OxfordPress.com

OXFORD — Great. Just what the Miami University football team needed.

For the fourth time in five games, Miami's struggling offense will face a strong defense when the RedHawks take on the Temple Owls at Yager Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4.

The Owls have allowed 12 points or fewer in three of their five games this season, which doesn't surprise Miami coach Shane Montgomery.

"We've felt for the last two years they have got one of the best defenses in the (Mid-American Conference)," Montgomery said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. "They have the best defensive line in the league. When you look at them defensively, they're as sound as anybody we play all year."

The Owls are led on defense by Andre Neblett, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound junior nose tackle who is a candidate for both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Lombardi Award. He has forced fumbles this year against Buffalo and Penn State.

"They're a very sound football team, a very physical football team," Montgomery noted.

So what else is new? One reason Miami is ranked 94th in the nation in total offense and 114th (out of 119 teams) in rushing offense is the strength of the defenses they've tried to run against.

"Vanderbilt was in the top 20 last year in total defense," Montgomery said. "Michigan, we felt like (defense) was the strength of their team. And Cincinnati has been like that for a couple years.

"But I like the direction we've moving, though we're by no means a finished product on offense," he added. "One thing I've liked is the fact that we've been able to control the ball on offense."

Miami has an average time of possession of 31.29 minutes per game, which is about three minutes more than its opponents.

An average time of possession of more than 30 minutes usually indicates a healthy running game, but Miami's ground attack has yet to hit full stride. The RedHawks are gaining just 2.45 yards per carry.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.