Ohio and Miami (OH) run it back in college football's most old-school rivalry, except this time the Bobcats show up with a rookie head coach and something to prove on the road.
Bush’s Picks
OHIOM-OH
OHIOM-OH
OverUnder
Best BetMiami (OH)
Miami's the side to trust here on continuity alone — a returning MAC title-game quarterback and four starters up front against a Bobcats team breaking in a rookie head coach in enemy territory. Ohio's recent stranglehold on the series is real, but that history was built with a different staff running the show. Take the RedHawks to get this one back at home.
Ohio
+9 wins in 2025, capped by a Frisco Bowl win
+Won 13 of the last 17 meetings with Miami
−First-year head coach John Hauser's debut season
−Playing in the RedHawks' building this time around
Miami (OH)
+QB Thomas Gotkowski back after a MAC title-game run
+4 returning starters anchor the offensive line
+3 straight MAC Championship Game appearances
−Chuck Martin still carries a losing career record at Miami
−ESPN's SP+ projects them outside the top 80 nationally
This is the Battle of the Bricks, a series that's been going since 1908 and has been played every year since 1945 except the COVID wipeout. Miami holds the all-time edge at 56-44-2, but Ohio has flipped the recent script, winning 13 of the last 17 meetings, including last year's thriller in Athens. Now it swings back to Oxford, and the shape of both programs looks different than it did a year ago.
Ohio enters this one under John Hauser, who was the program's defensive coordinator before getting bumped up to head coach following a 9-win 2025 season that ended with a 17-10 win over UNLV in the Frisco Bowl. He's making his season debut against Nebraska in the opener, so by the time this game rolls around he'll have a body of work — but this is still a first-year head coach walking into a rival's building with a target on his back.
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OHIO Ohio
M-OH Miami (OH)
Miami's stability cuts the other way. Chuck Martin still hasn't posted a winning career record in Oxford, but he's built something durable: three straight trips to the MAC Championship Game, and quarterback Thomas Gotkowski is back after leading last year's run. Add four returning starters up front and a name like Rodney Nelson at running back after his FCS production at Monmouth, and Miami's continuity is the strongest card either team is holding.
Ohio Bobcats
Nov 3?@ Akron—
Oct 16?@ Sacramento State—
Oct 9?vs Central Michigan—
Oct 2?@ Kent State—
Sep 26?vs Stonehill—
Sep 19?@ South Alabama—
Sep 12?vs Jacksonville State—
Sep 5?@ Nebraska—
Miami (OH) RedHawks
Nov 3?vs Buffalo—
Oct 16?vs Akron—
Oct 9?@ Massachusetts—
Oct 2?vs Bowling Green—
Sep 25?vs UConn—
Sep 19?@ Cincinnati—
Sep 12?vs Holy Cross—
Sep 5?@ Pittsburgh—
Recent form.
ESPN's early modeling isn't kind to the RedHawks nationally — 82nd in SP+ with a projected 6.2 MAC wins — but that kind of number undersells a team that's been to the conference title game three years running. Ohio, meanwhile, is the more interesting variable: a program that's quietly stacked 40 wins over four seasons now has to prove that success survives a coaching change, and this rivalry date is as good a stress test as any.
Ohio Bobcats
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Miami (OH) RedHawks
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Whatever shape the two-deeps are in by kickoff, the pattern here is a rivalry that's rewarded whichever team plays the meaner, more disciplined football down the stretch. Ohio's had that identity for most of the last two decades of this series. Miami's title-game continuity says this could finally be the year that flips back.
