MIAMI FOOTBALL

RedHawks to face UAB in Bahamas Bowl

NASSAU, Bahamas -- The HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl announced on Saturday evening that the Miami University football team will play the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Friday, Dec. 16. Opening kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m. and will be carried live on ESPN.
 
The HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl is Miami's 14th bowl appearance in program history. It marks the third consecutive full season Miami has played in a bowl game, competing in the 2020 Lending Tree Bowl and the 2021 Frisco Football Classic. Overall, the RedHawks are 8-5 in bowl games and have been bowl eligible six of the past seven seasons.
 
Miami enters the .  . .

. . . Bahamas with a 6-6 overall and 4-4 Mid-American Conference record. In its last 50 conference games, Miami is 34-16, best in the conference during that span.

Offensively, Miami features a balanced attack, led by redshirt freshman quarterback Aveon Smith. Smith is 5-3 as a starter in 2022 and his dual-threat ability is highlighted by a team-high 503 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He has also thrown for 1,137 yards and nine scores, helping the Red and White to a Power-5 victory earlier this year over Northwestern (17-14).

Defensively, Miami is tops in the conference in scoring defense (22.5 points per game), as well as rush defense (135.8 yards per game), with the help of a pair of conference standouts, Ryan McWood and Matthew Salopek. Both linebackers rank near the top in tackles and tackles per game among conference peers.
UAB earned its way to the Bahamas with a 37-27 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday afternoon to finish the season 6-6 overall and 4-4 in Conference USA action. The Blazers’ high-powered offense averages over 30 points a game this season and is led by a rushing attack that ran for over 400 yards versus the Bulldogs.