By Annabella Ramirez
GAME NOTES
https://miamiredhawks.com/documents/2024/11/24/Game_Notes_-_2024_BG.pdf
The Miami University football team, winners of six-straight, travel to face the Bowling Green Falcons on Friday, Nov. 29 at 12 p.m. A win would send Miami to their third MAC Championship Game in six years.
About Miami
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (731), conference wins (323), MAC Championships (17) and bowl wins (8).
• Historically, Miami’s 731 career wins are third all-time among Group-of-Five programs, behind just Navy (744) and Army (735).
• Miami was 4-14 in Coach Martin’s first 18 Mid-American Conference games. Since then, the RedHawks are 48-18 in their last 66 games versus schools from the MAC.
• Miami captured its second MAC Championship in the last five years, defeating Toledo 23-14 last season. Chuck Martin won his first MAC Championship back in 2019.
• With seven wins this season, Miami is bowl eligible for the seventh-straight year and eight of the last nine seasons. From 2006-15, Miami was bowl-eligible just twice.
• Since Oct. 15, 2016, Miami has lost back-to-back conference games just twice in that span (2017, 2022). Miami is 16-3 following a conference loss, dating back to midway through the 2016 campaign.
About Chuck Martin
• Chuck Martin was named Miami head coach on Dec. 3, 2013.
• He was named a 2023 Finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.
• 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 21 seasons. Martin has an all-time head coaching record of 137-73.
• He is 63-66 all-time at Miami (50-32 in MAC play) and has won more games at Miami than any other coach. The previous high was held by Randy Walker (60 wins).
• 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 Bowling Green
Bowling Green, winners of five straight, enters Friday’s action at 7-4 overall and 6-1 in conference play. Quarterback Connor Bazelak has thrown for 2,453 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, while Harold Fannin Jr. has 92 grabs for 1,295 yards and nine touchdowns from the tight end position.
Last Meeting Versus The Falcons
Miami defeated Bowling Green 27-0 back on Oct. 7, 2023. Brett Gabbert completed 83% of his passes (15-18), throwing for 170 yards and two scores, and averaged better than five yards per carry. Miami held Bowling Green to 135 yards of total offense (63 rushing, 72 passing).
Smashing Pumpkins
Miami is 47-25-5 against Bowling Green in the all-time series. The RedHawks have won four of the past five contests, but dropped a 17-13 decision back in 2022 at Doyt Perry Stadium. In three career starts versus BGSU, Brett Gabbert has thrown for 622 yards and seven touchdowns and Matt Salopek has 22 tackles and 1.0 TFL in his career versus the Falcons.
Slow Starts
Slow starts are nothing new for Miami football, mostly due to the tough non-conference schedule the team plays every year. Since 2016, Miami continues to improve as the season moves forward. In the months of Aug./Sept. Miami is 13-23. In October, Miami is 19-14 and by the time they reach November, the RedHawks are 21-5 under Coach Martin.
We’re Going Streaking
A win on Friday versus the Falcons would give Miami a seven-game win streak, their longest during the Martin era. The last time Miami won at least seven games in a row … 2003 when the RedHawks won 12-straight contests. During the six-game win streak Miami has trailed for just 10:27 of 360 minutes of play.
Best Win Streaks Under Martin
6 wins – 2024 (Oct. 12-Current)
6 wins – 2023 (Sept. 9-Oct. 14)
6 wins – 2016 (Oct. 15-Nov. 22)
5 wins – 2023 (Oct. 28-Dec. 2)
5 wins – 2019 (Oct. 19-Nov. 20)
NIU Recap
Miami scored on three straight possessions in the first half and went on to defeat Northern Illinois 20-9 last Tuesday night. Reggie Virgil made four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown for the RedHawks, who won their sixth game in a row.
• Four different RedHawks made double-digit tackles in the game: Matt Salopek (13), Ty Wise (season-high 11), Eli Blakey (10) and Silas Walters (10).
• Matt Salopek moved into fifth place in program history for career tackles with 491, passing Kent McCormick (488) and Matt Pusateri (485).
• Dylan Downing scored his first touchdown as a RedHawk.
• Reggie Virgil caught a touchdown for the sixth game in a row.
Gabbert threw for 207 yards and extended his streak of consecutive pass attempts without an interception to 117 before a pick late in the second quarter.
