Sept. 17, 2007

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THE SERIES:
• Saturday's game is the first meeting between Miami and Colorado. Colorado is Miami's only first-time opponent this season.

• The RedHawks have faced just three other Big 12 teams and are 1-3 against the Big 12. In their last meeting with a Big 12 team, the RedHawks were defeated by Iowa State 17-13 in the 2004 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. Miami is 0-2 against Oklahoma State, falling to the Cowboys in 1985 and 1988. Miami's lone win against a current Big 12 school was in 1947 when the Red and White defeated Texas Tech in the Sun Bowl, 13-12.

• In Miami's last meeting with a Big 12 school--the 2004 Independence Bowl versus Iowa State--then-offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery was named Miami's 32nd head coach in a locker room announcement in front of a national television audience prior to the playing of the game.

• Miami Director of Athletics Brad Bates served as the head strength coach at Colorado from 1982-85.

MIAMI HEAD COACH Shane Montgomery (North Carolina State, `90) is in his third season at the helm of the Miami program, owning a 10-15 record ... Montgomery led the RedHawks to a share of the MAC East Division title in his first season (2005) ... also serves at the offensive coordinator and has since 2001 ... since that time, Miami has consistently ranked among the top 30 in passing offense and has ranked among the top 45 nationally in total offense five times.

COLORADO HEAD COACH DAN HAWKINS (UC-Davis, `84) is in his second season guiding the Colorado Buffaloes and owns a 3-14 record at the helm of the program ... Entering the year with a career record of 94-33-1 (.738), he is the 11th winningest active head coach.

IF MIAMI WINS ...: It would even Miami's 2007 season record at 2-2 ... MU would improve its 2007 road record to 2-1.

MIAMI VS. COLORADO & THE BIG 12: This will be Miami's first game in the series with Colorado and only the fifth contest against a current member of the Big 12 Conference. The RedHawks lost to Iowa State in the 2004 Independence Bowl, are 0-2 against Big 12 member Oklahoma State and are 1-0 against Texas Tech.

REDHAWKS IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN STATE: The RedHawks' only previous appearance in the state of Colorado came in 2003 when they defeated Colorado State in Fort Collins, 41-21.

BIG CROWD SEES HOME OPENER: The crowd of 22,421 that was in attendance Saturday for the Miami-Cincinnati game was the largest at Yager Stadium since Nov. 12, 2003, when 26,286 saw Miami host Marshall.

BEST OF THE MAC: Thanks to its season-opening victory versus Ball State, Miami is 1-0 in Mid-American Conference play. The school has won more MAC games than any other (254), and its all-time MAC winning percentage of .674 (254-120-11) is far and away the best. MU has won or shared 14 MAC titles, more than anyone else. Miami's next MAC game isn't until Oct. 6 when it plays at Kent State.

MIAMI AMONG COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S ELITE TEAMS: In college football history, Miami ranks 20th in terms of all-time victories with 642. Miami is the only non-BCS-affiliated school in this rarified air. Among all-time collegiate teams with the best winning percentage, Miami ranks 16th at .6323 (642-364-44). MU ranks 13th in winning percentage among schools that have played 100 or more seasons, trailing only Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma, Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, Nebraska, Southern California, Tennessee, Georgia and LSU.

REDHAWKS' INJURY REPORT: Andre Bratton (injured knee vs. Cincinnati), out for Colorado game; will undergo MRI this week to determine his long-term status ... Wendell Brunson (injured neck vs. Cincinnati), his status for Colorado game is questionable ... Dustin Woods (slight concussion vs. Cincinnati), his status for Colorado game is probable ... Brandon Murphy (injured knee vs. Minnesota), out for Colorado game; will undergo surgery in next two weeks ... Matt McKeown (injured shoulder vs. Ball State), out for Colorado game; will undergo surgery this week.

IN TWO WEEKS: Miami entertains Syracuse at Yager Stadium at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29. It will be Family Weekend at Miami.

MIAMI'S OFFENSE QUARTERBACK CHANGE: Daniel Raudabaugh (So., Coppell, TX) came off the RedHawks' bench for the second consecutive week, completing 24-of-45 passes for 240 yards vs. Cincinnati. His touchdown pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Armand Robinson (Reynoldsburg) at the 12:17 mark of the third quarter was the first and only touchdown the UC defense has allowed in 2007. Two weeks ago at Minnesota, Raudabaugh engineered a fabulous comeback effort. Miami ultimately lost the game in three overtimes. In two appearances, he is 37-of-69 (.536) for 467 yards. During that span, Raudabaugh has thrown three touchdowns and three interceptions. MU head coach Shane Montgomery has tabbed Raudabaugh as the likely starting quarterback this Saturday at Colorado.

