#MACTION Returns
On Friday, Sept. 25, the MAC Presidents voted to reinstate football for the fall. With that news, the Miami RedHawks look to defend its 2019 MAC Championship with a Nov. 4 tilt versus Ball State. Opening kick is slated for 7 p.m.

Television
The matchup with Ball State will be carried live on CBS Sports Network. John Sadak will handle play-by-play duties, while Ross Tucker will serve as the color analyst. 

Radio
In its second year of its partnership with Van Wagner, 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. 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.)

First And Ten
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (698), MAC Championships (16) and bowl wins (7). The RedHawks also captured the 2019 MAC Championship with a 26-21 win over Central Michigan.

• Although Miami was 4-26 in Coach Martin's first 30 Mid-American Conference games, the RedHawks are 23-8 in the last 31 games versus schools from the MAC, the best record in the conference during that span.

• The RedHawks clinched the MAC East Division Championship with a 6-2 record in 2019. This was the third time in four years the RedHawks finished the regular season with a 6-2 conference record.

• Martin, in his seventh year leading the RedHawks, has had many of the same coordinators in the previous six seasons. Eric Koehler and George Barnett, both in their seventh years with Miami, handle the offense and Spence Nowinsky (third year) and John Hauser (seventh year) manage the defense.

• Since 2014, Miami Athletics has added nearly $40 million in facilities for the football program. The Dauch Indoor Sports Center was opened in 2015 and the Athletic Performance Center was added in early 2017. Both facilities are located in the north end zone of Yager Stadium.

• Miami was 5-0 last season in one-score games and has won seven-straight one-score games dating back to the 2018 campaign.

• The RedHawks had a lead in every game last year. In games they lost, they led Iowa (7-3), Cincinnati (10-0), Ohio State (5-0), Western Michigan (6-0), Ball State (24-7) and Louisiana (7-0). In fact, Miami has had a lead in 23-straight games. The last time Miami trailed for an entire game was Sept. 15, 2018, at Minnesota.

• Miami competed in the 2020 LendingTree Bowl, its third bowl eligible season in the last four years. From 2006-15, Miami was bowl eligible just twice.

• Miami's defense has forced a turnover in 27 of its last 38 games and is 17-10 in contests when it forces a turnover. The RedHawks' defense has also recorded a sack in 29 of its last 38 games.

About Chuck Martin
• Head coach Chuck Martin, who earned that title on Dec. 3, 2013, brings an impressive resume to Oxford, Ohio.
• 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 18 seasons.  Martin has an all-time head coaching record of 104-52.
• 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.

Six-Game Race
The shortened season means every game carries even more importance. The entire 2020 season will feature only games versus conference opponents. The RedHawks will face-off versus all East Division teams and Ball State in the West. The MAC Championship Game will take place on Friday, Dec. 18.

About Ball State
Ball State was 5-7 last season and averaged 34.8 points and 463.0 yards per game in 2019. Quarterback Drew Plitt returns for his senior year after throwing for 2,918 yards and 24 touchdowns last season.

Series Vs. Ball State
Miami is 19-13-1 all-time versus the Cardinals, but dropped a 41-27 decision last year in Muncie. The RedHawks are 11-6-1 all-time in Oxford. Ball State and Miami will play every season as they have been granted rivalry status on the MAC football crossover schedules. The only other league series that has that status is Bowling Green (MAC East) and Toledo (MAC West). 

Red Bird Rivalry
The Red Bird Rivalry trophy game between Ball State and Miami, two Mid-American Conference universities separated by a little more than 70 miles, is in its third year.

The rivalry between the schools dates back to a 1931 meeting in Oxford, Ohio, but didn't blossom until Ball State joined the MAC in the mid-1970s. The two teams played each other in football every year from 1985 through 1998. MAC expansion in the late 1990s changed league scheduling as the conference had too many teams to play every team on an annual basis. Because Miami is in the MAC East and Ball State is in the MAC West, they have only faced off 10 times since 2000.

