This Week's Matchup
Miami University and the University of Minnesota will square-off on Saturday, Sept. 15 at  3:30 p.m. at TCF Bank Stadium.

Television
The matchup with the Golden Gophers will be carried live on the Big Ten Network. Jason Horowitz will handle play-by-play duties and Stanley Jackson will serve as color analyst.

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 (684), MAC Championships (15) and bowl wins (7).

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 90-42.
• 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.

Cincinnati Recap
The 123rd Battle for the Victory Bell saw Miami and Cincinnati battle through a rainy evening at Paul Brown Stadium. The RedHawk defense held the Bearcats to 233 total yards, but they were unable to crack the end zone in a 21-0 setback. The last time Miami was shut out was in 2015 at Wisconsin (58-0). Cincinnati outgained Miami by a 233-198 count with the bulk of the damage a 188-59 advantage in rushing yards. Didder led all players with 100 yards on the ground. Miami's offense was led by James Gardner's seven catches for 80 yards as Gus Ragland went 22-of-41 for 139 yards passing.

About Minnesota
Minnesota is currently 2-0 on the season with wins over New Mexico State and Fresno State. Quarterback Zack Annexstad has thrown for 395 yards and two scores this year, while running backs Rodney Smith (154) and Bryce Williams (118) have combined for 272 yards on the ground this season. Defensively they are led by Blake Cashman, who has 18 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss this season.

Series Vs. Minnesota
This will be the fourth meeting between the two schools, all taking place on the road for the Red and White. Miami last traveled to Minnesota back in 2011 in a 29-23 loss. Minnesota has won all three of the previous meetings.

Weather Issues
Through two games this season Miami has already faced more than its fair share of weather issues. In the home opener versus Marshall the game was delayed for 150 minutes due to lightning in the area. Last week, the two teams played through a heavy rain fall for the entire game. Was estimated that the Cincinnati area saw between 4-5 inches of rain last Saturday.

Preseason Honors
Five RedHawks saw some love this preseason. James Gardner was honored on several occasions, named to the Biletnikkof and Maxwell Watch Lists. Kenny Young earned a spot on the Doak Walker Watch List, while Danny Godlevske (Rimington) and Nate Becker (John Mackey) also earned preseason national honors. Lastly, Gus Ragland was named to the Johnny Unitas and Manning Award Watch Lists.

Red Means Go
Miami has scored on 20 of their last 21 red zone trips, dating back to last season. Of those 21 trips, 17 have resulted in touchdowns (80.9%). Two weeks ago against Marshall Miami scored four redzone touchdowns, but never got inside UC's 20-yard line last week.

Gardner Growing
James Gardner has still only played 32 games in his Miami career, but the senior is making his mark on the program. In 2016 he finished as a third-team All-MAC player, with 45 catches for 750 yards and six touchdowns. Last season he had 47 catches for 927 yards and 11 scores, while averaging 19.7 yards per catch, earning first-team All-MAC honors. In his career he has 106 grabs, for 1,891 yards and 18 touchdowns. Only eight players in Miami history have surpassed 2,000 career receiving yards and just five have 20 or more career touchdowns.

Instant Impact
With all of the attention Gardner receives on the field from opposing defenses, Miami needed other playmakers to make an impact and that is exactly what Jack Sorenson did in week one versus Marshall. Sorenson led Miami with three catches for 106 yards in week one versus the Thunder Herd.

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 10-8 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 nine interceptions in 566 career pass attempts (1 INT every 62.9 pass attempts). In fact, Miami is 9-1 (loss was versus Marshall in 2018) in games in which Ragland does not throw and interception and 1-7 when he throws it to the other team. 

Ragland Timeline
→ Verbally commits to Miami on Dec. 13, 2013
→ Redshirted the 2014 season and played 86 snaps in 2015.
→ Suffered an ACL injury in April of 2016 during a spring football practice.
→ Came back to start versus Kent State on Oct. 15, 2016 and won six-straight games and helped Miami reach a bowl game.

The Land of Ragland
Gus Ragland has owned the red zone since joining Miami in 2015. In his career, he has completed 38-of-70 passes from inside the 20-yard line for 28 touchdowns, while throwing just one interception. He has added seven rushing scores in his career from inside the red zone, for a 35:1 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. Overall, Miami has 121 career starts among its offensive line members, led by senior Sam McCollum (37). He is joined by senior Jordan Rigg (26), senior Mitch Palmer (20), sophomore Danny Godlevske (13), junior Jarrett LaRubbio (10), junior Matt Skibinski (9), and sophomore Tommy Doyle (6).

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 11 games the senior has averaged 96.7 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 3,562 yards. Smith's 1,905 rushing yards are 95 shy of 2,000 career yards. Just 13 Miami players have surpassed 2,000 yards rushing in their career. Young is not far behind with 1,657 in his career.

Thomas Back at Full Health
Maurice Thomas missed the final nine games of the season with a leg injury, but looks completely healthy to start the 2018 season. Thomas, a dual threat as a running back and kick returner has averaged 7.7 yards per rush in his career and 20.3 per kick return. Overall, the local product has touched the ball 135 times and has gone over 20 yards on 31 occasions (23.0%).

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.

Position Changes on Defense
Miami had one of the best defenses in the league last year, but the RedHawks are still making some major moves on that side of the ball. Doug Costin has moved back to defensive tackle (played defensive end last year) and senior De'Andre Montgomery is Miami's new starting safety after playing linebacker the last three years.