The Miami University football team faces Northwestern on Saturday, Sept. 24 at Ryan Stadium in Evanston, Ill. Opening kick is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Television
The matchup with Northwestern will be carried live on Big Ten Network. Joe Beninati will handle play-by-play duties, while J Leman will serve as the color analyst. Krystle Rich will work the sideline.

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 (708), conference wins (306), 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 30-12 in the last 42 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 9-4 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 41 contests, Miami has had a lead at some point in 36 of those games. The only five setbacks were a 42-10 loss at Buffalo in 2020 and four different losses in 2021.

• 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 114-61.
• 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 Northwestern
Northwestern enters Saturday's contest at 1-2 overall with a win at Nebraska to open the season (31-28) and losses versus Duke (31-23) and Southern Illinois (31-24). The Wildcats average 473.0 yards of offense per game and are led by do-it-all running back Evan Hull. Hull leads the team in rushing (308 yards) and receiving (301 yards) and averages 203.0 combined yards per contest.

Series Vs. Wildcats
Miami leads the all-time series between the teams 6-3, including a run of five consecutive victories in Evanston between 1964 and 2003.

Last Meeting
The Miami defense held Northwestern to half its scoring average, but QB Mike Kafka ran for a pair of touchdowns to lift the Wildcats to a 16-6 victory over the RedHawks in Evanston on October 10, 2009. Zac Dysert led the RedHawks in both passing yards (176) and rushing yards (63).

Memorable Meeting
The 1995 Northwestern Wildcats shocked the college football world by starting the season with an upset victory at No. 9 Notre Dame, running the table in the Big Ten and advancing to the Rose Bowl. That team's only regular-season loss? A 30-28 decision at the hands of Miami University. Miami scored 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, capped off by a Chad Seitz field goal as time expired, to stun the hosts and ruin the Wildcats' first top-25 ranking since 1971. "Miami out-hustled, out-hit, out-played and out-coached us," Northwestern coach Gary Barnett told the Chicago Tribune.

Vs. Big Ten
Since arriving in Oxford, head coach Chuck Martin is 0-7 versus the Big Ten. Miami's last win versus the Big Ten was on Sept. 13, 2003, when the RedHawks downed Northwestern 44-14. The RedHawks would go on to finish that season 13-1 and rank No. 10 in the final AP Poll.

Walker Connection
• Randy Walker was Miami head coach from 1990-98. He is Miami's all-time leader in games coached (99) and games won (59) for the Red and White.
• Walker served as Northwestern's head coach from 1999-2006 until his death on June 29, 2006. He was 37-46 as head coach of the Wildcats.
• Miami's offensive line coach, James Patton, played and coached with Walker.
• Walker's wife, Tammy, currently serves on Miami's AD Circle.

Cincinnati Recap
In the 126th Battle for the Victory Bell, the Cincinnati Bearcats erased an early 10-point Miami lead and went on to post a 38-17 victory over the RedHawks at Paycor Stadium. Aveon Smith threw two touchdown passes for Miami and Ryan McWood had a game-high 13 tackles.

Notable Notes From UC
• John Saunders Jr. was credited with his first career forced fumble on Cincinnati's opening drive.
• Jalen Walker's 35-yard punt return was the longest of his career.
• Caiden Woullard set a new career high with two sacks.

Hanging With The Big Boys
While Miami sits at just 1-2 overall, it has put a scare into a pair of opponents this year. Kentucky, currently No. 8 in the country, led just 13-10 at the half in the season opener. Last week versus Cincinnati, Miami was one yard shy of making it 31-24 with 12:32 remaining in the contest.

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 all three coin tosses and received the ball to start the contest. Miami has scored on all three of its opening possessions, including touchdowns to begin the game at Kentucky and Cincinnati.

Starting Fast
As mentioned before, Miami has started fast in 2022 and in fact, the RedHawks have scored on their opening possession in five straight contests, dating back to 2021. In all, Miami has scored 23 points (2 TD/3FG) on its opening possession over the past five contests.

RedHawks Picked To Win East Division
The MAC media picked Miami to capture the East Division in its yearly preseason poll. The RedHawks received 20 of 24 first-place votes back in late July.

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 87 combined games. Caleb Shaffer leads the way with 27 career starts and is followed by Rusty Feth (25), Reid Holskey (16), Sam Vaughan (14, , but out for the year in 2022), John Brekke (3) and Will Jados (2). Brekke was also a three-year starter from Holy Cross before transferring to Miami.

MAC Attack
Senior Mac Hippenhammer set career bests last season in catches (48), yards (786) and touchdowns (5). The Penn State transfer posted season-highs in catches (8) and yards (170) in a win over Central Michigan last season, all while averaging 16.3 yards per catch a year ago. This season he leads all RedHawks in catches (15), yards (199) and touchdowns (3).

New Year, Same Defense
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 third in scoring defense (29.7), first in total defense (350.0), first in rush defense (75.7), second in sacks (9) and first in interceptions (4). Miami's rush defense ranks 12th nationally.

Paging Dr. McWood
Linebacker Ryan McWood (turns 25 on Oct. 13) is in his SEVENTH season with the Red and White. Due to red-shirting the 2016 season, a 2020 COVID year and then a season-ending injury in week one of the 2021 season, McWood is just a handful of college football players playing in their seventh (or eighth) year. The good news of hanging around so long, Ryan's brother Oscar McWood, is now a member of the RedHawks.

Nothing But Net
In his first year with the football program, Graham Nicholson did not disappoint. He finished the season 15-20 on field goals, including 6-of-7 on attempts between 40-49 yards. He added 30 touchbacks on 65 kickoffs in 2021. He is 4-for-5 on field goals in 2022, including a 45-yard field goal versus RMU.