win for Miami, and stunned the defending MAC Champion Chippewas, who looked to overtime to earn their comeback win against the RedHawks. The win gives Miami a 4-3 record overall, but more importantly a 3-0 record in the MAC. The last time Miami went 3-0 to start the MAC season was in 2007. The win also secured Miami’s first road win since 2008. If there were any doubts about Miami being a legitimate contender in the MAC this season, this win surely puts those doubts away.

Miami suffered a very tough loss two weeks ago at Cincinnati in the “Battle for the Victory Bell,” but they came back with one of the marquee wins in head coach Mike Haywood’s time at Miami. Not many people have had success at Central Michigan in the past couple of seasons, and no one expected a Miami team that went 1-11 in 2009 to have a chance at winning Saturday. The difference for Miami on Saturday was the play of sophomore quarterback Zac Dysert, who had his best game of the season against the Chippewas, going 27-for-49 for 399 yards and three touchdowns. The 399 yards is the second-highest number of yards Dysert has thrown for in his young career at Miami. Dysert found another go-to-receiver on Saturday against Central Michigan in sophomore wide out Andy Cruse, who caught 9 passes for 180 yards, including the game-winning touchdown. The Miami defense also impressed on Saturday, holding the Central Michigan offense to 20 points, after allowing 45 the previous weekend to Cincinnati.

Miami remains on top of the MAC East division with a 3-0 record. This road win should give them the confidence they need to play well in their homecoming game against Ohio University this upcoming weekend. While Miami still struggles to find consistency in their running game, their passing attack is powerful enough to put up points game in and game out. Dysert has now found another breakout receiver in Andy Cruse, which can be dangerous for teams trying to slow down the Miami offense. The win against Central Michigan shows that Miami has turned around their performance from last year, and shows that the RedHawks will be around all fall battling for the MAC East title.

2-0. That’s what the Miami RedHawks are in Mid-American Conference play. Although having a 3-3 record, the RedHawks are on top of the MAC East division through six weeks of the 2010 season. The RedHawks can now focus all of their attention on conference play the rest of the season, which will be good for a team that ended non-conference play with a disappointing 45-3 defeat last weekend at the hands of their in-state rivals Cincinnati. To stay on top of the conference, Miami will need to win a couple of road games since they only have two home games remaining on their schedule. Sounds easy enough, right? Tell that to the RedHawks, who haven’t won a contest away from home since the 2008 campaign. Their first road test in the MAC comes this weekend when the RedHawks visit defending MAC Champions Central Michigan on Saturday. It would be a great way to end the road-losing streak with a win in Mt. Pleasant for Miami. A win would keep the top spot in the MAC East division, a place that most people thought Miami would never reach this season.

Miami Will Win If: The defense can rebound from last week’s loss to Cincinnati. The RedHawk defense, which shut down a powerful Florida offense in week one, let up 28 first quarter points last weekend and 45 for the game. The good news for the defense is that Cincinnati scored all of their points in the first half last Saturday, and after some adjustments at halftime by the coaches, the defense improved greatly in the second half. The RedHawk faithful is still waiting to see that fast and swarming defense that kept Miami in the game for three quarters against the Gators in Gainesville. Central Michigan is not Florida or Cincinnati by any means on offense, but they have some playmakers that the RedHawks need to try and slow down Saturday. The offense for the Chippewas starts with sophomore quarterback Ryan Radcliff, who has thrown for 1,703 yards and 10 touchdowns so far this season. Radcliff has some big targets to throw to, including fellow classmate Cody Wilson , who has caught 27 passes for 484 yards and three scores. If Miami can slow down the Central Michigan passing attack, they will force the Chippewas to run. Miami’s strength on defense is stopping the run game, so if they can force Radcliff and the CMU offense to run more often, they will have a chance at winning this game.

For Miami to have a chance at winning this game, they will need to put up more points than they did last week against Cincinnati. Miami struggled against a faster and stronger defense from the Big East last week, but they have a chance to rebound against a Central Michigan defense that allows just over 22 points per game. Miami quarterback Zac Dysert needs to find his connection to junior wide out Armand Robinson that worked really well in the first few weeks of the season. Robinson’s numbers have gone down each game, so expect Dysert to look for Robinson a lot on Saturday. Miami will be able to move the ball just fine against the Chippewa defense if they can establish the running game. Miami is ranked 119^th out of 120 FBS teams in rush yards per game, averaging just over 69 yards. Miami had a hard time running the ball against Cincinnati last weekend, but expect the RedHawks to use freshman back Tracy Woods a lot versus CMU.

