Saturday feels like a game that could go either way. I think I saw the line favoring us -2.5 which isn't exactly a vote of confidence from the book. I don't know about who Miami lost or gained since last season but they had an 11-win season last year including the MAC championship. They apparently lost to App State 13-9 in their bowl game but my general impression of App State is they are typically capable of fielding a very formidable team.
Anyone up to speed on Miami OH?
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I think describing it as a toss up game is the optimistic point of view for NU fans. A win against Miami of Ohio this week would make me very pleased. We'll see.
Mohio is a really good team. If I were vegas I'd favor them by 10pts. Just as good or better than duke for sure. I'm hoping cats win but most likely a tough game any way you look at it. What our o looks like with luhan leading is the big mystery 🤔
6th year QB (Gabbert) who seems to be solid (missed a bunch of games late last year with a leg injury). Solid offensive line play + defensive front 7 (couple guys from those units on awards watch lists).
Picked to win the MAC again (though probably closer to a toss up with Toledo than a run away).
They should be 10+ win good again this year if Gabbert is healthy.
Probably will be better than a couple Big Ten teams; I'm definitely in the camp that this would be as good of a win as a win against Duke or the lower rated Big Ten teams on our schedule.
If we look good against them (and win), I'd think we should be in good shape to go bowling or more this year. Tough to get them at the start of the season though where having a 6th year QB helps them a ton.
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West Lot Pirates podcast has a good analysis episode of each team we face this year. It’s a good listen.
Well we had a habit of playing down to or below our competition under the previous coach. And while their players may be more experienced and more skilled, they were definitely not as heavily recruited. Most if not all of the players on the Miami OH roster would have been a Cat had we offered. Here’s hoping that Braun’s FCS roots will somehow underscore a respect for non Power 5 teams and help prevent this maddening syndrome and put an end to losing to MAC and FCS teams.
Thanks, everyone. I know Miami would be no slouch, I'm not seeing as much optimism as I would have otherwise hoped here for this game, but I'll take comfort in some blind faith and knowledge that the first game of the season can go haywire in either direction, which will maybe favor us here. I'm also cautiously optimistic that Lujan is an offensive prodigy and this Saturday will be a good indication of whether he's FBS-ready out of the gate.
Duke is unbeatable. I’m nervous.
I’m thinking of the 2000 season opener against NIU, when the ‘multiple-I’ Cats were suddenly spreading. Of course, Lujan’s offense already exists on film. But so much of modern offense is using deception and speed to give easy pass-and-catch, and that just wasn’t in Bajakian’s mindset.
Actually, I think NU will win.
I think Lujan will do well but my guess is those hoping to see us throw the ball left and right will be dissapointed. I think the strength of this team will dictate a heavy dose of running the ball with two TEs featured in a quick passing game. The top three RBs will get a lot of touches.
A good buddy of mine is a big MAC guy (NIU fan). He says that Miami OH is a legit CFP contender out of the Go5 so this will be a very tough opener. They have a great defense - as I believe we do. I’m expecting a low scoring battle that likely comes down to the kickers which should give us a very, very slight edge. Feels like NU 16-14. Just win, baby.
Well our kickers will have at least kicked on that field and theirs have not
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Probably a better run blocking unit than pass blocking unit. I think you’ll see a lot of single back, two TE and two WR sets,
This is typical NU fandom. It’s so predictable that the fanbase worries about every team. Some of this is understandable with the previous debacles we have all seen.
Miami of Ohio is a good team, but we should absolutely expect to win. I don’t care if they are MAC favorites. A “good” B1G team should be able to beat any MAC team. End of story. We will find out if we are a good B1G team on Saturday. A good showing will likely result in a good year. Loss at home and I believe it will be a long year. Win the game!
This is a bit extreme re Miami OH as a CFP contender. The game will likely be very competitive because a) it's Week 1 and b) neither team is likely going to be very good.
Say what you want about SP+ as a predictor, but Miami (OH) starts the season at 80th (NU at 75th). Both teams are projected to have very bad offenses (117 for NU and 118 for Miami).
