The Miami University football team competes in their sixth MAC Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 2 versus the Toledo Rockets inside Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. The opening kick is slated for 12 p.m. on ESPN.

Ways to Watch/Listen
Television: ESPN
Play-by-Play: Anish Shroff
Analyst: Andre Ware
Sideline: Paul Carcaterra

Radio: Miami Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Steve Baker
Analyst: Terry Bridge

Radio Networks
WMOH-AM 1450 (Hamilton, Ohio)
WFMG-FM 101.3 (Richmond, Ind.)
WDBZ-AM 1230 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
WONE-AM 980 (Dayton, Ohio)

About Miami
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (723), conference wins (317), MAC Championships (16) and bowl wins (8). 

• Historically, Miami's 723 career wins, ranks third all-time among Group-of-Five programs, behind just Navy (737) and Army (724). 

• Miami was 4-14 in Coach Martin's first 18 Mid-American Conference games. Since then, the RedHawks are 41-17 in their last 58 games versus schools from the MAC.

• Miami and James Madison are the only schools in the country with six road wins this season. The RedHawks are 6-1 on the road this year with their only loss coming in week one at Miami (Fla.).

• In 480 minutes of MAC play, the RedHawks have only trailed for 80:04 this year, 48:51 of that time came in the loss to Toledo. Miami never trailed against BGSU, Western Michigan, Akron or Buffalo and combined to trail for just 7:37 in the wins over Kent State and Ball State.

• After competing in the 2022 Bahamas Bowl and capturing their sixth win earlier this year, the RedHawks have now been bowl eligible seven of the last eight seasons. From 2006-15, Miami was bowl eligible just twice.

• The RedHawks have picked up Power-5 victories in two straight years, downing Cincinnati (31-24) this season and Northwestern (17-14) a year ago.

• Since early in the 2016 season Miami has lost back-to-back MAC games just twice in that span. In fact, Miami is now 14-2 following a MAC loss under Martin, dating back to Oct. 15, 2016.

• For the first time since 2005, Miami beat both Cincinnati (31-24) and Ohio (30-16) in the same season. Miami's 17-15 win over Ball State means the RedHawks own all three rivalry trophies in 2023.

• The last time Miami won 10 games in a season was 2010 (10-4). The last time Miami won 10 games in the regular season was 2003 (12-1).

• Miami received one top-25 vote last week in the AP Poll.

• Twelve RedHawks were named All-MAC. Matt Salopek, Caiden Woullard and Graham Nicholson earned first-team honors, while Will Jados, Reid Holskey, Brian Ugwu, Ty Wise, Yahsyn McKee, Alec Bevelhimer and Cade McDonald (returner) were named second team All-MAC. Brett Gabbert and Rashad Amos were placed on the third team.

• Matt Salopek was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year and Graham Nicholson came away with MAC Special Teams Player of the Year honors. Salopek is the first RedHawks to earn Defensive Player of the Year since Quinten Rollins did so in 2014. Nicholson, a Lou Groza Award finalist, is a perfect 23-of-23 on field goals this season.

Ticket Punched!
The Dec. 2 contest versus Toledo will be Miami's sixth trip to the MAC Championship Game. Miami is 3-2 all-time when playing for a championship.
2019 - W, 26-21 vs. Central Michigan 
2010 - W, 26-21 vs. Northern Illinois.
2007 - L, 35-10 vs. Central Michigan
2004 - L, 35-27 vs. Toledo
2003 - W, 49-27 vs. Bowling Green

About Chuck Martin
• Chuck Martin was named Miami head coach on Dec. 3, 2013.
• 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 129-68.
• 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.
• Martin's 116 games coached at Miami is tops in program history and his 55 career wins ranks behind only Randy Walker (59).

About Toledo
Toledo enters Saturday's contest at 11-1 overall and 8-0 in conference play. The Rockets, who are ranked 23rd in the nation, haven't lost since falling to Illinois (30-28) in the season opener on Sept. 2. Offensively, quarterback Dequan Finn has thrown for 2,384 yards and 21 touchdowns and is second on the team with 530 yards rushing and six scores. Dallas Gant is tops on the team with 98 tackles, while Judge Culpepper has 10.0 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks this season.