Prediction: Miami has won all three of their games this season at home, and looking for a win on the road against Central Michigan will be tough. Central Michigan has lost three games in a row, and is looking to get back on track. Miami will play much better than they did against Cincinnati last weekend on Saturday in Mt. Pleasant, but I don’t think the Miami offense can put enough points up on the board for them to have a chance to win. Miami has struggled offensively lately, and until they find their running game, they will have a tough time winning games, especially on the road. 31-14 Central Michigan over Miami

The 115^th “Battle For the Victory Bell” didn’t go as well as Miami would have liked on Saturday night, as they fell 45-3 to the Cincinnati Bearcats. The RedHawks came into the rivalry game on a high streak, defeating Kent State the previous weekend to improve their conference record to 2-0. But the Bearcats were just too tough of a team for the RedHawks to defeat, as Miami now drops to 3-3 on the season.

The defense for Miami struggled early and often in the game against the Bearcats, allowing a powerful Cincinnati offense to score on their first three possessions of the contest. Miami let up 28 points in the first quarter, the most in an opening quarter for the RedHawks since 2002. The RedHawks knew they were in trouble early when Bearcat wide out Armand Bins hauled in a 48-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zach Collaros just 25 seconds into the game. Miami’s defense has been the strong point of the team all season long, but they couldn’t stop the Bearcat offense, which gained over 600 yards of total offense Saturday.

The Miami offense didn’t get much going either against the Bearcats on Saturday night. The RedHawks, who needed to establish the running game to have a chance to pull the upset, only gained 23 yards on the ground through four quarters. Sophomore quarterback Zac Dysert didn’t have a bad game, going 22-for-35 for 165 yards, but he couldn’t connect with a RedHawk receiver for a touchdown. Miami’s only points of the game came on a 48-yard field goal by senior kicker Trevor Cook, who is now 10-for-11 on field goals this season.

Miami did face a tough opponent in Cincinnati, but they would have liked to keep the game closer. Let’s not forget that Miami is still on top of their conference with a 2-0 record, but their two wins came at home against Eastern Michigan and Kent State. The good news is Miami is done with non-conference play, something they have not preformed well in over the last four years. The bad news is that Miami only has two home games left, meaning if they want to challenge for a conference title, they will have to win some games on the road. Miami has not won a road game since the 2008 season. There is no doubt it was a rough loss to UC on Saturday, but the RedHawks have a great chance to go 3-0 in the MAC when they play Central Michigan next weekend.

On Saturday night, the Miami RedHawks football team rounds out their non-conference schedule with a visit to Nippert Stadium, to take on their in state rivals the Cincinnati Bearcats. Miami comes into the game at 3-2 overall and with tons of confidence after edging MAC foe Kent State last weekend in Oxford. Miami has a chance to do something they haven’t done since 2008 on Saturday night, and that is…(drum roll please)….win a game away from home. Miami’s only win last season came in Oxford, and so have their three wins this year. A win on Saturday at UC would break that road-losing streak, and would give Miami their fourth win of the season, a mark that not many people predicted Miami would see this season.

Miami Will Win If: They can establish a running game and keep the turnovers to a minimum. Turnovers were a major problem for Miami in their first two away contests of the season at Florida and Missouri, and to have a chance to win at UC on Saturday, Miami will need to limit their amount of turnovers. Sophomore quarterback Zac Dysert and his wide receivers will put up numbers for the Miami offense in the passing attack, but the running game will be critical for the RedHawks on Saturday. The RedHawks have struggled with the run game all season long, averaging only 75 yards per game on the ground. Look for Miami to try and establish the running game early against the Bearcats on Saturday. If Miami’s two tailbacks, Thomas Merriweather and Tracy Woods, can have a productive game on the ground, it will open up some lanes in the passing game for Dysert to throw to his receivers.

The defense needs to be at their best Saturday to contain the Bearcats offense. Cincinnati has lost some of their offensive firepower from last year that earned them a berth in the Sugar Bowl (most notably Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard), but they still have some playmakers on offense that can break a game open. Junior quarterback Zach Collaros has passed for 964 yards and 9 touchdowns through four games in 2010 for the Bearcats, and his number one target, wide out Dustin Woods, has caught 24 passes for 435 yards and 4 scores. Slowing down this duo will be key for the RedHawks on defense Saturday. Miami’s young defense has struggled at times this season, but they will keep the RedHawks in the game Saturday. If Zac Dysert, Armand Robinson, Jamal Rogers, and the Miami offense can put up some points early in the game, Miami will have a good chance to pull off the upset.

Prediction: Saturday will mark the 115^th time that these two schools have met in the “Battle of the Victory Bell.” Miami leads the all time series 59-48-7, but finding a 60^th win in the series Saturday on the road will be tough for the RedHawks. UC is 1-3 on the season, and is coming off a tough loss to Big 12 Powerhouse Oklahoma last weekend. They are hungry for a win over a FBS team (only win this season was against FCS school Indiana State). Miami will put up a good fight, but UC is too strong of a team overall to let this one get away from them at home. Cincinnati 38-24 over Miami

Kent State had Miami right where they wanted them. With just under a minute to go, Kent State was driving and had the ball inside the RedHawk 10 yard line down 27-21. A touchdown would have won the game for the Golden Flashes, and who would have bet against them after putting together a 60+ yard already in less than two minutes?

