ATHENS — The Ohio Bobcats are set to host the Miami RedHawks in the annual renewal of the Battle of the Bricks rivalry game this Saturday at Peden Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on CBSSN with Jason Knapp and Malik Zaire on the call.
Both teams come into the game tied for first place in the Mid-American Conference East Division. The winner will have a huge tiebreaker advantage with three games remaining after this weekend.
This will be the 99th meeting between the two in-state schools, dating back to 1908. Miami holds a 54-42-2 overall advantage in the series. Last year's game was held in Oxford, where Ohio came away with a 37-21 victory.
Miami (6-2, 3-1 MAC) fell to Toledo last week, 21-17. Saturday's matchup against the Bobcats marks their third road MAC game this season.
Miami's offense comes into the game averaging 29.75 points on 154.1 rushing yards and 211.75 passing yards per game.
Individual leaders for Miami are running back Rashad Amos leads the RedHawks on the ground, with four rushing touchdowns on 98 carries and 421 yards. Quarterback Brett Gabbert has completed 111 of his 187 passes this season for 1,634 yards and a total of 14 touchdowns and five interceptions.
The RedHawks defense is led by linebacker Matt Salopek with a team-best 79 tackles— including 45 solo stops— and is currently ranked 20th in the country with an average of 9.9 tackles per game. He also has 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one pass break up. Defensive lineman Caiden Woullard leads the team in sacks (6) and defensive back Michael Dowell is the only RedHawk defender with two interceptions.
Ohio (6-2, 3-1 MAC) bounced back last Saturday with a 20-17 win over the Western Michigan Broncos. This victory marked Ohio's 10th consecutive victory in Athens.
The Bobcats' defense turned in a stellar performance last week, holding Western Michigan to their fewest rushing yards so far this season (79). Individually, linebackers Keye Thompson and Bryce Houston led the way, recording 13 and 12 tackles, respectively.
Wide receiver Sam Wiglusz recorded a personal-best 155 receiving yards, passing her previous record (144), which he set against Akron in 2022. On the day, he had 10 catches and one touchdown. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke went 24-for-39 on 275 yards with one touchdown.
Two field goals by kicker Gianni Spetic gave Ohio a 6-0 lead heading into halftime. After a 43-yard RedHawks field goal cut Ohio's lead to three points, running back Sieh Bangura wrapped up a nine-play, 75 yard drive with the first touchdown of the day, putting the Bobcats ahead 13-3.
The Broncos answered with their own rushing touchdown, trailing Ohio by three points as they started the last 15 minutes of play. A Wiglusz touchdown and a Broncos touchdown on the ensuing drive put the final score at 20-17.
SCOUTING OHIO
Ohio will come into the game scoring 22.5 points on average per game and averaging 143.3 rushing yards and 207 passing yards per game.
Kurtis Rourke highlights the Bobcat offense, going 122-for-194 on 1,343 yards, throwing nine touchdowns in seven games. Backup quarterback Parker Navarro has played in four games this season, going 7-for-10 with two passing touchdowns. Both are threats on the ground as well and are currently third and fourth, respectively, on the team in rushing yards. Rourke has two rushing touchdowns while Navarro claims the longest rush this season (52 yards).
The Ohio ground game is led by Sieh Bangura and O'Shaan Allison. Heading into Saturday, Bangura has a team-best three rushing touchdowns on 448 yards and 108 carries while Allison is right behind him with 104 carries and one touchdown on 346 yards. Bangura also has one receiving touchdown on 14 receptions to his name.
Sam Wiglusz leads Ohio's receiving corps, with three touchdowns on 39 receptions and 440 yards. Teammate Miles Cross has a team-best four receiving touchdowns on 338 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Bryce Houston leads the team with 82 total tackles and 39 solo stops, putting him second in the MAC and ranked 11th in FBS football. He's also recorded eight tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions and three quarterback hurries. Linebacker Keye Thompson has amassed with 51 tackles this season; against Bowling Green, he recorded a 71-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. Defensive end Vonnie Watkins has a team-best seven quarterback hurries while defensive tackle Rayyan Buell is tied for first in the league in tackles for loss (10).
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