Rivalry games have a funny way of making games close.
When the Bobcats play the RedHawks on Saturday, the talent disparity will be noticeable. Ohio hung in with No. 11 Tennessee and has dominated the Battle of the Bricks rivalry as of late whereas Miami is winless this season and 13-51 since the start of the 2011 season.
The Bobcats are simply more talented.
But that's exactly what the RedHawks want.
Miami has the most talent it's had under third year coach Chuck Martin, and has previously been a pain in Ohio's side to ruin a promising season.
After three straight Bobcat wins in the rivalry, the RedHawks will start anew in Mid-American Conference play Saturday. And it's a guarantee they'll be ready to pull the upset.
Breakdown
Miami is tall at the skill positions. Really, really tall. Quarterback Billy Bahl is 6-foot-4, and the two outside receivers, Sam Shisso and James Gardner, are 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-4, respectively.
Bahl, who already is able to stand tall in the pocket, can just throw up jump balls to his receivers and expect them to make plays.
The tallest starting member of the secondary for Ohio is 6-feet tall.
As seen by Miami's game against Iowa to open the season, the RedHawks have the ability to throw the ball down the field.
At the 1:35:44 mark, Miami lines up in its spread offense. The RedHawks like to spread the field, they run almost exclusively out of the spread.
They line up in an empty backfield with a tight end to the left and a flanker to the right. I'd expect a tight end on the right side of the offense this weekend to help double team Tarell Basham.
Gardner is at the top of the screen, while Shisso is at the bottom.
Gardner runs a flag route, straight to the pylon of the end-zone, while the two inside receivers run an out-route and an in-route, respectively. It's unclear what Shisso did.
Bahl steps up in the pocket as Miami picks up an Iowa stunt. With good protection, Bahl stands tall and fires a ball down the field into zone coverage.
He throws the ball at the perfect spot, where only Gardner can snag it.
Gardner goes high up, using all of his large frame, and comes down with the ball in the end-zone.
The throw, and the catch, should worry the Bobcats. Bahl showed poise in the pocket, and the Iowa Hawkeyes' defense, a Big 10 defense, was unable to defend the tall Gardner.
Judgement
Ohio is simply the more talented team. Miami is just 5-23 under Martin and 0-4 this season.
The Bobcats have owned the rivalry recently as well, seeing that they won nine of the last 10 games.
Ohio will need to get pressure from its front four to make Bahl uncomfortable in the pocket. The corners and safeties likely have the biggest job, however, as they'll be tasked with shutting down the tall wideouts from Miami.
If the Bobcats can jam the receivers at the line and create havoc in the defensive secondary, they'll get out of Oxford with a winning record this season.
