By Packy Moore
GAME NOTES
https://miamiredhawks.com/documents/2024/8/27/Game_Notes_-_2024_Northwestern.pdf
The Miami University football team opens the 2024 season with a trip to Northwestern on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 3:30 p.m. The contest will be carried live on Big Ten Network.
About Miami
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (724), conference wins (317), MAC Championships (17) and bowl wins (8).
• Historically, Miami’s 724 career wins are third all-time among Group-of-Five programs, behind just Navy (738) and Army (727).
• Miami was 4-14 in Coach Martin’s first 18 Mid-American Conference games. Since then, the RedHawks are 42-17 in their last 59 games versus schools from the MAC.
• Last season Miami went 11-3 overall and 7-1 in conference play. The RedHawks defeated Toledo in the MAC Championship and played in the Cure Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) versus App State.
• The RedHawks have 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) in 2023 and Northwestern (17-14) in 2022. Miami has not downed a Power-5 team three straight years since 1998-2000.
• Last year Miami beat both Cincinnati (31-24) and Ohio (30-16) in the same season. The last time that happened was 2005.
• The last time Miami won 11 games in a season, NFL future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was taking snaps for Miami back in 2003 (13-1). The 11 wins last season were tied for the second-most in program history.
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 130-69.
• 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.
• Martin’s 118 games coached at Miami is tops in program history and his 56 career wins ranks behind only Randy Walker (59).
About Northwestern
Northwestern finished 2023 at 8-5 overall and went 5-4 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats added a 14-7 win over Utah in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl a year ago. The Wildcats will have a much different quarterback room in 2024 after Ben Bryant graduated (1,807 passing yards at 13 TDs), while leading rusher Cam Porter (651 yards, 4 TDs) returns. Defensively, Northwestern allowed 22.5 points per game and will be led by Xander Mueller, who was second on the team last year with 110 tackles and 5.0 sacks.
Series Vs. Northwestern
Miami leads the all-time series between the teams 7-3, including a run of five consecutive victories in Evanston between 1964 and 2003. Miami is 7-2 all-time on the road in this series.
Last Meeting Versus Wildcats
Graham Nicholson made a 36-yard field goal with 21 seconds left as Miami rallied for a 17-14 win at Northwestern back on Sept. 24, 2022. Keyon Mozee rushed 21 times for a career-high 171 yards to lead the RedHawks’ offensive attack. Matt Salopek had eight tackles and one tackle for loss and the RedHawks blocked two punts in the victory.
Northwestern Connection
Randy Walker served as head coach for Miami from 1990-1998, capturing 59 wins (most in program history). He left southwest Ohio to be the head coach at Northwestern from 1999-2006, capturing a Big Ten title in 2000. Coach Walker passed away on June 29, 2006 due to an apparent heart attack. Walker is a member of Miami’s Hall of Fame (inducted in 1992) and Cradle of Coaches (inducted in 2008).
Preseason Awards
Six RedHawks were honored with preseason awards this summer, with several garnering multiple accolades:
Reid Holskey – Outland Trophy/Lombardi/Senior Bowl Watch List
Matt Salopek – Bronco Nagurski/Chuck Bednarik/Action Network All-American/Lombardi
Alec Bevelhimer – Ray Guy Award/The Athletic 2nd Team All-American
Brett Gabbert – Davey O’Brien/Johnny Unitas
Ty Wise – Senior Bowl Watch List
Kolby Borders – Senior Bowl Watch List
What Returns on Offense?
Offensively, Miami returns its top quarterback, two of its top three pass catchers and four starters along the offensive line. Brett Gabbert threw for 1,634 yards and 14 touchdowns last season before missing the final six contests with a leg injury, while Cade McDonald and Javon Tracy combined for 50 catches for 703 yards and five scores a year ago. Tight end Jack Coldiron is also back after playing just one game a year ago and Will Jados, Kolby Borders, Reid Holskey and John Young all return along the offensive line. All four started all 14 games during the 2023 campaign.
What Returns on Defense?
Miami returns six starters from last season’s defense that allowed 15.9 points and 330.4 yards per contest. Three of Miami’s top five tacklers are back (Matt Salopek, Ty Wise and Brian Ugwu), while Miami returns 25 of last season’s 35 sacks, led by Wise (8.0) and Ugwu (8.0). Raion Strader, who earned a spot on the FWAA Freshman All-American Team, will also return.
Monsters of the MAC
Miami’s defense was downright frightening in conference play in 2023. Last season, Miami ranked first in scoring (10.8), total defense (272.5) and sacks (27). Miami was second in rush defense (114.4) and pass defense (158.1). The RedHawks shut out two MAC opponents (BGSU and Akron) and allowed just three points in a win over Kent State. Miami allowed just nine touchdowns in eight MAC games last season.
