Miami (OH) versus Army Preview

Offensive Key Players:

Army:

• Trent Steelman, QB, Jr.—The junior quarterback leads a rushing attack that puts up over 360 yards per game with Steelman being the leading rusher with 437 yards on 85 carries and 9 touchdowns. He is pretty strictly a running quarterback as evidenced by only attempting 28 passes in 5 games for 205 yards.
• Raymond Maples, RB, So.—This sophomore running back has been getting more and more of the rushing load as the season has progressed. He has 63 carries for 423 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season. Maples has totals of 95 yards, 125 yards, and 141 yards in the last 3 games after a combined 62 yards in the opening two games.
• Jared Hassin, FB, Jr.—This junior fullback is the catalyst for the inside running game getting the tough yards that open up the outside for the option attack. He has 54 carries for 246 yards with 111 of those yards coming in a 48-21 loss to Ball State.

Miami (OH):

• Zac Dysert, QB, Jr.—This junior quarterback is the ringleader for an offense that is strongly slanted towards the pass. He has thrown for at least 250 yards in the last three games after a 194 yard performance in the opening game versus Missouri. Dysert has struggled with interceptions having 5 interceptions as opposed to 2 touchdown passes. He has been sacked 14 times in 2011 after only being sacked 26 times in 2010.
• Nick Harwell, WR, So.—This sophomore wide receiver is having another great season after a freshman season that saw him pull in 64 catches and 6 touchdowns. After missing the opening game versus Missouri, he has put up 450 yards receiving on 26 catches. He is by far the #1 target for Dysert having 11 more catches than any other player on the team.
  

Defensive Key Players:

Army:

• Steven Erzinger, LB, Sr.—This senior linebacker is the backbone to the Black Knight defense with 56 tackles giving him 27 more tackles than anyone else on the team. He also has 5.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. He had 21 tackles versus NIU and 17 versus Ball State in the two previous games versus MAC opponents.
• Tyler Dickson, DB, So.—This sophomore defensive back is the second leading tackler for the Black Knights with 29 on the year. The free safety has been one of the stronger players in the secondary that has played well except for being gashed versus Ball State. Dickson is still learning the position and its nuances and will only become a better player as he gets more experience.

Miami (OH):

• Anthony Kokal, DB, Sr.—This senior defensive back played more as a reserve in 2011 but is one of the captains for this squad. He is the leading tackler with 26 on the season to go with 1.5 tackles for loss to go with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He is a physical player that will be important on the corner versus the option.
• Pat Hinkel, DB, Jr.—This junior strong safety had over 70 tackles in 2010 to go along with 24 tackles in 2011. With the linebackers preoccupied with Steelman on the edge, Hinkel must come up and handle the pitch man to prevent big plays versus the explosive option attack of Army.

Key Battles:

• Zac Dysert versus Lamar Johnson-Harris and Hayden Pierce: Harris and Pierce are true freshman defensive backs that Dysert will look to test from the beginning. Ball State was able to exploit the young secondary in passing for over 380 yards versus the Black Knights. Dysert will look to avoid sophomore Tyler Dickson in the free safety spot so it is vitally important for the 2 freshman defensive backs to make Dysert second guess himself.
• Kokal and Hinkel versus Trent Steelman: While the two safeties for the Miami (OH) defense are used to covering wide receivers in the multiple wide open offenses of the MAC, this will be a test of following reads and being disciplined. Steelman is very good at reading the weaknesses of the defense and will look to exploit Miami (OH) on the edge.

How Army will win: Controlling the time of possession battle and grinding out first downs with the run game. The defense has given up big points versus dynamic offenses so far and the offense must shorten the game for the Cadets to win. Steelman will have to hit 1 or 2 passes that will be open and possible for big plays with the total focus on the run game.

How Miami (OH) will win: Limiting turnovers (interceptions) and scoring points after moving the ball downfield. The passing offense will gain yards versus the Army defense but cannot settle for field goals. The defense must play focused and disciplined defense keeping all the options covered versus Army’s running game.  It will be hard to do and the Cadets will gain yards but forcing Army to 2^nd and 3^rd and longs will allow Miami (OH)’s defense a chance to succeed.

The team with the worst passing attack in the country versus the team with the worst rushing game in the country should be a fairly even battle in which both offenses should score in the 20s. If Dysert and the passing attack get on track, this game could resemble the Ball State game in which Army could not keep up with the Cardinals. Most likely, this game will end up along the lines of the Army-San Diego State game and go well into the 4^th quarter in doubt.