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Oct. 14, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

FOR STARTERS:
IF MIAMI WINS ...: The RedHawks would improve their overall record to 2-5 ... Miami would be 1-2 in MAC East Division play and be no less than one game out of first place ... MU would improve its all-time record to 41-19-5 against Bowling Green.

IF MIAMI LOSES ...: The RedHawks would fall to 1-6 overall ... it would mark the first time since 1993 that Miami lost its first three conference-opening games.

61st ANNIVERSARY: The 2008 season marks Miami football team's 61st as a member of the Mid-American Conference. The school has won more MAC games than any other league program (258), and its all-time MAC winning percentage of .664 (258-128-11) is far and away the best. Miami has won or shared 14 MAC titles, four more than any other school. The RedHawks have either won outright or tied the MAC East Division title four of the last five seasons, including a share of the division crown in 2007.

PREVIEWING BOWLING GREEN: Coach Gregg Brandon's Falcons are coming off an impressive 37-33 victory at Akron, vaulting Bowling Green into sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference East standings with a 1-1 record. BG is 3-3 overall, also having collected wins at Pittsburgh (27-17) and at Wyoming (45-16). The Falcons rank ninth in the MAC in both total offense (358.0) and total defense (370.5). Quarterback Tyler Sheehan ranks fourth in passing (241.2) and receiver Corey Partridge is the league's tenth-leading receiver with five catches per game. Kenny Lewis is a dangerous kickoff returner, averaging 30.8 per run-back. Nick Iovinelli ranks second in MAC punting (41.3) behind Miami's Jake Richardson. Defensively, linebackers Erique Dozier and John Haneline are two of the league's top 10 tacklers. Interception specialists P.J. Mahone and Kenny Lewis sparkle in the secondary.

REVIEWING MIAMI'S GAME VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Miami fought a valiant fight at NIU, but fell by a score of 17-13. The RedHawks had an opportunity to score a game-winning touchdown on its last drive, but could not cash in despite having four plays at the Huskie 12-yard line. Miami's scoring highlights came from Eugene Harris, who ran back a punt return for a 63-yard TD, and from NATE PARSEGHIAN, who had two field goals, including a career-long 44-yarder. Punter JAKE RICHARDSON averaged just over 50 yards per punt, increasing his NCAA-leading average.

THE REDHAWK CAPTAINS: Senior defensive back Robbie Wilson (Cincinnati), senior offensive guard Dave DiFranco (LaGrange) and senior linebacker Joey Hudson (Piqua) have been elected by their teammates as Miami's 2008 captains. Hudson becomes only the third player in the modern era of Miami football history to be a two-time captain. JOE CONGLIO served as game six's game captain. This coming week's game captain will be determined by Friday.

MIAMI'S OFFENSE:
QUARTERBACKS: Miami quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh passed for 149 yards against Northern Illinois, completing 19 of 35 passes. His 2008 season total is now 1,189 yards through six games, an average of 198.2 yards per game. He moved past Terry Morris into sixth place on Miami's career list and now has 3,910 yards. Raudabaugh needs just 90 yards to become the sixth Miami QB to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark.Through the first six games of 2008, Raudabaugh has thrown for 1,189 yards (113-199-5 INT-4 TD). In the latest MAC statistics, he ranks seventh in passing yardage average (198.2) and ninth in total offense (196.2). Raudabaugh has started 16 games in a row, passing for 3,398 yards over that span (212.4 ypg), including 14 TD tosses.

MOVIN' ON UP: Clay Belton (R-Fr., Dayton) did not play at Northern Illinois after getting the second-half call against Temple. He played admirably in his first significant action against the Owls. Belton completed 14-of-22 passes against the Owls (one interception) for 147 yards. Prior to the Temple contest, he had completed three of his nine pass attempts for 14 yards.

RECEIVERS: Seven different RedHawk wide receivers have caught passes this season. For the year, Jamal Rogers (So., Ft. Myers, FL) leads the way with 27 grabs (228 yards). Against Temple, he had a game-high eight catches for 62 yards. Rogers had a career-high 10 receptions for 81 yards vs. Michigan. With his five receptions at NIU, tailback Andre Bratton (Woodbridge, VA) took over second place for the season (21-for-158 yards). Dustin Woods (Jr., Cincinnati) grabbed five passes for 34 yards last week and has caught a total of 18 passes for 227 yards in 2008. His career total of 1,326 yards is 338 yards short of moving onto Miami's career top 10. Eugene Harris (So., Atlanta, GA) has 17 receptions for 170 yards. Chris Givens (So., Chillicothe) has nine grabs (138 yards). Armand Robinson is averaging a team-high 15.6 yards per grab (10 total catches) in 2008. Donovan Potter (Trotwood) with two catches and MITCH ANDERSON (Canton) with one catch round out the group.

