Reply With QuoteDamn Dude that is like a life history lesson, Do not be thinned skinned for you will receive some abuse !! and thanks for stopping by.
Hey MSU fans. It looks like we are going to get pretty well acquainted over the next 3 weeks. I thought I'd pop over here and give you a sense of what to expect on December 26 in St. Pete, if the rumors hold true.
First, you can imagine that Miami fans are pretty excited to play a school as name brand as Miss St. If you'd care to jaunt over to our neck of the woods, point your browser to http://test.miamihawktalk.com/talk/. Our new message board is in beta, and is not easily accessible through the MHT homepage so it is best to use the link I provided.
I imagine as an SEC program that has been a powerhouse in recent years, the notion of playing a 6-6 MAC school on the day after Christmas isn't wholly appealing. In any event, here is so information to help you size up your opponent:
- We started this season 0-6, including a collapse vs. an FCS opponent that left me with a broken desk chair and a girlfriend so peeved about my attitude during our date night that she angrily tweeted at our head coach and vowed to never watch another Miami game since then. Luckily, I have a new chair and repaired relationship since.
- In 2015 we played 3 QBs: Senior Drew Kummer, RS frosh Gus Ragland, and TF Billy Bahl; Kummer was a holdover from really bad teams and recruiting classes, Ragland was the first recruit of our head coach, Chuck Martin, when he took the job in late 2013, known for little more than his legs, and Bahl was one of the most prized recruits in Miami history, choosing us over offers from many P5 schools, including Penn State. About 5 games into last season, with all 3 QBs having seen playing time but Kummer getting the majority of reps, the reins were almost entirely handed to Bahl with Ragland getting some change of pace snaps here and there. Bahl struggled mightily but showed flashes of brilliance with his arm. By the time we beat UMass in the season finale, optimism was sky high for this season. This will get relevant by the next bullet point, I swear.
- In 2016 spring practice, Ragland tore his ACL so, to the extent there was any QB competition to be had, the job was firmly Billy's. We opened the season at Iowa and, if any of you have some hours to kill and care to watch the video, you'll note that we played them much, much closer than the final score and Billy Bahl was outstanding. I left Kinnick Stadium hearing nothing but comments from Iowa fans about how set we were for the next 3 years with Bahl. Then we lost the worst game of all time to Eastern Illinois. Then we lost to WKU in a game probably more lopsided than the score indicates. Then we lost to Cincinnati by a razor thin margin for the third year in a row and 11th time in a row overall; imagine losing to Ole Miss 11 times in a row. Then Bahl got hurt in our loss to another rival, Ohio, and morale was at an all time low -- it was really ugly over on ole MHT as we sat at 0-5. We had to burn the redshirt of a true freshman to fill in vs. Ohio and then start vs. Akron and suddenly, after a really promising opener @ Iowa, we were sitting at 0-6 and our star QB was hurt. Now it gets really relevant.
- Our 7th game was vs. Kent State. This has been a game of critical importance for Miami fans the last 3 years; Kent's OC is Don Treadwell, the subhuman embarrassment to the gene pool who tanked our program in the 2.5 years he was in charge, doing everything from eliminating our weight lifting program to hiring a guy that had lost 50 straight games as a D3 head coach to be our OC. The week of the game it was announced, as a mild surprise, that Gus Ragland had recovered enough from his torn ACL to start. Ragland was shaky as hell but we won, probably thanks to the waste of oxygen that is their OC. Then we beat a really bad Bowling Green team and Ragland was outstanding. We started looking better and better each week and suddenly had reeled off 6 in a row.
- Ragland, who as a RS Frosh played only 86 snaps and was only allowed to throw 29 times, has this season completed 93 of 149 passes and thrown 15 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The only 6 games he has ever started at the collegiate level are the six games we've won to get here. It has been every bit as miraculous and improbable as it sounds.
- If you're looking for another position to watch, I'd say our WRs can match up with many P5 schools even though arguably our best WR, Chris Hudson, suffered a potentially career-ending injury vs. Eastern Illinois. For much of the season, our best WR has been sophomore James Gardner who you may have seen on Sportscenter doing this: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/10/coll...dner-wow-video
- Our head coach is Chuck Martin, who took over for that maggot Don Treadwell in 2014. Martin was the OC at Notre Dame (and, in fact, took a 200K/year haircut in order to become a head coach) and won several D2 national titles at Grand Valley State. He's as brutally honest as any coach you'll ever hear in interviews and press conferences so, to the extent you care, I encourage you to follow his press clippings over the next 3 weeks. I've never heard a head coach forego coachspeak with such reckless abandon. Martin came to Miami with a ton of fanfare given his success at D2 and his pedigree in the FBS but things were awfully shaky 7 weeks ago and it was assumed his seat would be scalding in 2017. Now, Martin is safe and when put in the proper context (that is, that the 2013 Miami team Martin inherited was, statistically, one of the worst FBS teams in the history of college football), it is quite amazing that he put together a winning streak like this so quickly.
