Miami (Ohio) will make the 230-mile trip to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. The RedHawks (0-2) are in search of their first win of the season. They lost to Cincinnati 27-16 in their home opener last week and suffered a 13-6 loss at Northwestern to open the season in Week 1. Miami (Ohio) was idle in Week 2.
No. 17 Notre Dame (2-1), meanwhile, enters the game off a 66-7 thrashing of in-state rival Purdue in Week 3. It was a much-needed bounce-back win after a shocking loss at home to Northern Illinois from the Mid-American Conference in Week 2. The Irish took out their frustrations on the Boilermakers, handing them their worst defeat in history. Notre Dame outgained their opponent 580 yards to 162 in the dominating win.
“I was pleased with the performance and preparation from our football program (last week),” said Irish head coach Marcus Freeman in his opening statement at Monday’s press conference. “A lot of guys were able to play and perform at a high level. That speaks to the depth of our football team.
“We won the turnover margin, rushing battle, third-down battle, explosive play battle, and time of possession,” Freeman continued. “As I said last week, if you win those key areas, you are going to win the football game.”
In hosting Miami (Ohio), however, Notre Dame is welcoming another MAC team to Notre Dame Stadium. Freeman believes the Irish learned their lesson from looking past Northern Illinois. If true, Notre Dame will do everything possible to avoid a repeat in front of the Irish faithful on Saturday. The Irish are 10-1 all-time vs. MAC teams.
Game at a Glance
The contest will mark the third meeting between Notre Dame and Miami (Ohio). The Fighting Irish lead the series 2-0. Both prior contests were played at Notre Dame. Miami (Ohio) ranks first all-time in the MAC in wins (724), conference wins (317), MAC Championships (17), and bowl wins (8). The RedHawks captured their second MAC Championship in the last five years last season, defeating Toledo 23-14.
Miami (Ohio) head coach Chuck Martin (130-71 through 11 seasons) won his first MAC Championship at Miami (Ohio) in 2019. Martin has a history with Notre Dame. He was an assistant on Brian Kelly’s staff at Notre Dame for four seasons from 2012-13. Martin served as the team’s offensive coordinator/QB coach in 2012-13. He was the defensive backs coach/recruiting coordinator in 2010-11.
At his Monday press conference, Martin shared his thoughts on opening the season against Northwestern, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame.
“When we play the schedule we play, there is a good and bad to everything,” Martin said. “Do I want to start out with Big Ten, Big 12, Notre Dame? No. You’re on a suicide mission. But as I tell my team every day, everything we do that we do well really is something we should keep carrying because if we’re doing it well right now against these guys, it’s probably a strength of ours and you always to play to your strengths. If you’re not doing something well, that gets exposed immediately. I mean immediately.
“Obviously with our schedule, we’ll know early if we do things good. We’ll know what we’re good at,” he continued. “If we don’t do things well, we won’t get away with that.”
Scouting Miami (Ohio)
While the RedHawks are winless this season, they have been competitive. This year’s squad has key returnees back from an 11-win season a year ago. Last year’s win total tied for the second-most in program history. The last time Miami (Ohio) won more games in a season came in 2003 (13-1) when former NFL great Ben Roethlisberger was the team’s quarterback.
Leading the way for Miami (Ohio) is quarterback Brett Gabbert. Back for his sixth season, Gabbert suffered a leg injury against Toledo last year that ended his season after eight games. Against Cincinnati last week, Gabbert completed 23-of-35 pass attempts for 339 yards. He tossed a pair of touchdowns and threw one interception. In the loss against Northwestern, Gabbert went 22-of-37 for 227 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Gabbert’s favorite target is wide receiver Cade McDonald. The senior receiver boasts 16 receptions for 240 yards (15.0 average) and a touchdown in the first two games. His longest catch is 51 yards this season. In last week’s loss, McDonald set career-highs in catches (8) and yards (135). McDonald played in 13 games a year ago, making five starts. He finished the 2023 season with 28 catches for 353 yards and three touchdowns. He was named second-team ALL-MAC as a returner.
RedHawks Ground Game Ground To A Halt
While Miami (Ohio) has averaged 323.5 yards per game on offense, the rushing game has been dismal. The RedHawks average 32 yards per game. Jordan Brunson leads all RedHawks running backs with 33 yards (4.1 average) on eight carries. Notre Dame’s defense allows 124.7 rushing yards per game and just 140.7 yards passing. Despite facing a veteran Irish defense, Martin has not given up on his team’s run game.
“We like to run the football,” Martin said at his press conference. “Both the Northwestern and Cincinnati game, there was some positive stuff there. But it’s so inconsistent. We’ve played good opponents and really good fronts, but there is still stuff out there we can do. Cincinnati got after us. OK. There are other plays when there is stuff there and we’re not executing. It comes down to our inconsistency and our passing game. And our run game is not to the level we need to be the best team we can be, let alone beat these teams. We got to get going.”
As for playing in South Bend, Martin said, “It’s an awesome opportunity for us and a really cool experience to go to any type of venue like that. My personal opinion, we’re going to the greatest venue on the planet. You’re going to be on national TV, and you get to show the world what kind of player you are. You get to show the whole world what kind of team you are. It’s like any of the other big games that get scheduled, but I think this one is more special because it’s a better place than everywhere else.”
Notre Dame Seeks First Home Win of the Season
The Irish will take the field Saturday in search of their first home win of the season. After looking past Northern Illinois, Notre Dame should not make the same mistake twice taking on the defending MAC Champion RedHawks.
On the offensive side of the ball, Notre Dame hit on all cylinders against Purdue. Quarterback Riley Leonard has thrown for 433 yards and added 179 yards and four touchdowns on the ground through the first three games. Expect the Irish to continue to lean on the rushing game against the RedHawks. In addition to Leonard’s ability to run the ball, the Irish have dynamic runners Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price in the backfield. The Irish average 227.7 yards rushing per game, while Miami (Ohio) allows 182.5 yards rushing per game and 364.5 total yards of offense per game.
Notre Dame’s running backs coach Deland McCullough has an extra layer of motivation heading into the game. McCullough played for Miami (Ohio) and is the school’s second-all-time leading rusher. He was the 1992 MAC Freshman of the Year. Love and Price have an ideal opportunity to showcase their speed and power against Miami (Ohio). They will undoubtedly be aiming to put on a show that will make McCullough proud in front of a sold-out Notre Dame Stadium.
