Game #7: Miami (2-4, 2-1 MAC) vs. Kent State (1-5, 0-2 MAC)
Oct. 13, 2018 - 2:30 p.m.
Yager Stadium

This Week's Matchup
Miami University and Kent State University will square-off on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 2:30 p.m. at Yager Stadium. It is Miami's annual Faculty & Staff Appreciation/Cancer Awareness game.

Faculty and Staff Offer
Miami University Athletics is excited to announce a special ticket offer to the Saturday, Oct. 13 football game versus Kent State for all Miami Faculty and Staff. Miami faculty/staff and their families can receive discounted tickets starting at $10.

Special Helmets for Cancer Awareness Game
All 112 Miami University football player will be carrying a special message with them as they take the field for the Oct. 13 Cancer Awareness Game versus Kent State. Each player's helmet will feature a colored ribbon of their choice to symbolize how they have been affected by cancer. (MORE)
 
Television
The matchup with the Golden Flashes will be carried live on ESPN+. Jim Barber will handle play-by-play duties and John Gregory will serve as color analyst.

ESPN+
ESPN+ is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company's Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment in conjunction with ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) through the ESPN App or ESPN.com.  The ESPN App also provides fans separate access to all of ESPN's "TV Everywhere" streaming of its linear television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, etc.) and ESPN3 – to fans with a pay TV subscription. ESPN+ and ESPN's authenticated streaming is also available on ESPN.com.

Fans who have any questions about the new ESPN App or ESPN+, may contact ESPN customer care:

Online: support.espn.com
Phone: 1-888-549-ESPN
ESPN App: Live Chat Feature

Radio
In its 12th year of its partnership with IMG College, 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. Randy Hollowell will be the network's sideline reporter. 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)
WKBV-AM 1490 and 100.9 FM (Richmond, Ind.)

Need To Know
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (686), MAC Championships (15) and bowl wins (7).

Storylines
→ Miami looks to move to 3-1 in conference play versus Kent State. The last time Miami won three of its first four MAC games to open the season was back in 2012.
→ Miami has scored 118 points in its last three game, surpassing 38 points in all three contests. The last time Miami accomplished that was back in 2005 when it scored 119 combined points in a three game span.
→ Gus Ragland is closing in on 5,000 yards passing and 50 career passing touchdowns. The senior has 4,990 yards passing and 48 touchdown passes in his career.

About Chuck Martin
• Head coach Chuck Martin, who earned that title on Dec. 3, 2013, brings an impressive resume to Oxford, Ohio.
• Earlier this year Martin signed a contract extension that will run until 2020. 
• 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 16 seasons.  Martin has an all-time head coaching record of 92-44.
• 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.

Akron Recap
A hungry Miami defense came up with five takeaways, including four in the final quarter, to help the RedHawks cruise to a 41-17 win over Akron at InfoCision Stadium last Saturday. Brad Koenig was the standout of the game for the RedHawk defense, coming up with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Offensively, Kenny Young led the way with three total touchdowns.

Tidbits From Akron Contest
• Dominique Robinson, Mack Duffin, Travion Banks and Myles Reid all made their first career starts last week. Robinson finished the game with career-bests in catches (5) and yards (77).
• Offensive lineman Jordan Rigg picked up a fumble for a touchdown versus the Zips. The previous week he recorded a short rushing touchdown for a score and is currently tied for the team lead with two rushing touchdowns this year.
• Kenny Young returned to action after missing the previous two games with an injury. He had three carries for 78 yards and two touchdown and picked up his third score on a short reception.
• The Miami defense held Akron to 56 yards rushing on 28 carries. The RedHawks also added three sacks, 6.0 tackles for loss, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Brad Koenig had two interceptions and a fumble recovery to earn MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

About Kent State
Kent State is 1-5 overall and 0-2 in MAC play. Offensively, they average 25.8 points and 418.0 yards per game and are led by quarterback Woody Barrett. Barrett has thrown for 1,411 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Defensively Matt Bahr leads the team with 57 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. The Golden Flashes allow 37.5 points and 512.8 yards per game.

Series Vs. Kent State
Miami is 48-17 all-time versus the Flashes, despite a 17-14 loss last year at Kent State. Overall, Miami is 25-7 versus the Flashes all-time in Oxford, Ohio and have won two-straight home contests versus KSU. Kent State's last win in Oxford was back in 2012 (48-32).

