After a shortened 2020 season, the RedHawks open the 2021 season with a Sept. 4 contest versus the Cincinnati Bearcats. Opening kick is slated for 3:30 p.m.
Television
The matchup with Cincinnati will be carried live on ESPN+. Connor Onion will handle play-by-play duties, while Bobby Carpenter will serve as the color analyst.
Radio
In its third 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 (700), conference wins (301), 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 25-9 in the last 34 games versus schools from the MAC, the best record in the conference during that span.
• Miami went 2-1 in 2020, missing the final three contests of the year due to COVID. The RedHawks beat Ball State, the eventual MAC Champions, to open 2020, 38-31.
• The RedHawks clinched the MAC East Division Championship with a 6-2 record in 2019 and went 2-1 in 2020. Miami has now had a winning conference record in four of the past five years.
• Martin, in his eighth year leading the RedHawks, has had many of the same coordinators in the previous six seasons. Offensive Coordinator
Eric Koehler has been with Martin all eight years on the offensive side of the ball.
Spence Nowinsky (fourth year) and
John Hauser (eighth 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 is 8-0 in one-score games, dating back to the 2018 campaign. The RedHawks were 5-0 in one-score games in 2019, including a 26-21 victory over Central Michigan in the MAC Championship Game.
• In its last 25 contests, Miami has had a lead at some point in 24 of those games. The only blemish was a 42-10 loss at Buffalo in 2020.
• Miami competed in the 2020 LendingTree Bowl, its fourth bowl eligible season in the last five years. From 2006-15, Miami was bowl eligible just twice.
• Miami's defense has forced a turnover in 29 of its last 41 games and is 19-10 in contests when it forces a turnover. The RedHawks' defense has also recorded a sack in 31 of its last 41 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 19 seasons. Martin has an all-time head coaching record of 106-53.
• 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.
700 Club
Last season, Miami captured its 700th win in school history. The 700 wins is tops in the MAC and ranks 28th among Division I teams in NCAA history.
About Cincinnati
Cincinnati comes into Saturday's contest ranked No. 8 in the nation in the Associated Press poll. The Bearcats are led by quarterback Desmond Ridder, who threw for 2,296 yards and 19 touchdowns, while adding 592 yards and 12 scores on the ground in 10 games in 2020. Defensively, UC allowed just 16.8 points per game and had 30 sacks in 2020.
Series Vs. Cincinnati
• The "Battle for the Victory Bell" between Miami and Cincinnati is the longest-lasting collegiate football rivalry west of the Allegheny Mountains, first being played in 1888. It is also the fifth-most played rivalry in Division I (FBS only) with 124 all-time meetings and is the oldest non-conference rivalry in the nation.
• The first Miami/Cincinnati game was played in Oxford on Dec. 8, 1888 as the teams played to a scoreless tie. The game was the first college football game played in the state of Ohio.
• Miami maintains the all-time series 59-58-7, but the Bearcats have won the last 14 meetings. Miami's last win versus UC was back on Sept. 28, 2005 in a 44-16 win in Oxford.
• Due to COVID, the two teams did not play in 2020, ending a streak of consecutive years played, dating back to 1945. Miami/UC did not play in 1943 or 1944, but Miami and UC also played every year from 1909 through 1942. Of the 124 meetings, 54 have been decided by seven points or less, including the seven ties in series history.
• The two schools recently announced that the series would be extended through 2029.
Championship Experience
While Miami's 2019 MAC Championship victory was two seasons ago, Miami still has 13 starters returning in 2021 that started in that championship game. On offense:
Andrew Homer,
Rusty Feth,
Jaylon Bester,
Tyre Shelton,
Brett Gabbert,
Pete Nank,
Caleb Shaffer and
Jack Sorenson all started in the 26-21 win over CMU. Defensively,
Mike Brown,
Sterling Weatherford,
Ryan McWood,
Kameron Butler and
Ben Kimpler return in 2021. In all, Miami has 26 players on the 2021 roster that participated in the 2019 MAC Championship Game.
Home Cooking
Miami finished a perfect 5-0 at home during the 2019 season (1-0 in 2020) and has won nine straight at Yager Stadium. Miami's last home loss was on Sept. 29, 2018. In all, it has been 1,071 (when the UC game takes place) days since Miami's last loss at home. Miami's next scheduled home game is Sept. 18, 2021 vs. LIU. When that game takes place it will have been 1,085 days since Miami's last home loss.
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 8-1 following a MAC loss under Martin, dating back to Oct. 15, 2016.
Martin vs. the MAC Since 2016
Miami is 25-9 versus MAC opponents over its last 34 games, best in the conference in that span. Over that time, Miami has outscored its opponents 981-748.
Red Hot
Miami's redzone offense has been downright amazing over the last three years. In all, Miami is 89-of-98 (90.8%) in redzone scoring over the past 28 games. It's even better in MAC play. In Miami's last 20 MAC games, the RedHawks are 66-of-72 (91.7%) inside the redzone.
Welcome Back
Miami welcomes back three key pieces of its offense in 2021, missing
Jaylon Bester,
Tyre Shelton and
Andrew Homer due to injuries in 2020. Bester has 1,037 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in his Miami career, while Shelton rushed for 587 yards and two scores as a freshman in 2019. Homer, a fifth-year senior, has 26 career catches for 357 yards and five touchdowns for the RedHawks.
Gabbert Makes A Name For Himself
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 in 2019, 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. Gabbert has started 16 games in his young Miami career.
Jack of All Trades
Jack Sorenson finished second in the MAC with 118.0 receiving yards per game in 2020. He is coming off of a 177-yard and four-touchdown performance versus Akron in 2020 and over his last five games, the 2019 MAC Championship Offensive Player of the Game, has 36 catches for 584 yards and five touchdowns.
New Look Offensive Line
Miami returns eight starters on offense from 2020, but two of the biggest holes to fill are along the offensive line.
Tommy Doyle and
Danny Godlevske combined for 55 starts over the past three years and have departed. George Barnett, Miami's Offensive line coach since 2014 also left.
Monsters of The MAC
Miami returns 10 starters from 2020, including third-team All-MAC performers in
Kameron Butler and
Lonnie Phelps. Miami's defense has been stellar lately. In 2019, Miami's last full season of competition, the RedHawks ranked top-five in nearly every defensive category, highlighted by allowing just 22.5 points (2nd), 352.9 yards (3rd) and 175.9 passing yards (1st) per conference game.
Trench Warfare
Since the start of the 2018 MAC season, Miami ranks second in the conference in sacks with 80. In 2020, the RedHawks ranked second with 13 sacks (played three less games). They also finished second in 2019 (38) and sixth in 2018 (29).
