MIAMI FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

Third down, redzone among Miami 'sore spots'

By MIKE SMITH
Miami's third down struggles was one of the key issues Miami head coach Chuck Martin discussed at Monday's weekly press conference.

The RedHawks were 2 of 12 on third down against Notre Dame, cutting short numerous drives. When MU did make it to the Irish redzone, the offense also sputtered. The result was Miami failing to score a touchdown for the second time in three games - albeit against three high level opponents.

"Third down was not good," Martin said "They kind of suffocated us on third down, but we have to be better than 2 of 12 on third down if we want to win games."

Ironically, the RedHawks arguably had ... 

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...their best rushing day overall. After getting 40 yards at Northwestern and 24 against Cincinnati, MU recorded 110 at Notre Dame. That included nine yards of losses by QB Brett Gabbert, who was sacked four times. 

Senior Keyon Mozee (5-7, 187) averaged 6.0 ypc on six trips. Junior Jordan Brunson carried 10 times for 34 yards (3.4 ypc.), while Kevin Davis contributed 29 yards on two carries.

"We definitely ran the ball better than we did the first two weeks," Martin said. 

REDZONE - WHOA-ZONE
Another troublesome area was the redzone. Miami went 1/3 at Notre Dame, settling for three points on three trips.

"We haven't been good at anything down there," Martin said. "We've got to get better at running it down there (and) we've got to get better at throwing it down there if we're going to have success and win games. We've got to find an answer down there."

The RedHawks coach noted running in the redzone is more difficult when opponents are able to "load the box." 

"Nobody runs the ball against Notre Dame, and hardly anybody runs the ball against Northwestern," he said. "We've tried to run it some down there, and we've haven't been able to do that. ... (Sometimes) it comes down to one-on-one matches on the perimeter."

Of course, turnovers in the redzone are even more damaging, and the Irish picked off Brett Gabbert early Saturday. 

OPPORTUNITY LOST
Miami got a break after it punted to close its opening possession. Notre Dame fumbled the reception and MU recovered. Three plays later, however, quarterback Brett Gabbert was intercepted on a short pass near the goal line. 

That's "two weeks in a row we've thrown (redzone) picks early in the game with the chance to establish a lead and play from ahead," said Martin, who had hoped to be in front at halftime -- as Northern Illinois had done in its upset of the Irish two weeks earlier. 

"We talked about a game changer on special teams, and we got it early in the game. We complete a ball to the six, and then we turn it over." 

He continued, "We had our chances early. ... When we have those opportunities, we've got to make them (count on the scoreboard). We didn't do it. We had multiple possessions in the first half in their territory. ... We could have been up 10-0 or 14-0 and put ourselves in good position going into halftime. But we're down 14-3 somehow. You feel like you kind of outplayed them (in spots), but you didn't take advantage of the time you outplayed them."

PASSING GAME
While the bulk of Miami's offense (267 yards) came via passing (227 yards), Martin is looking for more (production and efficiency) in the future. 

"Throwing the ball (at Notre Dame) ... was bad on all accounts ," he said, adding the RedHawks can help themselves with better decisions and better protection. 

"They're really good at getting after the quarterback. We did (protect) at times, but not consistently enough to have time to execute our passing game." 

In addition to better protection, Martin hopes MU receivers can improve on getting some separation. 

"They (the Irish) have really good DBs - a couple of all-Americans -- back there. (Xavier Watts and Benjamin Morrison are among the nation's top returning DBs). We couldn't shake loose and create enough space in the passing game to be efffective, so they (the Irish) won their battles on the perimeter pretty consistently all day. There was just not a lot of air to throw the football." 

INTERESTING TAKE
Fighting Irish Wire/USAtoday.com has published a piece commenting on the views (per The Athletic) of Miami coaches preparing for Notre Dame. Most of the interest seemed focused on QB Riley Leonard, who has been the target of considerable fan frustration this year. 
In any case, for those interested, they can check it out HERE