Miami OH may go 11 - 2, but that's only because the MAC has gradually become atrocious over the past decade. FWIW, I very much think this game is a toss-up (16-14 one way or the other seems to be on the mark), but that's more because I'm not particularly high on NU.
Sorry but Miami of Ohio is a solid team. And we really don't know much about our O from which QB is starting to having an new OLC (also a lot of changes on OL) and OC. So hope to win sure but expect to at this point is pretty hard
I'm fairly sure the SP+ model has no way to account for a new OC. It's really just a reflection of last year's trend and returning production.
That said, Lujan would be working miracles to get the offense sniffing the top 50.
On defense, MOhio has a pretty good DE (Ugwu), DT (Suttle), Mike (Salopek) and OLB/Joker (Wise).
On offense, they have Gabbert (transfer from Mizzou). They lost their 2 top rushers from last year. They have a couple of big backs and a scat back (Mozee).
They lost their top receiver. They have a possession-type guy, Cade McDonald, who might torture us. Javon Tracy is probably their best deep threat.
I say run the ball straight at these guys. They are not big on the DL (their 3 300-lb DTs are all underclassmen) and make those LBs work. Then hit them with Kirtz and Henning.
On offense, they have Gabbert (transfer from Mizzou). They lost their 2 top rushers from last year. They have a couple of big backs and a scat back (Mozee).
They lost their top receiver. They have a possession-type guy, Cade McDonald, who might torture us. Javon Tracy is probably their best deep threat.
I say run the ball straight at these guys. They are not big on the DL (their 3 300-lb DTs are all underclassmen) and make those LBs work. Then hit them with Kirtz and Henning.
Saint Barney coined it but you can’t go out there not expecting to win. Hope can not be a strategy. No one doubts this is a solid team, certainly one that can beat NU, but there shouldn’t be a fan on this board settling for a good effort against MOH. We should expect a victory.
Sorry, you just aren’t a serious contender in the B1G if you can’t beat the best teams in the MAC at home! Even if MOH is the best team in the MAC, there are only maybe 3 teams that are inferior to them on our schedule. So get used to a 3-9 season if we stumble in this one.
Sorry but for this year, hard to see us as any kind of serious contender in the BIG and while it is nice if our players expect to win this game, (they at least have looked at the opponents film, know what they have put in, etc) so they have something to base that opinion on. But in this thread we were talking about the fans. For us (many of us anyway), while we might hope they win, pretty hard to expect it at this point
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Sounds like the same thing the naysayers were spouting out last year. And you know how that ended up.
Yah, we weren't really close to being a contender in the BIG. That does not mean that they did not or could not have a nice season but that is a whole .lot different than being a contender. And this year with no divisions it is a lot more difficult than last year
I guess it depends on what your definition of a "contender" is. If it means finishing at the very top, say within the top four, then I agree with you. It's going to be tough with the four West coast teams who shouldn't be here to begin with.
With 18 teams I think there are going to be a lot of record ties for just about every place in the list. It could be complicated as I showed in another thread with the new rules. Here they are again:
The list of tiebreaking criteria in order, according to the Big Ten, is:
- Head-to-head results during the regular season
- Record against all common conference opponents
- Record against mutual conference opponents with best record
- Best Big Ten winning percentage of conference opponents
- Highest ranking by SportSource Analytics after the regular season
- Random draw of tied teams
Does it matter if it isn’t to get in the playoff? Bowl committees can select who they want. If NU is in a tie with Wisky, Nebby, Io_a, we are in trouble for the preferred destination.
Yep.
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Maddox Kopp - Football - Miami University RedHawks
Maddox Kopp (18) Quarterback - 2023 Highlights: Saw action in the Cure Bowl versus App State Completed one pass for 28 yards in the Cure Bowl At Colorado:
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Brock Uihlein - Football - Miami University RedHawks
Brock Uihlein (57) Linebacker - 2023 Highlights: Redshirted High School: Graduated from Lake Forest High School Coached by Chuck Spagnoli Earned
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Miami actually publish a depth chart:
