Today’s game
Who: Miami RedHawks (0-1) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (0-2)
When: 3:30 p.m.
Where: TCF Bank Stadium (50,805), Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: WMOH-AM (1450), WDBZ-AM (1230)
Series: Minnesota leads 2-0.
OXFORD — The main topic of conversation heading into Miami University’s game today against Minnesota will be the men calling the shots: a Mid-American Conference coach fresh from the Big Ten Conference facing a Big Ten coach fresh from the MAC.
Two questions.
Can Miami’s Don Treadwell, who was an assistant at Michigan State this time last year, notch his first win for the RedHawks and end the school’s seven-game losing streak against Big Ten teams?
Will Minnesota’s Jerry Kill, whose Northern Illinois Huskies were undefeated in the MAC last season until they ran into the RedHawks, feel healthy enough to coach his team?
Kill was released from the hospital Thursday, five days after collapsing from a seizure during the final seconds of Minnesota’s 28-21 loss to New Mexico State. His assistant coaches say they expect him back.
Regardless of whether Kill is present or not, he and his top assistants know all about the RedHawks.
They probably have recurring dreams about those last-minute passes from Austin Boucher to Chris Givens and Armand Robinson. Those passes gave Miami a 26-21 upset victory over Northern Illinois in the 2010 MAC championship game.
“It always helps if you have a grasp of the personnel of the team you’re playing,” Treadwell said. “I’m sure that will aid him as he communicated to his staff and his team.”
Oddsmakers have made Minnesota the favorite with a projected point spread of only 3 to 4.5 points.
Minnesota hasn’t had a winning record in the Big Ten since 2003 and is considered one of the weaker programs in the conference. Treadwell isn’t convinced.
“Records are deceiving,” he said. “I have a great amount of respect for Minnesota. Being from the Big Ten Conference and having faced them a number of times, I know they’re a ball club always on the edge of being explosive.
“This Minnesota team is very capable,” Treadwell said. “Offensively, their line averages about 300 pounds and they have a very talented quarterback in MarQueis Gray, very similar to the young man we faced (at Missouri, James Franklin). He has the ability to make big plays with his feet as well as his arms, and he’s playing with a lot of confidence now.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.
About the Author