By Colin McGuigan
GAME DAY DETAILS
Colorado State (8-4, 6-1 MW) vs. Miami (Ohio) (8-5, 7-1 MAC)
Saturday, Dec. 28 – 2:30 PM MT
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop
Arizona Stadium – Tucson, Ariz.
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FORT COLLINS – Colorado State has accepted an invitation to play in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin and Juice by Snoop and Dre in Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 28 at 2:30 p.m. MT. The Rams will face Miami (Ohio) at Arizona Stadium and the game will be televised on The CW.
“I’m so excited to be heading back to the Arizona Bowl,” said coach Jay Norvell. “It’s a great venue and fantastic hospitality. It will be a lot of fun for our fans and our team. It’s a great reward for seniors and we’re excited to finish our season with a bowl win and gain great momentum going into 2025. It’s been our goal from the start to be a bowl team year-in and year-out and this is a great springboard for our program for the future.”
CSU finished the regular season with an 8-4 overall record and 5-1 in Mountain West play. The eight wins were the most in a season since 2014 and the Rams will play in a bowl game for the first time since 2017. This will be the Rams’ second time going to the Arizona Bowl – the first a loss to Nevada, 28-23, in the inaugural playing of the bowl.
Colorado State will play in its 18th bowl game and has earned 17 of its 18 bowl invitations since 1990. The Rams last appearance was the 2017 Gildan New Mexico Bowl and ended a five-year run of qualifying for a bowl, starting in 2013 at the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. CSU followed with the 2014 Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl, 2015 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl and 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
“This fall has been really special,” said Director of Athletics, John Weber. “We have seen so many students and teams realize great success as a direct result of their hard work. I am really proud of our football program for earning an invitation to the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl in Tucson, Arizona. These students under Coach Norvell’s leadership have continued to grow, and this season has been a real success. Ram Country has been a big part of this success, and we could not be more appreciative of the amazing support we have received on campus and in Canvas Stadium. Competing in the postseason for all of programs is our goal and expectation, and it is important. We could not be more thrilled to be traveling to part of the country where many Rams live, but we are equally excited that this bowl provides another opportunity to shine a spotlight on this great University. Colorado State is world-class, and we have another national platform to tell the story of how the people and work being done on campus are making amazing impacts in our community and around the world.”
CSU’s first bowl was the 1949 Raisin Bowl in Fresno, Calif., vs. Occidental College. The school endured a 40-year bowl drought until the 1990 Freedom Bowl, which was followed by a run of nine bowl appearances in a 12-season span from 1994-2005 under Sonny Lubick.
This is coach Jay Norvell‘s first bowl appearance with Colorado State and his second appearance in the Arizona Bowl. Norvell is 2-1 in bowl games as a head coach, leading the Nevada Wolf Pack to four-consecutive bowl appearances (Norvell did not coach Nevada in the 2021 Quick Lane bowl). In Norvell’s tenure as both a player and a coach, he has participated in 16 total bowls.
The RedHawks enter the game 8-5 on the season following Saturday’s 38-3 loss to Ohio in the MAC Championship game. The two programs have played twice – the RedHawks winning both; the last meeting in 2010 in Oxford, Ohio
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GAME NOTES
https://miamiredhawks.com/documents/2024/12/22/Game_Notes_-_Bowl.pdf
The Miami University football team looks to win its first bowl game since 2021, when they travel to Tucson, Ariz., to face Colorado State in the 2024 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl. The contest will be carried live on the CW Network and begins at 4:30 p.m.
About Miami
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (732), conference wins (324), MAC Championships (17) and bowl wins (8).
• Historically, Miami’s 732 career wins are third all-time among Group-of-Five programs, behind just Navy (745) and Army (736).
• Miami was 4-14 in Coach Martin’s first 18 Mid-American Conference games. Since then, the RedHawks are 49-19 in their last 68 games versus schools from the MAC.
• This will be Miami’s 16th bowl appearance and fifth-straight, dating back to 2020. Miami is 8-7 all-time in bowl games. With eight wins this season, Miami is bowl eligible for the seventh-straight year and eight of the last nine seasons.
• 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.
• After opening the season 1-4, Miami won seven-straight contests to advance to their second-straight MAC title game back on Dec. 7. The loss to Ohio snapped the longest win streak under Coach Martin.
• Over the past two years Miami has a combined for 19 wins, the fourth-best two-year span in Miami history. Only the 2003-04, 1973-74 and 1974-75 squads combined for more wins (21).
• Twelve members of the Miami University football team were named All-MAC. Brett Gabbert, Reid Holskey, Javon Tracy*, Dom Dzioban, Brian Ugwu, Matt Salopek and Raion Strader* earned first-team All-MAC. Reggie Virgil*, Keyon Mozee, Corey Suttle and Ty Wise all found their way on second-team and Eli Blakey earned third-team honors.
*Entered transfer portal.
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 138-74.
• He is 64-67 all-time at Miami (51-33 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 Colorado State
Colorado State comes in with a record of 8-4 (6-1 in Mountain West play) after scoring 29 fourth-quarter points to rally for a win in their regular-season finale. The Rams won six of their last seven games and posted the program’s highest win total since 2014. Nine CSU players were named All-Conference this season, including three offensive linemen (led by First-Team selection Jacob Gardner). Quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi has thrown for 2,475 yards and 13 touchdowns, completing better than 61% of his passes. Avery Morrow has nine rushing touchdowns and 956 yards on the ground (5.8 yards per carry). The Rams will be making their first bowl appearance since the 2017 New Mexico Bowl.
