Recap: Miami football head coach Chuck Martin earns 150th career win after 34-14 win over Akron

Temperatures dipped at Yager Stadium as the Miami University RedHawks (3-3, 1-1) took the field against the University of Akron Zips (1-5, 0-2).

The stands filled with Miami students and their parents to enjoy a family weekend football game. Fans were thirsty for a second consecutive win after a close 20-19 victory over the University of Massachusetts last week. 

The RedHawks opened play with the ball and went straight to their backfield duo, redshirt junior Rodney Nelson and redshirt sophomore D’Shawntae Jones. Rogers ran for 14 yards, Jones for 12 on the next play. It was after Miami tried three straight pass attempts that it would see a fourth-and-7 and punt to Akron’s own 3-yard line. 

The Zips earned some yards back on a 31-yard pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Brayden Roggow to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Kyan Mason. 

After two short runs, Roggow fired another deep ball to redshirt junior wide receiver Jean Louis III for 49 yards. 

With two big opening-drive plays, the Zips found themselves at the 1-yard line. 

After a defensive stop at the goal line, an incompletion and a false start, the Zips moved back five yards. 

Roggow tossed up a one-on-one pass to redshirt sophomore Marcel Williams, who hauled in the 6-yard touchdown catch. 

The extra point from redshirt sophomore Matthew Schramm was good, concluding an 11-play, 97-yard drive to put the Zips up 7-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter.

Nelson was given three straight carries on the next Miami drive, combined for five yards, not good enough for a first down. The three-and-out meant another first quarter punt, and the Zips’ offense set up on their own 25-yard line. 

Roggow kept the ball on a read-option for four yards, then fired over the middle on the next play. Fans roared as the ball was tipped in the air and intercepted by RedHawk senior safety Ben Minich. 

In his third start with the team this season, senior quarterback Caleb Heavner opened the drive with a 13-yard pass to redshirt junior Lynel Billups-Williams.

Already in good field position, sophomore running back Lazaro Rogers ran for four yards before Nelson received the next carry. Bouncing out left and heading to the pylon, he surpassed the goal line for a 9-yard touchdown run, tying the game at seven. 

The Miami defense held strong on Akron’s next drive on a second-and-short, and time expired as the teams switched sides of the field for the second quarter. 

A fumbled snap started the second quarter, and Akron’s offense recovered, setting up fourth down. 

Miami’s run game revved up on the next drive.

After an incomplete pass, Nelson ran for 10. After another incomplete pass, Heavner took off toward the red Miami “M” at midfield for 22 yards. 

A 9-yard loss on a sack and a 6-yard pass to redshirt junior tight end Christian Ross led to a third-and-long for Miami.

Heavner danced around in the pocket and rolled out left, heaving an on-the-run pass out of bounds, near an open RedHawk. The third Miami punt landed in the back of the endzone for a touchback, giving Akron the ball at the 20-yard line with a little over 11 minutes in the half. 

The Zips found themselves back at midfield, but on offense as Roggow connected with sophomore tight end Elijah Alexander for 19 yards. Redshirt junior running back Jordan Grant ran up the middle for 8 yards on the next play. 

On second-and-short, Grant ran for one, and then on third-and-short, Miami tackled Grant a yard behind the line of scrimmage. 

Roggow kept it himself on fourth down, running for three yards and shutting out Miami’s defensive momentum. 

After an incomplete pass and a Raggow 2-yard scramble, he hit Mason for 12 yards to continue the drive. 

A false start and another bad snap pushed Akron back to Miami’s 42-yard line for a second-and-23. After an incompletion, a blindside block made it third-and-28. 

Roggow escaped out left and threw a hail mary-esque pass inside the five. A midair fight for the ball  resulted in a pass deflection, ending a 14-play, 28-yard, six-minute drive. 

Miami’s next drive looked the exact opposite. Five-foot-five freshman wide receiver Scoop Smith darted down the left sideline on a jet sweep for 69 yards, setting up the offense on Akron’s 11-yard line. 

“We want to get Scoop the ball, definitely,” Head Coach Chuck Martin said. “Obviously, we know he’s electric, obviously (on) return game and then obviously offensively.”

On third-and-7, Heavner was sacked for a 2-yard loss, sending out the special teams unit. Redshirt junior kicker Kellan McLaughlin booted through the 28-yard field goal, and Miami took a 10-7 lead. 

With a little over two minutes in the half, Akron looked to respond after 10 unanswered points from the RedHawks. 

After an incomplete pass, Roggow fumbled another snap and lost eight yards. Akron faced another third-and-long after the two-minute warning, and the team decided to give the ball to Grant. He ran for five, and sophomore punter Joseph Castle punted only 15 yards out of bounds after the three-and-out. 

With great field position under two minutes, Nelson broke through the middle for 10 yards. Heavner wasted no more time, as he snapped the ball and looked immediately to junior wide receiver Damarion Witten. 

