The Miami RedHawks will be opening their home slate of games Saturday at 1:00 at Yager Stadium! This will be their first time ever matching up with Holy Cross, who comes in 0-2 on the year.

Recapping Week 1

Coach Martin summed it up perfectly to open his 30 minute press conference on Monday: “I was disappointed in everything”. Miami got thoroughly dominated on Saturday vs. Pittsburgh, and honestly, there wasn’t a lot of positive to take away from the game. The talent gap was just too much to overcome. However, one major positive was David McComb and the passing game. McComb went 16-33 for 240 yards, and no INTs. He hit 7 different receivers throughout the day. Against competition that isn’t going to overwhelm the RedHawks, expect Miami to move the ball extremely well. David needs to be more efficient, but the spark is there. On defense, however, eyes will be on Miami’s secondary who needs to be better. Against Pitt, they gave up TD passes of 53, 45, 35, 27, 17, 15, and 5 yards.

Holy Cross

Holy Cross comes into Saturday after losing by a combined 70-20 scoreline. They’ve lost both games 35-10 to open the year.

Game 1 vs. Lehigh saw them climb into a 21-0 hole in the first quarter and never get into the game. Their rushing attack was practically non-existent, going for just 78 yards total. Quarterback David Lynch was a bright spot, going 25-40 for 313 yards and a touchdown. However, he threw 2 INT’s on the game.

Game 2 @ Colgate was a familiar storyline. They trailed 14-3 in the first, and 28-10 at the half. Joseph Williams led the rushing attack with 20 carries for 44 yards and a touchdown. He accounted for 2/3rds of all of the rushing yards for the Crusaders. Lynch threw for 264 yards, but had 3 additional INTs. Of note, Ty Curran broke out and had 7 catches for 130 yards in game 2.

Williams is the leading rusher, with 30 carries for 80 yards on the year. He’s been inefficient, and hasn’t been the most explosive, going for a long of 9 yards. Their receiving corps are highlighted by Curran (10 catches, 162 yards), Myles Abernathy (10 catches, 138 yards), Lincoln Fisher (4 catches, 79 yards), and tight end Drae Tyme (4 catches, 81 yards and a TD).

The Holy Cross defense has forced just 1 turnover on the year, and has 1 sack. The Crusader defense is led by the linebacker duo of Adam Due with 21 tackles (12 solo), and Will Miller’s 13 tackles (9 solo). Carlo Crocetti holds down the defensive line and has 10 tackles (6 solo). The lone INT belongs to defensive back Braden Haas. Holy Cross is giving up 216.5 rushing yards per game to the tune of 5.8 yards per rushing attempt. They are giving up 205 yards per game through the air. Teams have scored 5 rushing and 5 passing TD’s on them. This defense is still coming together, and it’s something Miami should capitalize on.

Keys to the Game

David McComb’s arm. He proved that his arm is electric, and he has chemistry with multiple different receivers (hitting 7 of them). He needs to be more efficient Saturday, but the offense overall should be much more comfortable against Holy Cross than it was Pitt.

Establish the ground game. Holy Cross’s defense has been completely unable to stop the rushing attack this year. Miami’s running backs combined for a total of 35 rushing yards on 17 carries against Pitt. Again, against a lower tier opponent, the team will be able to establish a more physical presence.

Force Turnovers. Miami gave up the ball just 1 time last week against Pitt. They should keep the ball secure against Holy Cross as well. However, the Crusaders have struggled to maintain posession and that should open things up for Miami to create some big swings and create great field position for the offense.

Pressure the QB. Miami’s defensive line should be a strength overall this season, however, week 1 saw just 1 sack. The front 7 are going to put pressure on Lynch to force rushed decisions and turnovers.

New Additions at Yager:

Pregame fan fest, per Miami:

“Get your gameday started with the pregame fan fest, which is open to all fans. Beginning 2.5 hours outside of the south end of Yager Stadium, the pregame fan fest will feature live music (see below for schedule), food trucks and beverages for purchase as well as family-friendly activities, a jumbo screen to catch early games and various activations.”

Live Music on Saturday will feature Love ‘N Fire.

New Concessions: “Miami concessions will have numerous new concession items for the 2026 football season, including a loaded baked potato, loaded nachos, loaded mac and cheese, RedHawk chili, in-house smoked pulled pork and fire-braised chicken”