Game 27 Report – Miami (OH) Redhawks
Pregame
Cincinnati (1-1) at Miami (OH) (0-1)
September 14th, 2024, Noon ET
Yager Stadium – Oxford, Ohio
Weather – Sunny, 82 degrees
Game Recap
Cincinnati 27 – Miami (OH) 16
This was the 128th meeting of these two teams as they play for the Victory Bell. Miami pulled off an upset in Cincinnati last season, so you know the Bearcats were ready to avenge that loss.
The game started off slowly. Miami had a great first drive only to be intercepted in the end zone. After a couple punts, Cincinnati finally got on the board first with a field goal to take a 3-0 lead into the second quarter.
Miami tied it at three on the next possession. Another Miami turnover, this time a fumble at the Miami three-yard line, led to Cincinnati getting a touchdown and a 10-3 lead at the half. The Bearcats took the opening kick for a touchdown as well for a two-possession lead.
Finally, Miami put a strong drive together. Brett Gabbert threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Virgil and the Redhawks were right back in it.
Cincinnati would put the game away early in the fourth. On the first play of a drive, Evan Pryor ran 65-yards for a touchdown to go back up two scores, 24-10. Miami was able to bring it back to 27-16 on a touchdown midway through the fourth, but it was not enough.
Final: Cincinnati 27 – UMass 16
Stadium Overview
Unlike the Toledo game, the weather was hot and sunny for this game. The temperature at the Noon kickoff was already in the lower 80s and moved into the upper 80s as the game went on. Being in the sun made it quite uncomfortable.
The stadium was a smaller stadium. They only had a single tier of seats along both sidelines. No seats were along the end zones. On the North side was a large field house and a large scoreboard rose above the South side.
As with other recent stadiums, all the concession stands around the stadium sold normal stadium food. There were many food trucks along the concourses, however. Some were additional Miami owned trucks, but others were from locals. The local trucks included East Coast Eats, Maw Maw Creole Kitchen, and El Cardenal Taqueria.
Since this was a local rivalry game, it appeared to be a sellout. It was a late arriving crowd, so it took until about halfway through the first-quarter for everyone to show up.
Hot dog – $5.00
Souvenir Cup Soda – $6.00
Canned Domestic Beer (16 oz) – $8.00
Other Sporting Event – N/A
Once again, I was out of luck on finding another sporting event to attend while visiting Miami University.
I had planned to attend a University of Dayton men’s soccer game on Saturday evening, but that event ended up being cancelled on Friday. That left me without a game. I was upset that both parts of this trip ended up without a secondary event. Luckily, the rest of the games for the season I have found events to attend.
Campus Overview
Oxford, Ohio, is the definition of a college town. There was very little to do in town other than visit the University. It is very prominent as you drive into town and it spans a large area.
The one thing about the campus is that a lot of the buildings looked alike. That led to the campus not having a lot of charm. Nothing really stood out to me looking back on my visit there.
There was one thing that I like and that was the signs in front of each building. It had the name of the building plus the year that building was built. It was interesting to see some building from back in the 1960s sitting next to other buildings built within the last ten years.
The prettiest building on campus was probably alumni hall. It has a balcony on the upper level and a small dome on top that made it stand out from the other buildings on campus.
Attractions
Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve – Clifton
The Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve is located about half an hour East of Dayton. It was a fun place to stop on my drive down from Toledo as making my way toward Oxford.
In total, there were about three miles of trails in this area. The first area is around the top of the gorge. They did a great job of the upkeep of the area. There were some wooden bridges and some lookouts where you could sit and watch the water. Southern Ohio was in a drought at the time, so my guess is there wasn’t as much water as usual, but there was still quite a bit flowing down the area.
After walking along the top area of the gorge for a while there was spot where you can finally go down into the lower area. Again, the steps were all wooden and kept up well. This made the walk very easy down into the lower area.
Being close to a road and with other people out and about there really was not any wildlife to see. The exception was one chipmunk which is one of the coolest things I enjoy seeing on my trips up North.
Carillon Historical Park – Dayton
The Carillon Historical Park is a large park in Dayton that goes through all the history of the city.
The major highlight of the park is the Wright Brothers National Museum. This building went through the history of flight and how the Wright Brothers were at the forefront of it. In the central room was one of the first planes that they built. The guide said 60-80 percent of the plane was original.
There were many other things to check out at the park though. One building had a walk through history of the 1913 flood that was devastating to the area. Another had some old trolleys and buses that you could check out to see how some transportation started in the area.