Staring him down, he pulled the trigger and Witten made a leaping catch in the endzone for a 27-yard touchdown. McLaughlin made the extra point, giving Miami a 17-7 lead. 

The Miami defense kept holding strong against the Akron offense and forced another three-and-out. 

Chuck Martin called a timeout with 55 seconds left in the half, and Miami looked to put up even more points from its own 32-yard line. 

After a few chunk plays, Heavner took a hard hit on a throw, which was intercepted by Zips redshirt-sophomore safety Rodrick Hunter. 

At midfield with five seconds remaining, Grant rushed for one, and the clock hit zero, Miami up 17-7. 

Akron opened the half with the ball and another long drive. Lasting 12 plays, 42 yards and six minutes, Schramm took the field looking to complete a career-long 53-yard field goal. The boot was short left, and Miami took over possession at midfield. 

Nelson immediately made a statement. Running out left and crossing midfield, he broke off for a 36-yard run. Miami kept the run game going, giving Jones the next two carries for 13 yards combined, setting up the offense in the red zone. 

Nelson added an 8-yard run and a 3-yard run to claim a first down on Akron’s 5-yard line. Nelson was stopped for no gain, Jones ran backward for one and an incomplete pass to the endzone meant a field goal attempt and a missed opportunity at a touchdown. 

McLaughlin’s short field goal was good and the RedHawks increased their lead 20-7. 

The stadium rumbled on Akron’s next drive. 

Raggow completed an 8-yard pass, threw an incompletion, then was intercepted by fifth-year linebacker Blayne Wyrick, who took off the other way for a 36-yard defensive score. Miami scored 10 points in the same minute and held a comfortable 27-7 lead.

“When everybody does their job, those turnovers, they just come,” Wyrick said. “Everybody was doing their job, and they just threw it right to me.“

Akron had a response though. 

On a 64-yard kickoff, redshirt junior kick returner Brandon Hills ran 71 yards down to Miami’s 28-yard line. Williams caught a 6-yard pass, then ran for nine. Roggow ran for three of his own, and then Grant capped the four-play, 28-yard drive with a 10-yard rushing touchdown. 

Akron made a gutsy call on the kickoff and completed a successful onside kick to keep the ball. 

Heading into the fourth quarter, Miami still kept a 27-14 lead. 

The onside kick would be spoiled with another RedHawk interception. 

On fourth-and-two, fifth-year senior corner Amariyun Knighten intercepted Raggow to take back the ball, giving Miami its first three interception game since 2019. 

Not only did the Zips turn the ball over again, but Nelson would also solidify his career day. 

On the very next play, Nelson rushed left on an explosive 58-yard, foot-race touchdown. 

With 13 minutes left in the game, he racked up 142 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns, his first 100-yard game as a RedHawk.

“I felt amazing,” Nelson said. “It feels like I’ve been playing catch up. Today I was really able to let it loose and get some of (that) yardage back and score.”

With the extra point, Miami held a dominant 34-14 lead. 

The defense didn’t show any mercy to the Roggow-lead offense. 

Raggow rushed for nine, Grant rushed for five and Roggow found Williams again for seven yards. Two plays later, junior corner Kaleb Martin snatched Roggow’s fourth interception on the day. 

The last time Miami’s defense intercepted four passes was in the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl against Middle Tennessee State University.

“If you’re on your toes, you attack the ball, you’re going to get yours,” Chuck Martin said. “Obviously, getting four (interceptions) today was huge. Those turnovers are creating field position for our offense which we really need right now.” 

Rogers took the field for the RedHawks and ran for a one-yard gain on back-to-back plays. Heavner did the rest of the work on the ground, finding an open field and a 28-yard gain. 

Jones then ran for five yards on three carries, setting up fourth down. After a delay-of-game penalty, Chuck Martin kept his offense on the field on fourth-and-10. 

An incomplete pass deep to the endzone gave Akron possession at its own 35-yard line. The Zips would look to try and erase a 20-point deficit with just over six minutes left. 

However, the Miami defense didn’t stop wreaking havoc on Roggow. Fifth-year senior Grant Lyons sacked him for no gain, and Akron punted after the three-and-out.

Looking to drain the clock, Chuck Martin kept working the run game.

Miami faced a third-and-9 after the two-minute warning, which resulted in a 7-yard Jones run and a punt. With just over a minute remaining in the game, Akron couldn’t find any last-chance momentum, and Miami came away victorious 34-14. 

The win marked Chuck Martin’s 150th career win as head coach. 

“All the great players that I’ve coached here, all the great coaches I’ve worked with here, and all the great memories, like everyone’s great,” Chuck Martin said. “Today’s win was great. Last week’s win was great … I’m proud of 150 wins. It’s been awesome.

The RedHawks will look to keep the winning streak alive at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Kelly Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, MI where they will face Central Michigan University (3-5). 

“We gotta keep working, keep chopping wood, and that’s what we’re going to do starting tomorrow,” Wyrick said.