MIAMI FOOTBALL

Martin expects physical battle between similar squads

RedHawks face tough Huskie defense, ground game

Yager Stadium turf will not be a place for the faint of heart Tuesday night, according to Miami football head coach Chuck Martin. 

The occasion is a matchup between Martin's RedHawks and visiting Northern Illinois. It's the same Huskie team - minus a few injuries -- that handed Notre Dame its only loss this season. NIU is also the only team to beat Bowling Green in MAC play this year. 

It's also a Huskie team that has . . . 

---

. . . absorbed three close losses  (by a total of 12 points) in conference play. Conseqeuently, they come to Oxford with a 3-3 MAC record (6-4 overall).

"They've had a couple (tough) losses," Martin said. "I'm sure they are kicking themselves for where they're sitting in the standings versus where they probably should be in the standings." 

NIU has not won or lost more than two straight thus far and is coming to Oxford after victories over Western Michigan (42-28) and Akron in its last two outings.

Miami, meanwhile, is riding a five-game win streak that has the RedHawks tied for first place. Ohio and Bowling Green also own 5-1 conference marks. The RedHawks beat Ohio earlier this year and finish the regular season next week at Bowling Green. Depending on this week's results, the NIU game could be even more important to MU than the BGSU contest. 

Especially on defense, Martin sees similarities between his own team and the Huskies. Indeed, both programs rank among the top teams in several MAC defensive categories. Most importantly, NIU is No. 1 in scoring defense (18.5 ppg) and Miami (18.7 ppg) is fractionally behind at No. 2. 
The Huskies are No. 2 against the rush (114.2 ypg), while MU is No. 4 (136.8 ypg). NIU is first in pass defense (170.2 ypg), while Miami is fourth (184.0 ypg). 

'They line up and they get after you' -- Chuck Martin on NIU defense

"They really, really play good (defense)," Martin said. "They suffocated Notre Dame for four quarters on defense.

"They're not similar to us as far as structure, but (they are) similar to us as far as (being) no frills. They line up and they get after you." 

He continued, "They run their base stuff every week . . .  and they have really good players . . . that play really hard and know how to run their defense." 

Offensively, the Huskies seem to be cut from the same cloth as their coach. Thomas Hammock ran for over 1,000 yards twice during his collegiate playing career (1999-2002). He coached running backs for the Baltimore Ravens and (2014-2018) and brought a strong run game to DeKalb after taking over as head coach in 2019. The Huskies ranked fourth nationally in running for the 2021 season. NIU also won the MAC title that year.

"They really run the football," Martin said. "They've got fantastic tailbacks (and) a really good offensive line. They know schematically how to create mismatches, or create angles, or created edges with what they do in the run game . . . They always do really good things that make it difficult to defend the run." 

'If you don't want to play physical, you're going to get your tail kicked'
​-- Chuck Martin

The Huskies are averaging 201.3 rushing yards per game in MAC play, and Miami is first in rushing defense (93.7 ypg MAC play). Martin, therefore, is expecting a huge battle in and around the trenches. 

"There will be a fight for every inch," he said. "It will be a knock down, drag out (fight). If you don't like to be hit, it's not going to be a good place to be. If you don't want to play physical, you're going to get your tail kicked," 

Miami has improved its run game in recent weeks, mostly behind Keyon Mosley, who has reached at least 100 yards rushing in each of the last five weeks. Though it won't be easy, Martin hopes the MU ground game can grind out enough success to keep the Huskies defense honest. 

"We've got to find a way to run the ball -- some," he said. "We don't want to become one dimensional. Northern makes people become one dimensional pretty quickly, and then they get after them. They've got a ton of sacks and tons of TFLs. . . They're a very imposing group, and if you get off schedule, you're in for a long afternoon." 

NOTES: 
>> Miami leads the all-time series with NIU 11-9. The RedHawks prevailed in each of the last three encounters, although all three were one-score contests. 
>> Mozee has now moved into first place among MAC rushers (MAC only stats), averaging 112.0 ypg. Telly Johnson Jr. (NIU) is fourth(97.7 ypg MAC).
>> The RedHawks played Kent State without several starters. That list included WR Cade McDonald and CB Raion Strader. According to Martin, the two were trending well. One or both COULD be back for Northern Illinois. "We're hopeful," he said. 
>> Miami's offense has also been explosive in the big play category over the past five weeks. From weeks 1-5, Miami had 12 plays of over 20 yards. During this five-game win streak, the RedHawks have 26 plays of over 20 yards, 11 of those coming on the ground. Brett Gabbert is averaging 16.4 yards a completion over the past five games (60 completions for 986 yards).
>> In conference games only, Gabbert leads the MAC with 15 touchdown passes and is second in touchdown to interception ratio (15:1).
After a rough start to 2024, he has not thrown an interception in his last 100 passes, the second-longest stretch of his career (current best is 129 back in 2021).
>> This will be the fourth time these two teams will compete for the Mallory Cup (began in 2018), honoring, Bill Mallory, one of the all-time great Mid-American Conference coaches. Mallory was 64-31 all-time as a head coach in the Mid-American Conference for both Miami and NIU. His 64 wins and .674 win percentage rank eighth in conference history. Mallory is the only football coach in history to win a championship with two different MAC schools. He also won MAC Coach of the Year in 1973 with Miami and 1983 with NIU.

(MU Athletics)