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Ohio State Buckeye v Miami (OH) Redhawks Preview–Know your Enemy

The Miami (Oh) Redhawks were hoping for a better start and finish to their 2011 season, entering the season as the MAC champions. They completed the year 4-8 and now start 2012 against the best team in the state, Ohio State. The Redhawks did not beat a team with a winning record last year, head coach Don Treadwell’s first year.

Miami plans to have a running back by committee this year including Erik Finklea, Justin Semmes, Spencer Treadwell and Jack Snowball. They will run behind a veteran offensive line with 4 of the 5 starters returning from last year. Zac Dysert leads the Redhawks who would much rather pass the ball than run it. Dysert has thrown for 2,400 yards in each of the last two seasons. Nick Harwell is the teams main target and had over 1,425 receiving yards in 2011. Andy Cruse and Dawan Scott should also be very active receiving passes from Dysert.

Miami’s defense was one of the best in the MAC in 2011 but they lost 2 of their top tacklers in linebackers Jerrell Wedge and Ryan Kennedy. Their defensive line is tough in the middle with Austin Brown and Mike Johns averaging 2 sacks per game. And three starters from the backfield are returning, so they should be able to make plays against Braxton Miller and the young wide receivers of Ohio State.

The Redhawks hope to be equally good on defensive as they were in 2011 and more diverse on offense than in the recent past. The Buckeyes will be a major challenge and by all accounts Urban Meyer has his new team firing on all cylinders. A lot of questions will be answered about these 2 unknown commodities when they face off at noon in Ohio Stadium on Saturday.