2008 Woodie Awards
RedHawks prepare for MAC play
With 0-0 league record, Miami hopes to leave disappointing start behind
Adam Hainsfurther
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: Sports
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Between stumbling to a 1-3 start and dealing with "in-house matters" concerning top recruit Clay Belton, head coach Shane Montgomery faced a full plate of issues during the week off.
Now, in preparation for MAC competition, the RedHawks can use the break to put the past record behind them and move into a fresh start in conference play.
"Obviously, we aren't where we want to be record-wise," Montgomery said. "We realize that we've played some good football teams. Certainly that will help us down the road."
Montgomery does not expect the schedule to get any easier. Looking at the season thus far, the MAC will provide stiff competition week in and week out.
"I think the MAC is strong," Montgomery said. "We haven't had the big early season wins like we've had in the past but there's been some close games. There's us and Michigan, OU and Ohio State, Buffalo and Missouri, Bowling Green beat Pittsburgh, so I mean, the league's proven to be tough early."
As tough as the MAC is, Miami still reigns as East Division champion. The title could be someone else's at the end of the season, but if starting quarterback Dan Raudabaugh has anything to say about it, it's Miami that will stay at the top.
"Right now our championship season starts," Raudabaugh said. "We're going on a one-way hit. We're gonna go win eight in a row and go to Detroit where we deserve to be, and we work hard every day for it."
Raudabaugh's performance thus far is silencing cries of a quarterback controversy. The junior from Coppell, Texas has been throwing the ball a lot and putting up big numbers all season long. This season, Raudabaugh is on pace to throw for almost 3,000 yards, a feat that no Miami quarterback has accomplished since Josh Betts.
One area where Raudabaugh has been struggling, however, is finishing drives in the red zone. Temple University, who comes to Oxford Saturday, is ranked second overall in the MAC and 45th in the NCAA in scoring defense.
Raudabaugh is not worried.
"Respect all, but fear none," Raudabaugh said. "They're going to be a big, athletic group, but we just need to go out there and execute. We're leaving a lot of points out on the field, we worked hard this week to clean it up and punch the ball in the zone."
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