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Game balls and player ratings for Boise State vs. Miami (OH)

Kevan Lee — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:00:02 -0000

As much as Boise State fans wanted the Oregon game to get here, I got the sense that they wanted the Miami (OH) game to leave just as quickly. Is there such a thing as reverse hype? Is that what David Augusto's Sunday Sports Extra had?

Before we move on to Fresno State (and we will move on), game balls are back by popular demand. And with them is a new feature, ripped straight from performance reviews: player ratings. Take a look after the jump.

Player Ratings for Boise State vs. Miami (OH)

Ratings on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being Nathan Enderle and 10 being Billy Winn vs. Oregon.

Boise State offense

Austin Pettis - 8 - What didn't Pettis do? He blocked a punt, threw some nasty blocks, and led the team in receiving yards. Apart from getting caught from behind on his long first quarter catch, Pettis could do no wrong.

Titus Young - 8 - Flashed the speed we've come to know and love and didn't turn the ball over. He added a very dangerous option to the Bronco offense.

Tyler Shoemaker - 7 - Saw more balls be thrown his way, and came through with some clutch plays. His long grab over a defender looked easy but definitely wasn't.

Michael Ames - 6 - Gave way to Garrett Pendergast early and often, but Ames was solid during his time on the field. Cut down on missed blocking assignments from last week.

Kevin Sapien - 6 - Take away a false start penalty, and Sapien had a solid day. Inside pressure caused Kellen Moore to move around in the pocket a little more than he would have probably liked.

Thomas Byrd - 5 - Loses points for several low shotgun snaps and got pushed off the line on a couple of occasions.

Will Lawrence - 6 - Had his hands full with Martin Channels at times, but never gave too much ground. Looked strong in the running game.

Matt Slater - 7 - Rather anonymous, which is what you want in a left tackle.

Kellen Moore - 7 - Erratic early, Moore benefited a lot from yards after the catch from his receivers. Still, he put the ball in the right place for his receivers to make plays, and he avoided pocket pressure expertly.

D.J. Harper - 8 - Showed incredible speed motoring around the end on his long run. Looked the better of the Broncos' two running backs.

Jeremy Avery - 5 - Tough sledding for the first half and was pretty much a non-factor.

Boise State Defense

Jarrell Root - 7 - Put his strength on display with some intense pass rushing and run defense. Looked better than I'd ever seen him.

Billy Winn - 8 - A rock in the middle, Winn's tip led to a Boise State interception in the fourth.

Chase Baker - 7 - Stuffed up the running game and showed great pursuit by chasing down the ball.

Ryan Winterswyk - 6 - Never got his pass rush moves working but still provided stellar support in the running game.

Derrell Acrey - 5 - A TFL in the first quarter but not much after that.

Aaron Tevis - 7 - In on a lot of tackles and picked off his second pass in as many games.

J.C. Percy - 7 - Really made his presence known on defense. Definitely deserved the start and made the most of it.

Daron Mackey - 8 - Mackey was everywhere in the first half and showed a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

Kyle Wilson - 6 - Rarely tested deep, Wilson's night was rather quiet. Picked up a personal foul for a post-whistle shove.

Brandyn Thompson - 7 - Totally framed on that pass interference penalty, Thompson was in the right position all night. Gave up a couple catches, but not due to bad coverage.

Winston Venable - 7 - Made an early impact with his sure-tackling then gave way to Doug Martin and Jason Robinson for long stretches.

George Iloka - 8 - Great athletic play on his interception and good support in the running and passing game. His injury did not look to be serious.

Jeron Johnson - 8 - Had one pick and could have had another. Johnson didn't have much to do at his safety position on Saturday.

Boise State special teams

Kyle Brotzman - 6 - Kickoff out of bounds was no good, but he can't really be blamed for his missed PAT. Would have liked to see him try a field goal from the left hash to see how he would do.

Game Balls for Boise State vs. Miami (OH)

Shoemaker scores on the road against Miami (OH). (via media.idahostatesman.com)

Receiver most likely to have passes thrown his way just because

Tyler Shoemaker

"Shoe" as he is affectionately known by fans in Bronco Stadium and people with foot fetishes was largely absent from Boise State's win over Oregon on opening night. And the Bronco coaching staff was willing to change that even if it killed them.

