Miami Redhawks Football

While Miami of Ohio is not known for its illustrious football program, they are becoming well known for their dancing equipment manager, Chad Stylez.

Yes, it’s very sad the RedHawks only went 4-8 this season, but how could a team be sad when a member of their team is this happy on a daily basis?

This Stylez kid has the moves to kill. From the moonwalk to the spin-a-roni, this equipment manager has more style and soul than most people on this earth.

This is a compilation video over several days or even weeks, but the fact this kid can’t control himself means this could be happening at any point on the Ohio campus. Even right this second.

Many scrooges will say this kid is there to do a job and should act professionally. To that, I say, "Get over it!"

Every person in this video looks like they smile ear-to-ear when they see Stylez dancing around and in one instance, another member of the staff actually square dances for a moment with Stylez.

That’s called building team chemistry. I can’t go to battle next to another person unless I have do-si-do’d with them at least once.

That’s a rule to live your life by.

While the music in the video is not what he was dancing to, the report is that there was music playing and that Stylez isn't just insane. We are still waiting for confirmation on the latter.

The message I got from this video was to just have fun at anything and everything you do. I want to moonwalk until the day I die.

Check back for more on the NCAA Football as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s College Football Page to get your fill of College Football.

Follow @Donald_Wood

Junior quarterback Zac Dysert accounted for 381 total yards and five touchdowns (four pass, one rush) on the way to a Miami of Ohio RedHawk victory against the Army Black Knights 35-28 in Yager Stadium.

The victory for Miami (OH) gave Don Treadwell his first win as a head football coach.

Miami (1-4, 0-1 MAC) immediately went to work on the Black Knights’ defense with their dynamic duo which has combined for all eight of the team's longest plays from scrimmage in 2011. It didn't take long either. Junior quarterback Dysert found wide receiver Nick Harwell for a 45-yard strike inside the 25-yard line on the game’s second play.

The RedHawks then breached the end zone four plays later—their first time in over four quarters—on a 13-yard screen pass to Harwell.

The 6-foot-1, 187-pound sophomore wideout tied Martin Nance’s school record of four consecutive 100-yard-plus receiving performances, reaching 109 yards in the first quarter alone.

Army’s (2-4) triple option offense looked crisp right off the bat, rushing for 150 yards off 19 carries (7.9 yards per carry) in the first quarter and scoring twice.

The Black Knights are the first group in 2011 to score twice in the opening quarter against Miami.

When the period ended, the scoreboard read 14-14 and both teams had combined for a total of 345 yards off 38 plays (9.1 yards per snap).

Then it was the defense’s turn to step up.

After a few lousy efforts, an Army turnover and a failed RedHawk fourth down conversion, quarterback Trent Steelman hit Malcom Brown for a 45-yard touchdown to put the Black Knights up 21-14 at halftime.

This marked the fifth straight week that Miami would be trailing at the midway point.

Army then opened the half with a five play, 80-yard touchdown drive orchestrated by Steelman, who ran for 55 yards off three carries to give his team a comfortable 28-14 lead.

The RedHawks proved to be persistent, driving down the field in response to the score. They converted two fourth down conversions during the stretch only to have the ball stripped from the hands of running back Erik Finklea at the 1-yard line.

It seemed all too familiar for coach Don Treadwell and the Miami crowd of just over 14,000.

However, a short drive that was sputtered by a couple busted plays forced the Black Knights to punt the ball for the first time. This gave Dysert the opportunity to show that the torch was still burning, as he drove down the field, going four-of-four for 61 and hooking up with Justin Semmes for the touchdown.

It was a game of ups and downs, but unfortunately for the Black Knights, it was the latter that stuck with them for the second half.

A quick fumble then gave the Miami offense magnificent field position, beginning their next drive at the Army 35-yard line.

The RedHawks’ offense seized the moment, scoring after six plays when Dysert’s pass gracefully met the hands of Andy Cruse for nine yards. The game stood tied at 28-all.

A revitalized Miami squad—hungry for its first win—took control of the game as it went 98 yards on nine plays on its next possession. Army let out one last gasp of air, driving from its own 32-yard line to the RedHawks’ 15 before being sacked on fourth down with 24 seconds to go.

