100th Battle of the Bricks

Battle of the Bricks Fast Facts

History Highlights

The first gridiron meeting of Ohio and Miami was in 1908. Miami won the game 5-0 in Athens. Ohio’s first victory in the rivalry didn’t come until 1914, the fifth overall meeting, which was a 6-0 win in Athens.

Ohio’s longest Battle of the Bricks win streak is six games, which was accomplished twice (1937-1942 & 2006-2011). Ohio’s largest margin of victory in the rivalry (31 points) came in 2015 when the Bobcats routed the RedHawks 34-3 at Peden Stadium.

Ohio and Miami have met 99 times, with the Bobcats posting a series record of 42-55-2.

Rivalry Rests and Returns

Ohio and Miami did not play any games against each other from 1916-1927 or in 1943 and 1944. Since 1945, The Battle of the Bricks has been played every year except 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Legendary Coaches

Don Peden was the first Ohio football coach to defeat Miami multiple times. He had a career record of 11-6 in the Battle of the Bricks, including four wins in Oxford. In 1960, the Ohio University football stadium was renamed in his honor.

Bill Hess claimed nine wins vs. Miami in his 19 seasons as head coach of the Bobcats, including a 21-0 Homecoming win in 1960 that snapped an 18-year winless drought against Ohio’s arch rival. In 1960, the Bobcats were crowned National Small College Champions after compiling a 10-0 record under Bill Hess.

Frank Solich’s .733 winning percentage (11-4 record) in the Battle of the Bricks is the best of any coach in Ohio history, and his 11 wins are tied with Don Peden for the most vs. Miami. Solich’s five wins in Oxford are the most of any Ohio football coach in history. In August 2022, the football field at Peden Stadium was named Frank Solich Field in honor of the Hall of Fame coach.

Combined, these three coaches accounted for 74 percent (31 of 42) of Ohio’s all-time victories vs. Miami in the 99 Battle of the Bricks games to-date.

Bobcats Owning Oxford in Recent Years

The Bobcats have won six of the last eight games in Oxford with an average margin of victory of more than two touchdowns (12.5 points). Ohio’s two losses during that time span have come by a combined total of only five points.

Overall, Ohio has won 13 of the last 17 meetings against the RedHawks, the most successful long-term stretch of the rivalry in history for the Bobcats.