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The beat goes on for the RedHawk gridders. Boise State University stampeded Miami University 48-0 to keep the Red and White both winless and scoreless in 2009.
"I would say I'm a little embarrassed by the way we've played as a total team," Head Coach Mike Haywood said.
Saturday's loss marks just the first time Miami failed to score a point in its first two games of a season since 1940. The 48-point loss stands as MU's worst defeat since 1989. Opponents are now outscoring the 'Hawks 90-0 this season. Other than the lopsided scoreboards, poor play from the quarterback stands as a common theme through both losses.
"I'm not saying we're not going in the right direction, but you get shut out two weeks in a row and the first person you've got to point the finger at is yourself," said senior quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh .
During Miami's third drive of the game, Raudabaugh threw an interception deep in his own territory. The mistake gave Boise the ball on the 10-yard line, all but handing them seven points and a 14-0 lead. As was the case against the University of Kentucky, one mistake led to another. Raudabaugh threw a second interception on the very next possession to end a nine-play, 39-yard drive into Boise's half of the field.
"We shot ourselves in the foot consistently throughout the entire game," Haywood said. "We're moving the football well and the next thing you know there's a turnover."
Unlike in week one, Haywood gave Raudabaugh less grace against the Broncos. Early in the fourth quarter he pulled the fifth-year senior in favor of freshman backup Zac Dysert. On his first throw as a RedHawk, he threw an interception of his own.
"(Dysert) was a little shell shocked," Haywood said. "His eyes were as big as grapefruits."
The freshman finished the night completing only two of four passes. Both incomplete passes came as a result of a turnover.
Another area of concern for Miami is its rushing game. The offensive line failed to give RedHawk ball carriers much room to run. As a result, the Red and White gained a meager 38 yards on the ground. Haywood noted that the struggles in the run game place even more significance on the performance of his quarterbacks.
"If you aren't playing well in our offense at quarterback you're going to struggle because we don't run the ball well," Haywood said. "The quarterback has to play well because it's a quarterback driven offense."
One area of improvement came on third down. After converting only two of 15 third downs against the Wildcats, Miami converted seven of 15 against the Broncos.
Where the offense excelled, however, the defense struggled. Boise converted a similarly high percentage of third downs going five of 10 in those situations. The Bronco third-down offense particularly exposed Miami's D when it mattered most; three of Boise's five conversions resulted in a touchdown.
Flattened by the BSU Broncos, the RedHawks now head into a battle with another set of steeds. Miami continues a stretch of four games away from Oxford Saturday with a trip to Kalamazoo, Mich., to take Western Michigan University Broncos.
WMU will be the first conference opponent MU faces on its schedule. It serves as a chance for yet another fresh start as the RedHawks enter the contest with an unblemished MAC record. MU players and coaches alike hope to put the first two games behind them and start anew against WMU.
"(The poor start) is discouraging, but it's also motivating," Raudabaugh said. "Then again, it's football. If you can't get fired up the next time the lights are on and you step between the chalk then this game is not for you."
