Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

site web  

Miami Report Card

Miami at Northern Illinois

Pass offense

D

Daniel Raudabaugh wasn't bad at quarterback, even though Miami's offense did not produce a touchdown and he passed for only 149 yards. He did complete 19-of-35 passes against a ferocious pass rush. But the RedHawks couldn't come up with the big play, no pass longer than 17 yards. "When you can't make enough big plays, and we did have a couple wide open receivers, it's hard to drive 13 or 14 plays without shooting yourself in the foot." (See the grade at bottom.)

Run offense

B

A good day for the RedHawk runners, who consistently got positive yardage. Andre Bratton was particularly impressive, running six times for 42 yards and catching five passes for 38 yards. And true freshman J.R. Taylor made his presence felt, rushing twice for 19 yards. Thomas Merriweather led the way with 60 yards for an attack that averaged 4.5 yards per carry.

Pass defense

C

Miami was a team desperately looking to get off to a good start. On the first possession of the game, the first pass from DeMarcus Grady of Northern Illinois resulted in a 36-yard gain to Marcus Perez. The Huskies didn't really throw much, especially after red-shirt freshman Chandler Harnish took over for Grady late in the second quarter.

Run defense

D

Miami was a team desperately ... well, anyway, on the first possession of the game, the first run attempt by Northern Illinois resulted in a 21-yard gain by Me'co Brown, who finished with 123 yards and 16 rushes. Overall, the Huskies ran for 215 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Only Martin Channels had a tackle for loss (for minus-2 yards) for the RedHawks.

Special teams

A

Mostly spectacular. Eugene Harris and his 63-yard punt return for a touchdown. Nathan Parseghian hitting field goals from 44 and 35 yards; after six games he is an astounding 10-for-11 on field goals and 10-for-10 on extra points. Jake Richardson, five punts, one for 73 yards, an average of 50.4 yards. But Miami's punt-return coverage was lss than adequate. Me'co Brown had two returns for 33 yards.

Intangibles

D

The RedHawks seemed to go all out all day. But too often they didn't play smart. A total of 15 penalties were called. Twelve were against the RedHawks for a total of 79 yards. I'd relate some of the painfully inopportune flags, but there were too many.