TIGHT ENDS: Jake O'Connell (Naples, FL) with 13 catches for 141yards leads all RedHawk tight ends. Seniors Tom Crabtree (Carroll), who had one catch vs. NIU, now has six receptions for 44 yards. Pat Shepard (Sr., Pittsburgh, PA), Kendrick Bruton (Fr., Miamisburg) and Rob Reiland (Fr., Canton) have not yet had a reception in 2008. Through five games, the RedHawk tight ends have 18 catches for 185 yards.

RUNNING BACKS: Sophomore Thomas Merriweather (Florissant, MO) once again led the RedHawks in rushing at Northern Illinois, piling up 60 yards on 17 attempts. The week before vs. Temple, he rushed for 133 yards on 26 carries vs. Temple, his career's best effort and the first time he has eclipsed the century mark as a collegian. Merriweather has a six-game total of 453 net yards on 117 attempts. Last season's leading RedHawk rushers were Cory Jones with 483 yards and Austin Sykes with 466 yards. Merriweather has caught six passes for 55 yards. Junior Andre Bratton leads all Miami tailbacks in receiving with 21 catches for 158 yards and has rushed 31 times for 110 yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Three RedHawk linemen--sophomore left guard Bob Gulley (So., Berea), senior center Josh Satterthwait (Sr., Roswell, GA) and senior left tackle Dave DiFranco --all had championship performance efforts last Saturday vs. Northern Illinois, according to offensive line coach Matt Hohman. Gulley successfully blocked at an 81-percent clip, registering four knockdowns and one pin. Satterthwait (Sr., Roswell, GA), a starter in every game, had a season-best 88-percent blocking mark, four knockdowns and one pin. DiFranco, who has started 32 consecutive games, was graded out at 90 percent with five knockdowns. Steve Sutter (Sr., St. Henry), an 84-percent blocker, will start at right tackle. Redshirt freshman Brandon Brooks (Milwaukee, WI) will start his seventh straight game this coming week at right guard. Sophomore Nate Williams (Parma), a two-time starter at left guard, will likely either see action as a sub at guard or at center. Redshirt freshman Kevin Koncelik (Seven Hills) and true freshman Andrew Phelan (West Chester) are the top reserves.

SEASON GRADES FOR MIAMI'S OFFENSIVE LINEMEN:
Sutter - 361/430--84%, 30 Knockdowns, 1 Pin
	- two Championship performances (Michigan &
	Charleston Southern)
DiFranco - 357/424--84%, 46 Knockdowns, 6 Pins
	- three Championship performances (Vanderbilt,
	Charleston Southern and NIU)
Satterthwait - 365/430--85%, 27 Knockdowns, 3 pins
	- two Championship performance (Vanderbilt & NIU)
Gulley - 201/244--82%, 21 Knockdowns, 5 Pins
	- one Championship performance (Temple)
Brooks - 337/439--77%, 36 Knockdowns, 10 Pins
	- one Championship performance (Temple)
Williams - 107/145--74%, 7 Knockdowns

BIG BOY: Redshirt freshman Brandon Brooks has impressive physical statistics. At 6-foot-5 and 323 pounds, Brooks not only leads the team's weight-lifting lists for bench press (435 pounds), squat (635) and power-clean (380), he also ranks among the team's top ten with a 35-inch vertical leap.

MIAMI'S DEFENSE
41ST IN TOTAL DEFENSE: RedHawk defenders have faced Vanderbilt (5-1), Michigan (2-4), Charleston Southern (3-3), Cincinnati (5-1), Temple (2-5) and Northern Illinois (3-3), and have yielded an average of 319.5 yards per game. Among MAC teams, only Northern Illinois has allowed fewer yards per game than the RedHawks.

REDHAWKS NINTH IN DEFENDING THE PASS: Nationally, Miami is ranked ninth in the NCAA stats in pass defense (157.8 ypg). RedHawk defenders yielded 111 yards passing last week in their loss at Northern Illinois. Miami limited the Michigan passing game to only 103 yards six weeks ago. Not counting the Wolverines' 50-yard grab, Miami limited U-M to only 53 yards on nine other receptions.

TACKLES FOR LOSS: Miami defenders only had one tackle for loss last Saturday at Northern Illinois and fell to a tie for 47th nationally in tackles for loss. The RedHawks have registered 36 through six games. Over its last 10 contests (games 10-through-13 in 2007 and the first six this season), Miami's defensive unit has 71 TFLs (7.1 avg).

