Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 OCT. 2, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Ragland has been good thus far, passing for 664 yards and six touch- downs in the first three games, but there is room for improvement with his game. He will once again be vital to Miami (Ohio) turning its season around. "For the most part, Gus has been very good this season," Baker noted. "He is in his first full season of start- ing and has shown very few signs of frustration when things go wrong. [He] generally throws the ball very well and usually makes great deci- sions. Sometimes, like all quarter- backs, he makes a bad one. "He has a lot of targets and uses them all. The biggest problem posed by Gus is in addition to the accurate passing, you have to account for him, as he will run whenever given the chance." The passing game will have to carry the day against Notre Dame, but Baker believes Miami (Ohio) has enough weapons to present prob- lems for the Irish defense. "I am anxious to see the Irish's matchup with James Gardner," Baker said of the 6-4, 216-pound junior re- ceiver that had more than 100 yards in each of the first two games. "James is an exceptional athlete and I think can pose some problems. … We have a very deep receiving corps. While led by James, [there is also senior tight end] Ryan Smith and [fifth-year senior wideout] Jared Murphy. Gus Ragland has many other targets." An issue for the Miami (Ohio) of- fense early in the season is its inabil- ity to get much from its ground at- tack. The RedHawks rushed for just 117.0 yards per outing and 2.83 yards per attempt in the first three games. "The running game still needs the most work," Baker explained. "Start- ing off the season with four quality running backs made for a lot of opti- mism, but now injuries have dimmed that optimism and the RedHawks will really have to work on improv- ing the per-game average with two or three at the position." Miami (Ohio) lost starting center Danny Godlevske for the season to a broken foot in the opener against Marshall. Not having the standout sophomore, who was on the pre- season watch list for the Rimington Award (nation's top center), has been problematic for the line. On defense, the RedHawks played well enough to win each of the first three games, holding opponents to 299.3 yards per game (30th nationally) and giving up just 4.78 yards per play. The RedHawks' secondary is a vet- eran group, led by senior cornerback Heath Harding and senior safety Tony Reid. They gave up just two passing touchdowns in the first three games while picking off four passes. "The back seven have been excel- lent thus far in 2017," Baker said. "Heath Harding is the real deal. He reads things beautifully and I re- ally enjoy watching him work. The other six have been very good, too. Depth there has been good, as well. … There is a great deal of talent and speed in the secondary. "[Harding] is the anchor of the sec- ondary, Tony Reid has had a great start. He loves to hit and reads the offense very well. Same could be said about [junior cornerback] Deondre Daniels and [junior safety] Josh Al- len. When these four read their keys and stay within themselves they are the best in the MAC. "I love our defensive second- ary and it will be a very interest- ing matchup to see how they play against the Irish receiving corps." Things are not going as well for the Miami (Ohio) front line, which lacks the experience and talent of the secondary. The RedHawks had to re- place two starters and a key reserve up front, and the unit does not match up as well against Notre Dame's big and physical offensive line. "This unit has been really solid against the run, but I would like to see the defensive ends get more pres- sure in passing situations," Baker said of the front four. "… Defense has been solid through three games. We began the season with nine return- ing starters from a defense that was dominating in the MAC. "This is the unit I felt was going to be the better part of the team going into the season and if they can add a little bit more pressure on the quar- terback, they could be even better than a year ago." ✦ GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI (OHIO) 2017 MIAMI (OHIO) SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 2 at Marshall L, 31-26 Sept. 9 Austin Peay W, 31-10 Sept. 16 Cincinnati L, 21-17 Sept. 23 at Central Michigan W, 31-14 Sept. 30 at Notre Dame (NBCSN) 5 p.m. Oct. 7 Bowling Green TBA Oct. 14 at Kent State 3:30 p.m. Oct. 21 Buffalo TBA Oct. 31 at Ohio TBA Nov. 7 Akron (ESPN2) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 Eastern Michigan TBA Nov. 21 at Ball State (ESPNU) 7 p.m. 2017 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 2 Temple W, 49-16 Sept. 9 Georgia L, 20-19 Sept. 16 at Boston College W, 49-20 Sept. 23 at Michigan State W, 38-18 Sept. 30 Miami (Ohio) (NBCSN) 5 p.m. Oct. 7 at North Carolina TBA Oct. 21 USC (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 NC State (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 4 Wake Forest (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at Miami (Fla.) TBA Nov. 18 Navy (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 25 at Stanford TBA Senior cornerback Heath Harding is part of a stingy Miami (Ohio) pass defense that allowed only two touchdowns passes and recorded four interceptions the first three games of the 2017 campaign. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETICS