Miami (OH) hadn’t won a Big Ten game since Ben Roethlisberger delivered 353 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 44-14 annihilation of Northwestern on Sept. 13, 2003. The RedHawks also hadn’t won a non-conference game against an FBS opponent since defeating Army in 2011.
In his first eight years as the program’s head coach, Chuck Martin already checked off boxes such as a bowl victory and a MAC championship. But Saturday, he finally accomplished the aforementioned tasks in Evanston, as Miami (OH) outlasted Northwestern, 17-14. The deciding score was a 36-yard field goal by kicker Graham Nicholson, who was placed on scholarship right before the season commenced.