By Bane Rossi
MIAMI GAME NOTES
https://miamiredhawks.com/documents/2023/10/24/Game_Notes_-_2023-Ohio.pdf
The Miami University football team looks to start a new win streak this Saturday (Oct. 28) with a trip to Athens to face the Ohio Bobcats in the annual Battle of the Bricks. Opening kick is slated for 3:30 p.m.
Television
The matchup with Ohio will be carried live on CBSSN. Jason Knapp will handle play-by-play duties, while Malik Zaire will serve as the color analyst.
Radio
In its fifth year of its partnership with Van Wagner, the Miami Sports Network continues its coverage of Miami Football with a group of affiliates blanketing most of Southwest Ohio and Southeast Indiana. “The Voice of the RedHawks” Steve Baker will deliver the play-by-play coverage, while Terry Bridge will provide color commentary. Tune-in to one of Miami’s gameday affiliates:
WMOH-AM 1450 (Hamilton, Ohio)
WFMG-FM 101.3 (Richmond, Ind.)
WDBZ-AM 1230 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
WONE-AM 980 (Dayton, Ohio)
First And Ten
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (719), conference wins (313), MAC Championships (16) and bowl wins (8).
• Historically, Miami’s 719 career wins, ranks third all-time among Group-of-Five programs, behind just Navy (736) and Army (722).
• Miami was 4-14 in Coach Martin’s first 18 Mid-American Conference games. Since then, the RedHawks are 37-17 in their last 54 games versus schools from the MAC, the best record in the conference during that span.
• Miami and James Madison are the only schools in the country with four road wins this season. The RedHawks are 4-1 on the road this year with their only loss coming in week one at Miami.
• After competing in the 2022 Bahamas Bowl and capturing their sixth win earlier this year, the RedHawks have now been bowl eligible seven of the last eight seasons. From 2006-15, Miami was bowl eligible just twice.
• The RedHawks have picked up Power-5 victories in two straight years, downing Cincinnati (31-24) this season and Northwestern (17-14) a year ago.
• Since early in the 2016 season Miami has lost back-to-back MAC games just twice in that span. In fact, Miami is now 13-2 following a MAC loss under Martin, dating back to Oct. 15, 2016.
• Martin, in his 10th year leading the RedHawks, has a new look on offense in 2023. Offensive Coordinator Pat Welsh returns for his 10th year with Martin, but his first as offensive coordinator. Defensively, Bill Brechin begins year two as the defensive coordinator (10th year at Miami). Special Teams Coordinator Jacob Bronowski is in his second year with the Red and White.
About Chuck Martin
• Head coach Chuck Martin, who earned that title on Dec. 3, 2013, brings an impressive resume to Oxford, Ohio.
• Not only was he 74-7 in six years at Grand Valley State (2004-09), he has coached in seven national championship games in the past 20 seasons. Martin has an all-time head coaching record of 125-68.
• He has twice been named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) National Coach of the Year and has been a coordinator on both sides of the ball.
• Martin was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Grand Valley State University on Oct. 23, 2015.
About Ohio
Ohio has an identical 6-2 overall and 3-1 conference record entering Saturday’s action, which includes a 20-17 victory at Western Michigan last week. Offensively, the Bobcats average 22.5 points per game and are led by quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who has thrown for 1,343 yards and nine touchdowns while adding 184 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Defensively, Ohio ranks sixth in the nation in scoring defense (13.4) and fourth in total defense (245.1).
Series Vs. Bobcats
Miami leads the all-time series 54-42-2 against Ohio in the Battle of the Bricks. Ohio has won 26 of the 48 meetings in Athens and 13 of the last 16 games in the series overall. The rival programs have faced off every year since 1945 except for 2020 (COVID). This will be the teams’ first meeting on a Saturday since 2016.
Last Meeting
Ohio prevailed 37-21 last November despite a career-high three touchdown receptions by Miami’s Mac Hippenhammer and a career-best 19 tackles by Ryan McWood. The visitors scored on each of their final six possessions to hold off the RedHawks.
Memorable Meeting
Miami stunned No. 23 Ohio 23-20 in Oxford in 2012, spoiling the previously unbeaten Bobcats’ first game as a ranked team in more than 40 years. OU drove the ball inside the RedHawks’ 10-yard line in the final seconds, but with no timeouts remaining, Miami’s Wes Williams sacked Tyler Tettleton to end the game. Zac Dysert completed 21 of 36 passes for 311 yards and Nick Harwell produced his 14th career 100-yard receiving game to lead the home team, while Kaleb Patterson’s field goal with 1:24 to play proved to be the difference.
