Miami University’s quest for a record 16th Mid-American Conference football championship begins in earnest this week.

The 3-3 RedHawks are 2-0 in the MAC East Division and have finished nonconference play, and they’ll visit Bowling Green (3-3, 1-1) on Saturday.

MU coach Don Treadwell feels his players are ready for a strong stretch drive, even after three beatings from Top 25 teams.

“I think (the look in their eyes) is predicated on my look, and if my look is excited and focused and ready to go, then chances are the rest of the group is going to be that same way,” Treadwell said Tuesday during his weekly press conference.

“We’ve got great leadership and a really good group of seniors that are excited about the opportunity they have in front of them.”

Miami will be facing a BGSU squad that leads the MAC in scoring defense (20.3 points per game) and total defense (343.0 yards per game).

The RedHawks have a 42-21-5 advantage in this series and have dominated of late at Bowling Green’s Doyt Perry Stadium, winning their last six games there. They haven’t lost on Falcon turf since 1997.

“They certainly have our attention with their ability to play tremendous defense,” Treadwell said of BGSU, which is led by 6-foot-1, 293-pound defensive tackle Chris Jones. “I think they demonstrated that very well in their most recent game. I think we would all agree Akron has a pretty explosive offense, and they held Akron to 10 points.”

Bowling Green had to rally from a 10-0 halftime deficit in that 24-10 win over the Zips last Saturday.

“They’ve got excellent linebackers and play with a lot of speed,” Treadwell said. “You can see that they’re a veteran group, and they’re pretty sharp on the back end.”

The Falcons chewed up 292 yards on the ground against Akron, and Miami is allowing 242.7 rushing yards per contest.

Treadwell said MU’s defensive numbers have been skewed a bit by the Top 25 opponents. He believes that unit has been better than its yardage numbers.

“What still matters most is, of course, points,” Treadwell said. “We’re more concerned with that than in between the goal lines. And quite honestly we’ve done a pretty darn good job, especially in the critical times of games, and especially when you throw in these nonconference teams that are Top 20 programs.

“When your defense has held three darn good teams pretty darn well through the first half, we’ve got to do a better job offensively as well. We’ve asked the defense to do a lot in those three games in particular, and the offense hasn’t done a whole lot in the second half of those games.”

On the injury front, Treadwell said strong safety Justin Bowers (leg) and defensive tackle Austin Brown (back) will likely be out again Saturday. He noted that a lot of players are dealing with bumps and bruises after last weekend’s 52-14 loss at Cincinnati.

Outside linebacker Chris Wade continues to impress. He’s had five straight double-digit tackling performances.

“The defense allows him to do certain things because of the nature of what they ask in the scheme, but he also is a pretty exceptional guy in terms of being able to be more than just a player on the field,” Treadwell said. “There’s a lot of intangibles involved. Certain guys just have a knack for making plays.”

Don’t be surprised if Andy Cruse gets more opportunities to return punts for the RedHawks. He stepped in and had an 11-yard return against the Bearcats.

“We just wanted to give another guy an opportunity to see if we can catch it and get vertical, and sure as heck he did,” Treadwell said. “He’s got sure hands, and I think he understands the game.”