Miami junior safety Anthony Kokal had other ideas. Kent State quarterback Spencer Keith rolled to the right and lofted a jump ball into the end zone looking to hit his receiver Sam Kirkland for the winning touchdown with under 30 seconds to go. Kokal jumped in front of Kirkland to pick the ball off, sealing the 27-21 win for the RedHawks, and sending the Miami faithful into a frenzy.  

Miami struggled in the first half against the Golden Flashes on both sides of the ball. Miami had a hard time moving the ball on the ground against a stingy Kent State defense that came into the game ranking 1^st among  FBS teams against the run. The RedHawk defense struggled to contain the Golden Flash run game in the first half, as they saw Kent State tailback Jacquise Terry break open big runs, including a 39-yarder to give the Flashes an early 7-0 lead. Kent State was able to break open a 14-3 lead late in the second quarter, but a late Miami drive cut the lead to four going into the halftime whistle. Miami sophomore quarterback Zac Dysert, who threw for 294 yards in the game, found an open Armand Robinson in the end zone just seconds before halftime to give Miami some momentum after a rainy and muddy first half.

The second half of the game belonged to the RedHawks, as they opened up a 24-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter against the Golden Flashes, who weren’t able to overcome the ten-point deficit. Kent State battled back and got within six points at 27-21, but the Kokal interception guaranteed the Miami victory, and their third win of the season.

The difference for the RedHawks in the game was their ability to spread the ball around to different receivers. Junior Armand Robinson has been Dysert’s number one target throughout the season so far, and the RedHawks had struggled to find another go-to receiver through four games. They found those other go-to receivers on Saturday, as senior Jamal Rogers caught eight passes for 90 yards, while junior wide out Chris Givens caught five passes for 104 yards. If the RedHawks can continue to spread the ball around to different receivers for the rest of the season, they will be a hard team to stop on offense.

The season just keeps getting better and better for the Miami RedHawks. Did anyone predict that the surprising RedHawks would be 3-2 through five games this season? More importantly, did anyone predict that they would be 2-0 in the MAC after their first two conference games? This year could turnout to be a special one for the RedHawks, who have already equaled their win total from the last two seasons with three in 2010.

The Miami RedHawks football team returns home on Saturday, looking to rebound after a blowout loss to Missouri last weekend. Standing in their way Saturday will be in-state rival and conference foe Kent State, who defeated Miami last year 29-19. The RedHawks have won both contests at Yager Stadium so far this year against Eastern Michigan and Colorado State, and are confident that they can make it a three-game home winning streak to start the season. A win against the Golden Flashes would give Miami their third win of the season, which would equal their win total from the last two season combined. More importantly, it would put Miami atop the MAC East division standings with a record of 2-0 in conference play.

Miami Will Win If: They can have a balanced offense, with solid performances in the running and passing game. Miami continues to struggle in the running game, totaling only 70 yards on the ground against Missouri last weekend. Through four games, Miami has averaged just over 80 yards running per game, ranking 110^th out of 120 teams in the FBS.  If Miami can get a strong performance on the ground from backs Thomas Merriweather and Tracy Woods, look for the passing game to open up for sophomore quarterback Zac Dysert. Dysert will have to look for other targets besides junior wide out Armand Robinson, who will most likely be dealing with double coverage from the Golden Flashes secondary all game. Robinson, who has caught 32 passes for 382 yards and two touchdowns so far this season, will still see plenty of passes come his way on Saturday. Look for Dysert to try and get other RedHawk receivers like Chris Givens and Jamal Rogers involved in the passing game on Saturday. If Dysert can spread the ball around through the air, the RedHawks will put up enough points to earn the win.

The defense for the RedHawks will need to be better than good on Saturday to keep the Golden Flashes off of the board. Kent State struggled against Big Ten powerhouse Penn State last week, but they have playmakers on offense that the RedHawk defense needs to keep an eye on. Sophomore quarterback Spencer Keith has been a nice surprise for the Golden Flashes through three games, throwing for 646 yards and four touchdowns. Keith has his own target on the outside in junior wide out Sam Kirkland, who figures to see a lot of balls thrown his way against the RedHawks. Kent State, like Miami has struggled with the run game this season, not having one of their backs hit 100 yards yet. While they have been unsuccessful in the ground game so far, the backs in the Golden Flashes offense can be dangerous coming out of the backfield to catch passes. If the RedHawk defense can shut down Kirkland and slow down the Kent State passing game, they will give the team a great chance to earn their third win of the season.

