Sports

OXFORD — To some, this is a breather for the Miami University football team.

Coach Shane Montgomery is much more cautious about his RedHawks' game today, Sept. 13, against the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern.

He knows what is going through the Buccaneers' minds. He's been there.

"It'll be only the second time in Miami history we've played a Division I-AA football team," Montgomery said. "Being at that level for eight years, I know there are a lot of sound football teams there."

Montgomery worked from 1993-2001 as an assistant coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga, and that experience has taught him one thing.

"We've got to be ready for anything," he said. "They have nothing to lose. We're going to get their best shot."

Montgomery still remembers those years in Division I-AA, which is now known as the Football Championship Subdivision.

"We played a Division I-A team every year," he said. "We played Auburn, Alabama, Mississippi. We came into those games expecting to win, expecting to play our best. For some of our kids, it was a chance to prove they could play at that level."

Charleston Southern also has players with something to prove.

"They have a transfer quarterback from Clemson who throws the ball reasonably well," Montgomery noted.

Tribble Reese, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior who is in his first season with the Buccaneers, has been one of the few bright spots for a team which has been outscored 93-30. He has completed 59.7 percent of his passes and has two touchdown passes and one interception.

Besides, the RedHawks, like the Buccaneers, are 0-2.

"We haven't played well enough to win yet," Montgomery pointed out. "We're not going to overlook anybody."

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