"We were playing a little out position on a couple of plays," said Army linebacker Steven Erzinger. "Obviously they're going to exploit that. They saw us doing some things they liked and at halftime made some adjustments. Once you get them hot, it's hard to stop."

That gave Treadwell the chance to set up the “winning formation,” for the first time in his career, as Zac Dysert took a knee to give Miami the 35-28 win.

"It's been a long time," Treadwell said during the postgame press conference. "We were overdue to sing the fight song. Being an alum, I knew the words but I didn't know we sing it so many times now. But if you win, I'll sing it as many times as they want."

Dysert finished 24-of-37 with 342 yards and four touchdowns, marking the eighth time he’s gone for over 300 yards in his career. Fellow teammate Nick Harwell ended up with 10 receptions for 186 yards and two scores, which is the third best receiving day in school history (Harwell owns the record set in last year’s matchup vs. Ohio with 219).

And possibly the most important statistic for the future success of the RedHawks’ season: Miami players combined for 161 yards on 33 carries—its best number since last year against Temple—and will need to continue doing so to have a chance at another MAC title.

Miami will go on the road to face Kent State next week before heading up north to face the conference-favorite Toledo Rockets.

College football is a world of haves and have-nots.

The haves, the BCS conferences, get automatic berths in the biggest bowl games, get the most exposure, the most money and all of the advantages. The mid-majors are on the outside looking in, and one of those conferences is the Mid-American Conference, or the MAC.

Don't overlook some of these teams as you make your 2011 college football picks, though, because there's always at least a few very strong teams from the MAC to keep an eye on.

The 2010 MAC football season was pretty phenomenal for a few different reasons. For one thing, the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks had a season literally unlike any other in the history of college football. They became the first program to ever go from losing 10 games or more in one season, to winning 10 games or more in the next.

They went just 1-11 in 2009, and then, in a shocker to everyone outside the team, finished 10-4 and won the conference and a bowl game in 2010 on top of that.

Miami (Ohio) played Northern Illinois in last year's MAC conference championship game, and the Huskies from Northern Illinois had a Top 10 ranking. The RedHawks won a close game 26-21 though, which helped propel them to that 10-win season and that remarkable accomplishment that no other college football team in the history of the game has ever had.

It was quite the ride, and it actually led to some upheaval, as head coach Mike Haywood got a job offer at a bigger school (Pitt). Haywood, though, has already been ousted from that position, after only two weeks, due to a domestic violence charge.

In his place at the RedHawks helm is one of his former defensive coaches, Lance Guidry. Guidry will plan on building off last year's amazing momentum and making Miami (Ohio) a force to be reckoned with in the MAC.

Will they be the 2011 college football picks favorites for the conference?

They could, but they'll be dealing with the Huskies from Northern Illinois yet again. They also have a new head coach, as former coach Jerry Kill moved on to Minnesota. In his place is Dave Doeren, the former defensive coordinator from Wisconsin who hopes to bring some of that big-school, BCS power and mojo to Northern Illinois.

There were even more coaching moves in the MAC besides that. The University of Miami, not the RedHawks from Ohio in the MAC, was so impressed with the turnaround job that Al Golden did at Temple University that they made him their new head coach.

Temple finished 8-4 on the year last season, and new head coach Steve Addazio brings in lofty expectations of his own. He was on Urban Meyer's staff at Florida, and is another major conference coach who wants to invigorate a mid-major football program.

The MAC is deep at the top though, and with 13 total teams spread across two divisions, there are lots of programs which could emerge in 2011 as a late college football pick's choice to win a bunch of games and make some noise.

In addition to Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois and Temple, there is also Toledo, Ohio and Western Michigan, amongst others.

Toledo managed to go 7-1 in conference play last year, putting them in the running for the conference championship. However, it only went 8-5 overall. Part of that was because the Rockets made a pretty bold out-of-conference schedule, facing schools like Arizona and Boise State, both of whom crushed them.

Head coach Tim Beckman, though, is now in his third year and is hoping to get his team even farther ahead, even it takes some harsh trial by fire in those bad losses.

The Ohio Bobcats under Frank Solich also did very well within the conference, finishing 6-2, while also only sporting an overall 8-5 record. They had some tough games on their schedule as well, including a road game at Ohio State, where they were blown out.