Series Vs. Rockets
After not competing against each other for 4,382 days (2011 to 2023) these same two squads will now face each other for the second time in 42 days. The RedHawks lead the all-time series 28-23-1 over Toledo. This is the first MAC Championship meeting between the two programs.

Last Meeting
Miami hosted Toledo back on Oct. 21, falling 21-17 . The RedHawks held the Rockets scoreless in the second half, but were unable to complete the comeback attempt after trailing 21-3 at halftime. Rashad Amos and Kenny Tracy each scored rushing touchdowns for Miami, while starting quarterback Brett Gabbert was 14-of-29 for 179 yards through the air before leaving the game late in the third quarter with a lower-body injury.

A Tale of Two Halves
Toledo led 21-3 at the half back on Oct. 21, but the final 30 minutes were dominated by the RedHawks. Toledo had eight drives and ran 35 plays in the second half for a total of 67 yards. Five drives resulted in 3-and-outs, and Toledo was forced to punt at the end of each drive. Offensively, the RedHawks scored two touchdowns and racked up 180 yards in the third/fourth quarters combined.

Ball State Recap
Kobe Hilton blocked Ball State's go-ahead field goal try with 1:04 to play and the Miami University football team held on for a 17-15 win at Ball State. Aveon Smith completed 14-of-24 passes for a season-high 170 yards and a touchdown to help Miami finish off its first 10-win regular season since 2003 and win its fourth straight RedBird Rivalry game against Ball State.

Kick Back
Hilton's last second heroics on special teams is nothing new for the RedHawks in 2023. Yahsyn McKee also blocked a field goal as time expired versus Cincinnati to send the game to overtime (Miami would win 31-24) back on Sept. 16.

Tidbits Versus The Cardinals
• Rashad Amos' touchdown run was his 10th of the year, the most for a RedHawk in a single season since 2019 (Jaylon Bester, 14).
• Caiden Woullard now has 9.5 sacks, the eighth-highest single-season mark in Miami history.
• Ty Wise set a career high in tackles for the second straight week, making 19 stops.
• Raion Strader's interception was the first of his career.
• Javon Tracy made a career-high six catches for 70 yards.

Bend But Don't Break
At times, Miami's defense has surrendered yards between the 20's, but once the opposition gets to the red zone, the RedHawks have turned them away. In 33 trips inside Miami's 20-yard line, the RedHawks have allowed just 15 touchdowns.

Monsters of the MAC
Miami's defense has been downright frightening in conference play. This season, Miami ranks first in scoring (10.8), total defense (272.5) and sacks (27). Miami is second in rush defense (114.4) and pass defense (158.1). The RedHawks have shutout two MAC opponents this year (BGSU and Akron) and allowed just three points in a win over Kent State. Miami has allowed just nine touchdowns in eight MAC games this season.

Just Keeps Getting Better
As impressive as those numbers above are, Miami's defense seems to be getting even better as the season goes on. Over the last 18 quarters, Miami has allowed just four touchdowns (41 total points). Miami shutout Toledo in the second half, allowed two touchdowns in the win at Ohio, shutout Akron and gave up just one touchdown versus Buffalo and Ball State to close the season.

Historic Shutdown
Miami's 86 conference points allowed this season are the fewest a MAC team has allowed since Western Michigan gave up 80 points in eight games back in 2000. To put that in perspective, Bill Clinton was President, a gallon of gas cost $1.56, the No. 1 song was "Come on Over Baby" by Christina Aguilera and Survivor launched its first episode (season 45 is currently airing).

Living on the Edge
Miami's defense ranks first in the MAC and 19th nationally with 32 sacks this season. A majority of those sacks have come from Miami's edge players. Caiden Woullard (9.5), Ty Wise (7.0) and Brian Ugwu (7.0) all rank in the top-5 in the MAC and are 11th and tied for 48th in the nation in total sacks.

