Miami (OH) is the more settled team walking in. Chuck Martin has this program in a third straight MAC title game, quarterback Thomas Gotkowski is back after leading that run, and 4 starters return up front on the offensive line. The RedHawks bring in a new offensive coordinator in Gus Ragland, but the pieces around him are experienced enough that Miami doesn't need to feel its way through September.
The story here isn't really about who's more talented, it's about who's further along. Cincinnati's overhaul touches nearly every starting job outside of linebacker and the offensive line, which means Woody's defense is installing a new scheme with new personnel against a Miami offense that knows exactly what it wants to run. That's a real early-season edge for the RedHawks even on the road.
Cincinnati still has the higher ceiling if the roster gels, and a home crowd defending the bell is nothing to dismiss. But betting on a defense with this much turnover to clean up its stop-rate problems in Week 3 of a new coordinator's tenure is a leap, and Miami's continuity at quarterback and up front is the kind of thing that shows up early in a season more than it does in November.
However this one goes, it adds another chapter to a series that started before either school had a stadium worth mentioning. For a program like Cincinnati trying to prove it belongs in the Big 12 and a Miami team trying to show its MAC success travels, the bell is as much about identity as it is about a trophy.