Prediction: Kent State will come into the game with plenty of energy after getting shutout by Penn State last weekend, and because it is their first conference game of the young season. Kent State will be tough for RedHawks, but the Miami home atmosphere and the combination of Dysert-Robinson in the passing game will be tough to overcome. Miami has a chance to be in control of the MAC East division with a win at home on Saturday over the Golden Flashes, and I don’t think they let that opportunity get away. Miami over Kent State 27-21. 

After winning two in a row, Miami came into Saturday’s game against Missouri looking for the school’s first three-game win streak since the 2006 campaign. A win against the Tigers would have been huge for the Miami program, which has not earned a bowl-bid since 2007. Missouri had no plans for a Miami upset though, and showed the RedHawks why they had been placed in the top 25 after starting out 3-0.

Miami expected a close game on Saturday, but when they looked up at the scoreboard after four quarters they saw a 51-13 win for the Tigers. Turnovers really hurt the RedHawks, as a Miami turnover on the first play of the game put Missouri up 7-0 only eight seconds in.

Miami’s offense did not play a bad game, as they totaled 316 yards against a tough Tiger defense. The problem for the RedHawks came in the running game, as they gained only 70 yards on the ground. With an ineffective run game, Miami was forced to throw the ball more than they wanted to. The combination of Miami sophomore quarterback Zac Dysert to junior wide receiver Armand Robinson was a lone bright spot on offense for the RedHawks, who fell to 2-2 with the loss against the Tigers.

Robinson continued his strong start to the season with 10 receptions for 99 yards. The ten receptions for Robinson puts him at 32 on the season, putting him in the top five among receivers in the NCAA for total receptions. Miami quarterback Zac Dysert had a strong game also, going 20-27 for 178 yards.

Miami’s offense held the ball for 34:54 in the game, while Missouri only had possession for just over 25 minutes. Keeping Missouri’s dangerous offense off of the field was a key for the RedHawks coming into this game, but the Miami defense was unable to stop the Tigers, who gained 469 total yards on offense. Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert only threw for 189 yards and one touchdown in Missouri’s pass happy offense. The difference in the game was the Missouri rushing attack, which totaled 236 yards on the ground.

Miami struggled against Missouri, but they have a great chance to bounce back next week when they host MAC foe Kent State. A win against the Golden Flashes would give the RedHawks a 2-0 record in the MAC, putting them in good position to make a run at a MAC East title. The loss against the Tigers brought the RedHawks back down to earth after winning two in a row, but there is no doubt this team has more talent than it has had in a few seasons.

The Miami RedHawks football team has a great chance Saturday to put themselves back on the college football map when they hit the road to take on the Missouri Tigers. Miami has no doubt showed that they have improved mightily over the last two seasons in their first three games of the 2010 campaign, going 2-1 with wins over Colorado State and conference foe Eastern Michigan. A win on Saturday over the Tigers would be the third win a row for the RedHawks after a season-opening loss to Florida, and would make them a serious title contender in the MAC, something they have not been since 2007.

While the Tigers have not been that impressive so far this season, earning a win in Columbia will be a difficult task for the RedHawks. There is no doubt Missouri has taken a hit since playmakers Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin left in 2008, but the Tigers have re-loaded with players such as junior quarterback Blaine Gabbert and sophomore wide receiver T.J. Moe. The Tigers so far this season are 3-0, but close wins against Illinois and San Diego State have shown that Missouri is susceptible to the upset. And boy what an upset it would be if Miami can steal a win in Columbia this weekend.

Miami Will Win If: They can keep the Missouri offense off of the field. Long offensive possessions that eat up a lot of yards and a lot of time will be key for Miami on Saturday. The pass-happy Tiger offense can be dangerous, and keeping them off of the field will make Gabbert struggle to find a rhythm with this wide receivers.

For Miami to have a chance on Saturday, they need to establish the running game on offense. Whether Coach Mike Haywood starts senior running back Thomas Merriweather or freshman Tracy Woods (Miami’s rushing leader in yards), the ball carriers for Miami need to have strong games on the ground for the RedHawks, who average only 84.3 yards per game on the ground. If Miami can establish the running game early, the passing lanes will open up for sophomore quarterback Zac Dysert. Look for Dysert to throw many passes toward junior wide receiver Armand Robinson, who has 22 receptions for 283 yards and two touchdowns in three games.

Prediction: I really think Miami will give Missouri a good test in this game. Miami will run into problems if Missouri can shut down Armand Robinson because he is the RedHawks leading receiver by over 200 yards. The RedHawks don’t have another target for Dysert to throw to consistently. The defense will keep Miami in the game like it did in the Florida contest in Week one, but I think Missouri has too many offensive weapons to be shut down for four quarters. Missouri Over Miami 31-21.