LINEBACKERS: Clayton Mullins, Joey Hudson and Caleb Bostic are the Mid-American Conference's best trio and one of the best threesomes in the nation. Hudson (65 tackles through six games) is Miami's top tackler, with Mullins close behind (50). Bostic has 23 tackles. Senior reserve Chris Shula (Cooper City, FL) had five solo tackles vs. NIU and has 37 tackles through five games. True sophomores Ryan Kennedy (Libertyville, IL), who had a season-high six tackles versus Charleston Southern, has 18 tackles in 2008.

NO ORDINARY JOE: Senior middle linebacker Joey Hudson tops Miami in tackles with 65 and is the second-leading MAC tackler. He is tied for ninth-best in this week's NCAA statistics. His 41 solo tackles rank sixth among collegiate players. Hudson already has 6.5 tackles for loss, boosting his career total to 25. Hudson has had at least one TFL in five of Miami's six games in 2008. Hudson's seven career interceptions lead all active RedHawk players. He now has 273 career tackles.

THE MULLINATOR: Senior outside linebacker Clayton Mullins, the defending MAC Defensive Player of the Year, is tied for seventh in the MAC with 27 solo tackles and is tied for seventh with 50 total stops. Career-wise, Mullins has 288 tackles and has an outside chance to finish in Miami's all-time top 10. His 24.5 career tackles for loss are tied with Joey Hudson to lead all active RedHawk players.

CALEBALIZED: Junior outside linebacker Caleb Bostic ranks sixth among Miami defenders with 23 tackles.

CRADLE OF LINEBACKERS?: Long known for its title as the "Cradle of Coaches", Miami University may be on the verge of adding another designation--the "Cradle of Linebackers". The Butkus Award, a prize given annually to college football's premier linebacker, announced its 66-man Watch List for 2008, and three RedHawks are among the candidates. Seniors Clayton Mullins and Joey Hudson, and junior Caleb Bostic are all included on the Watch List. It is the first time in the 24-year history of the Butkus Award that one school has had all three of its linebackers named. Ten other schools--Southern California, Ohio State, Notre Dame, California, South Carolina, Texas Christian, Boston College, Utah State, Kentucky and Stanford--had two of their athletes named to the 2008 Watch List.

GENETICS: Chris Shula has started the last two games in place of Caleb Bostic. Last Saturday against Northern Illinois, he registered five solo tackles. Shula had a season-high 13 tackles against Temple. He now ranks fourth on the team in tackles with 32. Shula is the grandson of former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula. Chris's dad, Dave, who was head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals from 1992-96, is expected to attend Saturday's Miami-Bowling Green game.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: Miami's defensive linemen have had 14 tackles for loss through their first six games. Junior nose tackle Martin Channels (Xenia) leads the way with 4.5 TFLs, while senior left end Joe Coniglio (Rockford, IL) has 3.0 TFLs. Sophomore tackle Sean Redwine (Reading), sophomore Morris Council (Decatur, GA) and junior Travis Craven (Ft. Wayne, IN) each have 2.0 TFLs. D.J. Svabik (Jr., Van Wert) has 0.5 TFL. Jordan Stevens (So., Monroeville, PA) and Mark Paun (Jr., Strongsville) also are expected to see plenty of playing time vs. Bowling Green.

DEFENSIVE SECONDARY: Senior strong safety Robbie Wilson lead all defensive backs with 34 tackles, including nine stops last Saturday at NIU. Sophomore cornerback Brandon Stephens (Strongsville), whose status is unknown for Saturday due to a knee injury incurred vs. Northern Illinois, ranks fifth with 27 tackles. Cornerback Jeff Thompson (Jr., Worthington) ranks 10th on the team with 14 tackles. In his first career start vs. Charleston Southern, sophomore Ben Bennett recorded the first interception of his collegiate career. The 78-yard return is the longest by any MAC player in 2008 and the longest by a RedHawk player since Jay Baker's 91-yard interception return against Cincinnati in 1998. Combined with his four tackles, Bennett was named MAC East Division Defensive Player of the Week. He has 12 total tackles in 2008. Cornelius Ward had a career-best five tackles vs. CSU and he now has nine solos and one assist for 10 total stops in 2008. Junior free safety Jordan Gafford, who missed the Cincinnati, Temple and NIU games and is questionable for Bowling Green due to a stress fracture in his leg, has six total tackles and one forced fumble in two games. Wendell Brunson (Jr., Ft. Pierce, FL), Peris Edwards (So., Toledo), DeAndre Gilmore (So., St. Louis, MO) and Bryan Roland (Sr., Detroit) also see regular action for the RedHawks. Brian Palascak (Sr., Chicago, IL) returned for the NIU game after missing the previous two contests vs. Cincinnati and Temple because of a knee injury. Among Miami's returning defensive backs, a total of 16 letters have been won by the starters and back-ups.