Kellen Moore looked Shoemaker's way all the time in the first half, even when he wasn't open, and maybe once when he wasn't even in the game. Shoemaker responded with his first touchdown catch in over a year and 55 yards total on the night.

Next week's predestined receiving target? I think it has to be Jarvis Hodge.

Worst defensive nickname

Blu-nami

There are bad nicknames and then there are nicknames that probably originated on a message board. "Blu-nami," a Scout.com pronouncement of epic confusing proportions, conjurs images of bad anime movies or hokey infomercial products. I think I bought a Blu-nami once to clean my toilet.

Worst fashion faux paus

Belly-sweat patch

Chuck Hayes, wearing Belly Sweat by Nike (via media.idahostatesman.com)

No matter your feelings on Boise State's new uniforms, you had to notice the creeping sweat that overtook several of the players on Saturday evening. I thought I had stumbled upon a PGA tournament. The new uniforms only make matters worse as the jerseys are made with a composite of two fabrics - light and breathable cordura material on the top and around the numbers, a Brawny paper towel around the midsection.

Player most likely to replicate Ian Johnson's season from last year

Jeremy Avery

Someone had to say it. Doesn't Jeremy Avery 2009 look a little like Ian Johnson 2008? And doesn't D.J. Harper 2009 look like Jeremy Avery 2008?

Avery's slow start to the season could be due to a million different factors. There are no big holes for him. He sat out portions of fall camp. Defenses are keying him. Avery seems to have taken on the role of Johnson from last year - pounding out tough yards to keep the chains moving and seeing his average suffer. Is that simply the job of the No. 1 Boise State running back? Only time will tell.

Best impersonation of a locomotive

Chase Baker

Get off the tracks, Daniel Raudabaugh! Save yourself! (via media.idahostatesman.com)

Most obvious redshirt burning

Kirby Moore

The Broncos made it official on Saturday when Moore took the field late in the second quarter. Kirby's older brother Kellen threw a pick on Kirby's first play, which Kellen probably deserved for not throwing Kirby's way the first chance he got.

Aaron Burks made huge strides in fall camp and was considered by some to have an edge over Kirby in the true freshman WR race. The good news is that as good as Burks looked and as much time as Kirby missed in fall camp with an injury, Kellen's little brother was still good enough for coaches to play him as a true freshman.

Now if only Kellen would throw him the ball ...

Mr. Cellophane

Boise State tight ends

A go-to position against Oregon, the Broncos rarely looked the TEs' way on Saturday, choosing instead to eat up yards with the wideouts. Kyle Efaw had one catch for seven yards. Tommy Gallarda had none for zero. My college football fantasy team was super bummed.

The most amazing defensive philosophy change since the 4-2-5

The 3-3-5

I cannot do this formation justice in this space, so expect another post about it later today. Let's just say that it was awesome to watch, and Justin Wilcox is a genius. I would give him a thousand game balls if I could.

Poll

Who was the Broncos' player of the game?

Austin Pettis

93 votes

Kellen Moore

49 votes

Daron Mackey

4 votes

Chase Baker

7 votes

Jeron Johnson

17 votes

170 votes | Poll has closed

Michigan Football Opponent #2: A Maize n Preview of Miami (Ohio)

Maize n Brew Dave — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:09:25 -0000

Due to a number of reasons, the usual Maize n Preview failed to make its appearance for the Utah game. I personally take the blame for the loss. I simply did not know my power. A mistake I will not duplicate.

Maize n Preview! A Misinformed 2008 Preview of Miami (Ohio) at The University of Michigan

University: Miami University
Location: Oxford, OH
Founded: 1809
All Time Football Record: 648-374-44
Team Name: Red Hawks
Conference: MAC
Number of National Championships: 0
Number of MAC Championships: 21
Last League Championship: 2003
First Season of Football: 1881 (0-1)
Last Season: 2007 (6-7)
Head Coach: Shane Montgomery
Stadium: Fred C. Yager (30,012)

via perfectperspectivesaerial.com

Fine Miami Blogs: Miami Hawk Talk

A (Very) Little Insight Into The Miami Redhawks

Since the departure for Indiana of the now deceased Terry Hoeppner (R.I.P) in 2004, Miami’s been through a rough ride. 2005 saw a 7-5 season which was followed by a 2-10 disaster in 2006. But last year saw Miami reach the MAC championship game, and this year Miami returns 17 starters and looks to be one of the best teams in the MAC.