Toledo Recap
The Miami University football team fell to visiting Toledo 21-17 last Saturday, snapping the RedHawks’ six-game winning streak. The RedHawks held the Rockets scoreless in the second half, but were unable to complete the comeback attempt after trailing 21-3 at halftime. Rashad Amos and Kenny Tracy each scored rushing touchdowns for Miami, while starting quarterback Brett Gabbert was 14-of-29 for 179 yards through the air before leaving the game late in the third quarter with a lower-body injury.
Tidbits Versus Rockets
• Graham Nicholson moved into a tie for fourth on Miami’s all-time list with his 47th career field goal, matching Chad Seitz.
• Miami forced the Rockets to punt on seven consecutive possessions in the second half.
• Rashad Amos had 10 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown for the Red and White.
• Gage Larvadain led the RedHawks with seven catches for 85 yards.
• Ty Wise made a career-high 13 tackles, while Matt Salopek added 10.
Bend But Don’t Break
At times, Miami’s defense has surrendered yards between the 20’s, but once the opposition gets to the red zone, the RedHawks have turned them away. In 24 trips inside Miami’s 20-yard line, the RedHawks have allowed just 11 touchdowns.
Monsters of the MAC
Miami’s defense has been downright frightening in conference play. Through four games, Miami ranks first in scoring (11.3), total defense (240.5), pass defense (134.5), third down conversion defense (24.1) and sacks (16). Miami is second in rushing defense (106.0) and time of possession (31:58).
Living on the Edge
Miami’s defense ranks first in the MAC and 15th nationally with 21 sacks this season. A majority of those sacks have come from Miami’s edge players. Defensive ends Caiden Woullard (6.0) and Brian Ugwu (4.5) rank first and fifth in the conference, while Ty Wise is ninth (4.0).
40 And Counting…
Defensive tackle Austin Ertl is expected to make his 40th start on Saturday in the trenches, but he is not the only defensive standout that has started a bunch of games for the RedHawks. Matt Salopek (34), Kobe Hilton (30), Jacquez Warren (29), Caiden Woullard (20) and Michael Dowell (20) have all started at least 20 games on defense for the RedHawks.
Gabbert In The History Book
Brett Gabbert, who started his 39th game at quarterback for the RedHawks last week versus Toledo, is all over the Miami record books. He ranks third in program history with 7,893 passing yards, sixth in completion percentage (.592) and third in passing touchdowns (59). He is also 18 yards shy of 500 career rushing yards and is responsible for 66 touchdowns (59 passing, 7 rushing) in his career.
Welcome Back
With Brett Gabbert suffering an injury late in the third quarter versus the Rockets, Miami is expected to lean on sophomore Aveon Smith. Smith, who started nine games for Miami last season, threw for 1,2989 yards and 11 touchdowns and added 553 yards and six scores on the ground in 2022. He was 5-4 as a starter last year, including a win at Northwestern and became the first player in school history to lead a team in both passing and rushing yards.
“Gage”ing Interest
Coming from a smaller school (Southeast Louisiana), Gage Larvadain did not receive much interest from the major programs, something Miami is thankful for. In his debut with the RedHawks, Larvadain had a game-high eight grabs for 80 yards versus the Hurricanes. He followed that up with eight catches for 273 yards and three scores versus UMass and had a 79-yard touchdown on the opening play versus Cincinnati. Despite missing two games, Larvadain ranks seventh in the MAC in catches (30), first in yards (572) and second in touchdowns (6).
Trench Warfare
Miami’s offensive line had two major holes to fill along the offensive line after losing both Rusty Feth and Caleb Shaffer to the transfer portal. Combined, those two started 69 games, dating back to 2019. Miami still has plenty of experience in 2023. Reid Holskey has started each of the last 34 games for the Red and White, followed by Will Jados (18), Kolby Borders (17), Sam Vaughan (15), Ben Jackson (9) and John Young (8).
Tackling Machine
Linebacker Matt Salopek has 327 career tackles and has surpassed 100 stops in each of the past two years. With 100 tackles (has 79 currently) in 2023 he would become the first Miami player to secure 100-plus tackles in three-straight seasons since Matt Pusateri did the same from 2002-04.
Nothing But Net
Placekicker Graham Nicholson has been perfect in 2023, connecting on 14-of-14 field goals and all 25 of his extra points. He is one of seven kickers in the country that has yet to miss a kick this season. In his career, he is 47-of-57 (82.5%) on field goals, including a game-winner last season at Northwestern. He also drilled a career-long 52-yarder in the win over BGSU. Nicholson was named Mid-Season All-America by the Sporting News and the Associated Press placed him on their second team.
Special, Special Teams
Graham Nicholson leads the MAC with 14 made field goals and is the only kicker in the conference that has yet to miss a kick. Punter Alec Bevelhimer leads the MAC with a 46.3 yard average and Kevin Davis is sixth in the league with a 20.8 yard kickoff return average.
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