Bombs Away
Miami’s offense has also been explosive in the big play category over the past six weeks. From weeks 1-5, Miami had 12 plays of over 20 yards. During this six-game win streak, the RedHawks have 30 plays of over 20 yards, 12 of those coming on the ground. Brett Gabbert is averaging 16.1 yards a completion over the past six games (74 completions for 1,193 yards).
Mozee On Down
Helping with the recent offensive output has been senior running back Keyon Mozee. Mozee had just 60 combined rushing yards in the first three games. Since then, he has posted six 100-yard games (and 91 yards in the win over NIU) and Miami is 6-0 when Mozee goes for 100-plus yards (UMass, EMU, Ohio, CMU, Ball State and Kent State). Mozee’s six 100-yard games is tied for 10th in single season Miami history. The last player to record at least six 100-yard games in a season is Travis Prentice in 1999.
Running Towards 1,000
Keyon Mozee is 63 yards shy of 1,000 yards rushing this season and would be just the 23rd player in program history to rush 1,000 yards in a single season. It would also give Miami back-to-back 1,000 yard rushers for the first time since 2002 and 2003. Prior to this year, the senior had 1,178 yards rushing in 36 career games.
Gabbert In The History Books
Brett Gabbert, who missed the last six games of the 2023 season with a leg injury, has made 49 starts in his career and is all over the Miami record books. He ranks third in program history with 10,248 passing yards, sixth in completion percentage (.589) and second in passing touchdowns (77). He is also 29 yards shy of 500 career rushing yards and is responsible for 84 touchdowns (77 passing, 7 rushing) in his career.
Five More Tidbits on #5
• Back in 2019, Gabbert became the first true freshman to start at quarterback in program history.
• He was named the 2019 MAC Freshman of the Year.
• Younger brother of former NFL quarterback, Blaine Gabbert
• In conference games only, he leads the MAC with 15 touchdown passes and is second in touchdown to interception ratio (15:2).
• Last week his streak of 117 passes without an interception was snapped.
Balanced Passing Attack
Brett Gabbert has been spreading the ball around all season long. Miami has three different receivers averaging at least 51 yards receiving per game and his top targets have all had their moments.
• Cade McDonald is second on the team with 38 receptions this season and has two 100-yard games against Northwestern and Cincinnati.
• Javon Tracy leads the team with 47 catches and is second with 669 yards receiving. His steak of four-straight games with a TD was snapped, but he did throw a 30-yard touchdown versus NIU.
• Reggie Virgil has a team-high eight touchdown receptions this season and leads the way with 705 receiving yards. He comes into the BGSU contest having scored a touchdown in six-straight games.
Trench Warfare
Miami’s offensive line is the most experienced unit on the 2024 roster. Reid Holskey has started each of the last 51 games for the Red and White and is followed by Will Jados (35), Kolby Borders (34), and John Young (25). Those four have combined to start 145 games and all four started all 14 games a year ago. Charlie Nank has made 10 starts at center and Greg Smith has one start in his career. That’s 156 starts combined for the offensive line.
Monsters of the MAC
In conference games, Miami’s defense ranks near the top in neither every statistical category. The RedHawks rank second in scoring (15.4), second in total defense (278.4), second in rush defense (98.6), fourth in pass defense (179.9), second in sacks (21) and first in interceptions (10).
• Over the past four weeks, Miami’s defense has allowed just five touchdowns.
• Opponents are averaging 2.8 yards pur rush over the past four games (381 yards on 138 carries)
• Miami has forced seven turnovers and has recorded 14 sacks over the past month.
Tackling Machine
Linebacker Matt Salopek, the reigning 2023 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, has 491 career tackles and has surpassed 100 stops in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Salopek, who has 99 tackles on the season, is one tackle shy of becoming the first RedHawk in program history to have four 100-tackle seasons. His 491 tackles ranks fifth all-time in program history.
51 And Counting…
Matt Salopek made his 51st start last week versus NIU, but he is not the only defender that has played a ton of football on the defensive side of the ball. Kobe Hilton (45), Brian Ugwu (31), Ty Wise (29), Raion Strader (22) and Eli Blakey (22) have all started at least 20 games.
Kicker University
For the second-straight year Miami has a placekicker up for the Lou Groza Award. Dom Dzioban is one of 20 semifinalist for the nation’s top kicker. He currently has made 22-of-26 field goals, including a Yager Stadium record five makes in the win over Central Michigan. Last season Graham Nicholson won the Lou Groza (made 27-of-28 FGs) and prior to that, Sam Sloman made 48-of-61 kicks from 2016-19, eventually getting drafted by the LA Rams.
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