MIAMI FOOTBALL

'Inconsistencies' costly against tough NU defense

By MIKE SMITH - NOTEBOOK 
"We had a chance to beat a Big 10 team, and we didn't take advantage of it." 

That comment was one of many during Miami head coach Chuck Martin's Weekly press conference Monday at Yager Stadium.

"It was a very physical defensive battle on both sides," he continued. "It was a game that somebody was going to make one more play, and you've got to find a way to make it."

Both teams forced two turnovers, but it was the final one -- an interception by Northwestern's Robert Fitzgerald, -- that proved decisive. It ended Miami's final drive toward a potential game-tying TD.

"What cost us the game was . . . 

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. . . getting six points on five possessions in 'plus' (Northwestern) territory. When you get down there, you've got to take advantage," Martin said. "We didn't finish drives."

"We knew going in it was going to be very tough for everything on offense. (We) would have to fight and scratch and claw."

Noting "a lot of Big 10 teams had trouble moving the ball against Northwestern last year," he credited the Wildcats' defense for making things difficult for Miami's offense.

Still, getting more consistent execution is a goal moving forward. 

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MORE . . . 

>>> ABOUT THE RUN GAME . . .  
"We had some good runs, but there was nothing consistent ... where we could kind of stay with the run game and try to drive the ball. It's hard to run on (Northwestern). There was good, but not enough good.
Redshirt junior Jordan Brunson (6-0, 233) averaged 4.1 ypc, picking up 34 yards on eight trips.
Dylan Downing averaged 4.7 ypc, but had just three carries. With 25 yards of losses by QB Brett Gabbert, the RedHawks netted 40 yards (1.7 ypc) on the ground overall.

>>> ABOUT THE PASSING GAME . . . 
"We threw it good. We caught it good. We protected good at times, (but) not consistently enough, (so) at times we got derailed because we didn't protect enough." Martin said.
Wildcat rushers recorded four sacks on the day. "They are really good up front. We knew that going in."
>>> In his first game back at the helm after last year's injury, Gabbert completed 22 of 37 passes, good for 227 yards with two interceptions. 
"You're not going to have a ton of time against Northwestern," Martin said. He was under duress (quite often) and took a lot of shots. (Still), there's a couple of throws he would like to have back, obviously, that weren't as accurate as he's used to." 
>>> One of the more consistent performances for MU Saturday was by receiver Cade McDonald. The former Michigan State receiver, now in his second campaign with Miami, led the RedHawks with eight catches for 105 yards.
"Cade stepped up," Martin said. "He's a really good route runner with really good hands. He can do a lot of different jobs for you. He's a complete player (who is) very competitive."

ABOUT THE DEFENSE . . . 
>>> "They held a Big 10 team to 13 points. They did a phenomenal job, (but) there are still things to clean up." 
One area that will receive attention over the coming two weeks is Miami's relatively young secondary. 
"We played a lot of guys. Some guys, I think, played really well. Other guys were just okay," Martin said. "The guys that were just okay were not aggressive enough (and) played like it was their first real action. 
"We've got some inexperience back there. We've got to keep growing and get better (before facing Cincinnati). It'll be a much different challenge from a . . . passing standpoint."
>>> Among Miami's defensive highlights were fumble recoveries by Brian Ugwu and Matt Salopek. The latter occurred inside the Miami 1-yard line and prevented a Wildcat score just before halftime. The two teams went into intermission locked at 3-3. 

ABOUT SPECIAL TEAMS . . . 
>>> Dom Dziozan converted two of three field goal tries. The successful kicks came from 26 and 43 yards. The miss was just short from 50 yards. Martin noted Dziozan likely would have had a chance from 40 but was forced back due to a Wildcat sack on third down. 
>>> Redshirt freshman Kellan McLaughlin handled kickoffs, averaging 63.7 yards per boot with one touchback. 
>>> Alec Bevelhimer averaged 39 yards per punt with a long of 45. 
>>> Kevin Davis returned three kickoffs for a total of 51 yards with a long of 22. "We had a lot of good blocks on (kickoff return, but) we had two really bad misses that were consistent throughout the game," Martin said, noting issues would be addressed during the break week. 

ABOUT INJURIES . . . 
Martin said his team could certainly use the bye week to recover after a very physical game, but hoped there were no long-term injuries from the opener. Some tests were still pending as of Monday. 

TEAM PSYCHE . . . 
"We're not down," Martin said of the team. "We're more upset with ourselves. ... They were kind of angry."