The Miami University football team hosts UNLV on Saturday, Sept. 20, live on ESPNU. Opening kick is slated for 12 p.m. as Miami celebrates football alumni weekend.

About Miami
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (733), conference wins (324), MAC Championships (17) and bowl wins (9).  Historically, Miami's 733 career wins are third all-time among Group-of-Five programs, behind just Navy (751) and Army (740).
• Miami was 4-14 in Coach Martin's first 18 Mid-American Conference games. Since then, the RedHawks are 49-19 in their last 68 games versus schools from the MAC, the best in the conference during that span.
• Miami captured 20 combined wins during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the fourth-best two-year span in Miami history. Only the 2003-04, 1973-74 and 1974-75 squads combined for more wins (21). 
• Miami has competed in five straight bowl games and has been bowl-eligible in eight of the past nine seasons. The RedHawks are coming off a 43-17 win over Colorado State in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl last season.
• 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 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 139-76.
• He is 65-69 all-time at Miami (51-33 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 UNLV
UNLV enters Yager Stadium at 3-0 overall with wins over Idaho State (38-31), Sam Houston (38-21) and UCLA (30-23). The Rebels average 35.3 points/game and are led by quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who has thrown for 647 yards and six touchdowns this season. Defensively, Jake Pope is tops on the team with 22 tackles.

Series History Versus UNLV
This will be the first meeting between the two programs.

Best Group-of-5 Matchup in the Nation
It will be hard pressed to find a better non-conference Group-of-5 contest this season. Over the past two seasons Miami and UNLV have combined to go 40-16, play in four conference championship games and four bowl games.

Home Sweet Home
After an 0-2 start, the RedHawks return home where they have had strong success. Dating back to Nov. 7, 2018, the RedHawks are 26-5 at home. Last season the RedHawks were 5-1 inside Yager Stadium with their only loss coming to Cincinnati. Last season's loss to UC snapped a five-game win streak in home openers.

Rutgers Recap
Miami dropped a 45-17 decision at SHI Stadium to Rutgers back on Sept. 13. Dequan Finn threw for 251 yards and added 85 on the ground for the RedHawks. After falling behind 24-7, the RedHawks scored the game's next 10 points to close the gap to 24-17 with 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Rutgers scored the final 21 points of the contest to put it out of reach.
 
Agent Zero
Keith Reynolds finished with a career-high in receiving yards, making a team-high seven catches for 120 yards to lead the Red and White. More than half of his yards (68 in all) came after the catch. Reynolds and Kam Perry each recorded a reception of more than 60 yards, a feat last accomplished by multiple RedHawks in the same game back in November 2021 (Sorenson and Mac Hippenhammer vs. Bowling Green).

Watch This
Jackson Kuwatch set a career high for tackles with a team-high 11, including a key third-down sack in the second quarter —the first of his career— to force a Rutgers field-goal attempt. Kuwatch has 13 tackles this season after recording 14 total in his previous two years with Miami.

Been Here Before
The 0-2 start for the RedHawks is nothing new. Mostly due to an extremely tough non-conference schedule, Miami has started eight of the past 10 seasons (not including 2020 when Miami only played three games) with a 1-3 record (or worse). Below is a break down of starts and finishes for Miami football over recent years.
Year         Start    Finish
2024         1-4        8-1
2023         3-1        8-2
2022         2-2        4-5
2021         1-3        6-3
2019         1-3        7-3
2018         1-3        6-3
2017         2-5        3-2
2016         0-6        6-1
Totals      11-27    48-20

Finn To Win
While Dequan Finn is scheduled to make just his third career start as a member of the RedHawks, the seventh-year quarterback does not lack experience.
• Throughout his career he has thrown for 7,724 yards and 66 touchdown passes in 50 career games.
• He has added 2,005 rushing yards and 28 scores on the ground. 
• Most of that damage came during his time at Toledo. In 45 career games with the Rockets, Finn threw for 7,074 yards and 63 scores, while adding 1,840 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground. 
• He earned first-team All-MAC and was the MAC Player of the Year in 2023 and is the only player in Toledo football history to throw for over 2,000 yards and rush for 500 yards in multiple seasons (2021, 2022, 2023).
• Finn's 94 career total touchdowns (66 passing, 28 rushing) ranks first among active players in the NCAA. The next closest is Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia (87 total touchdowns).
• In his career he has combined for 9,725 yards in 1,413 total plays.

New-Look Offensive Line
Miami's OL lost one player to the transfer portal, while four others graduated following the 2024 season. In all, those five players started a combined 166 career games for the RedHawks. Miami's 2025 offensive line will have a much different feel. Eric Smith, Kris Manu, Austin Uke and Greg Smith Jr. all made their first collegiate start in the season opener at Wisconsin, while Drew Terrill started his second career game. In all, Miami's offensive line has started a combined 11 games.

Can History Repeat Itself?
Over the past four years, the Miami defense has been outstanding, finishing in the top 40 nationally every year since 2021. Miami allowed 23.1 points (40th) in 2021, 21.0 (35th) in 2022, 17.8 (7th) in 2023 and 18.8 (15th) in 2024. Miami opened the season strong, holding the Badgers to 17 points (one drive started at the Miami 2-yard line) and 3.8 yards per rush, but struggled in week two at Rutgers.

From Walk-on to Team Leader
Silas Walters came to Miami back in 2021 as a walk-on. Prior to the 2023 season, Walters earned a scholarship, and in 2024 he finished second on the team with 95 tackles and 12 pass breakups. He also represented Miami's defense at the 2025 MAC Football Media Day in Detroit.

The Book of Eli
Eli Blakey has a 181 tackles in his career, tops on the team. Last season he posted a career-high 89 tackles and currently leads the squad with 18 stops this season.

Sean McVay Joins Cradle of Coaches
Miami added a 10th bronze statue to its Cradle of Coaches in Sean McVay back in 2023. McVay, the current head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, joined Ara Parseghian, Paul Brown, Weeb Ewbank, John Harbaugh, John Pont, Carm Cozza, Bo Schembechler, Red Blaik, and Paul Dietzel in the south end of Yager Stadium.

Graduating Champions
Before Miami even takes the field in 2024, 15 different RedHawks will have already earned their Miami degree: Eli Blakey, Jordan Brunson, Deion Colzie, Dom Dzioban, Dequan Finn, Henry Hesson, Corban Hondru, Oscar McWood, Brian Shane, Kenny Tracy, Austin Uke, Marcus White, Nasir Washington, Darion Williamson and Kam Wilson.