QUARTERBACK DUO: As a pair, Mike Kokal (Sr., Warren) and Daniel Raudabaugh have combined for 803 yards and four touchdown passes in 2007. Two weeks ago at Minnesota, they totaled 418 passing yards, the fourth-best all-time single-game mark in Miami history. The only three performances that exceeded that effort were all by former RedHawk great Ben Roethlisberger (525 yards vs. Northern Illinois in 2002, 452 yards vs. Hawaii in 2001, and 440 yards vs. Bowling Green in 2003). As either the head coach or the offensive coordinator, Miami's Shane Montgomery has had a direct hand in the school's top 13 single-game passing efforts.

MIAMI'S YOUNG RECEIVING CORPS: The RedHawks began the season with only two of their wide receivers having caught a collegiate pass. Now, after the first three games of 2007, a total of eight different wide-outs have receiving statistics. Armand Robinson (R-Fr., Reynoldsburg) leads the way with 13 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. His scoring grab vs. Cincinnati last Saturday was the first TD of any kind that the Bearcats have yielded this season. Dustin Woods (So., Cincinnati) has 12 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown through three games. The only other RedHawk player with double-digit receptions is Eugene Harris (Atlanta, GA) with 11 catches for 128 yards. True freshman Chris Givens (Chillicothe) leads the team in receiving yardage with 185 on nine catches.

GENO: Redshirt freshman Eugene Harris had a career-best six catches (47 yards) last Saturday vs. Cincinnati. He has a total of nine grabs for 123 yards over the past two games. Harris only returned one punt (5 yards) against the Bearcats. He leads all Mid-American Conference players with five punt returns for 115 yards (23.0 ypr). 13 FOR NO. 11: Redshirt freshman Armand Robinson had a career-high five pass receptions versus Cincinnati for a personal-best 59 yards. He had a touchdown grab against the Bearcats, his team-leading second of the season. He leads the team with 13 receptions.

NO. 1 IS NO. 2: Just one reception behind Armand Robinson for the team lead is sophomore Dustin Woods. Woods, who suffered a slight concussion in the Cincinnati game, has 12 catches for 128 yards in his first three games. He is expected to play in Miami's game this Saturday at Colorado.

SPREADING IT AROUND: A total of 12 different Miami players had pass receptions in the Cincinnati game. Their 27 cumulative grabs totaled 267 yards. Six RedHawk receivers caught passes in the season opener vs. Ball State and 10 players had receptions vs. Minnesota.

THROWING TO CHRIS IS A GIVEN(S): Chris Givens caught four passes against Cincinnati's tough defense for a team-high 73 yards, including a 39-yard grab in the fourth quarter. He leads the team in yards per catch at 20.6. Two weeks ago against Minnesota, Givens became only the second true freshman receiver in Miami football history to crack the century mark for yardage (five catches for 112 yards). His 55-yard catch vs. Minnesota and his 39-yarder vs. the Bearcats rate as the RedHawks' two longest grabs in 2007.

CAREER-BEST FOR POTTER: Redshirt freshman Donovan Potter (Trotwood) had a personal-best three catches for a career-high 26 yards vs. Cincinnati.

CRABTREE PRODUCES: Junior tight end Tom Crabtree (Carroll) ranks fifth among Miami receivers with eight catches for 84 yards through three games. Over the last two games, he has seven grabs for 79 yards.

O'CONNELL & LaMONICA RECORD FIRSTS: Jake O'Connell (Jr., Naples, FL) caught his first pass of 2007 (nine yards) vs. Cincinnati, while Pat LaMonica (Sr., Dublin) grabbed the first reception of his career (five yards).

THE SYKESTER: Tailback Austin Sykes (Sr., Coraopolis, PA) had the best game of his Miami career last Saturday against Cincinnati, rushing for a game-high 76 yards on 13 carries (5.8 ypr). He entered last week's game with only four rushes for seven yards. With both Brandon Murphy (Sr., Strongsville) and Andre Bratton (So., Woodbridge, VA) expected to be sidelined, Sykes will make the second start of his career this Saturday against Colorado. Senior Cory Jones (Ocean Springs, MS) and either redshirt freshman Jamel Miller (Tallmadge) or true freshman Thomas Merriweather (Florissant, MO) might play this Saturday at Colorado.

577-YARD PERFORMANCE SIXTH-BEST: Miami's 577 yards of total offense vs. Minnesota ranks sixth-best in the school's record book. The all-time record offensive explosion came in 2003 vs. Kent State when Miami piled up 648 yards. Five of the top six single-game total offensive efforts have come with Shane Montgomery as either the head coach or offensive coordinator. The 1,154 cumulative yards of total offense by Miami (577 yards) and Minnesota (577 yards) rank as the second-most in MU single-game history. It was just seven yards shy of the all-time mark of 1,161 yards piled up by Miami (616 yards) and Hawaii (545 yards) in 2001. The 1,154 total yards by Miami and Minnesota is sixth-best in the MAC record books. The all-time Mid-American Conference single-game record for total offense by two teams is 1,245 yards by Bowling Green (618) and Northwestern (624).

