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On Saturday, the Miami Redhawks beat arch-rival Ohio University for the first time since 2019.
On the road, with a back-up quarterback, underdogs by a touchdown, Chuck Martin's team weren't "supposed" to win this game, let alone by a 30-16 scoreline. Martin took a moment postgame to revel in his team’s achievement.
"Just proud of them," Martin told SI, referring to his team. "You lose your quarterback, one of our stud d-ends is done for the year, our tight end is done for the year...No one thinks you have a chance. This is our sixth road game...I couldn't be any more proud of how they handled it."
The previous weekend in a loss to Toledo, starting quarterback Brett Gabbert was taken off the field in an ambulance with what appeared to be a major right leg injury. Gabbert has since had surgery to place a rod in his right leg and is done for the year. Gabbert did not travel with the team as he continues to heal.
In his stead, the Redhawks turned to redshirt sophomore Aveon Smith as their starting quarterback. The South Carolina native completed seven passes on 11 attempts for 103 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 15 times, ending with a net of 22 yards, and a touchdown. Martin gave a favorable assessment of his quarterback in the biggest game of his college career.
"He competed his tail off, like he always does," Martin said with a grin. "I thought he ran our offense well, I thought he made great decisions. He fought for every yard. I thought he was spectacular."
Another RedHawk touchdown!
— Jack Schmelzinger (@jackschmelznger) October 28, 2023
Aveon Smith found Kevin Davis on his left on a screen play. Davis motored around two blocks and took it down the sideline to the house. Miami up three scores in the fourth.
Miami 30 - Ohio 9 - Q4 11:13 pic.twitter.com/4WkHbNRmgq
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The Miami defense also came through, in spite of injuries. Redhawk defenders were a constant presence in the backfield, making life very difficult for defending MAC Offensive Player of the Year Kurtis Rourke. They also quickly made the Bobcat rushing game a non-factor, allowing just 50 net rushing yards all day.
"He's tough. That's why he's an NFL prospect," Martin said of Rourke. "He's a great player and he has a great future. Our defense did what the've been doing. They played spectacularly. No yards on the rush almost all day. That got [Ohio] one-dimensional. Then, they did a great job in coverage on the backend."
All in all, Martin credits a complete team performance for the rain-soaked rivalry win that put Miami atop the division.
"We're gonna muck around and play down-and-dirty football for 60 minutes and fight for every yard. Defense, offense, and special teams were all huge today. Every facet played well. They jumped out 9-0, we scored 30 straight points, and it took all three phases."
The 7-2 Redhawks have three more regular season games on their schedule: home dates against Akron and Buffalo, then a 90-minute road trip to Muncie to face Ball State. All three opponents have a losing record to date. With a 4-1 conference record, the Redhawks are in the driver's seat of the MAC East. However, Martin won't let his team put the cart before the horse.
"One day at a time," Martin said of sustaining momentum in the last month of the season. "We're going to try it. Hopefully we can. If we can, we're going to be a tough team to beat. If we don't, in our league, anybody can beat anybody."
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