Series History Versus Colorado State
Miami is 2-0 all-time versus Colorado State, but these two programs have not squared off since 2010. A Ben Roethlisberger led team beat CSU 41-21 on the road back in 2003 and Miami downed Colorado State 31-10 back in 2010 in the only two meetings.
Bowl History
The RedHawks are 8-7 all-time in bowl games.
1948 Sun Bowl (Won 13-12 vs. Texas Tech)
1950 Salad Bowl (Won 34-21 vs. Arizona State)
1962 Tangerine Bowl (Lost, 49-21 vs. Houston)
1973 Tangerine Bowl (Won, 16-7 vs. Florida)
1974 Tangerine Bowl (Won, 21-10 vs. Georgia)
1975 Tangerine Bowl (Won, 20-7 vs. South Carolina)
1986 California Bowl (Lost, 37-7 vs. San Jose State)
2003 GMAC Bowl (Won, 49-28 vs. Louisville)
2004 Independence Bowl (Lost, 17-13 vs. Iowa State)
2010 GoDaddy Bowl (Won, 35-21 vs. Middle Tennessee State)
2016 St. Petersburg Bowl (Lost, 17-16 vs. Mississippi State)
2020 LendingTree Bowl (Lost, 27-17 vs. Louisiana)
2021 Frisco Football Classic (Won, 27-14 vs. North Texas)
2022 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl (Lost, 24-20 vs. UAB)
2023 Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl (Lost, 13-9 vs. App State)
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 22-5 under Coach Martin.
Offensive Improvements
Through the first five games of the 2024 season, Miami averaged just 13.6 points and only scored four touchdowns. Since then, Miami has scored at least 28 points in six of the past eight contests, including 46 versus Central Michigan and 38 in a win at Eastern Michigan.
Bombs Away
Miami’s offense has also been explosive in the big play category over the past eight weeks. From weeks 1-5, Miami had 12 plays of over 20 yards. The RedHawks have 34 plays of over 20 yards, 13 of those coming on the ground over the past eight weeks.
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 seven 100-yard games (and 91 yards in the win over NIU) and Miami is 7-0 when Mozee goes for 100-plus yards (UMass, EMU, Ohio, CMU, Ball State, Kent State and BGSU). Mozee’s seven 100-yard games is tied for seventh in single season Miami history.
Joining the 1,000-Yard Club
Keyon Mozee has rushed for 1,073 yards this season and is just the 23rd player in program history to rush 1,000 yards in a single season. He has also rushed for 2,251 yards in his career, 149 yards shy of cracking the top-10 in Miami history.
Gabbert In The History Books
Brett Gabbert, who missed the last six games of the 2023 season with a leg injury, has made 51 starts in his career and is all over the Miami record books. He ranks third in program history with 10,630 passing yards, sixth in completion percentage (.590) and second in passing touchdowns (80). He is responsible for 87 touchdowns (80 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 18 touchdown passes and is second in touchdown to interception ratio (18:4).
• This will be Gabbert’s third start in a bowl game (missed 2022 and 2023).
Trench Warfare
Miami’s offensive line is the most experienced unit on the 2024 roster. Reid Holskey has started each of the last 53 games for the Red and White and is followed by Kolby Borders (36), and John Young (27). Those three have combined to start 116 games and all three started all 14 games a year ago. Charlie Nank has made 12 starts at center and Greg Smith has one start in his career. Will Jados, who entered the transfer portal after the MAC Championship Game started 37 games at left tackle.
New Pass Catchers
With Javon Tracy (first-team All-MAC) and Veggie Virgil (second-team All-MAC) entering the transfer portal, Brett Gabbert will have several new faces to throw the ball to.
• Cade McDonald is second on the team with 49 receptions this season and has two 100-yard games against Northwestern and Cincinnati.
• Kam Perry, a transfer from Indiana, has eight catches for 109 yards in 11 games.
• Cole Weaver has one catch in his career, a 24-yard touchdown earlier this year against Eastern Michigan.
Monsters of the MAC
The RedHawks rank 16th nationally in scoring defense (18.9), 24th in total defense (321.4), 47th in rush defense (136.8), 25th in pass defense (184.5), seventh in passing defensive efficiency (108.4) and 49th in sacks (30).
Tackling Machine
Linebacker Matt Salopek, the reigning 2023 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, has 505 career tackles and has surpassed 100 stops in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Salopek, is the first player in program history to have at least 100 tackles in four different seasons. His 505 tackles ranks fifth all-time in program history.
53 And Counting…
Matt Salopek made his 53rd career start versus Ohio in the MAC Championship, but he is not the only defender that has played a ton of football on the defensive side of the ball. Kobe Hilton (46), Brian Ugwu (33), Ty Wise (31) and Eli Blakey (24) have all started at least 20 games for Miami’s defense.
Ugwu Closing in on a Career Year
Senior Brian Ugwu, a transfer from Rutgers, ranks fifth in program history with 20.5 sacks. He had 5.0 sacks back in 2022 and 8.0 sacks in 2023. This year, the defensive lineman has 54 tackles, a career-best 14.0 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He also has a pair of fumble recoveries in 2024.
Double Duty
Throughout his Miami career Ty Wise has played multiple positions on the Miami defense. He has recorded 226 tackles, many from his middle linebacker position, but also has 15.0 career sacks rushing the passer at defensive end. In 35 career games he has added 23.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and three forced fumbles. He set a MAC Championship record with 17 tackles versus Ohio.
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 23-of-27 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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