RedHawks reflect on Northwestern game ahead of the Battle for the Victory Bell

The Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium welcomed a crowd of more than 12,000 on the shores of Lake Michigan last Saturday. The Northwestern University Wildcats temporarily relocated their home football games to the lakefront while Ryan Field undergoes renovations.

What better team to christen the temporary stadium than the Miami University RedHawks?

The reigning MAC champions had the chance to face the Big Ten opponent to open the 2024 season on Aug. 30. The RedHawks last faced the Wildcats in 2022, when they scraped away with a 17-14 victory after a late-game field goal.

This year, the RedHawks failed to replicate their previous success.

Head coach Chuck Martin spoke at a press conference on Monday about the team’s reaction to last week’s loss.

“None of us are very happy,” Martin said. “[We] had a chance on the road to beat a Big Ten team and didn’t take advantage of it… It was a very physical, defensive battle on both sides.”

Going into halftime, Miami managed to keep up with the Wildcats, both teams holding each other to one field goal. One offensive drive by Northwestern in the third quarter caused the game to unravel.

Quarterback Mike Wright’s 13-yard run for a touchdown marked the beginning of the end. The RedHawks were unable to mirror the Wildcats’ offensive actions until the final few minutes of the fourth quarter.

Dom Dzioban’s 26-yard field goal brought Miami within one score of tying the game with seven minutes remaining. The Wildcats wasted five minutes off the clock and set Jack Olsen up for a field goal that would essentially seal the game.

When Olsen’s kick missed, Miami was instilled with hope once more.

Now with two minutes to go, the RedHawks needed to march 73 yards into the endzone to tie the game. They eventually got to the opposing 35-yard line, but an interception from sixth-year quarterback Brett Gabbert halted all dreams of a Miami victory.

“I feel like we left some things on the field offensively,” Martin said. “We had some good runs, but there was nothing consistent with the run game… and the pass game, again we threw it good, we caught it good, we protected good, at times. [We weren’t] consistent enough.”

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Miami’s defense stalled Northwestern enough to force two turnovers. Sixth-year linebacker Matt Salopek left the field with a game-high 10 tackles and one fumble recovery. Redshirt junior defensive back Eli Blakey had nine tackles.

Gabbert’s return to Miami’s offense saw him pass for 277 yards on 22 completions and two interceptions. During the game, he told Martin that the rust was there for the first few drives, but started to wear off towards the end.

Despite that, there are some passes that the RedHawks would like to forget.

“I asked him how he did, he said, ‘I felt rusty for [the] first few series… then it kind of felt good the rest of the way,” Martin said. “He said everyone was moving a little quicker than he [was used to]. There’s a couple throws he wants to have back, obviously, that weren’t as accurate as he was used to.”

Miami’s receiving core included returning receiver Cade McDonald, who had 105 receiving yards over eight receptions. Junior receiver Reggie Virgil found the ball three times for 32 yards, matching senior Kevin Davis, who also had 32 yards from three receptions.

For McDonald, the problems that arose against Northwestern must be fixed during Miami’s bye week.

“We just have to figure out the good things that we did, build on them and focus on [them] in the next few weeks,” McDonald said. “We played a good game, played a good Big Ten team, and I mean, we should have came away with the win. [If we] keep building these next two weeks and focus on what we need to get better at, they’ll be just fine [against] Cincinnati.”

The RedHawks have one week until the 128th Battle for the Victory Bell against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Last year, Miami stunned everyone by breaking its losing streak against the Bearcats and bringing the Victory Bell to Oxford for the first time since 2005.

However, the RedHawks face a whole new Cincinnati roster, consisting of 47 new players.

Behind the line on offense stands redshirt sophomore quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who transferred from Indiana University last season.

In the Bearcats’ first game of the season against the Towson University Tigers, Sorsby threw for 383 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, the Bearcats rushed for 295 yards, including 105 yards from redshirt junior Evan Pryor.

Cincinnati’s offensive threat will occupy Martin’s mind in the time leading to Sept. 14.

“They got a ton of new players,” Martin said. “The quarterback is really athletic and [has] a rifle arm. They ran for crazy and [moved] guys all over the place. They’re skilled on offense.”

Miami started several new players against Northwestern, including receiver Andre Johnson, who transferred from Arizona State University. Several key pieces from the 2023 squad are missing this year, so the new players must step up.

In their first game as a RedHawk, some new players impressed Martin, but others left much to be desired.

“Some guys I thought played really well; others were just OK,” Martin said. “The guys that were just okay were not aggressive enough. If it’s your first college game, which was a lot of guys that we played back there, that’s nerve-wracking itself. And when you go to a Big-Ten venue, it makes it even more nerve-wracking.”

The RedHawks return to the field after their bye week for the first home game of the year against Cincinnati on Sept. 14. Miami put up a good fight against Northwestern, but the result shows that the RedHawks have much to improve before the Battle for the Victory Bell.

@thekethan04

babukc2@miamioh.edu