Two years ago, Kent State went an entire season without a win. Last fall, with Mark Carney in charge for most of the year, the Golden Flashes won five. Tuesday is Senior Night at Dix Stadium, the last home game of a harder season, and coming to town is the league's most decorated program. Miami has won more MAC championships than anyone, 17 of them, and has played in the last three conference title games. The RedHawks need this one to stay in the hunt for a fourth.
Last week Ohio led Miami 17-0 in the second quarter of the Battle of the Bricks in Oxford, and Miami's offense had gone three-and-out on four of its first five possessions. Then the RedHawks scored 34 straight points. Wide receiver Scoop Smith threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Maleek Huggins on a trick play just before halftime, D'Shawntae Jones ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns, the second a 48-yarder after Malcolm McCain forced and recovered a fumble, and Amariyun Knighten closed it with a 58-yard interception return. "Crazy, crazy, crazy," Chuck Martin said afterward. The win was Martin's 78th at Miami, moving him past Bowling Green's Doyt Perry into sole possession of sixth on the MAC's all-time list.
Kent State nearly stole one at Bowling Green. The Golden Flashes trailed 27-14 after three quarters before Dru DeShields led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, the second ending with his own 25-yard run for a 28-27 lead with two minutes left. Nine seconds later, Nakai Amachree broke a 48-yard touchdown run to win it for Bowling Green. DeShields threw for 332 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, and Wayne Harris caught eight passes for 143 yards and two scores. Bowling Green freshman Austin Novosad threw three touchdown passes in his first career start, and it was Kent State's second straight loss.
The question hanging over Tuesday is who plays quarterback for Miami. Caleb Heavner started against Ohio, completed one of eight passes and left with what The Miami Student described as a lower-body injury. "I don't know the status, but it didn't look good the way [Heavner] was hobbled," Martin said. "I'm not super optimistic right now." His replacement, true freshman Drew Bellisari, hadn't taken a snap in fall camp, Martin said, and only started getting reps after David McComb went down following the fourth game. Bellisari threw for 99 yards, ran for 64 on three carries and didn't turn it over. "You dream of moments like this your whole life, but I was a little nervous, but at the end of the day, it's just ball," he said. Miami hadn't named a starter when this was written.
Start with DeShields and Miami's secondary. Kent State's running game has been thin all year, and Miami has the stingiest run defense in the league, so the Flashes will lean on DeShields, who is closing in on 2,000 passing yards, and on Harris, his top target. The risk is the ball itself. Kent State has turned it over 19 times in 10 games, and Miami's defense just scored on a pick-six.
On the other side of the ball, everything depends on what Miami can do with an inexperienced quarterback. The RedHawks are tied with Akron for the most sacks allowed in the MAC, and Kent State has a pair of pass rushers in Hayden Dawahare, who also leads the team in tackles, and Jaihien Roy. The easier path for Miami runs through Jones, who has gone over 100 yards in two straight games, and a ground game that keeps a freshman out of obvious passing downs.
The title math is simple for Miami, if not easy. The RedHawks are a game behind Ohio, Toledo, Buffalo and Western Michigan, all 5-1, and only the top two by conference record reach Ford Field on Dec. 5. Miami has to win here and at Western Michigan next Tuesday, which would hand the Broncos a second loss, and then hope the others trip up. The RedHawks are already bowl-eligible. Kent State can't reach six wins, and after Senior Night it finishes the season at Eastern Michigan on Nov. 24.
This is the 72nd meeting between the two schools, and Miami leads 53-18, including 24-11 at Dix Stadium. The RedHawks have won the last three, by 34-7 in 2024, 23-3 in 2023 and 27-24 in 2022. Kent State's last win was a 48-47 shootout in November 2021. The biggest crowd in Dix Stadium's history, 27,363, came for Miami in November 1973.
The projection is Miami 26, Kent State 20. Miami's defense, its running game and its knack for close finishes give it the edge, but a freshman quarterback on the road is a real variable, and DeShields has been throwing well enough to keep Kent State in it on an emotional night. The forecast calls for a dry evening around 40 degrees with little wind.
The market, for the record: Miami is about a 7.5-point favorite, and no total had been posted when this was written. The projection (Miami by 6) sits a point and a half short of the line.
What breaks it: Jones picks up where he left off against Ohio, Bellisari or whoever starts avoids mistakes, and Miami's defense turns a DeShields throw or two into points, so the RedHawks pull away after halftime. The other way it breaks: Kent State's pass rush gets to an untested quarterback, Harris wins on the outside, and the Golden Flashes give their seniors a last home win against the team that has owned this series.