Recap: Miami football drops season-opener in shutout against Wisconsin

The Miami University RedHawks football team stayed in the game against the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers going into halftime. However, a mediocre offensive performance found the RedHawks scoreless and trailing 17-0 by the end of the fourth quarter.

The RedHawks didn’t reach 100 total yards until the final five minutes of the night. Sixth-year quarterback Dequan Finn threw nine completions on 18 attempts for 83 yards as well as two interceptions. Redshirt sophomore receiver Cole Weaver caught three of those passes and led the roster with 35 yards.

After the game, head coach Chuck Martin said the offense needed to step its game up if it wants to have a chance against another Big Ten opponent next week.

“We were all over the map on offense,” Martin said. “Mistake here, mistake here, mistake here, mistake here … you can’t do that. We got no consistency out of really any position. From a physicality standpoint, they pushed us around, and we got a big challenge [against] Rutgers next week.”

Miami’s defense kept the game from unraveling further. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Adam Trick finished with two sacks, and redshirt senior defensive lineman Nasir Washington brought in one as well.

“Coming [into] the game, we knew they were going to be really physical,” Trick said. “It’s kind of Wisconsin’s identity. I was just proud of the guys in the fight. It’s something that we can use to push through the rest of the season. It’s a good starting step for us.”

Neither team impacted the scoreboard until the end of the first quarter. Senior kicker Nathanial Vakos nailed his 42-yard attempt to give the Badgers a 3-0 advantage that they held for the rest of the half.

Miami pieced together several offensive drives while keeping Wisconsin out of the endzone, but the RedHawks couldn’t find the endzone or get redshirt senior kicker Dom Dzioban in range for a field goal.

The RedHawks’ offense returned to the locker room with 69 total yards. Two sacks from Trick and Washington and a strong Miami defense overall kept the Badgers from expanding their lead further before the end of the half.

Photo by Kethan Babu | The Miami Student
Miami’s offense fights against Wisconsin in the second quarter at Camp Randall Stadium on Aug. 29

Wisconsin stormed down the field on its opening drive in the third quarter, but an interception by redshirt senior defensive back Silas Walters returned the ball to the RedHawks. This success was short-lived, however, as the Badgers found the endzone after Miami punted.

Sophomore quarterback Danny O’Neil, stepping in for Wisconsin graduate student starter Billy Edwards Jr., hit senior receiver Vinny Anthony II for the first touchdown of the game. The Badgers took their 10-0 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

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Graduate student safety Preston Zachman would stifle any chance of a RedHawk comeback when he intercepted Finn at the Miami 2-yard line. O’Neil took a rush for a Wisconsin touchdown, widening the score to 17-0 where it remained for the rest of the game.

With six minutes on the clock, Miami worked to at least put some points on the board. However, Zachman intercepted Finn once more to guarantee the shutout, sending the RedHawks to the locker room without finding the endzone once.

“They were playing at a different pace than us,” Martin said. “Our physicality wasn’t good enough, our techniques weren’t good enough. That goes hand-in-hand: You can’t play physical without good technique. We couldn’t move them, we couldn’t get anything going. We were third-and-long the whole day, and they did a good job on third down against us.”

The RedHawks will play next weekend on the road against Rutgers University, another Big Ten opponent. Despite the loss, Trick said the team and especially the defense had a lot to take away from tonight as Miami prepares for another tough matchup one week from now.

“There’s a lot of positives to take away from tonight,” Trick said. “We’re going to go in tomorrow, watch the film [and] make those corrections, but this was a great experience for a lot of guys on the team to get that foot in the water and experience what big time football is like. Hopefully, this would be a confidence builder. Those guys are just going to keep getting better and keep working and take things week by week.”

@kethanbabu_04

babukc2@miamioh.edu