First look at Central Michigan

The RedHawks travel to play at Central Michigan in their final road game of the regular season Saturday, Nov. 17 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Game time is 1 p.m.

Miami, which dropped to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in Mid-American Conference play after losing to Kent State last week, must win its last two games to become bowl eligible. The 'Hawks host Ball State (7-3, 4-2 MAC) Friday, Nov. 23 in their regular season finale.

The Chippewas (4-6, 2-4 MAC) enter Saturday's game, winning two of their last three games. Central, which also must win out to become bowl eligible, defeated Eastern Michigan, 34-31, on the road last week.

Much like Miami, CMU likes to air it out.

Senior quarterback Ryan Radcliff (6-foot-3, 215-pounds) has completed 59.5 percent of his passes this season for 2,621 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The veteran signal caller is a pocket passer, who primarily targets Titus Davis and Cody Wilson. Davis, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound sophomore, leads all receivers in touchdowns with eight. He has 41 catches for 831 yards on the season. Wilson, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior, has tallied 58 catches for 689 yards with two scores. Central averages 263.3 yards passing per game (43rd in the country; 5th in the MAC).

Junior running back Zurlon Tipton (6-foot-1, 222-pounds) is averaging 6.1 yards per carry this season and leads the team with 13 touchdowns. Tipton has rushed for 1,093 yards on 180 carries and is also a threat out of the backfield. The Chippewas average 136.6 yards per game on the ground (91st in the country; 10th in the MAC).

In total, the CMU offense averages 27.9 points per game (70th in the country; 7th in the MAC) and leads the conference in red zone offense, converting 31 of its 35 chances.

On defense, also much like Miami, Central has had their fair share of struggles. The Chippewas give up an average of 36.3 points per game (112th in the country) and allow 454.3 yards per game to opposing offenses (8th in the MAC).