Per TeamRankings, Miami has a 0.2% chance of winning the East, so there must be a single obscure, unlikely combination of game outcomes that would send them to the MACC. Essentially, all they are playing for at this point is for bowl eligibility. This is a must win game for Ohio, and I don't see Ohio letting off the gas.

Go Bobcats!

Will the fact that Nowinsky was at Miami last year give Ohio any advantages, since he no doubt has some understanding of their offensive schemes and players? Will it help Miami that they understand his defensive schemes, and know what to expect?

Here are the Fiami Leaders nationally

Offense

N/A


Defense

#14 Ryan McWood (LB) 80 tackles

#23 Matt Salopanek (CB) 77 tackles 3 sacks

#58 Michael Dowell (CB) 68 tackles 2 sacks and 1 FF


Special Teams

#9 Grant Nicholson (K) 14-17 FG Long of 49


Fiami offense. I think they will look at Buffalo's film and understand they need to run the ball or design screens and quick throws to get it out of the QBs hands. DEs need to be wary of quick little passes and work on getting hands up on Miami's QBs (who aren't big and tall).

Fiami Defense

The national stats screams "corner-blitzes." These corners are more disruptive than their D-Line. Hopefully we cover Rourke's blind-side. Also, I wouldn't expect man-to-man from them. These will be zone blitzes to disrupt KR7's timing. Digs, drags, slants should all be open. Miami wants us to throw comebacks and long-timing routes so they can give themselves a chance.

Fiami Special Teams

They have a good kicker just like we do. So keeping them outside the 35 yard line would benefit the Cats.


Overall.

Just play the game and not get hyped in the rivalry. Neither team has a dominate run game in late season form like Ball State does. So establishing the run is important this game. We're statistically better than them at everything....we just have to go out and play like it.

Miami defense allows 150 yrds per game. Defense passing is 149 per game. Either they faced teams with bad QBs or they haven't faced a top 10 QB.

Time will tell.

Ohio isn't losing this game. Period. Miami simply doesn't have the offense to keep pace with Ohio for an entire game. And while Miami is decent defensively, their defense simply isn't good enough to slow Ohio's offense down enough to make a difference.

Miami was a much better team last year than they are this year (and Ohio wasn't nearly as good as it is this year), and last year vs Ohio they got punched in the mouth (and then some!) and it was 28-0 by the time they knew what the hell even hit them. They were shellshocked and looked clueless and had no answers for Ohio. Yes they responded, but the damaged was already done. Just like what Ohio did to Buffalo last week, OU was up 17-0 before UB even got a first down, and the game was essentially over for the Buffalo at that point. Sure they also tried to respond, but once again, the damage was already done. You're not going to fall behind like that and beat Ohio.

And speaking of damage, the damage to Miami was done this season in their opener when Chuck Martin still had Brett Gabbert in the game down 37-13 in the final minutes at Kentucky and Gabbert got hurt his shoulder. He missed the next 6 games where they basically already fell out of the East race in his absence, then cemented their place away from Detroit when Gabbert returned and they only scored 10 points, at home, to a Western Michigan team that Ohio easily had its way with in Kalamazoo the week before. Gabbert still looked rusty and rather pedestrian last week at Akron as well. They just look like a team just going through the motions with nothing to play for at this point, which in their case, they really don't. While not mathematically eliminated from the MACC, they are for all intents and purposes done from the MACC race, with only a crummy bowl game to dangle on a stick in front of them at this point for whatever motivation they can try and muster up.

In the beginning of the year, this looked like a possible swing game for Ohio. But not any more. This one has win written all over it. Miami has gone from preseason favorite to preseason bust, while Ohio has gone from the team that no one was really talking about to the one no one wants to face and the one no one can beat. Miami has no home field advantage, especially on a weekday evening, and can try and pull out whatever stops they want, Ohio is simply too good and a much better team, and it will be reflected on the scoreboard again when the clock hits zero in Oxford.

Ugh there will be all of 25 Fiami Fans in that otherwise beautiful stadium screaming
"But we Win at Life" a true qoute yelled at us leaving a past Bobcat Beatdown 😆

I know we have a solid offense and the D is improving. However, it is a road game against our rival. Albin beats OUr rival after rolling up undefeated Buffalo (4-0) I'll send him a gift card to the College Book Store for a new sideline hat. A collapsible hat with a belt buckle snap is not great gear for a D1 Football Coach.

I'm a hat snob FYI. Fitted, 6 panel, eight seamed lids only. Get a lid from Coach Moore for goodness sake.

Love TA's game-day hat. In fact, on most game days I'm typically wearing my shirt with the same logo that's on TA's hat. But then again, I'm not a hat snob.

This game is no gimme. Several good seasons have gone to die in Oxford. Gabbert has had extra time to get ready. OUr front 7 needs to make him intensely uncomfortable. OUr OL needs to keep Rourke clean. If we can do those two things, we'll prevail. Having Bangura in the lineup would be a big help too. Crowd will be a complete non-factor, as the preps can't be bothered to actually show up for a game. An entire thread could be dedicated to that.

Edit: I'd also like to see Bostic get more involved in the short passing game. With his size and strength, he can deal out some punishment on the Fiami secondary. He's like having a big RB running loose.

Now I don't feel like I'm the only one who gets picky about stuff like that. The hat Frank usually wore toward the end of his career wasn't what I would pick. First, our athletic gear shouldn't say "Ohio University" when we try (though apparently not hard enough) to get sportscasters to call us "Ohio." And then there's the overall design of that hat. It looked like something someone who couldn't care less about athletics would pick out. Just awful. Don't get me started on Albin's paw logo sweatshirt. What kind of hat does coach Moore wear?

It's about where I expected Vegas to set the line, but it's not accurate whatsoever in terms of how this game will actually play out. Ohio is a much better team than Miami. Ohio has easily covered 5 straight games (all in the MAC) and yet oddsmakers and betters continue to whiff on identifying how good this team is, which is fine by me because I'm making money hand over fist on Ohio on a weekly basis at this point. Hell, this is the first time since the Akron game that Ohio is even listed a favorite for crying out loud! They've had Ohio a pick or a dog for the last month and Ohio won outright each time, including twice by double digits. And this current line is only a notch over a pick, it way too low. I'm jumping all over that action again. More easy money on Ohio!