Coaching

Shane Montgomery ran Terry Hoeppner’s offense from ‘01-’04, including the magical 2003 season when the Redhawks put up an obscene 602 points over 14 games (averaging out to 43 points a game)! Their lowest output that season was 3 points versus Iowa then 33 against Bowling Green. The guy can coach offense. To aid him on the defensive side he brought in Jay Hood from basic obscurity as his defensive coordinator. Overall the stats were actually worse than 2006 on defense, but Miami led the MAC in scoring defense, sacks, yards per carry, yards per catch, and was second in total yards per game. Once he got his feet wet and hit the conference schedule, Hood turned out to be a decent coordinator. At least that’s what his stats say. Hood plays an aggressive defense that stacks the line and leaves a lot of man coverage available.

Miami's Offense

Numbers wise, this should be a relatively good Miami offense. While last year wasn’t pretty, the Redhawks offense put up enough points to win six games before falling in the MAC championship. This year the Redhawks have the advantage of 3 returning starters on the line and its two new starters played in 11 and 12 games, respectively last year. It’s a upperclassmen laden bunch with the only youngster being Bob Gulley, who oh-by-the-way started 3 games last year and played in all 12.

On the wings the Redhawks sport some decent receivers, though none of them are considered burners. Even so, the fastest and most dangerous of the group is Dustin Woods, a 5’11 junior who led the team in receiving yards and was second in receptions despite missing time due to injury. The other two options are Eugene Harris and Armand Robinson, both of whom hauled in 35+ passes last year. Miami likes to put a slew of receivers on the field and spread out the defense in their own little modified spread offense. Tight end Tom Crabtree is an option, but not one Miami looks too that often.

The big questions are at running back and quarterback. Daniel Raudabaugh remains the starter for Miami despite throwing three picks against Vandy. He’s tall, lanky, and slow. Hey. Wait a second. Shouldn’t he be starting for us? (I keed, I keed). Last year Raudabaugh passed for almost 2500 yards and rushed for an amazing 27 net yards. Didn’t help that he got popped for at least 22 sacks last year. He’s adequate, but throwing into Michigan’s secondary will probably be just as treacherous as throwing into Vandy’s. And if he’s anything like the 19 for 41 performance he had against Vandy, I get the feeling he could get the hook early. If he goes down, or gets yanked, another statute takes his place.

Even though there are no major injuries at any position on the offense, the Miami running game hasn’t come around. Miami lost its two top rushers to graduation and this has forced sophomore Tom Merriweather into the starting position. Merriweather only touched the ball 10 times against Vandy, but still managed a 5.9 a carry average. He’s got a little bit of speed, but won’t make you turn your head in awe. Merriweather should have a decent year in conference, but will probably fair about the same or a little bit worse against Michigan’s run defense.

Miami's Defense

Despite the heathly number of yards surrendered to an appently legit Vandy team, defense will be this year's calling card for Miami. The RedHawks possess a veteran and substantial defensive line, arguably the best linebacking corps in the MAC, and a good secondary. This group is going to make it difficult on Michigan's young offense.

The Miami defensive line returns three starters, and most critically for this game, mamoth 330 pound DT Martin Channels. If he plays anything like Utah's DT, Michigan's run game is in trouble, I just have visions of David Molk being picked up a thrown into the stands by this guy. While he's no superstar in the making, he's competent as are the rest of his line mates. The Miami D line held MAC foes to the lowest YPC in conference, and returns most of its 2 deep. Miami also has the ability to bring some pressure off the wings with two returning starters in Joe Coniglio (6.5 sacks) and Travis Craven (3.5 sacks). Sure they had trouble containing Nickson in the Vandy game, but so have a lot of teams. A less mobile target in Threet will make them look a lot more competent. They're big enough and veteran enoug to get some penetration, so control of the line of scrimage is not a definite in Michigan's favor.

The linebacking corps is pretty damn good. Two of their starters notched more than 100 tackles including Clayton Mullins's good-holy-god-are-you-kidding-me 144 tackles. Usually you're going to see numbers like this when a team's offense isn't very good, and Miami in 2007 was no exception. But still. Jeebus. That's a lot of tackles. Another reason for the high numbers is the style of Miami's D. The linebackers play close to the line and are very adept a flowing to the gaps. While they're not athletic freaks of nature like Crable was, they are effective and worth watching. One thing worth noting is the linebackers are all big dudes. As a result, though they're not slow, they're not fast or quick either. They have trouble keeping up with speedier Tight Ends and if they get out of their lanes or have to get to a corner quickly, it just ain't going to happen.

