RedHawks Face Bearcats for 129th Time on Saturday

Saturday, September 19

Cincinnati Ohio

3:30 p.m.

Miami University

Cincinnati

Photo by: BGB

RedHawks Face Bearcats for 129th Time on Saturday

9/15/2026 7:30:00 AM | Football

Game Notes

The Miami University football team, along with the Cincinnati Bearcats, will square-off for the 129th time on Saturday, Sept. 19 inside TQL Stadium. Opening kick is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

About Miami
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (741), conference wins (330), MAC Championships (17) and bowl wins (9). Historically, Miami's 741 career wins are third all-time among Group-of-Five programs, behind just Navy (757) and Army (746).

• Miami was 4-14 in Coach Martin's first 18 Mid-American Conference games. Since then, the RedHawks are 55-22 in their last 77 games versus schools from the MAC, the best in the conference during that span. Miami is 22-5 over their last 27 MAC games, which includes three-straight trips to the MAC Title Game.

• The RedHawks have competed in five straight bowl games and have been bowl-eligible in nine of the past 10 seasons.

• Since Oct. 15, 2016, Miami has lost back-to-back conference games just three times in that span (2017, 2022, 2025). Miami is 17-4 following a conference loss, dating back to midway through the 2016 campaign.
About Miami Continued

• Of the 119 players on the 2026 roster, 55 (27 transfers, 28 freshmen) are new this season. Another 16 players are red-shirt freshmen and eight transferred in for the 2025 campaign. In all, 46.2% of the roster is new this season and 66.4% of the team has been with the RedHawks for one season or less.

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 23 seasons.
• Martin has an all-time head coaching record of 147-82.
• He is 73-75 all-time at Miami (57-34 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.

All In The Family
Nearly every member of the RedHawks' staff either played at Miami, played for Chuck Martin previously or worked for him before getting hired on as assistant coaches. In some cases, such as running backs coach Chris Hudson and safeties coach Zane Ries, they did all three. (In fact, the only exception who doesn't check at least one of those boxes is Mitchell White...but White's twin brother worked for Martin!)

RedHawks Picked Second in Preseason Poll
Back in late July, the RedHawks were picked second in the MAC preseason coaches poll with 134 points, trailing only Western Michigan (138 points). Four of the league's head coaches picked the RedHawks to capture the MAC Title.

Miami Dominates Holy Cross
After dropping a 59-14 decision to Pittsburgh in week one, the RedHawks answered back with a 45-7 win over Holy Cross last Saturday. Miami played three different QBs, nine different players recorded a rush, eight players caught a pass and 22 players recorded a tackle.

Perfectly Perfect
In his second career start, David McComb was a perfect 13-of-13 for 234 yards and three touchdowns in 30 minutes of action (he did not play in the second half). He added a three-yard TD run to open the scoring as the RedHawks scored six-straight touchdowns to begin the contest. Through two games, the red-shirt freshman has thrown for 475 yards and four touchdowns and has not thrown an INT in his first 46 pass attempts.

Small But Carries a Big Stick
Freshman Scoop Smith, the shortest player in D1 Football (he is listed 5-foot-5), has found several ways to make an impact for Miami. He had three returns for 107 yards at Pitt and added three catches for 50 yards in week one. Versus Holy Cross he took an end-around for 23 yards and blocked a punt that resulted in a 23-yard TD return for Leo Colombi against Holy Cross.

About Cincinnati
The Bearcats are 2-0 on the year with wins over Boston College (34-15) and Western Carolina (62-10). Quarterback JC French IV has thrown for 322 yards and three scores and has added 104 yards on the ground with three touchdowns through the first two weeks of the season. Defensively, Jonathan Thompson has 15 tackles, 2.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks this year.

Last Meeting versus the Bearcats
Miami dropped its home opener to Cincinnati 27-16 back on Sept. 14, 2024. The Bearcats won the 128th all-time Battle for the Victory Bell in front of a sellout crowd of 24,717 despite 339 passing yards by Brett Gabbert.

Series History With Cincinnati
• 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 led by Cincinnati 61-60-7 in 128 career meetings.
• Miami snapped a 16-game losing streak back in 2024 with a win over the Bearcats.
• 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 128 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.

It's Not How you Start...
Miami football has a knack of crawling out of some deep holes. Over the past nine years, the RedHawks have started above .500 in the first month of the season just once, but have closed the year with a winning record each season.

Year Start Finish
2026 1-1 ???
2025 0-3 7-4
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 12-31 55-24

Agent Zero
Joining McComb in the backfield will be another new addition to the RedHawks in No. 0 Rodney Nelson. The red-shirt junior rushed for 1,802 yards and 18 touchdowns at Monmouth last season, earning the CAA Offensive Player of the Year.

In The Trenches
While there are many new players on the Miami roster, the RedHawks do return four starters along their offensive line: Kris Manu (16), Jacob Schorsch (9), Eric Smith (15) and Greg Smith Jr. (16) have started a combined 56 games throughout their Miami careers. Evan Malcore, who started 32 games at NIU over the past three years, has started a pair of games for the Red and White this season.

Can History Repeat Itself?
Over the past five years, the Miami defense has been outstanding, finishing in the top-41 nationally every year since 2021. Miami allowed 23.1 points (40th) in 2021, 21.0 (35th) in 2022, 17.8 (7th) in 2023, 18.8 (15th) in 2024 and 21.7 (41st) this past season.

Linebacker Overload
Miami's linebacker group is arguably the deepest on the team. Malcolm McCain returns for his fourth year with the team and is Miami's top returning tackler with 73 stops in 2025. He is joined by Blayne Myrick, a transfer from South Alabama, who earned first-team all-conference a year ago (second-team in 2024) and CJ Young, who was named second-team All-MAC at Kent State in 2025. On top of that, Brock Uihlein had 11 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in the MAC Championship Game a year ago.

Kicker University
Miami football is making a habit of producing incredible kickers. Dom Dzioban earned first team All-MAC in 2024 and 2025, Graham Nicholson won the Lou Grosa Award in 2023 and Sam Sloman kicked for the RedHawks from 2016-19, eventually being drafted by the LA Rams in 2020. Up next for Miami is Kellan McLaughlin. The junior has served as the team's kickoff specialist for the past two years, but has attempted just one field goal in his Miami career.

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 2026, 14 different RedHawks have already earned their collegiate degrees: Maleek Huggins, Amariyun Knighten, Brandon Lawhorn-Moore, Grant Lyons, Evan Malcore, Ben Minich, Leo Scheidler, James Schott, Shaun Shahu, Brady Simmons, Eric Smith, Dillon Tatum, Trey Wallman and Cade Yacamelli.