REDHAWK DEFENDERS RANK AMONG MAC STATISTICAL LEADERS: TACKLES: 2nd, Joey Hudson (10.8 tpg) ... T-7th, Clayton Mullins (8.3) ... TACKLES FOR LOSS: 3rd, Clayton Mullins (1.2) ... 5th, Joey Hudson (1.1).

MIAMI'S SPECIAL TEAMS
THE SPECIALISTS: Lettermen are at every specialist position, including senior JAKE RICHARDSON (Oxford) at punter, senior Nathan Parseghian (Sylvania) at placekicker, senior holder Kyle Decker (Granville), sophomore snapper Mike Rummler (Cincinnati), sophomore Eugene Harris at punt returner, and sophomores Jamal Rogers and Chris Givens returning kickoffs.

JAKE-ONOMIC INDEX: While America's economy is plummeting, senior punter JAKE RICHARDSON's punting stock continues to soar. He tops the NCAA punting statistics for the sixth straight week with a 48.76 average, just more than a yard better than Texas A&M's Justin Brantly who has averaged 47.57. Last week vs. Northern Illinois, Richardson averaged 50.4 yards on five punts, including a 73-yarder. Six weeks ago against Michigan, he punted seven times for 377 yards, an average of 53.9 per kick. That average is the top all-time, single-game mark in Miami history, breaking Richardson's own record of 53.0 ypp vs. Purdue in 2006. Richardson's 53.9 single-game average ranks tenth-best all-time in Mid-American Conference history. Five of his seven kicks at Michigan were 50 yards or more, including a career-best 74 yarder. Four of his seven punts were downed inside the 20-yard line and one other kick was a touchback. For his performance at Michigan, he was named the MAC East Division Special Teams Player of the Week. Prior to 2008, Richardson's longest punt was a 69-yarder vs. Northwestern his sophomore season (2006). Richardson's 74-yarder vs. Michigan is tied for the third-best effort all-time at Miami, and his 73-yarder vs. NIU is tied for the sixth longest punt in school history. Through six games in 2008, he has punted 30 times for 1,454 yards, an average of 48.8 yards per punt. If Richardson's average continued to stay at or above 48 yards per kick, it would set an all-time MAC record. During his Miami career, he has punted 202 times for 8,666 yards, an average of 42.9 yards (first all-time at Miami and fifth-best all-time in the MAC). He finished last year with a 45.0 average, sixth-best in the nation and less than two yards per kick behind the NCAA leader. In late April, Jake's ninth sibling (Grace) was born. Nearly 23 years separate Jake (the oldest Richardson child) from Grace.

PAR FOR THE KICK: Placekicker NATE PARSEGHIAN (par-SEE-ghee-un) is the great grand-nephew of former Miami and Notre Dame head coach Ara Parseghian. Nate kicked a career-long 44-yard field goal vs. Northern Illinois to end the second quarter and successfully converted a 35-yarder in the third quarter, his ninth and tenth successful placement in 11 tries in 2008. For his career, Parseghian has made 25 of his 34 placements (.735), including 16 of his last 19. Parseghian is now in seventh place on Miami's all-time field goal list. From 29 yards or less during his RedHawk career, Parseghian is a nearly perfect 12-of-13. He has never missed a PAT attempt, connecting on all 33. He is a solid 25 of 34 during his career. Nate's brother, Jared, was a perfect 14-of-14 in 2002 and converted 36-of-45 during his career (2001-04). Together, the Parseghian brothers are 61-of-79 (.772).

ROGERS CONTINUES TO CLIMB ON KICKOFF RETURN LIST: Sophomore Jamal Rogers returned one kickoff for 27 yards vs. Northern Illinois. In just his second season, Rogers has 69 career returns for 1,522 yards, an average of 22.1 per return. In 2008, he has returned 26 kicks for 549 yards (21.1). Rogers has 813 all-purpose yards (549 KOR, 36 rushing, 228 receiving) so far in 2008. With an average of 135.5 all-purpose yards per game, he ranks fourth among MAC players and is tied for 39th nationally. He caught a game-high eight passes for 62 yards vs. Temple and a career-best 10 passes for 81 yards vs. Michigan.

HARRIS IS MIAMI'S PUNT RETURN SPECIALIST: With his 63-yard punt return last Saturday at Northern Illinois, sophomore Eugene Harris has now scored two touchdowns in 2008. He also returned a punt for a 44-yard touchdown earlier this season vs. Charleston Southern. Harris's current 15.1 season average (10 for 151 yards) ranks 15th nationally and second in the MAC.