RedHawks avoid ‘complacency,’ gear up for test at Army

RedHawks coach Chuck Martin credited his coaching staff with taking steps to keep Miami’s players on their toes.

“We had a really aggressive game plan,” the eighth-year Miami coach said Monday. “We wanted to try to take that off their plate. We wanted to take away any complacency. They did a good job of helping the kids. The guys did a good job of making the kids play, even if they didn’t have that bounce.”

Martin felt even better about the effort after viewing video of the game.

“I was a little more excited about the defense than I was right after the game,” he said. “They played north-south. They swarmed to the ball. We knew their quarterback was good. He threw some good balls under duress, and he was under duress a lot.”

Martin was less happy with Miami’s special teams, which committed a penalty on one play and lost leverage on another.

“We’ve got to clean that up,” he said. “The best thing is a lot of the kids got to play. A lot of kids touched the ball for the first time. We had a whole new defense in there in the second half. A lot of kids got the chance to play college football for the first time.”

RedHawks quarterbacks Brett Gabbert and A.J. Mayer combined to go 18-of-25 for 294 yards and three touchdowns with one interception against LIU-Post. Gabbert also carried the ball three times for 45 yards while seven other rushers gained 184 yards and scored three touchdowns on 33 carries. Fourth-year junior wide receiver Jalen Walker was one of 10 players to catch at least one pass against the Sharks.

“It was good to get the offense going a little bit,” Walker said on Monday. “It was good to get the opportunity to get into stride.”

Mayer, who started against Cincinnati while Gabbert was coming back from fall practice injury issues, went 8-for-9 for 123 yards and a touchdown. Walker, whose touchdown catch on a Gabbert pass gave Miami a 21-7 lead, finds little difference between the two passers.

“For the most part, they’re pretty similar,” he said. “Over the course of the game, it doesn’t matter to me who’s at quarterback.”

Martin also was feeling a little better about Miami’s loss by only five points, 31-26, at Big Ten Minnesota on Sept. 11 after seeing the Golden Gophers go out to Boulder, Colo., and whip the favored Buffs, 30-0. This was the same Minnesota team that, as Martin put it, went “toe to-toe” against then-No. 4 Ohio State in a 45-31 season-opening loss.

“They beat the living dog out of them,” Martin said about Minnesota’s game at Colorado. “The game wasn’t as close as 30-0.”

While Miami was physically less tested against LIU-Post, the RedHawks still have some injury issues. Fifth-year senior middle linebacker Ryan McWood, who led Miami in tackles each of the last two seasons, is expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair an undisclosed injury, Martin said. Sixth-year senior tight end Andrew Homer might be available on Saturday after missing the last two games with a foot injury.

Third-year sophomore Ivan Pace Jr. has been moved from outside linebacker to take over for McWood at middle linebacker and leads the RedHawks with 22 tackles.

SATURDAY’S GAME

Miami at Army, Noon, CBS Sports Network, 980, 1450