RedHawks Host Ball State With MAC Title Hopes on the Line

Saturday, November 29

Oxford, Ohio

12 p.m.

Miami University

Ball State

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RedHawks Host Ball State With MAC Title Hopes on the Line

11/25/2025 7:27:00 AM | Football

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The Miami University football team hosts Ball State on Saturday, Nov. 29 with a possible 2025 MAC Championship trip on the line. The contest will be carried live on CBS Sports, beginning at 12 p.m.

About Miami
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (739), conference wins (328), MAC Championships (17) and bowl wins (9). Historically, Miami's 739 career wins are third all-time among Group-of-Five programs, behind just Navy (755) and Army (744).
• Miami was 4-14 in Coach Martin's first 18 Mid-American Conference games. Since then, the RedHawks are 54-21 in their last 75 games versus schools from the MAC, the best in the conference during that span. Miami is 21-4 over their last 25 MAC games.
• Miami has competed in five straight bowl games and with a win last week, the RedHawks are bowl-eligible for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons. The RedHawks are coming off a 43-17 win over Colorado State in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl last season.
• With some help and a Miami win on Saturday, the RedHawks could be competing in their third-straight MAC Championship Game and their fourth in the past seven years. The last school to play in three-straight title games was NIU from 2011-2015.
• Since Oct. 15, 2016, Miami has lost back-to-back conference games just three in that span (2017, 2022, 2025). Miami is 17-4 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 after an 11-3 season.
• 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 22 seasons.
• Martin has an all-time head coaching record of 145-79.
• He is 71-72 all-time at Miami (56-35 in MAC play) and has won more games at Miami than any other coach. The previous high was held by Randy Walker (60 wins).
• Martin is the longest tenured active coach in the MAC.
• 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 Ball State
Ball State comes to Yager Stadium with a 4-7 record (3-4 MAC) and have dropped their past two contests to Eastern Michigan and Toledo. Kiael Kelly has thrown for 1,383 yards and eight touchdowns this season, while Nathan Voorhis leads a defensive unit with 11.0 sacks this season.

Series History Versus Ball State
Miami leads the series 24-13-1 against the Cardinals and are 13-6-1 all-time in Oxford. The RedHawks have captured eight of the last nine meetings between the two programs, including each of the last five.

Down to the Wire
While the RedHawks have won five straight versus the Cardinals, each of those contests have come down the last few plays.
• 2024 -- Trailing 27-21, Ball State drove down to the Miami 42-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with under two minutes to play.
• 2023 -- Kobe Hilton blocked a 42-yard field goal with a minute left in the contest to secure a 17-15 Miami win.
• 2022 -- Miami erased a 17-6 fourth quarter deficit, capped by a 34-yard touchdown from Miles Marshall with three minutes left in the contest to send the RedHawks to the Bahamas Bowl.
• 2021 -- After Miami scored in the fourth quarter to go up 24-17, Ball State drove down to the Miami 19-yard line before a endzone interception from Sterling Weatherford ended the contest.
• 2020 -- Zach Kahn scored a touchdown with 30 seconds to play for a 38-31 Miami win.

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.

Senior Day
Miami will honor 21 seniors prior to Saturday's game: Eli Blakey, Deion Colzie, Jordan Brunson, Kenny Tracy, Henry Hesson, Corban Hondru, Adam Trick, Sam Barry, Oscar McWood, Eli Coppess, Silas Walters, Dom Dzioban, Jackson Kuwatch, Grant Lyons, Chase Becker, Nasir Washington, Marcus White, Austin Uke and Brian Shane, Hudson Powell and Logan Neu.

Buffalo Recap
Thomas Gotkowski came off the bench to throw for 185 yards to lift Miami to a crucial 37-20 road win at Buffalo. Gotkowski threw for a touchdown and ran for another as the RedHawks became bowl-eligible for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons and kept their MAC title hopes alive heading into the final week of the regular season.

Bruising Backs
Jordan Brunson went over 100 yards on the ground for the second time this season and the third time in his career, including a season-long 60-yard run versus the Bulls. D'Shawntae Jones produced the first multi-touchdown game of his career, including his longest scoring run (seven yards) as a RedHawk. Brunson leads the team with 611 yards rushing, while Jones is tops on the team with six rushing scores.

Picks, Plural
Wednesday's game was the fourth time this season (and the second week in a row) that Miami has recorded multiple interceptions. Silas Walters' pick was his third of the season, while Adrian Walker grabbed his first career interception. Miami's 14 interceptions lead the MAC and seventh-nest in the nation.

King Cole
Over his past four games, Cole Weaver has 23 catches for 313 yards. Weaver set career high for catches (9) and yards (96) in the win over Western Michigan and last week had five catches for 82 yards at Buffalo. Weaver, who now has 35 grabs for 468 yards this year, entered 2025 with just two career catches for 38 yards.

Lights, 'Kam'era, Action
Kam Perry currently averages 24.3 yards per reception, which ranks first in the country. After posting just 10 catches for 166 yards last season, the junior has already recorded three 100-yard games this season. He had 108 yards at Rutgers, 122 versus UNLV and 122 against Lindenwood. He also posted four grabs for 98 yards versus Western Michigan. He ranks third in the MAC with 802 receiving yards.

Magic Trick
Adam Trick currently ranks 13th nationally with 7.5 sacks and has already surpassed his career best (4.5), set last season. He posted 2.0 sacks at Wisconsin and recorded sacks in three-straight games versus Lindenwood (1.0), NIU (1.0) and Akron (1.5). Trick is one of 14 RedHawks to post a sack this season. Combined, Miami has recorded 32 sacks, which ranks 11th in the country.

Touchdown Tommy
Thomas Gotkowski entered this season as Miami's third-string quarterback and saw his first game action in mop-up-duty in a 38-0 win versus Lindenwood on Sept. 27. The next time he stepped foot on the field was Nov. 19 versus Buffalo. Prior to joining Miami, Gotkowski was a two-time team captain for Ben Davis High School. He earned first-team all-state honors as a senior and led his team to a state championship that same season.