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Middle Tennessee +105 (6-6, 5-3) versus Miami (OH) -115 (9-4, 8-1), Ladd Peebles Stadium, Mobile AL, January 6, 8PM ET ESPN
Miami favored by 1, over/under 48 ½.
These two programs are will try to gain national attention in their recruiting efforts when they meet for the first time on Thursday in what was formerly known as the GMAC Bowl when the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee take on the Red Hawks from Miami of Ohio.
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The Red Hawks walked off the field with the MAC Championship after stunning nationally ranked favorite Northern Illinois back on Dec 3 en route to its ninth bowl game time in school history and the first time since 2004. They will now attempt to notch their 10th consecutive victory for the first time since the team went 13-1 in 2003. They capped of the season with a 49-28 victory over Louisville in their only other appearance in this bowl game.
Miami Ohio has made an impressive turnaround from its 1-11 record in 2009, with most of the credit going to now former head coach Michael Haywood who was recently named to replace Dave Wannstedt at Pittsburgh. The Hawks will enter Thursday’s game without their leader, so it will be interesting to see how they respond.
Meanwhile, the Blue Raiders finished a mediocre third in the Sun Belt Conference and will be playing in their third bowl game in the last five seasons, including a victory over Southern Miss in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl.
Quarterback Zac Dysert leads Miami Ohio offensively. He completed 64.7 percent of his passes and compiled 2,406 yards and 13 touchdown tosses. His leading receiver is Armand Robinson, who led Miami and finished fifth in the MAC with 90 receptions for 981 yards and six touchdowns.
The ground game is paced by tailback Thomas Merriweather, who gained 821 yards and scored 10 touchdowns for the Red Hawks. Merriweather is an explosive RB as he demonstrated by ripping off 183 yards in the team’s win over Temple that helped them win the Eastern Division title.
The defense us dotted with talent, forcing 29 turnovers and limiting teams to just 70 percent in red zone scores. The secondary snatched 17 interceptions, including five apiece by Evan Harris and Dayonne Nunley. Harris led the club in tackles with 81, including 8 ½ tackles for loss, while Jason Semmes recorded a team-best 4 ½ sacks.
For the Blue Raiders, setback riddled quarterback Dwight Dasher has bounced back onto the scene throwing for 1,388 yards and six touchdowns in eight starts, and also rushed for a team second-best 453 yards.
Top honors for the ground assault goes to RB Phillip Tanner, who averaged 5.6 yards per carry while gaining 841 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Like its counterpart, Middle Tennessee will rely on its defense. Safety Jeremy Kellem led the Blue Raiders with 101 tackles while DE Jamari Lattimore recorded team highs in tackles for loss with 14 and quarterback sacks with 11 ½.
This looks to be an evenly matched contest, with both teams relying on offenses that didn’t exactly set the record books on fire. However, Miami has showed an ability to play well against tougher competition, as shown in their late victory over NIU.
Matt’s Free Prediction: Miami OH 26, Middle Tennessee 22
The odds makers have the Miami Ohio Redhawks as a -1 point favorite with an over/under of 48.5.
Team records:
- Middle Tennessee: 6-6 SU, 4-7 ATS
- Miami (Ohio): 9-4 SU, 7-5 ATS
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders most recently:
- When playing on turf are 6-4
- After being outgained are 7-3
- When playing outside the conference are 5-5
- After playing Florida International are 1-3
Miami (Ohio) RedHawks most recently:
- When playing on turf are 7-3
- After outgaining opponent are 6-4
- When playing outside the conference are 2-8
- After playing Northern Illinois are 6-0
A few betting trends to consider:
- Middle Tennessee is 13-6 SU in its last 19 games
- Miami (Ohio) is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Miami (Ohio)’s last 5 games
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