Miami's secondary is veteran as well and no stranger to man coverage. because the defense generally and agrressively plays the line of scrimage, the Redhawk's corners tend to find themselves on an island often. And to their credit they are usually up to the challenge. Where they tend to get beat is against burners and taller receivers. They're not to good at the whole PBU thing either. Corner Jeff thompson had 3 picks last year but really isn't a shutdown corner, even though that's what he has to be in this defense. The quality drops off considerably after him, even though the top three corners return. The safeties are good, but more along the lines of additional linebackers and run supporters than ball hawkers. One thing that's also apparent is the secondary's difficulty with containing shifty runners, as Nickson who's got some move's but ain't Pat White bounced around for 166. It's hard to get a read on how this group will fare against Michigan simply because there's not enough data this season. Nickson only threw 16 passes, completing 9 of them for 91 yards. How thesecondary will match up on Saturday is somewhat of a crap shoot but one that seems to favor Michigan.

Miami Special Teams

They exist. Just barely. Place kicker Nate Parseghian was 13 for 20 last year. Not a particularly strong or accurate leg. Why, God, couldn't he have played for Utah? Punting? Jacob Richardson's got a decent leg, but doesn't strike fear into the masses they way the Zoltan does (from his space throne, of course).

Predictions

After re-watching the Utah game and going through Brian's UFR, I am less convinced today than I was on Tuesday that the line will be sufficient to keep Michigan afloat this year. One of the main reasons is the interior of the offensive line. Some of the push Utah got was downright scary. What also makes me a tad nervous is the fact Miami ran up almost as many yards as Vandy did (340 to 360) and managed as many first downs. Just like Utah, Miami's primary means of moving the football was through the air (244 yards in the air). If the Redhawks don't toss three interceptions or waste their downs recovering their own footballs, it might have been a different game.

That said, Michigan should wins this game by two touchdowns. Quarterback play makes or breaks a football team (see: Carolina, South). What's important to realize is Michigan's pass defense is far better than Vanderbilt's (first half against Utah be damned), and Utah's offensive line and running backs aren't nearly as good as Utah's either. So defensively, Michigan has a tremendous edge over Miami's skill position players on offense, and frankly a big advantage on the line.

When Michigan's offense is on the field, I have to admit I'm nervous about the running game. The interior line was adequate from time to time, but there were some glaring problems with maintaining the interior of the line during running plays. And honestly its not like Ortmann or Schilling set the world on fire either. Michigan has to get a better push or the running game isn't going anywhere.

What will help this, surprisingly, is the retun of Kevin Grady. A skull crunching fullback was one of the more practical and entertaining elements of Rodriguez' offense in West Virginia. Grady possesses both the size and the speed to be a big factor in Michigan's running game. While I'm sure he'll be used to kill incoming linebackers, an up the gut hand off or two is certainly in the play book this weekend. Grady's presence should help provide some blocking and easy some of the pressure the line is facing.

Strangely, I feel pretty good about the passing game this week. Even though Michigan is missing its traditional Gazel bounding down the sidelines toward the endzone, Michigan's receivers are better than Miami's corners and safeties. Look for Rodriguez to spread the catches around and get Threet and/or Sheridan some easy throws early to settle them down. Threet is slated to start. If he struggles, on comes Sheridan. But if Threet remains master of his domain, I think rodriguez has to let him complete the game simply for the experience with a rested Notre Dame team waiting a week away.

I think Threet grabs the QB position by the throat this week and doesn't let go. Grady and Brandon Minor get on Track. Junior Hemmingway pulls in another sweet TD and Toney Clemons emerges. The defense breaks someone in half, then doles out pieces of a beaten an broken Raudabaugh to fans as party favors.

Michigan wins 31 - 13.

Poll

Who will make the biggest impact for Michigan against Miami?

Obi Ezeh - LB

19 votes

Steven Threet - QB

25 votes

Terrance Taylor - DT

8 votes

Kevin Grady - RB

11 votes

Brandon Minor - RB

6 votes

Junior Hemmingway - WR

4 votes

Sam McGuffie - RB

26 votes

Morgan Trent/Donovan Warren - DBs

7 votes

Other

2 votes

108 votes | Poll has closed