The Miami University football team puts its 16-game Yager Stadium win streak on the line when it hosts Western Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 22. The 3:30 p.m. kick is Miami's annual Family Weekend as well as Senior Day and Cancer Awareness Day.

Television
The matchup with Western Michigan will be carried live on CBS Sports Network. John Sadak will handle play-by-play duties, while Randy Cross will serve as the color analyst. 

Radio
In its fourth 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)

First And Ten
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (710), conference wins (307), MAC Championships (16) and bowl wins (8). The RedHawks also captured the 2019 MAC Championship with a 26-21 win over Central Michigan.

• Although Miami was 4-18 in Coach Martin's first 22 Mid-American Conference games, the RedHawks are 31-14 in the last 45 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, went 2-1 in 2020 and 5-3 in 2021. Miami has now had a winning conference record in five of the past six years.

• Martin, in his ninth year leading the RedHawks, has a new-look coaching staff in 2021. Offensive Coordinator Eric Koehler returns for his ninth year calling plays, while Bill Brechin begins year one as the Defensive Coordinator (ninth year at Miami). Special Teams Coordinator Jacob Bronowski is in his first year with the Red and White. 

• Miami is 11-6 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. Miami is 2-2 this season in single-score games.

• In its last 45 contests, Miami has had a lead at some point in 40 of those games. The only five setbacks were a 42-10 loss at Buffalo in 2020 and four different losses in 2021. The RedHawks have had a lead at some point in all six games this year.

• Miami competed in the 2021 Frisco Football Classic (W, 27-14) and the RedHawks have now been bowl eligible five of the last six seasons. From 2006-15, Miami was bowl eligible just twice.

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 20 seasons.  Martin has an all-time head coaching record of 116-63.
• 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.

About Western Michigan
The Broncos enter Saturday's action at 2-5, 1-2 MAC. They dropped a 33-14 decision last Saturday at home to Ohio. Quarterback Jack Salopek has thrown for 1,231 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season and Zaire Barnes is tops on the team with 65 tackles for a defense that ranks sixth in the MAC, allowing 31.1 points per contest.

Series Vs. The Broncos
The RedHawks lead the all-time series 37-23-1 and are 22-9-1 at home against the Broncos. Miami is looking for its first victory over Western Michigan since 2004; despite playing in the same conference, the teams have met just seven times in the last 18 years.

Last Meeting
Miami outgained Western Michigan by more than 50 yards on the day, but the Broncos outscored the RedHawks 21-0 in the second quarter en route to a 38-16 victory in Kalamazoo in October 2019. Brett Gabbert threw for 260 yards to lead the Miami offense, while Sam Sloman drilled three field goals (including from 51 and 49 yards) for the Red and White.

Memorable Meeting
WMU visited Oxford in 1981 looking for its first road victory in the series in over 40 years. The Broncos would have to wait a little bit longer. Miami took advantage of Western's 14-yard punt in the final minutes, setting up a game-winning 27-yard field goal by freshman Mike Kiebach with 16 seconds left. The Red and White escaped with a 20-19 victory to remain unbeaten in conference play.

Senior Day
Miami will honor 20 RedHawks prior to Saturday's contest with the Broncos: Henry Beckett, James Besett, Matt Bjorson, Luke Bolden, John Brekke, Chris Cavalaris, Austin Ertl, Rusty Feth, Brett Gabbert, Mac Hippenhammer, Ben Jackson, Trey LaBounty, Ryan McWood, Austin Robinson, Matthew Salopek, Caleb Shaffer, Tyre Shelton, Ben Tarpey, Jalen Walker and Rhett Williams.