- We have quite a history of turning coaches into superstars, or at least setting them on their way. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_Coaches
- We also have a history of beating schools most people would think we shouldn't. See here: http://www.coachchuckmartin.com/redh...-victories.php
- Miami is a cautionary tale in what having a bad AD will do to you. Our former AD, Brad Bates, hired Don Treadwell and our current basketball coach, John Cooper, who has won 13 games in 3 straight seasons after taking over for the winningest hoops coach in MAC history. For some reason, Boston College took Bates off our hands, and it was there he hired the football and men's basketball coaches there that combined for exactly 0 total ACC wins in 2015-2016.
- The school is located in Oxford, Ohio and if there is one thing I'm sure we'll all agree on: Oxford, OH is wayyyyyyy better than Oxford, MS.
Forgive any typos in the above as it is late here, but I was excited to start this conversation. Hopefully the rumors are right and I won't have to copy and paste this on another school's message board. We are all pumped up to play an SEC school and, frankly, as a NY resident the idea of spending Christmas in Florida ain't so bad. Good luck to you guys and enjoy bowl season. Look forward to chatting with you throughout.
Alex
Damn Dude that is like a life history lesson, Do not be thinned skinned for you will receive some abuse !! and thanks for stopping by.
I had to stop and pee twice reading that.Originally Posted by Offshore Dawg
I must admit, I did read the whole post. Bravo.
As far as State is concerned, we're happy to get the extra practice time for our younger players. How inspired they will be to play in this bowl we'll have to wait and see.
Holy shiz nit.... You know, you wrote that better than anything the CL has ever written...
My brother got his undergrad degree at Miami and I got very drunk at some goldfish eating party when I came to visit him (i did not eat a fish). Fun times. Do they still hold the annual goldfish eating keg parties?
Welcome aboard for the next couple of weeks Alex. I suspect most of us will learn more about Miami of Ohio before the game than we've known our entire lives. And you will probably learn more about us. Our team has improved through the year, for the most part, and actually won a couple of games of the brutal November schedule that no one thought we'd win. Should be a fun game.
I like this guy....and his girlfriend
Appreciate the recent history lesson of your program Alex. A couple of quick things on us. We have become a finesse team, at least on the defensive side of the ball. You will score well into the 20's if not 30's, but will it be enough, will be the question. My prediction, Fitz throws for 300 & rushes for another 150. State 49-31.
All I really know about your school is Roethlisberger. And we struggled in a lot of games this year. Two questions- how's your passing attack? And how is your defense against the run? If you can effectively stop our running attack and couple that with the ability to expose our weaknesses in the defensive secondary, you guys could easily beat us.
my cowbell is louder than yours
Battle of the schools with arguably the best NFL rookie qb's ever
True true true. The only other player I can think of from Miami, OH is in basketball. Wally Zerbiak?
Thanks for the overview. Quick summary of our team:
QB is a big slow footed white guy with precision accuracy. You might also see the fleet of foot Dam Williams in to run the wildcat.
RB is the small but powerful Brandon Holloway. Back up is Aries Fitzgereld.
WR is a solid group led by school leader in receptions and yards, Gabe Myles. We have a lot of bigger receivers in the slot to create mismatches.
The OL is much better at pass blocking than run blocking. Look out for former Tight End Elgin Bailey, he's now playing guard and is a nightmare for Lb's when he pulls. Let's just say he pulls no punches.
Our defense is pretty dominate. A little 3-4, a little 4-3, a little 5-1-5 as well with a couple "DOG" safeties. New DC Peter Sirmones had been a difference maker.
Our D line is extremely physical, except for Jeffrey Simmons who is a huge p*ssy. AJ Jefferson looks like a 16 year old kid, but he's a full grown man at 6-6 320.
At linebacker we are led by Richie Brown, JT Gray and Tim Washington. They are truly sideline to sideline and never miss tackles. Excellent in coverage.
The secondary is the strength of the whole team. Our guys clearly spend all their free time in the film room and/or their natural instincts are just off the charts. Look out for Chris Rayford here...if he's matched up against your best receiver, just consider that guy locked down for the night. CB Tolando Cleveland will lock down the other spot as well.
As for kicking, let's just say our guy is automatic inside the 40. They call him the Dan Bailey of Mississippi.
I'm sure you guys will have a great home field advantage since your fans won't have to drive that far from Miami to St Pete. That's what, about 150 miles? I always admired Richt when he was at UGA.
Cheers,
Brian Hadad
Last edited by RiverCityDawg; 12-04-2016 at 08:49 AM.
Yeah, pretty sure you butchered his name. I have no idea how to correct you though haha
Nice, lol.
LMAO!
We are not dick heads so don't take anything personal here. You will get poked at a little. The Dick heads are over on Nafooms.
Good job. I'm a huge college football fan and keep up with most teams. A couple things about your school: I remember in 1986 when y'all came to Death Valley and beat the eventual SEC Champion Tigers 21-12, and do you remember a RB for y'all in the mid to late 2000's named Cory Jones? He played at Florence High here in MS under his dad, Steve Jones, who is a well known MS High School coach. Cory was one of the fastest white guys I've ever seen. One more thing, I've always loved y'all's white helmets with big Red M. I also hated, but I understand it I guess, when y'all changed from Redskins to Redhawks. Good finish for your team after an 0-6 start.
Well...a couple of us are.
This cracked me up.
Posting Permissions