HOW TO WATCH & PREVIEW: 2023 Cure Bowl - Miami RedHawks vs Appalachian State Mountaineers

Date: Saturday, December 16

Time: 3:30 PM ET

TV: ABC - Bob Wischusen (Play-by-Play), Robert Griffin III (Analyst), and Kris Budden (Sideline)

Location: FBC Mortgage Stadium - Orlando, FL

Betting Line: Appalachian State -3.5

Cure Bowl Meaning and Storylines

The significance of the Cure Bowl is to promote awareness and research of breast cancer.

The ninth edition of the Cure Bowl will feature the 11-2 MAC champion Miami RedHawks and 8-5 Sun Belt runner-up Appalachian State Mountaineers.

This will be the first time both teams face off, at least in their respective FBS eras. 

Miami (OH)-

Miami will be wearing cancer awareness helmets for Saturday's game as each player will have a different color decal, varying from pink, red, orange, yellow, yellow/gray, blue, purple, white and black. Each color signifies a specific type of cancer and the players were allowed to choose which color they would like to wear.

The RedHawks linebacker group decided to add the yellow/gray ribbon to honor Champ, who is part of linebacker coach Joe Bowden's family. They call the linebacker room "A Room Full of Champs" to honor Champ and his fight with advanced brain cancer.

Running back Rashad Amos will be wearing the pink ribbon on his helmet to honor his mother, a breast cancer survivor.

Appalachian State -

Assistant head coach and tight ends coach Justin Watt's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 and after starting a GoFund me page, she is currently receiving treatment.

The Mountaineers' starting tight end Eli Wilson's grandmother passed away due to breast cancer before he was born, so he struck an NIL deal with the West Virginia-based WV Breast Health Initiative to raise money for a single mother by the name of Sa’Quaia Walker, a breast cancer patient, from his hometown.

Team Preview: Miami RedHawks

After Miami starting quarterback Brett Gabbert went down with a broken leg late in the season, the RedHawks had to shift gears and went with backup Aveon Smith who ended the season playing eight games, throwing for 638 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Smith is also a potent rusher, with over 800 yards on the ground and seven rushing touchdowns in the last two seasons.

At the moment, the RedHawks have lost three players to the transfer portal, most notably Smith. Aside from Smith, Daisjaun Mercer and Jeremiah Caldwell are currently in the portal. 

Kicker Graham Nicholson had announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal, but decided not long after that he would be returning to Oxford for another season.

With the departure of Smith, redshirt sophomore Henry Hesson will presumably take over as the starter with redshirt sophomore Maddox Kopp backing him up.

Hesson and Kopp will rely on wide receiver Gage Larvadain who had 38 receptions for 643 yards and six touchdowns. Other potential targets included Miles Marshall, who played in all 13 games and had nine receptions for 134 yards, and Cade McDonald. The redshirt junior hauled in 27 receptions for 349 yards and three touchdowns as he was needed due to Larvadain only seeing action in nine games this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, RedHawks linebacker Matt Salopek led the team with 134 total tackles and three sacks on the season while cornerback Yahsyn McKee led the team with three interceptions.

The RedHawks coaching staff is also making head lines as Miami head coach Chuck Martin was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of The Year Award. Martin is one of 12 coaches in the country to be named a finalist.

Appalachian State Mountaineers

The Mountaineers are coming off of a tough loss in the Sun Belt championship game against the Troy Trojans, but despite the loss, App State had a successful 8-5 season, going 6-2 against the conference.

The last time the Mountaineers made it to a Bowl game was the 2021 Boca Raton Bowl, losing 59-38 to Western Kentucky. App State is 6-1 as an FBS team in bowl games. 

For Appalachian State, the team has taken some big hits through the eight players that they have lost through the transfer portal, most notably running back Nate Noel who accounted for 834 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

At the moment, App State will have to rely on redshirt freshman Kanye Roberts who split some of the reps with Noel. In 2023, Roberts ran for 648 yards and seven touchdowns. Roberts had 55 yards and two touchdowns in the Sun Belt title game.

In his first season with the Mountaineers, quarterback Joey Aguilar was one of the best at the G5 level, throwing for 3,546 yards, 33 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. However, Aguilar struggled in the Sun Belt title game against Troy where he threw for 275 yards and zero touchdowns. 

Aguilar set the program's single-season records this season in passing TD’s (33, No. 3 nationally) and passing yards (3,546, No. 9 nationally).

The junior quarterback has been able to spread out the ball this season, but most notably to wide receiver Kaedin Robinson who had 59 receptions for 787 yards and 10 touchdowns. Six of Aguilar's targets have 20 receptions or more on the season.

On defense, sixth-year linebacker Andrew Parker Jr. had 108 total tackles and two sacks on the season. Cornerback Tyreek Funderburk led the team with four interceptions on the season.