2026 MAC Football Week 8 Game Preview: Miami RedHawks vs. Central Michigan Chippewas

We're getting to the nitty-gritty part of the MAC season, with two weeks remaining before we get to the traditional weeknight slate in November.

There's a lot on the line for both teams heading into their meeting on the gridiron, with the Central Michigan Chippewas (3-4, 1-2 MAC) in must-win (and need some help) territory from here on out if they want to go to Detroit, while the Miami RedHawks (4-3, 2-1 MAC) seek to survive and advance after a rash of injuries to keep pace in the MAC title race.

Game notes

• Date and Time: Saturday, October 24th, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time
• Location: Deromedi/Kramer Field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
• TV options: The game will stream exclusively on ESPN+. A valid subscription is required.
• Miami radio: Steve Baker (play-by-play) and Terry Bridge (color) will provide the Miami call for WMOH-AM 1450.
• Central Michigan radio: Adam Jaksa (play-by-play) and Brock Gutierrez (color) will provide the CMU call for WUPS-FM 98.5.
• Gambling Considerations: Miami is a 2.5-point favorite on the road; over/under is 39.5-40.5 by book, per Covers.
• All-time series: Miami leads the all-time series 17-13-1, with games dating back to 1978. Their last meeting was in 2024, with Miami throttling a wounded CMU team by a final score of 46-7.

Miami outlook

Miami won big in their last outing, taking down the Akron Zips by a final score of 34-14. They took the win on the strength of a strong defensive effort, turning the Zips over four times on interceptions and forcing four additional fumbles.

The offense also unlocked a part of their game which had been pretty dormant to start the season, assembling 324 rushing yards in the rout– the team's best number since 2018.

Rodney Nelson, an up-transfer from Monmouth, starred in last week's action, with 142 yards and two touchdowns on the ground after coming into the game averaging around 34 yards. Heavner also factored into the run game, with 45 net yards (56 gained before sacks).

It was a much-needed win to get some pressure off them, especially on a day where the pass game did not function very well. Now they're on a two-game winning streak heading into this week's game against a team which showed itself to be vulnerable last week.

On that note, the RedHawks are down their top two QBs for the long term, putting Division II transfer Caleb Heavner in the unenviable position of carrying the offensive load. Heavner, overall, has been alright, with 394 yards and two scores in 2026, but his last two starts have been concerning, not crossing 100 yards in either game and holding a 40 percent completion rating. Even granting the situation, it was still a concerning performance against a pass defense which was one of the MAC's worst going in– and a potential pitfall against the MAC's top ballhawking secondary this weekend.

With Heavner's struggles, Miami's ability to push the ball downfield has seen some neutering due to a pivot to running the ball more often. The matchup of the day will be whether Maleek Huggins (18.2 yards per catch) and Damarion Witten (21.8 yards per catch) can get past CMU's secondary for open looks.

Defensively, the RedHawks have tightened up after struggling to start the season, allowing 16.5 points and 317 yards per game on average over the last two weeks, while forcing five turnovers.

Linebacker Malcolm McCain has been a huge part of that resurgence, potentially saving Miami's season against UMass with a walk-off tackle to stop a two-point conversion while notching a team-leading 10 tackles and a QB hurry against Akron. The pair of Zhaiylen Scott (18 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles) and Roosevelt Andrews III (19 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, three sacks, fumble recovery) have also featured, while Amariyun Knighten is performing at an all-MAC level at cornerback, with nine pass break-ups and an interception to go with 15 tackles.

Central Michigan outlook

Home field was no reprieve for Central last week, as the Chippewas took their second-straight conference loss– this time to bitter blood rival Western Michigan.

CMU was able to turn what was a 21-0 lead midway through the fourth quarter into a 21-14 squeaker by the final possession, but it required a miracle onsides conversion and surviving a change in signal-caller just to get there.

Angel Flores, CMU's starting quarterback, left the Western game after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit on a slide attempt in the fourth quarter and did not return. Per head coach Matt Drinkall, Flores is under concussion protocol and considered to be questionable. It's a heavy loss for CMU's run-based attack if he can't go, as Flores was CMU's leader in both passing (475 yards, two touchdowns) and rushing (618 yards, six touchdowns) by a fair margin.

Indications are backup QB Jadyn Glasser will likely be the man under center. Glasser is 24-of-43 for 242 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions on the season, but does carry starting experience from both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Glasser is capable of running, with 60 pre-sack yards in limited reps, but isn't as efficient as Flores and is also coming off a knee injury which kept him out most of last year, meaning the halfbacks will likely see more action.

Halfback Jayden Clearveaux, CMU's second-leading rusher at 239 yards and two touchdowns, was cleared from concussion protocol after missing the Western game last week, and is set to return. He'll lead the stable of backs which includes Vaughn Blue and Nick Woolford, who are each over 100 rushing yards.

In ideal conditions, CMU is a downhill running team who aims to stay ahead of the sticks and kill clock, rotating through as many rushers as they can to control the pace. In medium-and-long territory, however, they'll look to Langston Lewis (14 catches, 216 yards, TD) and a cadre of role receivers such as Justin Ruffin (nine catches, 57 yards) in the pass game. Shawn Foster II, who has recently emerged to nab more playing time, is questionable with a soft tissue injury.

Defensively, the team has made its mark as a havoc-causer, with six interceptions (tops in the MAC) and five fumble recoveries through seven games. They're the second-best passing defense in the MAC and are top five in scoring defense as well– but they're also 10th in the MAC in rushing yards allowed and amongst the worst in the country on third-and-fourth downs.

All three linebackers (Xavier White, Mayson Hitchens, Brett McCalla) sit at 50+ tackles each, while Wyoming transfer Justin Taylor has settled in nicely at safety with 38 tackles, two interceptions, 1.5 TFLs and four PBUs. (The Chips in general have been excellent in breaking up passes, collecting 22 as a unit.) Starting EDGE Korver Demma (18 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks) is considered doubtful, putting more of a load on former tight end JJ Douglas, who has 26 tackles, three PBUs and three QB hurries in his first year as a full-time defensive end. Jaxon Cherry leads CMU with four TFLs and three sacks at defensive tackle.

Game outlook

This is one of those games where it seems like strength-on-weakness will be significant.

If Miami can keep up their performance on the ground against Akron, they can neutralize CMU's excellent secondary and focus on wearing down a depleted defensive line. Otherwise, they'll have to hope Caleb Heavner can look closer to his BGSU form than his form against Akron. Under 50 percent completion on passes won't do against a defense predicated on turning the ball over and getting pressure.

On the other side, Miami's pass defense is the worst in the MAC, and should Glasser go at QB, the pass game could be in play for the Chippewas in a way it hasn't been all season. That said, if CMU can't hold Miami's offense up long enough to stay in their preferred game state, it might be a long day, as Miami's rush defense is the best in the league by a good margin.

Oddsmakers have this as a very low-scoring game, and that's understandable given how both teams have performed to this point. It's very likely to play out that way, with the winner being the first to get to 17 or 21.