“I’ve never seen a football game where we had only (eight) possessions,” 10th-year Miami coach Chuck Martin said on Monday during the program’s weekly media session, noting that the RedHawks punted just once. “It was a really good win. We were really good in all three phases.”
Miami is one of four teams that are 2-0 in MAC play going into its game on Saturday at Western Michigan. The Broncos are 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the MAC.
The RedHawks are scheduled to face MAC West Division-leading Toledo at home on Oct. 21. Kickoff has been scheduled for 4 p.m., it was announced on Monday.
Miami is 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2012 and has won five straight games overall, its longest win streak since winning six in a row to close out the 2016 regular season. The RedHawks didn’t need the large and boisterous crowd that showed up on Saturday to figure out that fans are starting to notice, according to 6-foot-6, 315-pound junior offensive center Kolby Borders.
“It’s a lot of fun winning, but not losing is the best part,” the Lafayette, Ind., native said Monday. “The offensive line always goes to Wendy’s on Sunday and the manager was so excited to see us. He was like, ‘Great win yesterday.’ People are starting to realize that we’re a good team.”
Despite being 5-1 overall with a watershed road win over a Power Five conference team at Cincinnati, Martin is not yet prepared to say this year’s Miami team is the best of his 10, pointing out that previous teams’ records were as much due to scheduling circumstances as talent.
What he appreciates is the versatility this year’s team is displaying.
“It was a weird game,” Martin said of Saturday’s win. “It wasn’t how we’d played all year. We’ve been able to play wide-open, like we did at (Massachusetts, a 41-28 non-conference win). Against Cincinnati, we were all over the place. Against Kent State (a 23-3 win), we leaned on our defense.
“Saturday, our defense pitched in. We’re showing that we can adapt.”
The RedHawks came out of Saturday’s win relatively unscathed physically, Martin said.
“It was a short game, and there were very few plays,” he pointed out about one of the relatively few college football games that needed fewer than three hours to finish. One reason was Miami produced bookend scoring drives of 11 minutes, 31 seconds to open the game and nine minutes, 54 seconds to wrap it up.
“We didn’t notice how long it had been until we were on the sideline,” Borders said about the game-opening drive. “We were like, ‘How long have we been out here?’ We didn’t know why we were still out there. The defense gets to rotate players in and out way more than, and they’re sending in their (second- and third-string) players.”
The drive left Martin feeling especially proud.
“There was nothing flashy — nothing special,” he said. “We talk all week about being ready. There’s a lot of ‘Me, me, me,’ in this game. Your aunts and uncles are talking about you getting your touches.
“That was a really special victory.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Miami at Western Michigan, 3:30 p.m., ESPN+, 980, 1450
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