The Miami University football team travels to face the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Nippert Stadium. Opening kick is slated for 7 p.m.

Television
The matchup with UC will be carried live on ESPN+. Shawn Kenney will handle play-by-play duties, while Brad Hopkins will serve as the color analyst. 

Radio
In its fifth 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 (714), conference wins (310), MAC Championships (16) and bowl wins (8). 

• Historically, Miami's 714 career wins, ranks third all-time among Group-of-Five programs, behind just Navy (734) and Army (721). Appalachian State (654) if fourth and Central Michigan (644) rounds out the top five.

• Miami was 4-18 in Coach Martin's first 22 Mid-American Conference games. Since then, the RedHawks are 34-16 in their last 50 games versus schools from the MAC, the best record in the conference during that span.

• Miami has now had a .500 or better conference record in six of the last seven seasons, dating back to 2016. The RedHawks also captured the 2019 MAC Championship game and were a two-point conversion away versus Kent State from playing in the 2021 MACC.

• Martin, in his 10th year leading the RedHawks, has a new look on offense in 2023. Offensive Coordinator Pat Welsh returns for his 10th year with Martin, but his first as offensive coordinator. Defensively, Bill Brechin begins year two as the defensive coordinator (10th year at Miami). Special Teams Coordinator Jacob Bronowski is in his second year with the Red and White. 

• Miami is 13-8 in one-score games, dating back to the 2018 campaign.

• In its last 53 contests, Miami has had a lead at some point in 46 of those games. The RedHawks had a lead at some point in all but one game in 2022.

• After competing in the 2022 Bahamas Bowl, the RedHawks have now been bowl eligible six of the last seven 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 120-67.

• 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 Cincinnati
Cincinnati enters Saturday at 2-0 overall with wins over Eastern Kentucky (66-13) and Pittsburgh (27-21). The Bearcats are averaging 519.0 yards per contest and are led by quarterback Emory Jones. Jones has thrown for 470 yards and seven touchdowns in two games. Defensively, Deshawn Pace is tops on the team with 11 tackles.

Series Vs. Bearcats
The Battle for the Victory Bell series, which started in 1888 with the first college football game ever played in the state of Ohio, is now 60-59-7 all time in UC's favor. Cincinnati has captured the last 16 meetings, with Miami's last win in the series coming in 2005. 

• 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 126 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.

• 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 126 meetings, 54 have been decided by seven points or less, including the seven ties in series history.

• The series is currently scheduled to continue through 2029. 

Last Meeting
After Miami grabbed an early 10-0 lead, Cincinnati went on top for good just before halftime and pulled away for a 38-17 win over the RedHawks last September at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati. Aveon Smith threw two touchdown passes in the first half for Miami, while Ryan McWood made a game-high 13 tackles.

Memorable Meeting
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 377 yards as Miami jumped out to a 28-0 advantage and held on to edge Cincinnati 42-37 in front of a sellout crowd at Yager Stadium on Sept. 27, 2003. The RedHawks captured the Victory Bell for the third straight season and Roethlisberger became the first quarterback in program history to amass three consecutive 300-yard passing games. The Bearcats cut a 25-point fourth-quarter deficit to a single possession down the stretch, but their fifth turnover of the game (a fumbled punt in the final minute) sealed the outcome for the Red and White.

Good Things Come to Those That Wait
The trip to Cincinnati is Miami's third straight road game to begin the year. Miami does not compete at home until Sept. 23. The last time Miami opened the year with three straight road games was 2003 (at Iowa, at Northwestern and at Colorado State).

RedHawks Pick Up 41-28 Victory at UMass
Brett Gabbert threw for 302 yards and Gage Larvadain finished with eight catches for 273 yards and three touchdowns as the Miami University football team downed the University of Massachusetts 41-28 on Saturday (and Sunday) in a contest that last nearly nine hours. 

Weathering the Storm
Miami's win over the Minutemen was scheduled to begin at 3:32 p.m., but moments before the coin toss, the game was delayed two hours and five minutes. Both teams returned to the field and played much of the first quarter before a second weather delay sent the teams back to the locker room for an addition three hours and 30 minutes. In all, the game was delayed for five hours and 35 minutes and concluded at 12:28 a.m.

Other Tidbits From UMass
• Rashad Amos rushed 23 times for 115 yards, his first 100-yard game as a RedHawk. It was also the first time Miami had 100-yard rusher since Aveon Smith did so at Buffalo last season.

• Larvadain's 273 receiving yards are the second-most in program history behind only Jack Sorenson's 283 receiving yards versus Ohio in 2021. Larvadain added a 99-yard reception, the longest catch in program history (previous long was 94 yards by Sly Johnson in 1999).

• UMass scored to make it 31-28 Miami with 11:08 in the contest. From that point, Miami's defense forced two three-and-outs and added an interception to secure the win.

Bounce Back
Since early in the 2016 season Miami has lost back-to-back MAC games just twice in that span. In fact, Miami is now 13-2 following a MAC loss under Martin, dating back to Oct. 15, 2016. 

Monsters of the MAC
Statistically, Miami had one of the best defenses in the MAC in 2022. The RedHawks were first in scoring defense (22.6), third in total defense (373.1) and first in rush defense (135.9). In all, Miami returns nine defensive starters from the 2022 squad.

Take It Away Defense, Take it Away
The RedHawks defense forced 22 turnovers in 2022, a season-best under coach Martin. Prior to the 2022 season, Miami had averaged 16 turnovers forced per season, with a high of 20 in 2019. Miami finished the 2022 season +11 in turnover margin, 12th best in the country. The RedHawks have already forced three turnovers in 2023, including two last week at UMass.

Five Things to Know About No. 5 Brett Gabbert
• Younger brother of NFL quarterback, Blaine Gabbert.

• Gabbert was named the 2019 MAC Freshman of the Year, joining Ben Roethlisberger (2001) and Deland McCullough (1992) as the only other RedHawks to capture this award.

• When Miami opened the 2019 season at Iowa, Gabbert became the first true freshman quarterback to open the season as the starter in Miami football history. 

• Is responsible for 54 touchdowns (49 passing, 5 rushing) in his Miami career.

• Ranks fourth in program history with 6,688 passing yards and is sixth in completion percentage (.588) and tied for fifth in passing touchdowns (49).

Gabbert Versus Gus
Back in 2018, senior quarterback star Gus Ragland helped recruit Brett Gabbert to Miami. Five years later, Ragland is now coaching quarterbacks for Miami and will soon see Gabbert surpass many of his career numbers. Gabbert ranks fourth in career passing yards and passed Ragland in week one at Miami (FL). Gabbert's completion percentage (.588) is just two spots behind Ragland (.602) and with eight touchdown passes, Gabbert will move into third all-time in program history ... ahead of Ragland.

"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. Larvadain currently ranks eighth in the NCAA with 16 catches and is  first with 353 receiving yards.

Trench Warfare
Miami's offensive line has 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 returning in 2023. Reid Holskey has started each of the last 28 games for the Red and White, followed by Sam Vaughan (14), Will Jados (12), Kolby Borders (11), Ben Jackson (4) and John Young (2).

Tackling Machine
Linebacker Matt Salopek has 268 career tackles and has surpassed 100 stops in each of the past two years. With 100 tackles in 2023 he would become the first Miami player to secure 100-plus tackles in three-straight seasons since Matt Pusateri did the same from 2002-04.

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 was 18-for-22 on field goals in 2022. He also had his first game-winning field goal, connecting on a 36-yard field goal with 21 seconds to go in the 17-14 win at Northwestern. This season he is a perfect 3-for-3.