It was Oct. 5, and Miami (Ohio) had just lost at Toledo.
The RedHawks were 1-4 overall and 0-1 in MAC play following that defeat.
In the words of Miami head coach Chuck Martin, the RedHawks just weren’t playing good football. Not on offense, not on defense, and not even on special teams.
Things changed the following week at Eastern Michigan. The RedHawks finally started showing why they were the preseason favorite to win the MAC. College football betting odds had Miami at +225 to win the league.
At the time, the RedHawks easily played their best game of the season and defeated EMU 38-14. Their offense finally found some sort of rhythm and totaled 421 yards in the win, including 199 rushing yards. That was a big issue early in the season for the RedHawks — they weren’t having a ton of success running the ball.
Like Martin mentioned in the postgame interview following the loss to Toledo, the RedHawks were a one-dimensional team. That’s what they try to force other teams to become. It’s not typically what happens to them.
That all changed once Keyon Mozee’s workload increased, however.
In the first four games of the season, Mozee had single-digit carries in each contest. He had 11 carries against Toledo before seeing at least 15 totes the following four weeks. He has at least 14 carries in every game since that loss to Toledo.
During that span, Mozee has also rushed for at least 100 yards in all but one game. The only contest where he didn’t eclipse the century mark was against Northern Illinois two weeks ago. He rushed for 91 yards in that game, and his 14 carries were the lowest since the Toledo matchup.
I don’t think there’s that much of a coincidence that when Mozee and the RedHawks find success on the ground, they win.
Mozee’s first 100-yard outing came in Week 3 when Miami beat UMass 23-20 in overtime. He finished with 119 yards and a touchdown on nine carries in that contest.
Mozee leads the MAC with 1,045 rushing yards and is the only 1,000-yard rusher in the league. His 6.6 yards per carry is tied for the best mark.
The senior was a big reason why the RedHawks beat Ohio in their Week 8 matchup. He rushed for 111 yards, and his lone touchdown came on a 58-yard run that put Miami ahead 23-6 in the third quarter.
Mozee’s big play potential has been on display all season as he has four games with a rush of 50-plus yards.
Although they found a lot of success in the previous meeting with Ohio, things likely won’t be as easy for the RedHawks’ rushing attack on Saturday in the MAC Championship.
Ohio boasts the best rush defense in the league and is allowing 98.7 rushing yards per game. The Bobcats have only surrendered 61.7 rushing yards per contest in the last month, and that includes three performances where their opponent had 52 rushing yards or less.
Ohio hasn’t allowed an opposing player to rush for 100-plus yards since Mozee.
One of the big keys of the the MAC Championship will be whether the Bobcats can contain Mozee or if he will continue running all over opposing defenses. He finished with 108 yards and a score last week against Bowling Green to help the RedHawks clinch their berth in the MAC title game.
Surprisingly, that score against BGSU was only his fourth TD of the season. It was also tied for the shortest TD run he’s had this season — 27 yards.
Mozee hasn’t gotten into the end zone a ton, nor has he been a red zone threat. But it’s safe to say he’s provided a boost this Miami offense needed, and he’s a big reason why the RedHawks are playing for their second consecutive MAC title.
