Two opponents coming off important wins will meet Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Central Michigan registered its first MAC win of 2019 last week with a 45-24 win at Akron. It was a nice bounce-back victory for the Chippewas, who were pounded by No. 17 Wisconsin a week earlier in Madison.
Miami, meanwhile, handed . . .
at
Miami (Fla) (1-2, 0-0 MAC)
Saturday, Sept. 21 -- 4 p.m. ET
Hard Rock Stadium -- Miami, Fla
ACC Network
Series: First Meeting
ABOUT MIAMI (Fla)
-- Head coach Manny Diaz has shined as a defensive coach/coordinator at various stops on his way to Miami, which he joined in 2016. He briefly accepted the head coaching job at Temple in December, but then came back to Miami as head coach when Mark Richt retired.
-- Miami is known for introducing the "Turnover Chain," donned by players after creating a turnover. Upgrades over the years have pushed it to 900 stones and an estimated worth of nearly $100,000.
For what it's worth, Central Michigan istied for sixth among MAC teams in turnover margin (minus-1 on the year).
-- Gregg Rousseau has registered 2.0 of Miami's seven sacks. Romeo Finley and Jonathan Garvin own the team's two interceptions.
-- No. 8 Florida committed four turnovers against Miami in the opener, but it still managedto edge the Hurricanes. MU moved in front 20-17 with a 50-yard DeeJay Dallas run early in the fourth quarter. However, Florida moved 80 yards to score what proved to be the winning score in a 24-20 game
-- Similarly, Miami pulled in front of North Carolina with an 11-yard Jarren Williams to Will Mallory pass with 4:38 remaining in the contest. The Tar Heels then struck back with their own score to pull out the win.
-- DeeJay Dallas leads MU rushing with 7 carries for 309 yards. Cam'Ron Harris has 26 carries for 105 yards.
-- Quarterback Jarren Williams has completed 73.1 percent of his passes, good for 777 yards and six TDs with one interception.
-- Former MAC player (Buffalo Bulls) K.J. Osborn leads Miami receivers with 15 catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Five Hurricane receivers have over 100 receiving yards after three games.
ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN
-- The Chippewas opened 2019 with a 38-21 home win over Albany. After falling hard at Wisconsin, they knocked off Akron 45-24 in an early MAC game. Following the Miami contest, CMU wll face tough MAC games at Western Michigan and against Eastern Michigan.
-- The Chippewas totaled 533 yards of offense against Akron.
-- Central is 0-16 against teams from the ACC. Miami is 7-0 against the MAC, including a 49-24 victory at Toledo last year.
-- CMU has had 15 first-time starters through the first three games.
-- Junior David Moore has completed 23 of 42 passes (54.8%) for 317 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The vast majority of his work came last week after graduate transfer Quinten Dormady was injured at Wisconsin.
-- Central Michigan ranks first among MAC teams in rushing defense (97.0 ypg) but is 11th inpass defense (293.7 ypg).
-- WR Tyrone Scott, a redshirt freshman, has nine receptions for 175 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kobe Lewis is the rushing leader with 43 carries for 203 yards and three scores.
-- Linebacker Troy Brown owns 5.5 tfl among his 24 hits. DL LaQuan Johnson has registered 3.0 tfl and 2.0 sacks.