Career Numbers Versus Kent State
• While Miami is 2-2 versus Kent State under Coach Martin, the RedHawks have averaged just 11.5 points per game in four contests versus the Flashes. 
• Ragland missed the game last year, but has still recorded 191 passing yards (2 TDs) and 103 rushing yards in his career versus the Flashes. 
• Alonzo Smith has rushed the ball 34 times for 139 yards and one score in his career against KSU.
• Kenny Young leads the current roster with two catches for 66 yards and has 223 all-purpose yards versus KSU.
• Maurice Thomas has averaged 24.0 yards per return in five attempts.
• Brad Koenig has 18 career tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss versus Kent State.

Martin vs. the MAC Since 2016
Miami is 12-7 versus the MAC since the 2016 season. In 2016 Miami opened 0-2 and won its final six conference games of the season and went 4-4 in 2017 in conference play.

Nice To Meet You
Due to key injuries to several of Miami's star offensive players, Gus Ragland has had to lean on some new faces his season. Everyone listed below came into the season having never caught a pass for the Red and White.
• Wide Receiver Jack Sorenson leads the team with 23 grabs  for 377 yards. 
• Tight End Andrew Homer is tops on the squad with three touchdowns.
• Dominique Robinson has nine catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns in his last two games combined.

Red Means Go
Miami has scored on 37 of their last 39 red zone trips, dating back to last season. Of those 39 trips, 29 have resulted in touchdowns (74.4%). This season Miami is 21-for-22 in the red zone with 16 (72.7%) touchdowns. Miami is also 16-for-16 in the redzone during MAC play with 11 touchdowns in 2018.

In Gus We Trust
After beginning the 2016 season 0-6, head coach Chuck Martin turned to quarterback Gus Ragland. Ragland led Miami to six-straight wins over Kent State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Buffalo and Ball State. The now senior quarterback is 12-10 all-time as a starter for the RedHawks.

Nice Way to Start a Career
Ragland began his career by throwing 203 consecutive passes before throwing an interception late in the contest versus Mississippi State in the 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl. In all, the Cincinnati, Ohio native has thrown just 11 interceptions in 663 career pass attempts (1 INT every 60.3 pass attempts). In fact, Miami is 10-2 in games in which Ragland does not throw and interception and 2-8 when he throws it to the other team. 

Ragland Versus The MAC
Senior quarterback Gus Ragland is 11-3 in his career as a starter versus teams from the Mid-American Conference. In those 14 games, Ragland has completed 232-of-365 passes (63.6%) for 3,016 yards, 32 touchdowns and five interceptions. The RedHawks are also 11-2 all-time versus the MAC in games where Ragland starts and finishes the contest. 

The Land of Ragland
Gus Ragland has owned the red zone since joining Miami in 2015. In his career, he has completed 47-of-84 passes from inside the 20-yard line for 33 touchdowns, while throwing just one interception. He has added eight rushing scores in his career from inside the red zone, for a 41:1 touchdown to interception ratio.

Offensive Line A Strength
Miami returns all five starters from a unit that allowed just 21 sacks in 2017 and helped Miami rush for a season average of 146.9 yards per game, the highest under Coach Martin. This year Miami has surrendered just four sacks through six games for an average of .67 per game, which ranks sixth in the country. Overall, Miami has 141 career starts among its offensive line members, led by senior Sam McCollum (41). He is joined by senior Jordan Rigg (30), senior Mitch Palmer (20), sophomore Danny Godlevske (17), junior Jarrett LaRubbio (13), junior Matt Skibinski (11), sophomore Tommy Doyle (8) and senior Ryan Mullen (1).

Small But Carries a Big Stick
Kenny Young may be listed at just 5-foot-7, but he was a load to bring down over the past year. The dual-threat running back has been doing it not just on the ground, but through the air as well. Over his last 13 games, the senior has averaged 89.4 combined yards per game.

Dynamic Duo
Alonzo Smith and Kenny Young have played a lot of football for the Red and White. Combined, the duo have rushed for 3,901 yards. Smith's 2,157 rushing yards rank him 13th all-time in the Miami record books. Young is not far behind with 1,744 in his career.

Thomas Back at Full Health
Maurice Thomas missed the final nine games of the 2017 season with a leg injury, but is now healthy. Thomas, a dual threat as a running back and kick returner has averaged 7.0 yards per rush in his career and 21.6 per kick return. Overall, the local product has touched the ball 171 times and has gone over 20 yards on 39 occasions (22.8%).

Last Chance U
The hit documentary show on Netflix, Last Chance U, featured Independence Community College. Junior defensive back Zedrick Raymond, now a member of the Miami University football team, was part of that show. During that season he led the team with four interceptions.