This Week's Matchup
Miami University and Western Michigan University will square-off on Saturday, Sept. 29 at  3:30 p.m. at Yager Stadium. This will be the first matchup between the two schools since 2015.

Television
The matchup with the Broncos will be carried live on ESPN+. Shawn Kenney 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 (685), 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 91-43.
• 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.

Bowling Green Recap
A season-high 289 rushing yards helped the Miami football team open Mid-American Conference play with a 38-23 victory at Bowling Green. Miami built a 31-3 lead early in the third quarter and never looked back to pick up its first win.

Tidbits From BGSU Contest
• Miami had a season-high 52 rushes for 289 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
• Miami was without its top running back (Kenny Young) and two starting offensive linemen (Jarrett LaRubbio and Tommy Doyle).
• Alonzo Smith ran for a career-high 164 yards in the win.
• Maurice Thomas and Davion Johnson each recorded their first career touchdowns versus the Falcons.
• The RedHawks recorded 5.0 sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss, both season-bests. Only one of those sacks came from a defensive lineman (Andrew Sharp).
• Allan Koikoi recorded a career-best seven tackles.

Rushing Offense Explodes Versus Falcons
Through three games this season Miami was averaging just 79.0 yards per game on the ground. Versus the Falcons, Miami finished with 289 yards on 52 carries, despite missing running back Kenny Young and a pair of starters along the offensive line in Jarrett LaRubbio and Tommy Doyle.

Defense Comes up BIG 
Through three games Miami's defense had 5.0 sacks and 16.0 tackles for loss combined versus Marshall, Cincinnati and Minnesota. That changed last week. Versus the Falcons, Miami recorded 5.0 sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss.

About Western Michigan
Western Michigan is 2-2 overall with wins over Delaware State (68-0) and Georgia State (34-15) and losses to Syracuse (55-42) and Michigan (49-3). Offensively, quarterback Jon Wassink has 984 yards passing and eight touchdowns this season. The Broncos also feature a strong rushing attack that averages 225.0 yards per game, led by Levante Bellamy (97.2/game and three TDs). Overall, the Broncos average 36.8 points and 471.0 yards per game. Defensively, they allow 29.8 points and 369.2 yards per game.

Series Vs. WMU
Miami is 37-21-1 all-time versus Western Michigan and 22-7-1 in Oxford, Ohio. The Broncos have won the last five meetings, including a 35-13 contest in Kalamazoo, Mich., back in 2015, which is the last time these two teams played. Miami's last win over the Broncos came on Nov. 13, 2004 (42-21). Miami's last home victory over WMU dates back to Oct. 27, 2001.

Things to Watch For Versus The Broncos
• Senior Sam McCollum is expected to make his 40th career start at guard for the RedHawks.
• Defensive tackle Nate Trawick is expected to make his 29th consecutive start on Saturday.

Martin vs. the MAC Since 2016
Miami is 11-6 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.

Red Means Go
Miami has scored on 25 of their last 26 red zone trips, dating back to last season. Of those 26 trips, 20 have resulted in touchdowns (76.9%). This season Miami is a perfect 9-for-9 in the red zone with seven touchdowns

Gardner Expected to Miss Rest of Season
Senior wide receiver James Gardner suffered an injury at Minnesota and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Gardner, a first-team All-MAC performer last season has 107 career catches for 1,906 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career. Gardner did not play versus the Falcons, but sophomore Jack Sorenson filled in nicely, recording a career-high six catches and adding 72 yards and a score.

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 11-9 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 10 interceptions in 598 career pass attempts (1 INT every 59.8 pass attempts). In fact, Miami is 10-1 (loss was versus Marshall in 2018) in games in which Ragland does not throw and interception and 1-8 when he throws it to the other team. 

Ragland Versus The MAC
Junior quarterback Gus Ragland is 10-2 in his career as a starter versus teams from the Mid-American Conference. In those 10 games Ragland has completed 186-of-300 passes (62.0%) for 2,508 yards, 28 touchdowns and four interceptions. The RedHawks are also 10-1 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 40-of-74 passes from inside the 20-yard line for 29 touchdowns, while throwing just one interception. He has added eight rushing scores in his career from inside the red zone, for a 37:1 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 three sacks through four games for an average of .75 per game, which ranks ninth in the country. Overall, Miami has 131 career starts among its offensive line members, led by senior Sam McCollum (39). He is joined by senior Jordan Rigg (28), senior Mitch Palmer (20), sophomore Danny Godlevske (15), junior Jarrett LaRubbio (11), junior Matt Skibinski (10), sophomore Tommy Doyle (7) 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 12 games, the senior has averaged 88.9 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 3,738 yards. Smith's 2,087 rushing yards rank him 12th all-time in the Miami record books. Young is not far behind with 1,666 in his career.

Thomas Back at Full Health
Maurice Thomas missed the final nine games of the 2017 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 7.2 yards per rush in his career and 20.2 per kick return. Overall, the local product has touched the ball 154 times and has gone over 20 yards on 34 occasions (22.1%).

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.