Preview: Miami football plays last road game of the regular season against Buffalo

Down, but not out.

The Miami University RedHawks football team (5-5, 4-2 in conference play) lost its last two games, putting itself in a five-way tie for second place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Tonight, the RedHawks will face the University of Buffalo Bulls (5-5, 4-2 in conference play), looking for a much-needed win for Miami’s MAC championship chances.

Right before Miami’s last game against the University of Toledo Rockets, the MAC availability report announced that starting quarterback Dequan Finn would be out of the game with an illness. At a press conference on Nov. 14, head coach Chuck Martin revealed that Finn would be moving on from Miami and won’t play for the rest of the season.

Redshirt senior backup quarterback Henry Hesson will take the reins for the final two games of the regular season. Hesson started against Lindenwood University earlier this year and in the 2023 Cure Bowl for the RedHawks.

In his latest outing, Hesson finished with 147 yards and three interceptions. The RedHawks couldn’t muster up more than a field goal against Toledo’s defense, which ranks second in the country for total yards allowed per game (231.5).

Miami’s offense struggled both in the air and on the ground. Redshirt senior running back Jordan Brunson rushed for 44 yards, and the team’s 75 total rushing yards is the second-lowest in a game this year.

“We got overwhelmed,” Martin said. “We couldn’t run, we couldn’t throw. But [in the] first half, there was stuff that if we just execute the play, we got guys open, and there’s opportunities for some big chunk plays. That game, you didn’t need a bunch. You need one or two.”

Martin praised the defense, as the RedHawks held the Rockets to 312 total offensive yards, the third-lowest of the season for Toledo. Redshirt senior defensive back Eli Blakey and redshirt junior linebacker Eli Coppess each caught an interception, and redshirt senior defensive back Silas Walters led the team with nine tackles in his first game back since Miami played Eastern Michigan University on Oct. 18.

“We prepared for that all week, knowing that it was going to be a challenge, and it’s tough,” Walters said. “You just got to execute the defense when we’re out there and try to limit them from getting big plays because you know they’re going to get a big play at some point.”

The loss and Finn’s departure both put Miami in a desperate situation going into the home stretch of the year. The RedHawks match four other teams, including the Rockets and the Ohio University Bobcats, with a 4-2 record in conference play.

The Bulls find themselves in the 4-2 crowd after losing their last game against the Central Michigan University Chippewas on Nov. 12.

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Buffalo started out 3-0 in conference play, including a 31-30 overtime win over Eastern Michigan. Since then, however, the Bulls are 1-2 against MAC opponents, dropping games to the University of Akron Zips and Central Michigan.

The Bulls rely on both passing and rushing equally, totalling 15 touchdowns in the air and 13 on the ground. They rank fourth in the MAC for passing yards at 2,175.

Sixth-year quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson arrived in Buffalo after playing as a backup for the Kansas State University Wildcats last season. This season, he has thrown for 1,946 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions, tied for most in the MAC with Ohio graduate student quarterback Parker Navarro.

On the other side of the ball, Buffalo’s defensive line has been a foreboding threat for opposing offenses. Of the top 25 MAC players with the most sacks, seven play for the Bulls. The team leads the conference and ranks seventh in the nation with 32 total sacks.

Buffalo also leads the MAC with 10 forced fumbles. Graduate student linebacker Red Murdock accounts for six of those, the second-most in the country behind senior linebacker Jacob Rodriguez at Texas Tech University with seven.

Miami’s offense faces a tough defense, especially with Hesson making his fourth career start unexpectedly. However, the RedHawks’ defense has outperformed other teams, tying for the most interceptions with Central Michigan (12) and sacking quarterbacks 26 times, good for third in the conference.

The RedHawks’ odds of making the MAC championship dropped with the loss to Toledo. However, they aren’t entirely eliminated just yet – Miami may still find itself in Detroit by winning its last two games and getting lucky with certain conference matchups.

“We still got meaningful games to play,” Walters said. “Obviously, the last two weeks haven’t gone the way we wanted [them] to. It’s easy to get discouraged and sort of throw in the towel, but it’s now over. We need a few things to happen for us, but this is one of the craziest conferences in college football. It’s nuts. Every year, anything can happen.”

Kickoff for tonight’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

@kethanbabu_04

babukc2@miamioh.edu