Wear Your Emotions on Your Helmet
It what has become a yearly tradition, the entire Miami University football team will be carrying a special message with them as they take the field on Saturday in Miami's annual Cancer Awareness contest versus WMU. Each player's helmet will feature a colored ribbon of their choice to symbolize how they have been affected by cancer. Overall, 34 players selected pink to signify those affected by breast cancer, while 12 picked blue (colon cancer and esophageal cancer). Other colors include: 10 yellow/gray (child brain cancer), 10 orange (kidney cancer and leukemia), nine yellow (bladder cancer, sarcoma/bone cancer), eight picked purple (bladder/pancreatic/testicular) and seven chose white (lung cancer). Six others selected black (melanoma), three red (blood cancers/head and neck), two green (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma/gallbladder/liver) and one gray (brain cancer). One player had no preference.

Heads or Tails
In year's past, when the RedHawks won the opening coin toss, head coach Chuck Martin would defer to the second half. This season, the RedHawks have won five coin tosses and chose to receive the ball to start the contest. Miami has scored on three of those five opening possessions, including touchdowns to begin the game at Kentucky and Cincinnati. In all, Miami has started all seven contests this season with the ball.

Home Cooking
Miami finished a perfect 5-0 at home during the 2019 and 2021 season (1-0 in 2020) and has won 16 straight at Yager Stadium. Miami's last loss at Yager Stadium was on Sept. 29, 2018 (Lost 40-39 to Western Michigan). In all, when Miami hosts Western Michigan on Oct. 22, 2022 it will be 1,484 days since Miami's last loss at home.

Longest Home Win Streaks in School History
1.    22 Wins (1943-1948)
2.    16 Wins (2018-present)

Longest Active Home Win Streaks in the Country
1. Clemson - 37
2. Cincinnati - 29
3. Oregon - 21
4. Alabama - 17
5. Miami -16

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 11-1 following a MAC loss under Martin, dating back to Oct. 15, 2016.

Monsters of the MAC
With so many new faces on defense in 2022, a drop in defensive production could have been expected, instead, Miami is once again one of the best defenses in the conference. Miami ranks first in scoring defense (24.0), first in total defense (347.4), first in rush defense (101.3), fourth in time of possession (31:28), fifth in sacks (17) and second in interceptions (6). Miami's rush defense ranks 18th nationally.

Take It Away Defense Take it Away
Through seven games in 2022, the RedHawks defense has already forced 13 turnovers and is on pace for 22 take-aways in 2022. Prior to this season, Miami had averaged 16 turnovers forced per season since Chuck Martin's arrival, with a high of 20 in 2019. Miami's 13 forced turnovers is second in the MAC and 13th in the nation.

Gabbert Out
On Sept. 5, head coach Chuck Martin announced Brett Gabbert would be out for "a while." Since starting the season opener at Iowa back in 2019, Gabbert ranks seventh in program history with 5,609 passing yards, completion percentage (.579) and passing touchdowns (41). 

He's Got Legs And He Knows How to Use Them
Over the past three weeks, quarterback Aveon Smith has started to use his legs at a much higher clip. In his first three starts, Smith ran for just 47 yards (on 25 carries). In his last three games he has 36 carries for 268 yards and two touchdowns.

Small Steps = Giant Leap
With Miami's offensive shift this season, the RedHawks are having to find new ways to win contests in 2022:
• Miami has turned the ball over eight times all season and on 276 rush attempts, have fumbled the ball just four times. 
• The RedHawks are second in the MAC in turnover margin (+5) and second in turnovers forced (13).
• Miami has out-rushed its opponents in five of seven contests and on average has out-gained the opposition by 67.8 yards per game on the ground.
• The RedHawks have blocked two kicks (1 punt/1 FG)

Trench Warfare
Miami's offensive line is by far the most experienced unit for the RedHawks in 2022, returning four starters from last season's squad. In all, Miami's offensive line has started 107 combined games. Caleb Shaffer leads the way with 31 career starts and is followed by Rusty Feth (29), Reid Holskey (20), Sam Vaughan (14, but out for the year in 2022), John Brekke (5), Will Jados (5) and Kolby Borders (2). Brekke was also a three-year starter from Holy Cross before transferring to Miami.