The 2009 Schedule: Miami of Ohio

ABOUT THE SCHOOL: In 1809 the Ohio State Legislature declared that one entire township would be set aside for The Miami University. It is highly regarded as an academic institution and was named of the original eight "Public Ivies" by Richard Moll in 1985. The Oxford campus educates more than 14,000 undergraduate students. Miami is well known to college football fans as the Cradle of Coaches for its reputation of being a stopping point in the career of many successful football coaches such as Paul Brown, Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, Sid Gillman, and many others. The Redhawks also compete in seven other men's sports besides football and ten women's sports.

HEAD COACH: Mike Haywood makes will make his head coaching debut at Miami in 2009. The Houston, TX native is a graduate of Notre Dame where he was recruited by Gerry Faust to play wide receiver. He is familiar with the Mid-American Conference having been an assistant at both Ball State and Ohio. He has also coached at LSU, Texas, Minnesota, Army, and most recently was offensive coordinator for his alma mater.

2008 IN REVIEW: After playing in the MAC title game in 2007 hopes were high for the 2008 team with some predicting the first conference championship in five years. To say the Redhawks came of short of their goals would be an understatement. They finished the season 2-10, with one of those wins over a Division I FCS team, Charleston Southern, and only one of their losses was by less than 10 points. As a result, Shane Montgomery was fired as head coach after just four seasons at Miami where he had a record of 17-31.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Miami finished twelfth of thirteen teams in total offense in the MAC (326.0 yards per game); last in scoring offense (18.4 points per game); twelfth in rushing offense (108.1 yards per game); and ninth in passing offense (217.9 yards per game). On defense they finished ninth in total defense (395.5 yards per game); twelfth in scoring defense (32.7 points per game); last in rushing defense (208.3 yards per game); and third in pass defense (187.2 yards per game). They forced 15 turnovers (9 fumble recoveries and 6 interceptions) and committed 27 (15 lost fumbles and 12 interceptions) which placed them twelfth in the conference with a turnover margin of -12.

Daniel Raudabaugh struggled as the starting quarterback, throwing for 1960 yards and just 8 touchdowns to his 9 interceptions. Chris Givens led the receivers with 513 yards and 7 touchdowns, although six other pass catchers had over 200 yards and only one had more than 40 receptions. Thomas Merriweather was the first option for the running game with 547 yards and 4 touchdowns.

2009 OUTLOOK: Haywood has a tough job ahead of him in his first year. After opening the season in a neutral site game against Kentucky at Paul Brown Stadium in nearby Cincinnati, they are on the road for five of their next six games. That lone home game is against the Big East champion Cincinnati Bearcats who have won the last three games in the long standing rivalry. They do play four of their last five at home, including the season finale against MAC champion Buffalo.

Raudabaugh will once again start at quarterback. He has been very inconsistent in his career with 21 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. New offensive coordinator Peter Vaas, a disciple of Duke's David Cutcliffe, will want to throw the ball downfield a lot this year. Raudabaugh is a pocket passer who has the arm to succeed in this style offense if he can cut down on the interceptions. Behind him will be sophomore Clay Belton and redshirt freshman Zac Dysert who will fight for the number two spot in the rotation. Belton has a very strong arm and likes to sit in the pocket, while Dysert is better throwing on the run.

Merriweather is getting a second chance under the new staff after being suspended for part of the 2008 season. He showed that he has the potential to be a very good back with a 133 yard game against Temple. Andre Bratton and Danny Green will back up Merriweather. Bratton is a senior who has had trouble bouncing back for a knee injury he suffered two years ago. Both are threats to catch the ball out of the backfield.

The receiving corps is filled with upperclassmen with experience. Junior Jamal Rogers led the team in receptions a year ago with 40, but never found the endzone. If he can stay healthy, which may not be easy with his 168 pound frame, he should improve on those numbers in the new offense. Givens doesn't have the speed of Rogers, but his leaping ability makes him a redzone threat. Senior Dustin Woods and junior Eugene Harris will also both see some time as starters this season. Both had more than 30 receptions last year and help make this unit one of the deepest in the MAC. Tightend Kendrick Burton, a very good blocker who had just one catch in 2008, will probably see more balls thrown his way in 2009. Raudabaugh has no excuse not to improve on his numbers from a year ago with this many options to throw the ball to.

Brandon Brooks and Bob Gulley are the only starters returning to the offensive line in 2009 and Gulley is not locked in as a starter again this year. While short on experience, the line is much improved in talent. There are many options and most can play multiple spots on the line. It will take some time over the season before a firm starting five will be decided. The good news for the Redhawks is that there are no seniors, so when they do find the right combination they will all be back for 2010.

After finishing 106th in the nation against the run and getting just 13 sacks (no, that isn't a misprint, they had just 13 for the entire season) the defensive line can't be any worse than it was last season. The tackles will be 325 pound Jordain Brown and 294 pound Martin Channels. Despite their size being more suited for stopping the run, both have the skills to get some pressure on the quarterback. Mike Johns and Morris Council will start the year at the ends, although there is a good chance Johns move to the interior line at some point due to weighing in at 270 pounds. Junior Jordan Stevens will take his spot if that move does happen.

Caleb Bostic is the lone returner linebacker. As a sophomore he had 103 tackles on the strongside, but a foot injury last season caused him to miss some playing time and he only had 40. Jerrell Wedge will finally get his chance at the middle linebacker spot after 12 tackles as a reserve in 2008. The coaching staff is expecting him to put up big numbers. The weakside will be manned by juniors David Davis and DeAndre Gilmore. They combined for just 3 tackles on special teams last year.

With Jordan Gafford coming back from a shin injury to start at free safety, last season's starter, Ben Bennett, will move over to the strong safety spot. Bennett has great speed and Gafford is a huge hitter who had 89 tackles in 2007. Brandon Stephens and Jeff Thompson will be the starting corners. Neither have great ball skills, but both are sure tacklers. Even though they finished 3rd in the conference in pass defense last year it wasn't because of the skill of the secondary, but instead because teams were able to run the ball so easily against the front four they didn't need to throw the ball. If the defensive line improves and teams start to air it out, the Redhawk secondary will struggle to stop the pass.

Senior Trevor Cook will get his job back as the placekicker after losing it to Nate Parseghian last season. After a solid freshman year, he was just 5-10 as a sophomore. Chris DiCesare has a big punting shoe to fill as Jake Richardson averaged 45.4 yards per punt as a senior. Eugene Harris will return the punts again after averaging just 9.1 yards a return even though he took two back for touchdowns. Dustin Woods will handle kickoff returns and was very good with 25.6 yards per return in 2008.