Tuesday night MACtion begins, and for the 102nd time in the history of the two oldest public universities in the state of Ohio, the Battle of the Bricks will commence. Ohio (5-3, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) welcomes the Miami RedHawks (5-3, 4-0 MAC) to Peden Stadium.
There is a little more motivation for both teams coming into this matchup after how last year ended. First, the RedHawks came into Athens last fall and took down the Bobcats, but the Bobcats soon got redemption, beating the RedHawks 38-3 in last year's MAC championship game in Detroit.
For the Bobcats, last year's loss cuts deeper than that. Since the renaming of the stadium after former Ohio head coach Frank Solich in 2022, the loss to Miami last year is the only one it has surrendered, so Ohio will look to keep up its undefeated streak at home this season on Tuesday.
This will be more than a rivalry game for both sides, as the conference title race heats up and both teams look to find their way back to Ford Field in December. Miami sits alone atop the MAC, and Ohio waits in the wings with only one loss, so both teams are looking to make a statement with a win this week.
Now with the stakes set, let’s take a look at Miami.
Head Coach
Miami is led into action by Chuck Martin, who has more than 30 years of experience coaching college football, and holds the title for longest tenured MAC coach, with Eastern Michigan’s Chris Creighton. Under Martin, the RedHawks have been successful, attending a bowl game in all of the last four seasons, winning two of them, including last year's Arizona Bowl.
Quarterbacks
The transfer portal has become a pivotal part of any team that hopes to succeed year over year, and Miami bought in this offseason, bringing in MAC veteran and former MAC Player of the Year Dequan Finn. Finn stumbled out of the gate with a minor injury, but since he returned in week four, the RedHawks are undefeated, and his numbers tell the story.
Finn was brought in to lead an experienced Miami team back to the MAC title picture. He has done a solid job so far with over 1,600 total yards and 11 total touchdowns. Finn is a dynamic threat and has shown his ability in the past couple of weeks, scoring both on the ground and through the air each of the last two weeks.
Runningback
The RedHawks have been very successful on the ground so far in 2025. They have utilized many bodies, including Finn. They have three running backs who have over 100 yards, but the man to keep an eye on Tuesday night is senior Jordan Brunson, who has 395 rushing yards and two touchdowns to lead the way in the backfield for the RedHawks.
Wide Receiver
Spreading the ball around to your receivers and being multi-dimensional is key to the success of any passing offense. For Miami, they have seven pass catchers with more than five receptions, but Finn has leaned on junior Kam Perry for over 600 yards through the air, as well as three receiving touchdowns.
Defense
This game will be physical, and both teams know it. Rivalries are what make college sports great, but they bring out more emotion and motivation toward a win for the student-athletes. They can become stuck on one play, and that game-changing play could be a turnover.
The RedHawks' defense has hounded MAC opponents the past few weeks with their ability to turn over opposing offenses, having at least one in every conference game this season. They have nine interceptions and three forced fumbles. Two of the fumbles, as well as 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, one interception and 40 tackles are credited to junior defensive lineman Adam Trick. He will need to be a major piece of Ohio’s game plan Tuesday if it hopes to win.
