Preview: Miami football opens 2026-27 season in ‘The House That Ben Built’ against University of Pittsburgh Panthers

The 2026-27 season begins for the RedHawks, who face a team the program hasn’t seen since 1949.

While the quad pathways and sidewalks of High Street were quiet without the hustle and bustle of students, the north end of Miami University’s campus was plenty noisy through the summer. Coaches yelling, players grunting, whistles blowing and pads clashing echoed around the empty bleachers of Yager Stadium in preparation for the 2026-27 football season.

After finishing last season with a 7-7 overall record (6-2 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC)), the RedHawks will hit the road and head to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to take on the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, who finished 8-5 (6-2 in-conference), good for fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), 

Even with the special feeling of a season anew, it’s no ordinary game for Miami. The field they’ll be playing on isn’t that of a typical college stadium. Instead, it’s a venue a famous Miami alum made many incredible plays in: Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger for 18 NFL seasons. 

“(Playing) where the Steelers play makes it way cooler for everybody,” Head Coach Chuck Martin said. “Obviously, the players love it. You’re playing at an NFL venue. But for fans it’s awesome, for coaches it’s awesome, for the media, I think it’s great. Any time we play at a pro venue it’s just different for the kids.”

Miami and Pittsburgh haven’t squared off with each other since Oct. 15, 1949, and before that in 1931. The Panthers won both games by scores of 35-26 and a 61-0 drubbing. Even though the history between these two programs is not extensive, Martin has previous experience against Pittsburgh’s head coach, Pat Narduzzi. And Narduzzi has his own experience with Oxford and the Miami program.

Narduzzi has been with the Panthers program since 2015, but he began his coaching career in Oxford as a graduate assistant with the football team in 1990. He stayed with the team until 1992 before pursuing other opportunities at Long Island University and Northern Illinois University, but he returned to Miami as the defensive coordinator for the 2003 season. 

After 2003, Narduzzi headed 45 minutes south to the University of Cincinnati to be the defensive coordinator and eventually went to Michigan State for the same position and faced off against Martin while he was the offensive coordinator at the University of Notre Dame. 

“I still have some old, bad skeletons in my closet from going up against Coach Narduzzi’s defenses in the past,” Martin said. “I’m not going to enjoy playing against them, but I love who they are. They do what they do better than you can do against it. They were eighth in the nation in rush defense a year ago, and the seven teams ahead of them were Indiana, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. Then they get you to third down, and they’re miserable to go against on third down.”

Martin said he reached out to some of his contacts at Notre Dame to get the scoop on what Narduzzi might deploy against the RedHawks offense. The response he got was that the Pittsburgh defense is “salty.” Martin was not too fond of that response.

“If Notre Dame thinks they’re salty, what does Miami University think?” Martin said.

The RedHawks will not only be dealing with a professional-level venue against a Power-Four opponent, but internally, they’ll be dealing with tons of new faces still trying to find their footing and learn the way Martin wants them to play. 

For fifth-year defensive end Grant Lyons, it can be challenging to find symmetry early in the season, but that’s part of the excitement.

“When you bring in so many new faces, you have to get everybody rowing in the right direction, and you have to show them what Miami football’s about,” Lyons said. “For my five years here, Coach Martin has engraved in our (heads) that we’re going to be fast, smart and physical, and that’s what we emphasize every day. It’s going to be getting the job done by committee this year. We’re going to rely on a lot of guys, and that’s fun.”

Miami’s game plan is focused around containing sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel, a shifty runner who isn’t afraid to work inside and outside the pocket. But when Heintschel isn’t on his A-game, the Panthers can turn to sophomore Ja’Kyrian Turner, who led the team as a true freshman in 2025 with 745 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 140 carries, which also poses a problem for the RedHawks defense.

“They’re a good football team,” Lyons said. “We’re going to have to try and keep their quarterback in the pocket. He has the ability to make extended plays and make big plays. And then their running back is explosive. Their offensive line is big, strong and physical, but we’re up for the challenge. I’m looking forward to seeing where my game is at week one and where Miami football is at week one.”

The RedHawks will have their own taste of youth in the backfield to begin the season, as freshman quarterback and University of Kansas transfer, David McComb, will be the primary man under center. After a season-ending injury to Thomas Gotkowski in camp, the decision had to be made to throw the 6-foot-4, 220-pound 20-year-old in charge.

While that decision may be scrutinized by some, the expectations for McComb from Martin and his staff aren’t about how many yards he throws for or how many interceptions tossed. Instead, the goal is to see if McComb sinks or swims against a power-four team. He wants McComb to be a “nervous freshman.

“He’s done a great job with Coach (Gus) Ragland, and he’s worked his tail off,” Martin said. “I keep reminding myself that this is his first college game because he’s capable of a lot. He mentally understands all of it. You could put a lot on his plate, but that’s just because I know he’s smart, and I know he understands it. 

Then I’ve got to factor in it’s the kid’s first college game against Pitt at Acrisure Stadium. So we’re trying not to put too much on his plate in the first game and just give him a chance to compete, play, learn and fight and make some plays and flush the bad ones in a hurry and keep moving on.” 

Just like last season when the RedHawks visited Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, to play the University of Wisconsin Badgers, the game will be a major test for every player. Returners will be trying to get their groove back, while newcomers will try to find where the groove begins. The game starts at 12:30 p.m. E.T. in Pittsburgh and can be streamed on the CW Network.