Ohio returns to the gridiron Tuesday night for their final regular-season contest of 2014, when they visit archrival Miami (Ohio) in Oxford. The Bobcats come into this game with a 5-6 record overall, 3-4 in the MAC. Their chances for a sixth consecutive bowl game will be slim at 6-6, but if the Bobcats lose Tuesday, those chances will disappear completely. After a tough loss last week to Northern Illinois, can Ohio get a road win to become bowl-eligible?

Ohio has had trouble this season getting points on the board; they average 20.2 points per game, 115th in the country and last place in the MAC. It’s been an up-and-down year for Derrius Vick in his first season as first-string quarterback; the redshirt junior has thrown for six touchdowns and three interceptions (with another TD rushing), and has an opportunity to close out the regular season with a road win, which is exactly how 2014 started for the Bobcats. That win at Kent State remains Ohio’s only victory away from Peden Stadium, and Frank Solich’s team will be ready to change that.

Miami will finish their 2014 campaign Tuesday after a rough first year under new head coach Chuck Martin. Martin was the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame two years ago, when the Irish made the BCS Championship Game, but the RedHawks have struggled scoring points themselves, averaging 22.5 points a game (tied with Akron for 102nd in the nation). Miami’s quarterback, senior Andrew Hendrix, will be the third different signal-caller in three seasons that the Bobcats have faced (as opposed to Tyler Tettleton being Ohio’s starting QB from 2011-2013). The home team is currently 2-9, already an improvement from last year’s 0-12 record, but it’s been four years since they last finished above .500; the second-most recent winning season was 2005.

Ohio has won seven of the last eight football editions of the “Battle of the Bricks,” with the one exception coming two years at Yager Stadium. Miami upset a then-unbeaten Bobcat squad 23-20; after getting inside the RedHawks’ 10-yard line with nine seconds left and no timeouts, Tettleton was sacked when Solich decided to let the quarterback make one more play before attempting a field goal. Ohio won last year’s encounter in Athens 41-16, but with bowl eligibility at stake, expect the Bobcats to be fired up for this Mid-American Conference rivalry.

Tuesday’s game kicks off at 7:00 ET and will be aired on ESPN2.