MURPHY'S LAW: Senior running back Brandon Murphy (Strongsville), who struggled with an ankle injury throughout the 2006 campaign, was sidelined during the Minnesota game with a knee injury. At the point that he was injured, Murphy had accumulated 78 yards on just 12 carries. For the season, Murphy is averaging 6.5 yards per carry (31 attempts). Murphy has yet to undergo surgery.

TWO-THIRDS PASSING, ONE-THIRD RUSHING: Of Miami's 1,196 total offensive yards, 803 yards (67.1%) have come via the passing game. MIAMI'S DEFENSE: CAUSTIC BOSTIC: Sophomore linebacker Caleb Bostic (Galloway) continues to rank as the Mid-American Conference's top-ranking tackler with 37 through three games. He had 10 tackles in Miami's loss to Cincinnati last week, including 1.5 tackles for loss. He led all RedHawk defenders with 17 tackles in the season opener at Ball State, his very first start.

MULLINS' EFFORT CONTINUES: Junior linebacker Clayton Mullins (Fairborn) ranks second among all Mid-American Conference defensive players with 35 tackles. He had a game-high 11 stops against Cincinnati last Saturday. Mullins compiled a career-best 15 tackles against Ball State, including a game-best seven solo stops.

GAFFORD PACES REDHAWKS: Sophomore free safety Jordan Gafford (Columbus) continued his impressive early season effort, totaling 10 tackles (eight solos) vs. Cincinnati. He led all Miami defenders with 13 tackles (including 10 solo tackles) vs. Minnesota two weeks ago. Gafford has 28 total tackles in three games, three times as many as he had all of last season as a freshman. He ranks ninth among all MAC tacklers with an average of 9.3 per game. His 20 solo tackles is tops among all MAC defensive players. Gafford celebrates his 20th birthday on Sept. 17.

MIRACULOUS RECOVERY: Junior middle linebacker and tri-captain Joey Hudson (Piqua), who suffered a knee injury at Minnesota and whose availability for the balance of the season was very much in question last week, played extensively against Cincinnati. He recorded five tackles and got credit for one-half of a tackle for loss.

MR. WILSON: Junior apache (strong safety) Robbie Wilson (Cincinnati) totaled a career-high 12 tackles (10 solos) against Minnesota. He has 24 total tackles through the first three games of 2007. Wilson is tied for 18th in tackles per game among all MAC defensive players.

SUPER-SUB SHULA: Junior middle linebacker Chris Shula (Cooper City, FL) ranks fifth among Miami's defensive players in total tackles with 15. Two weeks ago at Minnesota, he came in for the injured Joey Hudson (Jr., Piqua) and racked up a career-best 11 tackles (10 solos). Shula, the grandson of NFL Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, had 21 total tackles for all of the 2006 season.

BRUNSON HAS MEMORABLE GAME: Not only will sophomore cornerback Wendell Brunson (Fort Pierce, FL) remember the Cincinnati game for being carried off the field in an ambulance, he also will recall it as the game when he recorded a personal-best six tackles. Initially, it was thought that Brunson's injured neck may be serious, but he recovered very quickly upon arriving at the hospital for precautionary x-rays. He is listed as questionable for the Colorado game.

MIAMI'S SPECIAL TEAMS: THE LATEST RETURNS: Miami punt returners rank second among all Mid-American Conference teams with an average run-back of 20.8 yards. Eugene Harris (R-Fr., Atlanta, GA) leads all MAC players with an average of 23.0 yards per punt return (five for 115 yards).

REDHAWKS GET A BIG KICK OUT OF RICHARDSON: Junior punter JAKE RICHARDSON (Oxford) has averaged 43.3 yards per punt (15 for 650 yards) during the first three games of 2007. That's fifth-best among all Mid-American Conference punters.

ROGERS TAKES OVER AS KEY KICK RETURNER: True freshman Jamal Rogers (Fort Myers, FL) returned six kickoffs against Cincinnati for 100 yards. Chris Givens, another true freshman, may join Rogers in Miami's return tandem versus Colorado.

COOK A GROZA CANDIDATE: Trevor Cook (So., Sioux Falls, SD) successfully converted his only field goal attempt against Cincinnati (a 21-yarder) and has made four of his eight field-goal attempts this season. He leads the RedHawks in scoring with 17 points.

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