FACTS & STATS: Site: Peden Stadium (24,000) -- Athens, Ohio. Television: Local. Home Record: Miami-Ohio 4-1, Ohio 3-2. Away Record: Miami-Ohio 2-4, Ohio 2-4. Neutral Record: Miami-Ohio 0-0, Ohio 0-0. Conference Record: Miami- Ohio 5-1, Ohio 3-4. Series Record: Miami-Ohio leads, 51-30-2.

GAME NOTES: With a chance to clinch sole possession of the Mid-American Conference East Division, the Miami-Ohio RedHawks will head to Peden Stadium to take on the Ohio Bobcats for the 84th time. With a victory on Saturday, the RedHawks will claim the East Division in the MAC, and their fourth division title in the last five seasons. Miami heads into this matchup with a small two- game winning streak, as the team defeated Buffalo, 31-28, and most recently slipped past Akron, 7-0. The RedHawks have not had much success away from home this season, as the team is just 2-4 outside of Oxford. As for the Bobcats, they have not played since November 7th when they were defeated by Akron, 48-37. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for Ohio and dropped the team's overall ledger to 5-6. The RedHawks have a commanding, 51-30-2 edge over Ohio in the all-time series, but this past season the Bobcats defeated Miami, 34-24, snapping a six-game losing skid in the series.

The RedHawks churned out a mediocre 320 yards in their recent matchup with Akron, but the team was unable to find the end zone. Fortunately the defense saved the day with a score, giving Miami the 7-0 victory. Daniel Raudabaugh, who has been the main source of production for this offense, struggled in the win, completing just 16-of-31 passes for 189 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. The terrible outing is nothing new for Raudabaugh, as the signal caller has been a bit inconsistent throughout the season. In nine games of action, the quarterback has completed 55.2 percent of his passes for 1,954 yards, 10 scores and eight interceptions. The ground game has been decent at times, netting 137.7 ypg. However, there is no workhorse in the backfield, as no one player has rushed for over 500 yards and in 11 games the team has just 13 rushing touchdowns.

If not for the outstanding play by this unit back on November 14th, the RedHawks would have another loss under their belts. The defensive unit for Miami was superb against Akron, holding the Zips to just 216 total yards of production. The unit forced three turnovers, one of which was returned by Craig Mester for a seven-yard touchdown. The most shocking part of the defensive effort was the showing the team put against the run, as the Zips were limited to just 100 yards on 2.8 ypc. Throughout the season, stopping the run has been a big issue for the RedHawks, as the team is being pounded for 167.5 ypg. Clayton Mullins had an impressive performance in the win, collecting 11 tackles, five TFLs, one very important forced fumble and one sack. Mullins is currently leading the team with 116 stops and 12.5 TFLs.

The last time Ohio was on the field the team was also squared off against Akron, however the Bobcats had little trouble scoring against the Zips. In fact, the team tallied 37 points, but still fell by an 11-point margin. In the setback, the Bobcats collected 359 total yards, 120 of which came via the run. Kalvin McRae finished the game with 109 yards and one score and now has 1,322 yards to go along with 18 touchdowns on 4.9 ypc. The ground game has been the main source of production for this unit, as the team is averaging a solid 157.8 ypg. Unfortunately the passing attack has struggled at times, mainly because of quarterback Brad Bower, who has been inconsistent. In 10 games, Bower has completed 55.4 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,689 yards, 10 TDs and 10 interceptions. Inn the recent loss to Akron, Bower only completed 17-of-37 passes, but did finish with 239 yards and three touchdowns.

Unlike the RedHawks, the Bobcats had no answer for the Zips' offensive unit, as Ohio was terrorized for 419 total yards, including 177 yards on 5.1 ypc. The inability to stop the run has been a problem for Ohio all season, as the team is currently being pounded for 191.4 ypg on the ground. Overall this unit is being abused for 410.1 total ypg, and that has led to 30.0 ppg. Inside its own 20-yard line is another area where Ohio has struggled, as the team is currently allowing the opposition to convert on 83 percent of their red zone chances. Not all is bad on the defensive side of the ball though, as one of the few bright spots is the play of safety Todd Koenig, who is leading the team with 84 tackles.

The Bobcats have had time to rest and heal for this home matchup with Miami- Ohio, but the RedHawks need this game much more than Ohio and will play like it on Saturday.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Miami-Ohio 27, Ohio 17

Saturday, November 24th, 2:00 p.m. (et)