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FACTS & STATS: Site: Dix Stadium (20,500) -- Kent, Ohio. Television: None. Home Record: Miami-OH 1-2, KSU 1-1. Away Record: Miami-OH 0-2, KSU 0-4. Neutral Record: Miami-OH 0-0, KSU 0-0. Conference Record: Miami-OH 0-1, KSU 0-2. Series Record: Miami-Ohio leads, 44-13.

GAME NOTES: Fresh off their first win of the season, the Miami-Ohio RedHawks will try to claim their first league victory on the year when they battle the Kent State Golden Flashes this weekend in a Mid-American Conference bout at Dix Stadium.

The RedHawks stumbled through their first four games and the losses progressively were tougher to swallow as the weeks went on. Miami-Ohio put up a fight against Missouri and Minnesota before falling to Bowling Green by double figures and being blanked by Cincinnati, 27-0. However, the losing stopped this past weekend, as the RedHawks defeated the Army Black Knights, 35-28.

Kent State also comes into this meeting with just one win and that victory came against FCS foe South Alabama. Outside of that win the Golden Flashes have struggled, losing five matchups. On several occasions, the team has failed to even be competitive, including the 40-10 setback to Northern Illinois this past weekend.

This has been a lopsided series between Miami-Ohio and Kent State with the RedHawks dominating action, winning 44 of the 57 matchups. However two of Kent State's victories have come in the last two meetings.

It has been a rough start to the year for Miami-Ohio's offense and in particular quarterback Zac Dysert. However, the signal caller is coming off his best effort on the year, as he threw for 342 yards and four scores against Army.

Nick Harwell hauled in two of those touchdown passes and finished with 186 yards on 10 receptions. Giving the RedHawks a balanced attack was Erik Finklea, who rumbled for 90 yards on the ground.

As a whole the RedHawks finished with 161 yards rushing, which was clearly the team's best showing in that area, as Miami-Ohio comes into this weekend averaging just 71.4 rushing yards per game.

The lack of success on the ground has put added pressure on Dysert, and he has fallen short prior to last week's victory. The quarterback has thrown for 1,378 yards on the season, but has only six touchdowns against five interceptions.

Miami was able to win this past weekend despite the play of the defense, which continues to stumble against the run. Miami-Ohio was punished for 326 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 5.0 yards per carry.

This has been a major area of concern for the defense, and although Army runs on just about everyone, through five games the unit has been picked apart on the ground to the tune of 199.6 yards per game.

The defense was clearly not perfect against Army, but the unit did enough to win, thanks in large part to Jerrell Wedge, who racked up 14 tackles, giving him a team-best 32 on the year.

The Golden Flashes could possess the worst offensive unit in the nation. Through six games the team ranks near the bottom in the FBS in scoring offense (12.0 ppg), passing (94.67 ypg) and total offense (171.0 ypg).

The poor play continued in the team's loss to Northern Illinois, as the Flashes totaled just 64 yards. Kent State committed three turnovers in the setback and finished with only one positive rushing yard on 38 carries.

The passing attack was not much better. Spencer Keith only attempted two passes and was intercepted once and was replaced by Cedric McCloud, who could not find much success in the pocket. McCloud completed just six of his 22 passes and was sacked eight times.

It doesn't help that the Kent State defense has been just as bad on the year. The only thing keeping this unit afloat is the 20 takeaways the team has collected thus far.

Kent State has been able to hold opponents to just six passing touchdowns, while grabbing eight interceptions. However, the team has been unable to find success against the run, as teams are averaging 153.5 yards per game.

In the loss to Northern Illinois, the Flashes were punished for 209 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and because the defense was once again unable to stop the run, NIU converted 8-of-15 third down chances and five of six red zone attempts. Luke Batton was busy in the loss, as he finished with 12 tackles, giving him a team-best 53 on the season.

Miami-Ohio might be coming off of its first win, but number two is probably not right around the corner. The RedHawks have struggled offensively, and could be in a dog fight come Saturday. If Kent State can manage to find some type of success offensively, then the Golden Flashes could get their second win on the year.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Kent State 20, Miami-Ohio 14