Randy Walker remembers sitting in a meeting of Mid-American Conference coaches during his first season at Miami of Ohio and thinking, “Who do these guys think they are?”
“They spent a lot of time crying about lack of respect (for the MAC),” Walker recalled this week. “I got up and said, `Hey, guys, if we want respect, we have to go out and earn it. Go out and beat some people.’ “
Walker, speaking by phone from his office in Oxford, Ohio, chuckled at the memory of that meeting eight years ago. He was, after all, a rookie coach inheriting a team that had won two games the previous year.
“I knew I probably wasn’t going to be able to go out and back up my talk for a while,” he said.
Walker is now. His RedHawks made national headlines last weekend when they stunned then-No. 12 North Carolina 13-10 in Chapel Hill on a field goal with one second remaining. Miami’s defense limited Carolina to 46 yards in the second half as the Tar Heels struggled without starting quarterback Oscar Davenport, who hurt his knee early in the game. Miami running back Travis Prentice romped for 162 yards, the most against Carolina since 1989.
Across the country, fans blinked at the score crawling across the bottom of the television screen and figured either the numbers were backward or the Miami was the school in Florida.
But no one should have been too surprised by the result. This is the same Miami that stuck Northwestern with its only regular-season blemish in 1995, the same Miami that stung Virginia Tech in Blacksburg a year ago.
And the RedHawk triumph came during a weekend that saw another MAC power, Toledo, smoke Temple 24-12. And Ohio University nearly pulled off an upset at North Carolina State, losing 34-31.
Every year, it seems, a MAC team shocks a big-name school. Last September, Toledo pummeled a Purdue team that went on to win nine games. And Central Michigan has twice knocked off Michigan State in East Lansing.
Schools from larger conferences love to play MAC opponents because they typically provide confidence-building victories and don’t demand a return home game–in exchange for a nice, fat check. But they hate to play MAC opponents because they have stocked their rosters with players left out of the major programs when Division I-A cut scholarships to 85 from 95.
“I’m not real smart, but there’s 110 less kids playing in the Big Ten (on scholarships) than there were 10 years ago,” said Walker, a 1976 Miami graduate.
“Typically, there’s a lot of kids (in the MAC) who feel somewhat slighted, and there’s awfully good coaching there,” said Minnesota coach Glen Mason, former head coach at Kent.
MAC teams have a good shot in early-season games because their lack of depth hasn’t been exposed by injuries and because a stronger opponent still might be working out kinks in its game plans.
“I think sometimes maybe people are lulled to sleep,” said Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez, whose Badgers play Ohio University in Madison Saturday. “But in our case, after looking at film, our guys aren’t going to be lulled to sleep.”
Four MAC teams challenge the Big Ten this week. Bowling Green is fodder at Beaver Stadium for Joe Paterno’s 300th victory. Toledo might not pose much of a problem for top-ranked Ohio State in Columbus. Wisconsin figures to outmuscle Ohio.
But keep an eye on Western Michigan at Indiana Saturday night. If the Broncos come out on top, it might not be an upset, to hear Hoosier coach Cam Cameron talk.
“Western Michigan poses a lot of problems for us,” Cameron said. “Those guys do a great job. And they’re better than you think.”
MAC attack II: Western Michigan drew a conference record 35,107 for its opener against Northern Illinois–on a Thursday night in Kalamazoo. Northwestern drew 30,197 for its opener against UNLV–on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in Evanston.
They’re joking, right? It’s hard to believe the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll could be any less credible, at least not after voters Joe Tiller and Paterno admitted that they didn’t cast their own preseason ballots.
But the coaches gave credibility another kick in the backside this week.
Among the “others receiving votes,” Michigan State drew 19 points from the coaches. That’s 0-2 Michigan State, drubbed 48-14 by Oregon. MSU scored one more point than Miami of Ohio, which beat then-No. 12 North Carolina.
Come to think of it, maybe more coaches ought to consider turning their ballots over to their sons (as Tiller did) or their staffs (as Paterno did).
Scare-acuse: Syracuse received a fright when a tornado roared through upstate New York Sunday, knocking out power and telephone lines. With millions of dollars in property damage in the area, there were more pressing concerns than a football game.
Still, the storm has disrupted Syracuse’s preparations for its showdown with Michigan. For example, the Orangemen’s coaching staff lost access to the Internet, a source of valuable scouting information. Videotape machines and other scouting devices were rendered useless.
“You have to go back and do it the old-fashioned way, which is fine,” coach Paul Pasqualoni said. “With all the technology that’s available, you’d rather do it the way you enjoy doing it with all the videotapes and computers and all that. . . . We’re a little behind the eight-ball here.”
Fourth and inches: With Texas running back Ricky Williams off to a rousing start in the Heisman Trophy derby–he ran for 215 yards and scored six touchdowns in his opener against New Mexico State–Ron Dayne had better get going. An ankle injury cost Dayne a chance to run up some huge numbers at San Diego State last weekend, but Alvarez said Tuesday he expects his big workhorse to play Saturday against Ohio. . . . Washington State players have dedicated this season to the memory of Leon Bender, a Cougar defensive tackle who died last spring of complications of epilepsy. The Cougars will wear “LB” helmet stickers, and coach Mike Price has announced that no one will wear Bender’s No. 91 as long as Price is at the helm. . . . If it seemed as if Tennessee got some home-cooked officiating in its 34-33 squeaker against Syracuse, it’s only because a Southeastern Conference crew worked the game in the Carrier Dome, as per the contract between the schools. Two big calls–one at the end of the first half, one at the end of the game–had the Orangemen steaming.
