• Football
  • Miami Continues a Grueling Stretch with a Trip to Northwestern for a Very Winnable Contest

Miami Continues a Grueling Stretch with a Trip to Northwestern for a Very Winnable Contest

Details
Football

The Miami University football team faces Northwestern on Saturday, Sept. 24 at Ryan Stadium in Evanston, Ill. Opening kick is slated for 7:30 p.m. The matchup with Northwestern will be carried live on Big Ten Network. Joe Beninati will handle play-by-play duties, while J Leman will serve as the color analyst. Krystle Rich will work the sideline.

First And Ten
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (708), conference wins (306), MAC Championships (16) and bowl wins (8). The RedHawks also captured the 2019 MAC Championship with a 26-21 win over Central Michigan.

• Although Miami was 4-18 in Coach Martin's first 22 Mid-American Conference games, the RedHawks are 30-12 in the last 42 games versus schools from the MAC, the best record in the conference during that span.

• The RedHawks clinched the MAC East Division Championship with a 6-2 record in 2019, went 2-1 in 2020 and 5-3 in 2021. Miami has now had a winning conference record in five of the past six years.

• Martin, in his ninth year leading the RedHawks, has a new-look coaching staff in 2021. Offensive Coordinator Eric Koehler returns for his ninth year calling plays, while Bill Brechin begins year one as the Defensive Coordinator (ninth year at Miami). Special Teams Coordinator Jacob Bronowski is in his first year with the Red and White.

• Miami is 9-4 in one-score games, dating back to the 2018 campaign. The RedHawks were 5-0 in one-score games in 2019, including a 26-21 victory over Central Michigan in the MAC Championship Game.

• In its last 41 contests, Miami has had a lead at some point in 36 of those games. The only five setbacks were a 42-10 loss at Buffalo in 2020 and four different losses in 2021.

• Miami competed in the 2021 Frisco Football Classic (W, 27-14) and the RedHawks have now been bowl eligible five of the last six seasons. From 2006-15, Miami was bowl eligible just twice.

About Northwestern
Northwestern enters Saturday's contest at 1-2 overall with a win at Nebraska to open the season (31-28) and losses versus Duke (31-23) and Southern Illinois (31-24). The Wildcats average 473.0 yards of offense per game and are led by do-it-all running back Evan Hull. Hull leads the team in rushing (308 yards) and receiving (301 yards) and averages 203.0 combined yards per contest.

Series Vs. Wildcats
Miami leads the all-time series between the teams 6-3, including a run of five consecutive victories in Evanston between 1964 and 2003.

Last Meeting
The Miami defense held Northwestern to half its scoring average, but QB Mike Kafka ran for a pair of touchdowns to lift the Wildcats to a 16-6 victory over the RedHawks in Evanston on October 10, 2009. Zac Dysert led the RedHawks in both passing yards (176) and rushing yards (63).

Memorable Meeting
The 1995 Northwestern Wildcats shocked the college football world by starting the season with an upset victory at No. 9 Notre Dame, running the table in the Big Ten and advancing to the Rose Bowl. That team's only regular-season loss? A 30-28 decision at the hands of Miami University. Miami scored 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, capped off by a Chad Seitz field goal as time expired, to stun the hosts and ruin the Wildcats' first top-25 ranking since 1971. "Miami out-hustled, out-hit, out-played and out-coached us," Northwestern coach Gary Barnett told the Chicago Tribune.

Vs. Big Ten
Since arriving in Oxford, head coach Chuck Martin is 0-7 versus the Big Ten. Miami's last win versus the Big Ten was on Sept. 13, 2003, when the RedHawks downed Northwestern 44-14. The RedHawks would go on to finish that season 13-1 and rank No. 10 in the final AP Poll.

Walker Connection
• Randy Walker was Miami head coach from 1990-98. He is Miami's all-time leader in games coached (99) and games won (59) for the Red and White.
• Walker served as Northwestern's head coach from 1999-2006 until his death on June 29, 2006. He was 37-46 as head coach of the Wildcats.
• Miami's offensive line coach, James Patton, played and coached with Walker.
• Walker's wife, Tammy, currently serves on Miami's AD Circle.