Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 2, 2017 39 yards and two scores in the 49-16 win over Temple. However, the junior completed only 48.4 percent of his passes the next two games. With Wimbush struggling through the air, Notre Dame averaged just 5.1 yards per attempt and 10.1 yards per completion, well below the 7.9 yards per attempt and 13.6 yards per completion it averaged a season ago. Wimbush's struggles have af- fected junior wideout Equanimeous St. Brown, who caught just seven passes for 99 yards in the first three games. St. Brown led the Irish in re- ceptions (58), receiving yards (961) and receiving touchdowns (nine) in 2016, and until he breaks out the pass attack will continue to stall. Junior tight end Alizé Mack led the team with nine receptions and 101 re- ceiving yards through three games, af- ter notching a career-high five catches in the win over Boston College. The RedHawks' pass defense is a strength, ranking 39th nationally in passing yards allowed and 37th in pass efficiency defense. Opponents are averaging merely 9.8 yards per completion, which ranks Miami (Ohio) 19th in the country. Its first three opponents reached the end zone just twice through the air, while the Miami (Ohio) defend- ers picked off four passes. Senior cornerback Heath Harding was tabbed as a first-team All-Mid- American Conference performer in 2016 after leading Miami (Ohio) with 15 passes defended. He is undersized at just 5-10, but he's a physical de- fender who made 98 tackles in 2015. The RedHawks' front and line- backers racked up only three sacks in the first three games, but the team did break up eight passes. Sopho- more defensive end Doug Costin was the most disruptive player against the pass, breaking up four attempts and posting a team-leading three quarterback hurries. Advantage: Even SPECIAL TEAMS Notre Dame's special teams have been solid through the team's first three games. After missing his first two field goals of the season, junior placekicker Justin Yoon made his next four kicks. Senior punter Tyler Newsome ranked seventh nationally in punt- ing average at 47.3 yards on his 18 attempts through three games. Notre Dame's kickoff coverage unit was spotty through three games, though, giving up 23.8 yards per re- turn. However, Miami (Ohio) doesn't seem to pose much of a problem after averaging just 14.8 yards per return in its first three games. Notre Dame junior kick returner C.J. Sanders has yet to get rolling this season after returning three kicks for scores his first two seasons. With the RedHawks giving up 32.1 yards per return and allowing two kick returns for scores in the loss to Marshall, this game could get Sanders back on track. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING Miami (Ohio) head coach Chuck Martin is a protégé of Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, having worked for Kelly eight seasons at both Grand Valley State (2000-03) and Notre Dame (2010-13). Martin followed Kelly at Grand Valley State and put together a 74-7 record as the head coach. Now in his fourth season, Martin is just 12-28 at Miami (Ohio) and the team's 1-2 start to the 2017 season must be considered a disappointment. Kelly is in his eighth season at Notre Dame and has accumulated a 61-32 re- cord. Notre Dame is 2-0 against MAC opponents during Kelly's tenure, win- ning by an average score of 53.0-23.5. Notre Dame is 19-4 against non- Power Five opponents during Kelly's tenure. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Miami (Ohio) has gone just 4-15 on the road during Martin's tenure, and the Fighting Irish have a signifi- cant size and talent advantage over the RedHawks. Barring a total col- lapse, this is not a game that should be competitive for four quarters. Advantage: Notre Dame GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI (OHIO) Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 88 Jared Murphy 5-10 182 5th-Sr. 4 Jack Sorenson 6-0 194 R-Fr. LT 52 Jordan Rigg 6-4 294 R-Jr. 77 Matt Skibinski 6-5 295 R-So. LG 66 Sam McCollum 6-3 300 Jr. 50 Ryan Mullen 6-3 290 Jr. C 56 Mitch Palmer 6-2 290 R-Jr. 74 Jack Schroer 6-4 293 R-So. RG 75 Jarrett LaRubbio 6-5 300 R-So. 67 Jordan Diamond 6-5 310 5th-Sr. RT 54 Tommy Doyle 6-8 308 R-Fr. 78 Ian Leever 6-6 305 R-So. TE 82 Ryan Smith 6-4 265 Sr. 44 Nate Becker 6-5 264 R-Jr. QB 14 Gus Ragland 6-1 215 R-Jr. 5 Billy Bahl 6-4 233 Jr. RB 26 Alonzo Smith 5-10 208 R-Jr. 3 Kenny Young 5-7 179 R-Jr. WR 83 Sam Martin 6-2 201 Sr. 25 Isaiah Hill 5-11 204 R-So. WR 81 James Gardner 6-4 216 Jr. 86 Luke Mayock 6-5 216 R-So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 58 Doug Costin 6-2 285 So. 95 Ben Kimpler 6-5 247 R-Fr. DT 96 Nate Trawick 5-11 335 Jr. 69 AJ Burdine 6-2 285 5th-Sr. NT 55 Ikeem Allen 6-1 270 Sr. 94 Mack Duffin 6-2 290 R-Jr. DE 92 Pasquale Calcagno 6-4 250 Jr. 9 Brad Earnest 6-1 245 R-Jr. LB 38 Brad Koenig 6-1 225 R-Jr. 17 Myles Reid 6-1 220 So. MLB 5 Junior McMullen 6-1 245 Jr. 48 Sam Connolly 6-1 245 R-Jr. LB 21 D. Montgomery 6-2 228 Jr. 27 Kobe Burse 6-0 225 So. CB 15 Deondre Daniels 5-11 196 Jr. 1 Cedric Asseh 6-0 190 R-So. S 2 Josh Allen 6-0 205 Jr. 8 Daryus Thompson 6-1 195 R-Jr. S 14 Tony Reid 5-11 190 Sr. 22 Matt Merimee 6-3 220 R-Jr. CB 24 Heath Harding 5-10 190 5th-Sr. 6 Travion Banks 5-11 185 So. MIAMI (OHIO) DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PK 79 Sam Sloman 5-8 208 So. 39 Paul Young 6-0 188 Fr. P 9 Kyle Kramer 6-3 208 R-So. 32 Jacob Swartz 5-11 180 Fr. LS 59 Evan Crabtree 5-11 235 R-So. 62 Trent Kramer 6-0 253 R-So. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. H 88 Jared Murphy 5-10 182 5th-Sr. 8 Jack Sorenson 6-0 194 R-Fr. KR 31 Maurice Thomas 5-11 182 Jr. 3 Kenny Young 5-7 179 R-Jr. PR 88 Jared Murphy 5-10 182 5th-Sr. 81 James Gardner 6-4 216 Jr. Special Teams