Home Cooking
Miami finished a perfect 5-0 at home during the 2019 season and has won eight straight at Yager Stadium. Miami's last home loss was on Sept. 29, 2018. In all, when the season begins on Nov. 4, the RedHawks will have gone 766 days without a loss at home.

Bounce Back
Since early in the 2016 season Miami has lost back-to-back MAC games just once in that span. In fact, Miami is now 7-1 following a MAC loss under Martin, dating back to Oct. 15, 2016.

Red Hot
Miami was 40-for-46 last season on red zone opportunities. In those 46 attempts, Miami scored 24 (52.2%) touchdowns. In 2018, Miami was 42-for-43 in the red zone with 35 (81.4%) touchdowns. Miami was also 33-for-33 in the red zone during MAC play with 27 touchdowns last year. In its last 24 games, Miami has scored on 82-of-89 red zone opportunities and is 58-of-62 in its last 17 MAC contests.

Martin vs. the MAC Since 2016
Miami is 23-8 versus MAC opponents over its last 31 games, best in the conference in that span. WMU is 21-9, followed by NIU (20-10), Ohio (20-10) and Toledo (19-11). In that span, Miami has outscored its opponents 898-668.

It's Good to Be Back
When the MAC announced that football would be moving to the spring in early August, NFL hopefuls, Tommy Doyle, Danny Godlevske and Manny Rugamba all declared for the NFL Draft. All three have now elected to return to Miami for their final season. Rugamba was last year's MAC Championship Defensive Player of the Game, while Doyle (first-team All-MAC in 2019) and Godlevske (third-team All-MAC) have combined for 63 starts along the offensive line.

Gabbert Begins Year Two Under Center
When Miami opened the 2019 season at Iowa, Brett Gabbert became the first true freshman quarterback to open the season as the starter in Miami football history. The younger brother of NFL quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, started all 14 games last season, throwing for 2,411 yards and 11 touchdowns. For his efforts, he was named the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, just the third RedHawk in school history to accomplish this feat. Gabbert joins Ben Roethlisberger (2001) and Deland McCullough (1992) on this small list.

Deep Burner
Big things come in small packages. Last year James Burns only caught 20 passes, but compiled 506 receiving yards, a 25.3 yard average, tops in the nation among freshmen wide receivers. In all, eight of his 20 catches went for over 35 yards in length.

Offensive Line A Strength
Heading into the 2020 season, Miami has one of the most veteran offensive lines in the nation. Overall, Miami's offensive line has started a combined 87 games. Danny Godlevske leads the bunch with 36 starts, followed by Tommy Doyle (27), Caleb Shaffer (9), Rusty Feth (6), David Redding (4), Pete Nank (3) and Bennett Clark (2).

Jack of All Trades
Jack Sorenson battled injuries for most of the 2019 season, but when his team needed him most the now-senior came through in a big way. The wide receiver had 18 catches in his last two games of the 2019 season. Sorenson had eight catches for 123 yards and a touchdown in the MAC Championship game (was named Offensive MVP) and 10 catches (career-high) for 107 yards in the LendingTree Bowl.

Paced By Pace
Ivan Pace matched an NCAA record with six sacks in a 20-17 win over Akron. His 6.0 sacks in a single game are tied for the most in NCAA history, with Elvis Dumervil (Louisville in 2005) and Ameer Ismail (Western Michigan in 2006). Pace recorded those 6.0 sacks while playing in just 18 defensive snaps. Miami's 12.0 sacks as a team versus Akron were the fifth-most in NCAA history for a single game. The last time a team recorded at least 12.0 sacks in a game was Utah State in 2012.

From Zero to Hero
Many times, walk-ons rarely get noticed. That is not true with Ryan McWood. McWood began his career at Miami as walk-ons, but is now a vital cog in Miami's defense. McWood led the team with 99 tackles during the 2019 season.

If You Build It...
Miami's Athletic Director, 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.