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Miami University's gridiron woes spilled into conference play Saturday.
The defense failed to stop an otherwise stagnant Temple University offense as the Owls flew past the 'Hawks for a 28-10 victory.
Coming into Saturday's family weekend game, Temple averaged only 15.6 points per game. Against the RedHawks, the Owls nearly doubled their average with 28. Remains of the pre-season hype surrounding Miami's defense are gone, as the Red and White has proven vulnerable regardless of what team, conference or subdivision they play. Miami opponents average an even 30 points per game on just more than 330 yards this season.
Although the game provided a familiar finish for the RedHawk defense, it started in a much more promising fashion. Miami held Temple scoreless on its first three possessions. Eventually, however, the 'Hawks gave up a first quarter touchdown, continuing their streak of trailing every game this season after the initial score.
"Obviously, it was a very disappointing game," head coach Shane Montgomery said. "For the fifth straight game, we came out and got behind. If we continue to do that, it is going to be hard to come back against good football teams."
Trailing 14-0 at halftime, Miami closed to within four points in the third quarter. The RedHawks outscored the Owls 10-0 in that period, scoring on a two-yard run and a 34-yard field goal. Each score capped off long, time-consuming drives as Miami controlled both the pace of play and the clock coming out of the locker rooms. The comeback stopped there, however, as Temple scored two fourth quarter touchdowns while shutting out the RedHawks for the rest of the game.
After a poor performance in the first half, starting quarterback Dan Raudabaugh stood on the sidelines the rest of the game.
Raudabaugh completed only eight of his 18 passes for 65 yards. His replacement, sophomore Clay Belton, connected on 14 of 22 throws for 147 yards. Belton threw one interception and neither QB threw a touchdown.
"We really struggled offensively and just did not make any plays at all and could not get any first downs," Montgomery said. "I felt like we needed a spark. I thought (Belton) provided us with a spark."
This marked the first significant portion of playing time for Belton at the collegiate level.
A highly touted recruit, he has waited for a chance to show his capabilities all year, even during the many early RedHawk struggles.
Belton did not play a single down during Miami's 34-13 beating at the hands of now No. 13 ranked Vanderbilt University. Against the University of Michigan, Belton saw the field for the first time in his career, but only for one late drive saturated in Wolverine blitzes.
With the game in hand against Charleston Southern University, Montgomery allowed Belton to come in for a two series of handoffs and kneel-downs.
To close out non-conference action, Belton threw two passes against the University of Cincinnati once the Bearcats were completely beyond Miami's reach.
"When Coach Montgomery came to me and told me that I would have a shot to play in the second half, I was comfortable," Belton said. "That was the biggest thing. The guys embraced me and I just felt comfortable when I was out there."
After being held out of the Cincinnati game until its waning moments, internet rumors speculated Belton would transfer. He was not present at team practice early in the bye week and had an "in-house" discussion with Montgomery.
Until Saturday, Montgomery felt that Raudabaugh played well enough to stymie any talk of a quarterback controversy.
It remains to be seen how he will proceed; however, Belton did outperform Raudabaugh against Temple and led Miami on its only two scoring drives of the day.
One bright spot for the 'Hawks came in the form of running back Thomas Merriweather, who rushed for the first 100-yard game of his career. He finished the day with 133 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
"It was fun during the game because the line did a great job," Merriweather said. "There was not much for me to do except run between the holes. Temple has a great defensive line. So, you know they did a great job to get me my first 100-yard game."
Miami now heads off on a two-game road trip, starting with Saturday's contest at Northern Illinois University.