With a conference heavy at the top like the MAC, sometimes you also get a conference that is heavy at the bottom.

Last year, there weren't very many teams right in the middle of the pack. Instead, you were mostly either very good and in contention for the conference championship, or very bad and completely out of the running. As it was, Ball State finished 4-8, Central Michigan finished 3-9, Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green and Buffalo all finished at 2-10 and Akron finished at just 1-11.

So just like the whole world of college football, with haves and have-nots, the MAC is very much divided.

But from year to year, as Miami (Ohio) showed, any team can make a huge leap. Part of the problem with that is that then the star, hotshot coach typically moves on to a bigger program for more money at a BCS school, and the program sometimes has to start from scratch again.

It's a somewhat vicious cycle for teams in the MAC, where success doesn't always breed more success, but could breed the end of an era and the need to start anew yet again.

So which teams from the MAC should you be keeping an eye on 2011?

Miami (Ohio) could certainly be another very strong team again, and Northern Illinois might be the favorites amongst those making college football picks as to who will win the conference.

But there are any number of good programs which could sprout up given the right conditions, and the powers that be in the big BCS schools better watch out if they let their guards down with a MAC team on the schedule.

Find out my 2011 college football predictions for the highly touted SEC.

Hello, you sick, can’t-take-your-eyes-off-the-train-wreck, got-to-watch-the-gore college football fans.

We are now entering the point of the season where teams start to finish their “cupcake” portion of their schedule, and the truly horrible teams, like cream, rise to the top.

Once again I have two new candidates entering the bottom five this week, one of which has real potential. So without further dribble from me, and in the words of Casey Kasem: On with the countdown...

(The team’s previous ranking is in parentheses.)

5. (NR) Western Kentucky Flat Toppers: 0-3

All Western Kentucky did Saturday was to lose to Div. II Central Arkansas at home, 28-7. They were outgained, 407 to 287, averaging a blistering 3.8 yards per play. They are off next week, but in two weeks they will lose to fellow winless and conference opponent Florida International.

4. (5) San Jose State Spastics: 0-3

Once again they showed their determination to stay in the bottom five by getting smashed by Stanford to the tune of 42-17. This game is not worthy of any details; however, San Jose State has averaged 0.3, 1.0 and 0.9 yards per carry in each loss, and for the season they have rushed for a total of 55 yards for an average of 0.7. Their next loss: this Saturday to Cal-Poly...who?

3. (4) Virginia Calves: 0-3

Moving up one spot in the rankings due to Colorado’s miraculous win, Virginia was actually leading its game against Southern Mississippi, until the Calves tired late and allowed Southern Miss to outscore them 13-0, going on to a 37-34 loss. Next beat down will be in their conference opener to undefeated North Carolina.

2. (NR) Miami (Ohio) Red Chicks: 0-3

My highest debuting team gets this spot over Virginia for many reasons. First off they just lost to Western Michigan (don’t you just love these directional schools!) by the score of 48-26.

Need some more credentials for their ranking? How about they started the game by allowing 35 straight points? Not enough you say, well then how about the fact that they started this season by allowing 125 straight points before they finally scored.

Yeah, I thought that would get your attention. Give them some love, though, as they did win the second half of the Western Michigan game by the tune of 26-20. Next loss is to Kent State on Saturday.

1. (1) New Mexico Lubes: 0-3

Continuing their impressive start, they opened their conference play with a 37-13 loss to Air Force. The Falcons held the Lobos (0-3, 0-1) to 290 total yards and forced four turnovers in the conference opener for both teams.

Air Force got the easy win with its second string quarterback leading the way, as starting quarterback Tim Jefferson left the game in the first quarter with an ankle sprain. New Mexico’s next loss is to in-state rival New Mexico State.

Dropping out of the bottom-dwellers were Colorado and Troy. Well, that is all that I have for this week’s poll. Look to see you again next week.

The Miami Redhawks, after a dreadful 2-10 season, were looking to turn the team around this year. They cleaned house and hired all new coaching staff and added a quarterbacks coach to the team.

After all the anticipation, the team and staff have yet to deliver.

0-2 is not the most spectacular way to start a season.

In fact, only four of the thirteen teams in the MAC (including Miami) have yet to win a game.

