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Wisconsin Football Week Two: Miami (OH) Comes To Town

By Jim Oxley

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The Wisconsin football team will look to rebound from a week one loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide when the Miami (OH) Redhawks come to town Saturday for a week two matchup.

READ ALSO: Good, Bad and Ugly — Analysis From Wisconsin vs. Alabama

The 0-1 Badgers struggled to run the ball against Alabama’s strong defense and failed to slow down Alabama’s own offensive attack in the second half after the defense performed well in the first half despite losing senior captain Michael Caputo moments into the game.

The Badgers now move on to Miami, who presents less of a threat than the Tide did. Still, with injury concerns for both Caputo and running back Corey Clement, who played sparingly in the second half against Alabama with a groin injury, the Badgers will need to shore up some things as they head into the week two matchup.

Here’s what you need to know about the Miami Redhawks:

Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers /

Wisconsin Badgers

Record: 1-0 — The Redhawks defeated Presbyterian 26-7 in the season opener.

Conference: Miami plays in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Badgers are no stranger to MAC opponents, and typically schedule one or two in the non-conference slate. Bowling Green, who the Badgers played last season, was the MAC eastern division champ last year.

Top players: Quarterback Drew Kummer leads the Miami offensive attack. The senior signal-caller is in his first season as the starter. He completed 14 of 19 attempts for 255 yards and two touchdowns in Miami’s opener. Wide receiver Jared Murphy, a sophomore, had 101 yards in the season opener on five catches, and had 42 catches for 600 yards last year as a true freshman. Rokeem Williams and Chris Hudson each caught TDs for Miami in their opener.

Miami turned to a freshman running back, Alonzo Smith, for the bulk of the rushing attack in the season opener. He had 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12 carries. Another freshman, Kenny Young, added 10 carries for 59 yards. Kummer added six rushed for 35 yards.

On defense, Miami has a couple of players drawing eyes from NFL scouts. On the defensive line, 6-5, 243-pound defensive end Bryson Albright is an imposing force. In the defensive backfield, free safety Brison Burris will look to keep the Redhawks secondary strong after 2014 MAC Defensive Player of the Year cornerback Quinten Rollins was drafted into the NFL out of Miami.

Outlook: On offense, Miami is relatively young, featuring a senior first-year starter at quarterback, a pair of redshirt freshmen running backs, two starting redshirt freshmen wide receivers and a redshirt freshman starting tight end.  The defense has a little more experience under its belt, but the Redhawks are a young team overall.

The Badgers likely represent the toughest game on Miami’s schedule, so you can bet the Redhawks will be fired up to play at Camp Randall Saturday.

Stay tuned to Badger of Honor for more analysis as the game gets closer.

Next: Badgers Short Passing Game Improved

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