Ground game keys RedHawks offense
There's but one commandment for defensive coordinators - Thou Shall Stop the Run.
Even against a team that is 13th in the nation in passing, University of Cincinnati defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi is concentrating on one thing for Wednesday's game against Miami University: stopping the RedHawks' running game.
When Narduzzi was a young coach at Rhode Island, Rams defensive coordinator John Gutekunst, who has been a head coach at Minnesota and is now at North Carolina, told Narduzzi something he'd never forget.
"I've lost a lot of football games where someone has run for 300 yards and only passed for 72," Gutekunst told him. "But I've never lost a game where someone's only rushed for 72 and thrown for 400."
That made sense to Narduzzi. He's made it his primary approach to the game, even against pass-happy programs such as Miami. And he's been successful.
Narduzzi, who served as the RedHawks' defensive coordinator in 2003, has twice beaten Miami as a defensive coordinator, first at Northern Illinois in 2002 and then last season at UC. Both times RedHawks quarterbacks have put up great numbers, only to lose the game.
In 2003, Ben Roethlisberger threw for a school-record 525 yards and had the ball for 44:07. But the RedHawks managed to run for just 47 yards.
Last season, Miami quarterback Josh Betts threw for a career-high 416 yards and the Miami offense managed just 37 rushing yards.
"I tried not to look at those (passing) stats," Narduzzi said. "But if you stop the run, I feel pretty good."
In 2003, Northern Illinois won, 48-41; last season UC beat Miami, 45-26.
Gutekunst was right.
Miami coach Shane Montgomery knows that.
"When their No. 1 objective is to stop the run, it becomes imperative in this game," Montgomery said.
Last week the RedHawks' Brandon Murphy had a breakout game, rushing for 172 yards in Miami's 27-10 victory at Kent State.
"If they get Murphy running, you're in trouble," Narduzzi said. "Because if he's running the ball and your linebackers are worried about stopping him, then they can throw to (Ryne) Robinson, (Martin) Nance, (Ryan) Busing and (R.J.) Corbin."
Miami ran for just 48 yards in its loss to Ohio State and 127 in its loss to Central Michigan. Last week's 176-yard performance was its best of the season, and not coincidentally its first victory. Last year the RedHawks ran for an average of 156 yards in its eight victories and 61.4 yards in its five losses.
"We've got to continue to improve on our running game," said Montgomery. "Even though we had a good number of yards last week, we still had a bunch of plays with negative yards."
But with the concentration on the RedHawks running game, Montgomery sees an advantage for Miami's passing game.
"They're going to want to stop the run, but are they going to be willing to go 1-on-1 with Martin and Ryne Robinson?"
There lies the biggest question for the Bearcats.
Miami's strength is quarterback Josh Betts and his two veteran receivers. Nance is a 6-foot-5 senior, while Robinson is a 5-10 junior speedster. Robinson had two touchdowns against the Bearcats last season, and both receivers average more than 100 yards receiving per game this season.
Those two are also facing a young Bearcats secondary. One starting corner is a true freshman, Mike Mickens, while the other, Antoine Horton, is a junior who has been sidelined with an ankle injury. Starting strong safety Cedric Tolbert is also a true freshman, while starting free safety Haruki Nakamura has played well this season, but missed much of the second half of the Bearcats last game with an injury. Both Horton and Nakamura are expected to play, but against the RedHawks, they'll need to be full-speed.
"I'll put our receivers up against anyone in the country. I don't know who can guard them," Betts said. "But we still have to be balanced."
There's but one commandment for defensive coordinators - Thou Shall Stop the Run.
Even against a team that is 13th in the nation in passing, University of Cincinnati defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi is concentrating on one thing for Wednesday's game against Miami University: stopping the RedHawks' running game.
When Narduzzi was a young coach at Rhode Island, Rams defensive coordinator John Gutekunst, who has been a head coach at Minnesota and is now at North Carolina, told Narduzzi something he'd never forget.
"I've lost a lot of football games where someone has run for 300 yards and only passed for 72," Gutekunst told him. "But I've never lost a game where someone's only rushed for 72 and thrown for 400."
That made sense to Narduzzi. He's made it his primary approach to the game, even against pass-happy programs such as Miami. And he's been successful.
Narduzzi, who served as the RedHawks' defensive coordinator in 2003, has twice beaten Miami as a defensive coordinator, first at Northern Illinois in 2002 and then last season at UC. Both times RedHawks quarterbacks have put up great numbers, only to lose the game.
In 2003, Ben Roethlisberger threw for a school-record 525 yards and had the ball for 44:07. But the RedHawks managed to run for just 47 yards.
Last season, Miami quarterback Josh Betts threw for a career-high 416 yards and the Miami offense managed just 37 rushing yards.
"I tried not to look at those (passing) stats," Narduzzi said. "But if you stop the run, I feel pretty good."
In 2003, Northern Illinois won, 48-41; last season UC beat Miami, 45-26.
Gutekunst was right.
Miami coach Shane Montgomery knows that.
"When their No. 1 objective is to stop the run, it becomes imperative in this game," Montgomery said.
Last week the RedHawks' Brandon Murphy had a breakout game, rushing for 172 yards in Miami's 27-10 victory at Kent State.
"If they get Murphy running, you're in trouble," Narduzzi said. "Because if he's running the ball and your linebackers are worried about stopping him, then they can throw to (Ryne) Robinson, (Martin) Nance, (Ryan) Busing and (R.J.) Corbin."
Miami ran for just 48 yards in its loss to Ohio State and 127 in its loss to Central Michigan. Last week's 176-yard performance was its best of the season, and not coincidentally its first victory. Last year the RedHawks ran for an average of 156 yards in its eight victories and 61.4 yards in its five losses.
"We've got to continue to improve on our running game," said Montgomery. "Even though we had a good number of yards last week, we still had a bunch of plays with negative yards."
But with the concentration on the RedHawks running game, Montgomery sees an advantage for Miami's passing game.
"They're going to want to stop the run, but are they going to be willing to go 1-on-1 with Martin and Ryne Robinson?"
There lies the biggest question for the Bearcats.
Miami's strength is quarterback Josh Betts and his two veteran receivers. Nance is a 6-foot-5 senior, while Robinson is a 5-10 junior speedster. Robinson had two touchdowns against the Bearcats last season, and both receivers average more than 100 yards receiving per game this season.
Those two are also facing a young Bearcats secondary. One starting corner is a true freshman, Mike Mickens, while the other, Antoine Horton, is a junior who has been sidelined with an ankle injury. Starting strong safety Cedric Tolbert is also a true freshman, while starting free safety Haruki Nakamura has played well this season, but missed much of the second half of the Bearcats last game with an injury. Both Horton and Nakamura are expected to play, but against the RedHawks, they'll need to be full-speed.
"I'll put our receivers up against anyone in the country. I don't know who can guard them," Betts said. "But we still have to be balanced."