Mike Haywood, the new head coach and offensive guru, has yet to turn the offense into any kind of weapon. Raudabaugh's passing game is ranked a measly 107th out of 120. Raudabaugh is just 34 of 69 for 281 yards with 0 touchdowns and four interceptions in the first two games.

The running game, which should be better with Heywood in charge, is even worse ranked at 113. The team's leading rusher, Andre Bratton, has seven attempts for 37 yards and no touchdowns.

The total offense is worse than every other team in NCAA Division I football aside from newcomer Western Kentucky.

So how is the legendary new defensive coordinator, Carl "Bull" Reese's defense doing? They rank 104th in total defense, giving up nearly 465 yards per game. The linebacker corps was a huge concern last year, and it seems that even with some better coaching, they haven't come a long way.

It's clear that this is a rebuilding year for Miami. Unfortunately for the Redhawk faithful the only team with a chance at a national title is the hockey team.

Unless the Redhawks can come away with a win this weekend at their first MAC division game against Western Kentucky, chances are when they have their first home game against Cincinnati there will be more Bearcat fans than Redhawks in attendance.

Photo courtesy of Al Behrman - AP

It wasn't all that long ago (six seasons) that Ben Roethlisberger and the Miami (OH) Redhawks were the darlings of College Football.

It wasn't all that long ago that Miami (OH) was 13-1, MAC and GMAC Bowl Champions and ranked in the top 10 of the final AP poll.

My how the times have changed.

In case you haven't noticed, the 2009 edition of the Miami (OH) Redhawks have yet to score a point in their first two games of the season.  They aren't exactly stopping anybody either.

If you aren't pleased with your team's performance thus far in the early goings of the 2009 season, rest assured that Miami (OH)'s performance is of a far greater magnitude of disappointment.

Let us take a peek at the statistics, shall we?

Obviously, Miami (OH) is in dead last in offensive scoring.  And sadly, it isn't due to poor red zone execution, turnovers, or just plain old bad luck.  The Redhawks rank 113th in the country in rushing offense averaging 50 yards rushing per game.  Not only can they not run the ball, but they are 107th in passing offense per game as well in which they are averaging an eye-popping 141 yards per game. 

Total Offense?  119th out of 120 teams.  The only team ranked below Miami (OH) in total offense is this years newest FBS member in Western Kentucky.

Maybe they can get it done defensively you ask?

Don't hold your breath. 

Miami (OH) ranks 115th in scoring defense giving up an average of 45 points per game.  They rank 104th in total defense giving up 464.5 yards per game.  They have also been unable to obtain a single sack in their first two games, and yes, are tied for dead last in that category as well.  

Maybe they can create turnovers?

Nope—114th in turnover margin with -2.5 margin per contest.

Surely they have good special teams, right? 

Sorry.  They rank 104th in net punting in averaging a measly 29.94 yards per net punt.  Kickoff coverage?  Dead last at 38 yards per kick return. 

First year head coach Mike Haywood has a monumental rebuilding task set before him.  It is also very likely that this years Redhawk team will go winless in his very first season. 

So as this season progresses, don't get down on your own team too much if they aren't living up to your expectations.  As they say, there is always somebody else in a worse situation than yourself.  

As for the Redhawks' sake, let us all hope that these dreadful statistics improve as the season unfolds.

The 2008 season for the Miami Redhawks was lackluster, to say the very least.

In fact, one could say it was downright awful.

2-10 isn't exactly a championship season.

However, there were some bright spots on the team.

Special teams players get very little attention with all the superstar players in more prominent roles. There was little recognition that Miami actually had two premier players on special teams.

Nathan Parseghian, a senior placekicker, was 20-23 in field goal attempts and was tied for 11th in field goals made. That conversion ratio ranked him 6th out of all NCAA Division I kickers and garnered him All-MAC First Team honors. Parseghian also set a new Miami record with the best single season accuracy in team history.

The other highlight was the senior punter Jake Richardson. He led the NCAA most of the season in average punt distance, but finished third in the nation.

The First Team All-MAC punter was also invited to play in the annual East-West Shrine Game. He was only the sixth player from Miami to do so. His solid play ranked him fifth out of the 49 eligible punters in the 2009 draft.

The rest of the team left much to be desired.

