Scouting report: Meet the Miami RedHawks, UC's rival in the Battle for the Victory Bell
About 30 miles separate the University of Cincinnati from Miami University in Oxford. But the schools' football programs are much closer than that.
The Cincinnati Bearcats and Miami RedHawks have played on the gridiron 125 times, with the first meeting occurring more than 130 years ago. The two teams played to a 0-0 tie in their inaugural matchup on Dec. 8, 1888.
The Battle for the Victory Bell, the name of the football rivalry series between the Bearcats and RedHawks, is the oldest nonconference rivalry in college football. The latest installment of the rivalry will take place Saturday (noon on ESPNU) at Paycor Stadium, the home of the Cincinnati Bengals, and there will be a couple of twists to the 126th meeting between the two teams.
One will be Ben Bryant. The senior quarterback faced Miami last season as the starter at Mid-American Conference school Eastern Michigan. On Saturday, Bryant will see the RedHawks again as the No. 1 quarterback for the Bearcats.
"It's funny," Miami coach Chuck Martin said. "Bryant was the backup two years ago at Cincinnati, and then we played Bryant at Eastern Michigan, and now he's the starter at Cincinnati. Very Bizarre. ... There was a time when that wasn't possible. Now, that's very possible. I'm sure he'll stay at Cincinnati. I think he just has one year (of eligibility remaining), I don't know. But he could go start someplace else next year. Welcome to college football, unlimited free agency."
Bryant's Eastern Michigan team defeated Miami 13-12 last season. Bryant completed 21 of 31 passes for 206 yards and threw a touchdown and an interception in the matchup.
The other twist to Saturday's game will be Ivan Pace Jr., who caught Bryant's interception in that game on Oct. 9, 2021, in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Pace, Miami's most productive defensive player a season ago, has been the most productive defensive player for Cincinnati through the first two games of the 2022 campaign.
After leading the MAC with 125 tackles (60 solo) and racking up 13 tackles for loss, four sacks and the interception against Bryant last season for the RedHawks, Pace transferred to UC in January.
"Obviously, Ivan was a great player for us for a couple years," Martin said. "... It's the irony of Ivan Pace not wanted out of high school (Colerain) by Cincinnati," Martin said. "(Pace) wanted to go to Cincinnati. We knew he was waiting for a Cincinnati offer. We were hanging in there, and (Pace) never got the Cincinnati offer because he wasn't good enough to play at Cincinnati. And then he comes here and plays incredible football. Now, he's good enough to play at Cincinnati, and he's starting at Cincinnati."
Pace is not only starting for the Bearcats (1-1), he's leading the team and the American Athletic Conference with 23 tackles (11 solo) and has a team-high 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
"He had a boatful of tackles the first two weeks, which isn't shocking to us because we know how good Ivan Pace is," Martin said. "I knew he could play at any level of football out of high school. I thought he could've played at Ohio State. I think he can play in the NFL. So, I'm not shocked that he came in here and did what he did, and I'm not shocked that a bunch of people want him.
"That's the tough part of where we're at in college football now. We're the ones that did the good job recruiting on the front end. ... We got him late. We wanted him for two years, and he was waiting for the Power Five offers. I don't know why they didn't come. (It was) shocking to me. In my opinion, he was the best player in the state of Ohio his senior year. But it was great for us. We got him, and he did some great things for us.
"Obviously, now, you've got to play against him. That's kind of a tough one because I still love Ivan. ... A lot of it makes sense for why he made the move. I'm not disappointed, bitter or upset with Ivan. I still like Ivan. I don't want to play against Ivan. I would rather have Ivan playing for us. That's the reality of it."
Our First Look at the Miami RedHawks
RECORD: Miami is 1-1 after last week's 31-14 home win against FCS foe Robert Morris. The RedHawks dropped its season opener Sept. 3 at then-No. 20 (Associated Press/coaches polls) Kentucky, 37-13. The Wildcats are now No. 9 in the AP poll and No. 10 in the coaches poll.
HEAD COACH: Martin is in his ninth season at the helm in Oxford with an overall record of 40-53 (1-2 in bowl games). The 54-year-old Park Forest, Illinois, native has never beaten Cincinnati (0-7). Martin's worst defeat against the Bearcats was last season's 49-14 drubbing at Nippert Stadium.
"I don't think we played and executed very well, but I'd say 90% of it was Cincinnati," Martin said. "We couldn't get open. We couldn't cover them. We couldn't get off blocks. We couldn't block them. We couldn't tackle them. They could tackle us. We were overwhelmed from a physical standpoint a year ago. Could we have executed better? Yeah. It wouldn't have made much difference in the outcome of the game. They pretty much physically dominated us and ran circles around us on the perimeter."
Martin got his first shot as a head coach at Division II Grand Valley State. He led the Lakers to back-to-back national championships in 2005-06, going undefeated in both seasons. Martin then was an assistant at Notre Dame under-then head coach Brian Kelly. Martin was Kelly's offensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013 before taking over the Miami program in 2014.
Martin was a two-sport athlete (football and basketball) at Division III Millikin University (1986-90).
KEY PLAYERS: Miami is led offensively by quarterback Aveon Smith. The 6-foot-1, 203-pound redshirt freshman made his first career start last week after longtime starter Brett Gabbert suffered an injury late in the opener against Kentucky.
Smith completed 14 of 22 passes for 155 yards and became the first Miami quarterback to throw at least three touchdowns in his first career start since Andrew Hendrix in 2014.
The RedHawks have several options in the backfield, including running back Keyon Mozee. The 5-foot-7, 179-pound sophomore led Miami with 80 yards on 15 carries against the Bearcats last season.
Wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer is Miami's top threat through the air. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound former Penn State player leads the team in receptions (11), receiving yards (137) and receiving touchdowns (two) through the first two games.
Hippenhammer led the RedHawks with 64 yards – including a 40-yard gain – on three catches in the 2021 matchup against Cincinnati.
Defensively, Ryan McWood leads the RedHawks from sideline to sideline. The 6-foot-2, 221-pound sixth-year linebacker has a team-high 18 tackles (seven solo) and has 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception this year. McWood also has two hits on the quarterback in two games.
SERIES HISTORY: Both Cincinnati and Miami own 59 wins in the Battle for the Victory Bell (59-59-7). The Bearcats have won 15 straight meetings. Their last loss in the rivalry series came on Sept. 28, 2005, at the RedHawks' Fred C. Yager Stadium (44-16).
FUN FACT: Though Pace is no longer on Miami's roster, the RedHawks still have two former Colerain High School standouts in junior tight end Luke Bolden and junior offensive lineman Rusty Feth.
"I can't wait to go against both my former teammates again," Cincinnati defensive lineman Dontay Corleone, a Colerain graduate, told The Enquirer. "It's going to be fun to play against them. Me and Rusty were just talking, saying good luck to each other before the game Saturday."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Scouting report: A look at Miami RedHawks, UC football's next opponent