43 And Counting...
Defensive tackle Austin Ertl made his 43rd career start last week in the trenches, but he is not the only defensive standout that has started a bunch of games for the RedHawks. Matt Salopek (38), Kobe Hilton (34), Jacquez Warren (33), Caiden Woullard (24) and Michael Dowell (24) have all started at least 20 games on defense for the RedHawks. Might as well throw in Yahsen McKee (19), Brian Ugwu (18) and Ty Wise (17) into the mix as well.

Gabbert In The History Book
Brett Gabbert, who will miss the rest of the 2023 season with a leg injury, has made 39 starts in his career and is all over the Miami record books. He ranks third in program history with 7,893 passing yards, sixth in completion percentage (.592) and third in passing touchdowns (59). He is also 18 yards shy of 500 career rushing yards and is responsible for 66 touchdowns (59 passing, 7 rushing) in his career.

Back at the Helm
With Brett Gabbert suffering an injury late in the third quarter versus the Rockets, Miami has leaned on sophomore Aveon Smith. Smith, who started nine games for Miami last season, threw for 1,2989 yards and 11 touchdowns and added 553 yards and six scores on the ground in 2022. He is 9-4 (4-0 in 2023) as a starter in his career, including a win at Northwestern in 2022 and became the first player in school history to lead a team in both passing and rushing yards last season.

"Gage"ing Interest
Coming from a smaller school (Southeast Louisiana), Gage Larvadain did not receive much interest from the major programs, something Miami is thankful for. In his debut with the RedHawks, Larvadain had a game-high eight grabs for 80 yards versus the Hurricanes. He followed that up with eight catches for 273 yards and three scores versus UMass and had a 79-yard touchdown on the opening play versus Cincinnati. Despite missing four games, Larvadain ranks 15th in the MAC in catches (36) and is second in yards (625) and touchdowns (6).

Famous Amos
Sophomore Rashad Amos ranks sixth in the MAC with 821 yards rushing and is second in the conference with 10 rushing scores. He has rushed for over 100 yards three different times this season and has scored a touchdown in eight of the past nine games. His 821 rushing yards are the most since Thomas Merriweather rushed for 921 yards in 2010. Miami's last 1,000-yard rusher was Brandon Murphy in 2005.

Trench Warfare
Miami's offensive line had two major holes to fill along the offensive line after losing both Rusty Feth and Caleb Shaffer to the transfer portal. Combined, those two started 69 games, dating back to 2019. Miami still has plenty of experience in 2023. Reid Holskey has started each of the last 38 games for the Red and White, followed by Will Jados (22), Kolby Borders (21), Sam Vaughan (15), Ben Jackson (13) and John Young (12). Miami has started the same offensive line lineup in all 12 games this season.

Tackling Machine
Linebacker Matt Salopek has 373 career tackles and has surpassed 100 stops in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The last time Miami had a player record 100-plus tackles three straight seasons was Matt Pusateri from 2002-04. His 125 tackles currently rank 11th in the nation and he has added 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and one interception this season.

Nothing But Net
Placekicker Graham Nicholson, a Lou Groza finalist, has been nearly perfect in 2023, connecting on 23-of-23 field goals and 33-of-34 extra points. He is one of three kickers in the country that has yet to miss a field goal this season and ranks first in the country with 23 made field goals. In his career, he is 56-of-66 (84.9%) on field goals, including a game-winner last season at Northwestern. He also drilled a career-long 52-yarder in the win over BGSU. Nicholson was named Mid-Season All-America by the Sporting News and the Associated Press placed him on their second team. He has also been named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week FIVE times in 2023.

Special, Special Teams
Graham Nicholson (Lou Groza finalist) leads the MAC with 23 made field goals and is the only kicker in the conference that has yet to miss a kick. Punter Alec Bevelhimer (Ray Guy Award semifinalist) leads the MAC with a 46.0 yard average, Kevin Davis is second in the league with a 23.4 yard kickoff return average and Cade McDonald's 12.6 punt return average ranks atop the MAC.