The offense was ranked a dismal 96th out of the 120 Division I teams. The passing game was ranked a mediocre 68th, but the rushing game was barely effective ranked at 104. They only managed to convert 72 out of 182 third downs.

The defense didn't fare much better. They were ranked around 100th in each major defensive category.

Fear not Redhawk faithful.

This could be a much better year.

A lot changed during the offseason.

The Cradle of Coaches hired Mike Haywood of Notre Dame to be the new head coach. He and his staff have a combined 199 years of college coaching experience.

With Miami's dismal running game, a guy like Haywood could really turn things around on offense.

Raudabaugh looks to improve in his senior year from last season (1960 yds., 8 TD, 9 INT), but Miami now also has two serious weapons to give him some competition in freshman Austin Boucher and Zac Dysert.

Boucher recently rejected an offer to go to Ohio State, in lieu of having potentially a great deal more play time with the Redhawks. He could be a solid player with some experience and will likely give Dysert a run for his money in 2010.

Dysert was red-shirted last year, but is listed second on the team's current depth chart. Dysert holds the record for second-most passing yards in Ohio high school history.

The good news for everyone at the position is that Miami hired Morris Watts as quarterbacks coach. Under former head coach Shane Montgomery, the team actually had no quarterbacks coach. Watts was nominated for the Broyles Award in 2001, given to the nation's top assistant coach. He was also the quarterback coach in 2002 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This could really boost the Redhawks' passing game.

Including the quarterback position, the Redhawks offense is returning eight starters, including their top five wide receivers and their top running back in Thomas Merriweather, who was injured most of last season. Their top two tight ends from last year went to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The defense that finished last in the MAC last year looks to improve exponentially with the addition of former Texas defensive coordinator Carl "Bull" Reese. He's known for turning defenses into elite squads, turning the Longhorns defense and prior to that, LSU's defense into the top defenses in the country.

Miami certainly has the tools to turn the team around this season.

Will they win a BCS bowl game this year? Probably not.

However they will definitely improve over last season and lay the foundation for a terrific team in the next few years.

The Redhawks kick off the season with the Rumble on the River against Kentucky Saturday, September 5th at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati and on ESPNU.

As a member of the Miami Redhawks community, I think I speak for a lot of students when I say in the great words of Rodney Dangerfield, "I can't get no respect."

To give you some background, Miami was founded in Oxford, OH (a small town Northwest of Cincinnati) in 1809. The university was named after the Myaami tribe who once resided here and still has an established relationship with the tribe to this day.

The team was formally called the Redskins to honor our relationship with the tribe, but was eventually re-named to be the Redhawks because someone somewhere who had no clue about our relationship with the tribe thought it was offensive.

But I digress...

The student body here has one big problem. No one knows who we are. I tell people I go to Miami University and nine times out of 10 I get the same response, "How's the weather down in Florida?" My typical response is, "I don't know, probably a lot better than here in Ohio where I go to school."

This has been such a huge issue here that all the book stores in town sell a t-shirt that reads "Miami was a university before Florida was a state."

To be clear, the school most people think about when they hear Miami is called the University of Miami. That school is named after the city it resides in.

It's somewhat of a misnomer to call us "Miami of Ohio" as most sports analysts do. That makes people think we're a branch of the University of Miami, which is far from the case. If anything, we were here first, so U of Miami should really be called "Miami of Florida."

Even the writers of CSI Miami can't keep the schools straight. Everyone's favorite red-headed detective says on the show, "A student was found dead at a local college, Miami University." Sorry Horatio, that's not as local as you might think.

In most peoples' defense, we're not in the headlines a whole heck of a lot. In the 200 years of our existence, we've never won a single national championship in any major sport.

When Miami's hockey team won their first round in the playoffs this year, not a single member of the press showed up to interview the coaches or players. They probably went down to Florida and were disappointed to find out that University of Miami doesn't have an ice-hockey team.

So what does it take to get recognized? Was "Big" Ben Roethlisberger (Miami alum and Pittsburgh Steelers star QB) not "big" enough to put us on the map?

All I know is that with an even better hockey team next year and a (hopefully) better football team thanks to new head coach Michael Haywood (OC from Notre Dame), maybe some day people will think of Ohio first when they hear the name Miami and will stop bugging me about the weather in Florida.