Finally in the main building they showed a lot of the companies that either started in or had a big influence on the Dayton area. The main display here were hundreds of cash registers from the National Cash Register company.
This was one of the largest and thorough city museums I recall walking through. It was very enjoyable.
National Museum of the US Air Force – Dayton
With Dayton being known as the city of flight, it made sense for the US Air Force Museum to be located there. The first thing you notice as you walk in is how huge the museum was. I spent about three hours walking through and by the end I was actually rushing a little bit. If you visit, make sure you bring a good pair of walking shoes.
What I appreciated most was how organized the museum is. It is separated into four separate hangers. The first section covered the start of the Air Force through World War II. The next covered Korea and Vietnam. The third had aircraft from the Cold War period. Finally, the last section covered Presidential planes and space.
There were several exhibits that were amazing to see in person. The first was the Memphis Belle from World War II. It is known as being the most famous bomber used during the war. During the war, a bomber was scheduled to fly 25 missions. If it survived all 25, they were able to return home. The Memphis Belle was one of the few bombers that was able to succeed in that mission.
In the Cold War section, there was a B2 bomber. It is the only B2 that is on display today. The plane was gigantic. It has a wingspan of 172 feet.
Finally, one thing I really enjoyed walking through were the Presidential planes. They had a total of four aircraft that were all at one time Air Force One. These were planes that went all the way back to Roosevelt. The main plane was the SAM 26000, which was used by eight different presidents.
I have been to many aircraft museums over the years, but this one was my favorite. Again, the fact they had everything so organized is what made it special and easy to take everything in.
Dining
Bodega
Bodega is a small deli right in the middle of downtown Oxford. They had a wide variety of sandwiches to choose from all made fresh to order. They also have many deli salads to try as well.
My choice was the Papa D. It had capicola, prosciutto, and hard salami as the meats. On top of that it came with provolone, basil pesto, lettuce, red onion, and Italian dressing. (No tomato for me.) It came along with a bag of chips.
Not kidding, this was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. The meat was plentiful and piled high. The bread was soft and made it easy to bite into. Plus, the topping added to the flavor of it all.
If I lived in the Oxford area, I would likely visit this sandwich place once a week. I can always guarantee this will be on my list of favorite restaurants at the end of the season.
Paesano’s Pasta House
Paesano’s Pasta House was an interesting restaurant. It was located in what looked like a residence from the outside. In fact, I believe there actually is a residence attached to the back of the place.
The restaurant had a cozy feel to it. I went just after it opened at 5 PM, but it quickly filled up while I was there.
One of the items they are known for is their fettuccine alfredo. They make the sauce for each order as it comes in. That tempted me, but I ended up going with my favorite, chicken parmesan.
Unlike most Italian restaurants, the chicken came in its own dish with the spaghetti coming on a separate dish on the side. The chicken was good and very easy to cut into, which is usually the sign of a good dish to me.
The sauce on the spaghetti was not anything special, which took away from that dish some. Luckily, the chicken more than made up for that.
Mac & Joe’s
The main entrance to Mac & Joe’s was down a side alley in downtown Oxford. Once you entered you took a few steps up to an area with a bar and a few booths. It had a cozy feel to it.
There was a large variety of sandwiches and burgers on the menu. The one I decided to go with the Miami Tradition. It is a steak hoagie with provolone cheese, mushrooms, and pizza sauce. Since I am not usually a fan of mushrooms, I had those removed and added grilled onions in its place.
The sandwich was delicious. At first look I was concerned there might not be enough pizza sauce. But as I dug into it, I realized that the ingredients were spread out perfectly. There was plenty of sauce and onions in every bite.
Their sandwiches normally come with chips. I substituted this out for tater tots. The order came with way too many to eat but they were cooked perfectly and crispy.
Meadowlark – Dayton
Meadowlark is a restaurant that was located a little off the main road in a small shopping center called Lamplighter Square. It would be hard to find unless you knew it was there.
Inside the décor was really nice. There was artwork displayed around the dining room area.
There was a decent variety of food on the menu, most of it a bit higher quality. For my meal I went with the pork jezebel. It was pork tenderloin covered with a peach sauce mixed with mustard and horseradish. On the side were mashed potatoes and vegetables.
The pork was cooked well. The sauce was disappointing though. It tasted fine, but I expected some more tang with mustard and horseradish in the mix. On the other, side the potatoes were nice and fluffy. The vegetables were a good mix as well.
