»RELATED: RedHawks have areas to clean up
Familiarity should breed concern for Miami fans, who saw their team lose to the Broncos in 2014, 41-10, and 2015, 35-13.
Those were Chuck Martin’s first two seasons as the RedHawks coach. He remembers well how Western Michigan looked in those days. Watching video of Fleck’s Golden Gophers team was like watching a movie he’d seen before.
“They run that inside zone and split zone,” Martin said. “They like to pound the ball and play defense.”
Martin immediately realized that he was making Minnesota sound much like the University of Cincinnati, which used that same game plan to throw – so to speak – a 21-0 shutout last Saturday.
“They throw the ball more than UC,” Martin said. ‘They’re more balanced, but similar. If you look at their offense, it’s similar to what they did at Western. When you look at it, you’re like, ‘OK, that’s what they did at Western.’”
Minnesota also is similar to Cincinnati in another way. The Golden Gophers offense is being operated by a freshman quarterback. The difference is that the Bearcats’ signal-caller is a redshirt freshman. Minnesota’s is true freshman walk-on Zack Annexstad.
Don’t reach for your glasses. You read that correctly. True freshman. Walk-on.
All Annexstad has done is lead the Golden Gophers to two wins, including Saturday’s 21-14 win in which they came back from a 14-13 fourth-quarter deficit to pull out the win over Fresno State. During the go-ahead drive, Annexstad eluded a heavy pass rush by stepping to his right, reversing his field to the left and delivering a 13-yard pass to junior wide receiver Tyler Johnson, who got one foot inbounds to turn a third-and-nine play into a first down.
Fleck, during his post-game media sessions, added this anecdote.
“Typical Zack Annexstad,” the coach said. “He comes over to me right on the final drive – which is probably not the best time to come over to me – looks over at me and smiles, ‘Isn’t this fun?’”
What made the comeback even more remarkable is Minnesota accomplished it without senior running back Rodney Smith. The team’s rushing leader was lost for the season early in the game with a knee injury.
“I am devastated for Rodney, but I know he will keep his oar in the water and continue to move forward and attack his rehabilitation process,” Fleck said. “He is a leader on this team, and I look forward to him working with our young players as we continue to grow this season.”
The RedHawks still are searching for their first win over a non-conference Football Bowl Subdivision opponent in the first three games of any season since beating Colorado State, 31-10, in 2010. They haven’t beaten an FBS opponent on the road in the regular season since 2003, though they do own bowl wins over Louisville in 2003 and Middle Tennessee State in 2010 at neutral sites.
Martin admitted that Miami could’ve run the ball “a little more” last Saturday against the Bearcats, especially with the kickoff-to-final-play rain that left footballs too soggy for effective passing.
The RedHawks also have adjusted their defensive line. Redshirt freshman defensive end Andrew Sharp, who started at left end against Cincinnati, will start in place of senior Pasquale Calcagno at right end. Third-year sophomore Ben Kimpler will be the third starter in three weeks at left end.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Miami at Minnesota, 3:30 p.m., Big Ten Network, 980, 1450
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