Tackling Machine
Linebacker Matt Salopek, the reigning 2023 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, has 392 career tackles and has surpassed 100 stops in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The last time Miami had a player record 100-plus tackles three straight seasons was Matt Pusateri from 2002-04 and no RedHawk has ever secured 100-plus tackles in four-straight seasons. His 392 tackles ranks 11th all-time in program history.
Living on the Edge
Miami’s defense ranked first in the MAC and 26th nationally with 35 sacks last season. Brian Ugwu (8.0) and Ty Wise (8.0) each ranked in the top-5 in the MAC and were 41st and 48th nationally.
40 And Counting…
Matt Salopek made his 40th career start last season in the Cure Bowl, but he is not the only defender that has played a ton of football on the defensive side of the ball. Kobe Hilton (36), Brian Ugwu (20) and Ty Wise (19) are closing in on at least 20 career starts as well.
Gabbert In The History Book
Brett Gabbert, who missed the last six games of the 2023 season with a leg injury, has made 39 starts in his career and 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.
New Skills Challenge
Miami’s top receiver (Gage Larvadain) and top rusher (Rashad Amos) from last season transferred to Power-5 programs after the 2023 season, so Miami added several new Power-5 players to the roster for 2024. Dylan Downing (37 games played at Purdue), wide receiver Andre Johnson (37 games played at Arizona State) and wide receiver Kam Perry (nine games played at Indiana in 2023) are all expected to play large roles to help fill those shoes this season.
Trench Warfare
Miami’s offensive line is expected to be one of the RedHawks’ top units entering 2024. Reid Holskey has started each of the last 40 games for the Red and White and is followed by Will Jados (24), Kolby Borders (23), and John Young (14). Those four have combined to start 101 games and all four started all 14 games a year ago.
Special, Special Teams
Miami had arguably the top special teams unit in the nation a year ago, but things are a bit different in 2024. Special Teams Coordinator Jacob Bronowski took a job at Pittsburgh and Graham Nicholson, the 2023 Lou Groza Award winner, transferred to Alabama. Alec Bevelhimer returns after finishing 19th in the country with a 45.0 punting average and Cade McDonald was eighth nationally with a 12.7 punt return average. Miami blocked five field goals and an extra point last season and Silas Walters led the country in special teams tackles with 11.
Sean McVay Joins Cradle of Coaches
Miami added a 10th bronze statue to its Cradle of Coaches in Sean McVay back in 2023. McVay, the current head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, joined Ara Parseghian, Paul Brown, Weeb Ewbank, John Harbaugh, John Pont, Carm Cozza, Bo Schembechler, Red Blaik, and Paul Dietzel in the south end of Yager Stadium.
New Faces New Places
The transfer portal has changed college football and Miami is no different. The RedHawks have 19 players on the team that transferred from other schools: Connor Briggs (Southeastern Louisiana), Jordan Brunson (Virginia Tech), Jeremiah Caldwell (Louisville), Preston Daniel (Florida State), Dylan Downing (Purdue), Luke Evans (Mississippi State), Savio Frazier (Mercer), William Hardrick (Mississippi State), Andre Johnson (Arizona State), Maddox Kopp (Colorado), Jackson Kuwatch (Ohio State), Cade McDonald (Michigan State), Keyon Mozee (Kansas State), Kam Perry (Indiana), Corey Suttle (Iowa State), Brian Ugwu (Rutgers), Cameron Williams (Indiana), Ty Wise (Indiana) and John Young (Kentucky).
Graduating Champions
Before Miami even takes the field in 2024, 19 different RedHawks will have already earned their Miami degree: Jordan Brunson, Jack Coldiron, Preston Daniel, Kevin Davis, Dylan Downing, Dom Dzioban, Brett Gabbert, Kobe Hilton, Reid Holskey, Andre Johnson, Cade McDonald, Keyon Mozee, TJ Rush, Matt Salopek, Corey Suttle, Kenny Tracy, Brian Ugwu, Cameron Williams and Ty Wise.
If You Build It…
Miami’s Director of Athletics, David Sayler continues to add facilities for the department. The two newest football installments can be seen just north of Yager Stadium. The new David and Anita Dauch Indoor Sports Center (DISC) opened in February of 2015 and features a full-length 120-yard field and four sprint lanes.
Between Yager Stadium and the DISC is the Athletic Performance Center. The APC provides much-needed upgrades to Miami Football’s locker room and offices while also hosting a state-of-the-art medical and athletic training facility that serves all Miami’s student-athletes.
COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
