With Rutgers football turning the page after its narrow victory over Ohio, it is time to look at the Scarlet Knights’ second-straight MAC opponent in the Miami (OH) RedHawks. In this edition of “Opponent Film Room,” I will be looking at Miami’s 17-0 loss to Wisconsin. Although the offense struggled to get off the ground in this one, the defense kept the RedHawks in the game until very late. Expect a stingy Miami defense to travel to Piscataway, which should pose an interesting challenge for the Rutgers offense that
scored 34 to hold off the Bobcats.
After Wisconsin opened the scoring with a field goal from Nathaniel Vakos late in the first quarter, the Badgers strung together a promising drive in the second quarter and were threatening to add to their lead. However, RedHawks linebacker Adam Trick had other ideas, sacking Wisconsin quarterback Danny O’Neill for a big loss.
The RedHawks have a four-man front, but rush two linebackers, both of which are picked up by Wisconsin players. But Adam Trick bursts off the edge, gets around the Badgers’ left guard, and swallows up O’Neill to make the big play in the backfield. Wisconsin lost nearly 20 yards on the play and was forced to punt on the drive. On another instance, the RedHawks’ defensive line converged on O’Neill for another big loss as the teams continued to trade punts to wind down the first half.
Wisconsin opened the second half with another promising drive, with O’Neill hitting Badgers’ wideout Vinny Anthony with a short pass in the flat that resulted in a big gain down the left sideline. Once again, Miami’s defense came up with a huge play to keep the game within three points. This time, safety Silas Walters picked off O’Neill in the end zone to prevent the Badgers from pushing their lead to ten. Walters timed his jump perfectly and took a knee in the end zone to give his offense the ball back at their 25-yard line.
However, the Miami offense continued to show no signs of life and gave the ball back to Wisconsin roughly midway through the third quarter. The Badgers were all over Dequan Finn, despite Finn’s ability to move around the pocket, coming up with three sacks on the evening.
The Badgers began to move the football again on this drive, with Wisconsin fooling the RedHawks defense with a fake handoff that ended up being a quarterback draw up the middle for O’Neill, which resulted in a first down and then some. On the next play, O’Neill had tons of time in the pocket, delivering a strike to tight end Grant Stec in between two RedHawks defenders. The Badgers set up shop just outside the goal line, where O’Neill found Anthony on a quick play-action slant over the middle for their first touchdown of the season.
In the fourth quarter, Miami (OH) continued to ratchet up the pressure on O’Neill, with Adam Trick getting his second sack of the game. Trick finished the game with six total tackles, including five solo tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, and one pass deflection, showcasing his rise as a premium RedHawks defender.
With Miami trying to mount a comeback after getting pinned back near their end zone, Dequan Finn took a few steps to his right and fired a pass over the middle, but it was intercepted by Badgers safety Preston Zachman and nearly returned for a touchdown. Zachman was stopped just short of the goal line, but Danny O’Neill ran the ball in shortly after to push the Badgers’ lead to seventeen points.
Zachman was not done, intercepting Finn on a deep pass as the RedHawks were in desperation mode, trying to create offense late in the fourth quarter. Here are both of Zachman’s interceptions on Finn, who went 9 for 18 for just 83 yards and the two picks in a disappointing debut for Miami (OH) after terrorizing the MAC with Toledo.
The ground game could not get going either, with the RedHawks’ leading rusher being Kenny Tracy with just six carries for 15 yards. After developing a reputation for being a true dual-threat quarterback, Finn had twelve carries in the opener, but was limited to just 13 yards, averaging a paltry 1.1 yards per carry. Although much of that can be attributed to the Badgers’ stifling defense, the Miami (OH) offense getting completely suffocated was not a good look for a team that is expected to compete for another MAC Championship.
However, the Miami defense continued to keep its team in the game for as long as possible. Between Trick’s sacks, Walters’ interception, and the stinginess of the whole team, the RedHawks will look to continue to showcase their identity as a team that plays ugly, low-scoring football games. This will pose an interesting test for the Scarlet Knights, who outlasted the Ohio Bobcats in a 34-31 shootout despite a poor defensive showing that raised major red flags among the Rutgers faithful.
This game will be a matchup of strength vs. strength and weakness vs. weakness. The Rutgers offense, which had multiple explosive plays and won the line of scrimmage most of the night, will be tested by a stronger defense that will likely slow them down a bit more than the Bobcats could. On the flip side, the Rutgers defense will get its opportunity to rebound against a RedHawks team that could not register a point against Wisconsin. Chances are that Miami (OH) will find its way on the scoreboard at some point in the game this time, but the Scarlet Knights’ defense should be able to rebound against a much weaker offense. If not, it could spell trouble for the Big Ten season, with much stronger defenses and offenses set to square off against the Scarlet Knights.
