The Miami University football team looks for its fourth-straight victory with a Tuesday, Nov. 5 trip to Ball State. Opening kick is slated for 8 p.m. and will be carried live on ESPN.

About Miami
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (728), conference wins (320), MAC Championships (17) and bowl wins (8). 
• Historically, Miami's 728 career wins are third all-time among Group-of-Five programs, behind just Navy (744) and Army (734).
• Miami was 4-14 in Coach Martin's first 18 Mid-American Conference games. Since then, the RedHawks are 45-18 in their last 63 games versus schools from the MAC.
• Miami captured its second MAC Championship in the last five years, defeating Toledo 23-14 last season. Chuck Martin won his first MAC Championship back in 2019.
• The RedHawks have been bowl-eligible seven of the last eight seasons. From 2006-15, Miami was bowl-eligible just twice.
• Since Oct. 15, 2016, Miami has lost back-to-back conference games just twice in that span (2017, 2022). Miami is 16-3 following a conference loss, dating back to midway through the 2016 campaign.

About Chuck Martin
• Chuck Martin was named Miami head coach on Dec. 3, 2013.
• He was named a 2023 Finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.
• 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 21 seasons.  Martin has an all-time head coaching record of 134-73.
• 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.

Rocking The Cradle
With the win over Central Michigan last weekend, Head coach Chuck Martin cemented himself into Cradle of Coaches history. He had already coached more games (126) than any other RedHawk in program history and now, his 60 wins are more than any other coach in Miami history, passing Randy Walker's 59 wins.

About Ball State
Ball State is 3-5 overall and 2-2 in MAC play, and are coming of a last-second 25-23 victory over Northern Illinois. Quarterback Kadin Semonza has thrown for 1,749 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. Many of those passes have gone to Tanner Koziol, who leads the team with 64 catches for 580 yards and six touchdowns. Keionte Newson is tops on the team with 45 tackles.

Last Meeting Versus Ball State
Kobe Hilton blocked Ball State's go-ahead field goal try with 1:04 to play as Miami held on for a 17-15 win at Ball State back on Nov. 25, 2023. 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.

Series Vs. Ball State
Miami leads the series 23-13-1 against the Cardinals and are 10-7 all-time in Muncie. The RedHawks have captured seven of the last eight meetings between the two programs, including each of the last four.

RedBird Rivalry
The RedBird Rivalry trophy game between Ball State and Miami, two Mid-American Conference universities separated by a little more than 70 miles, is in its sixth year. The rivalry between the schools dates back to a 1931 meeting in Oxford, Ohio, but didn't blossom until Ball State joined the MAC in the mid-1970s. 

Slow Starts
Slow starts are nothing new for Miami football, mostly due to the tough non-conference schedule the team plays every year. Since 2016, Miami continues to improve as the season moves forward. In the months of Aug./Sept. Miami is 13-23. In October, Miami is 19-14 and by the time they reach November, the RedHawks are 18-5.

CMU Recap
Miami defeated Central Michigan 46-7 last Saturday afternoon to give head coach Chuck Martin his record-breaking 60th victory with the program. The RedHawks scored 43 unanswered points to win their third straight game. Dom Dzioban set a Yager Stadium record with five made field goals for the RedHawks, who scored on 10 of their 11 possessions. Keyon Mozee rushed for 120 yards and Javon Tracy caught five passes for 118 yards to lead the Red and White.
• Miami out-gained CMU 518-168.
• Miami's six made field goals set a new school record.
• Mozee produced his third consecutive 100-yard game and his fourth of the season.
• Miami's 39-point margin of victory was its largest ever against Central Michigan (previously 38 in a 59-21 win on Nov. 1, 1986).
• Following the 75-yard first-quarter touchdown drive by CMU, the Chippewas managed just 93 yards on 38 plays the rest of the contest (2.4 yards per play).
• Three different RedHawks had runs of at least 60 yards in the game as Miami racked up 277 yards on 39 attempts (7.1 yards per carry).
• Brett Gabbert finished 10-of-12 passing for 165 yards and a score, while Henry Hesson added a career-best 76 passing yards and threw his first career touchdown pass.

Mozee On Down
Helping with the recent offensive output has been senior running back Keyon Mozee. Mozee had just 60 combined rushing yards in the first three games. Since then, he has posted four 100-yard games and Miami is 4-0 when Mozee goes for 100-plus yards (UMass, EMU, Ohio and CMU).

Gabbert In The History Books
Brett Gabbert, who missed the last six games of the 2023 season with a leg injury, has made 46 starts in his career and is all over the Miami record books. He ranks third in program history with 9,620 passing yards, sixth in completion percentage (.592) and third in passing touchdowns (72). He is also 26 yards shy of 500 career rushing yards and is responsible for 79 touchdowns (72 passing, 7 rushing) in his career.

Balanced Passing Attack
Brett Gabbert has been spreading the ball around all season long. Miami has three different receivers averaging at least 51 yards receiving per game and his top targets have all had their moments. Cade McDonald opened the season with back-to-back 100-yard games. Javon Tracy had 10 catches for 119 yards at Toledo and is coming off 118 yards receiving and a score versus CMU. Reggie Virgil had 113 yards receiving and two touchdowns at EMU and has scored a touchdown in three-straight games.

Trench Warfare
Miami's offensive line is the most experienced unit on the 2024 roster. Reid Holskey has started each of the last 48 games for the Red and White and is followed by Will Jados (32), Kolby Borders (31), and John Young (22). Those four have combined to start 133 games and all four started all 14 games a year ago. Charlie Nank has made seven starts at center and Greg Smith has one start in his career. That's 141 starts combined for the offensive line.

Tackling Machine
Linebacker Matt Salopek, the reigning 2023 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, has 463 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 and no RedHawk has ever secured 100-plus tackles in four-straight seasons. His 463 tackles ranks eighth all-time in program history.

48 And Counting...
Matt Salopek made his 48th start last week versus CMU, but he is not the only defender that has played a ton of football on the defensive side of the ball. Kobe Hilton (43), Brian Ugwu (28), Ty Wise (26) and Raion Strader have all started at least 20 games. 

All-MAC Specialty
Miami has a pair of All-MAC performers on special teams ... both punters. Dom Dzobian was named a second-team All-MAC punter in 2022 and Alec Bevelhimer did the same in 2023. Dzobian, now Miami's placekicker, has converted on 16-of-18 field goals this season, while Bevelhimer is averaging 41.6 yards per punt in 2024. Dzioban is fifth in the nation with 16 made field goals.