Preview: Miami plays Eastern Michigan with hopes for first conference win

The Miami University RedHawks (1-4, 0-1 in conference play) will travel to Rynearson Stadium to play the Eastern Michigan University Eagles (4-1, 1-0 in conference play) on Oct. 12. This will be the first meeting between the two since 2021.

The last time they played, Miami fell short to Eastern Michigan in a 13-12 loss despite having over 100 more total yards on the Eagles. As for the start of the 2024 season, the two teams share a common victory over the UMass Minutemen, which is Miami’s only win so far.

The Eagles opened their season against the Minutemen, taking the lead early in the second quarter and keeping it with a final score of 28-14. On Sept. 28, Miami kicked its way out of overtime with a winning score of 23-20 over UMass thanks to redshirt junior kicker Dom Dzioban.

Miami’s success was short-lived after last week’s defeat to the Toledo Rockets (4-1, 1-0 in conference play). Last season, the two teams competed for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship, and the RedHawks pulled away victorious, making this a highly anticipated matchup.

The Rockets were led by senior Jerjuan Newton in the receiving game with eight catches, 127 yards and a touchdown. Miami’s sophomore wide receiver Javon Tracy had his own breakout game with 10 catches, 119 yards and a touchdown. While he put on a mighty performance, it was not enough to take down Toledo.

Despite the last game and the starkly different start of the season compared to last year, head coach Chuck Martin and the rest of the Redhawks are hungry for another win under their belt.

“The other thing I really care about, aside from my family, in the whole world, is watching good football,” Martin said at last week’s press conference. “The results will come if you play the game the right way. There’s things we pride ourselves in doing that we aren’t doing very well at the level we expect to do it. We still have work to do.”

While the RedHawks came up short last week, their effort was commendable. A number of players delivered career-best performances. Junior linebacker Corban Hondru achieved a personal best of 11 tackles. He also snagged two interceptions, matching his career total for one game while also earning the first interceptions of the season for Miami.

Junior linebacker Oscar McWood made his best with nine tackles as well as first-year defensive back Mychal Yharbrough with seven tackles. To take down Eastern Michigan this weekend, Miami will have to continue playing at a higher level.

The Eagles defeated Kent State (0-5) for their MAC opener game on Sept. 28. They dominated the field with balanced successes across the statistics sheet, including 213 passing yards from senior quarterback Cole Synder, and 287 total rushing yards.

Their ground attack took over this game, with senior running back Delbert Mimms III leading the way with 148 yards gained from his 23 carries.

The RedHawks have their work cut out for them going into this weekend, but they’re optimistic about getting their first in-conference win this season.