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Photo: Paul Nelson

Miami (6-5, 4-1 MAC East, 5-1 MAC Overall) has clinched the MAC East title by virtue of its 7-0 win over Akron early in the week and Bowling Green's 31-17 victory over Buffalo which eliminated the Bulls from title contention. Despite securing a spot in the MAC title game however, a bowl game is not a certainty for the RedHawks who have one game remaining against rival Ohio on Saturday.

If the RedHawks finish the season with a loss against the Bobcats they will enter the MAC Championship Game with a 6-6 mark. Another loss in the MAC Championship would leave Miami at 6-7 and ineligible for bowl participation which places significant importance on the RedHawks final conference game in Athens. Conversely, a win over Ohio would put Miami at 7-5 and virtually guarantee a bowl appearance regardless of the outcome of their MAC title game matchup against Central Michigan.

Finding themselves in a nearly identical situation are the champions of the MAC West, the Central Michigan Chippewas (6-5, 4-1 MAC West, 5-1 MAC Overall), thanks to their upset loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday. Now, in what just two weeks ago appeared to be a near-meaningless season-ending crossover game, their matchup against Akron has become a must-win game if the Chippewas hope to avoid bowl anxiety.

Just like their MAC East counterparts, the Chips, with a loss in their final regular season game, would enter the MAC title game at 6-6 and would find themselves sitting at home during bowl season should they end the season at 6-7. A win at Akron however will get the Chips to the MAC Championship with a 7-5 record and secure a likely berth in the Motor City Bowl.

A couple of interested observers in all of this will be both the Ball State Cardinals (6-5, 3-1 MAC West, 4-2 MAC Overall) and the Bowling Green Falcons (7-4, 4-2 MAC East, 5-2 MAC Overall).

The Cardinals face Northern Illinois in their season finale while Bowling Green battles rival Toledo.

Bowling Green is the only MAC team that is guaranteed at this point to finish the season with a winning record and it would be hard to argue against an 8-4 Bowling Green squad representing the MAC in one of its three bowls. The Cardinals, should they finish 7-5, would also make for an attractive at-large bowl team.

It's been a wild ride all year in the MAC and it looks like the bowl picture will not come into clear focus until at least the conference championship game is concluded December 1. Even then once the MAC's bowl participants are known, the MAC's opponents in the bowl games will likely not be finalized until the BCS pairings are announced December 2.

Final MAC Out of Conference Record
It only took twelve full weeks, but the MAC finally completed it's non-conference slate of games. Here is the final breakdown of how the MAC performed against other conferences, including independents and teams from the FCS:

Non-Conference Home Record: 11-10
Non-Conference Road Record: 6-31

Quick Stat Check
Heading into the final week of MAC play here are the MAC's offensive leaders:

Around The Conference
Below is is our recap of this past week's action. Also be sure to keep reading for our choices for offensive and defensive players of the week.

Ball State 41, Toledo 20.
Quick Take:

Miami 7, Akron 0.
Quick Take: Miami became bowl eligible and clinched the MAC East title (following Bowling Green's win over Buffalo later in the week), defeating Akron 7-0 in Oxford. The teams battled to a scoreless tie until Miami LB Clayton Mullins forced a fourth-quarter fumble by Akron QB Carlton Jackson, who had just entered the game in place of a struggling Chris Jacquemain. Carlton's fumble was recovered by RedHawks' DE Craig Mester who returned it seven yards for a TD and the game's only score. The RedHawks also struggled on offense as Miami QB Daniel Raudabaugh, who had thrown only two interceptions in his previous four games, had three passes intercepted in the Zips' end zone on three straight possessions.

Notable
**Miami DE Craig Mester's touchdown was his first TD at any level of football.
**Akron was held to 3-15 on third down conversion attempts.
**Both teams combined for 17 punts.
**Akron WR Jabari Arthur set a new school record with his 76th catch of the season.

Quotable:
** "I picked some pretty good timing, don't you think?" Miami DE Craig Mester on his first career touchdown on a fumble recovery.
** "I tried to force some balls in there inside the red zone. When we see the defense out there playing with as much intensity as they are, we trust those guys." Miami QB Daniel Raudabaugh.
** "Our team fought very hard. They just could not convert when we had our opportunities. The defense rallied and played a great, great game against the type of offense we have struggled with." Akron head coach J.D. Brookhart.


Eastern Michigan 48, Central Michigan 45.
Quick Take: Eastern Michigan came away with the 2007 edition of the Michigan MAC Trophy and spoiled Central Michigan's spotless MAC record, defeating the Chippewas 48-45. The Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead but the Chippewas responded quickly with 17 unanswered points and held a 24-21 halftime edge. Twice Central Michigan would take a ten point lead in the second half but the Eagles responded after going down 38-28 with14 straight points to take a late 42-38 lead. The teams each exchanged touchdowns late in the game with EMU holding on for the win after Central Michigan PK Andrew Aguila's potential game-tying 52-yard field goal sailed wide left with twenty-two seconds remaining.

Notable:
**The last four games between CMU and EMU have been decided by a combined 16 points.
**The Eagles were 6-6 on fourth down conversions.
**CMU RB Justin Hoskins' first-quarter 76 yard TD run was the longest play from scrimmage for the Chippewas this season.
**EMU DT Jason Jones recorded 2.5 tackles for loss, giving him 19.5 TFL for the season and breaking the EMU record of 17 set by Jones last season.

Quotable:
** "We started talking about getting ready for overtime and if Central Michigan had scored to tie the game, we were going to play for overtime as Andy Schmitt had tweaked his shoulder a bit and was having trouble throwing the deep ball." Eastern Michigan head coach Jeff Genyk.
** "It's amazing that as soon as you win a championship, people think you have a letdown. I just thought that Eastern Michigan made the plays when they had to and we didn't. That was obviously the difference in the game but there are great things around the corner for us and we have to move on." Central Michigan head coach Butch Jones.
** "This is just a tremendously satisfying win for our program." Genyk.

Temple 24, Kent State 14.
Quick Take: The Owls picked off Kent State QB Jon Brown four times en route to a 24-14 triumph at Lincoln Financial Field. Brown, Kent State's third different starting quarterback in the past four weeks, was limited to 76 yards passing. The Flashes got on the board first however by opening the scoring on RB Eugene Jarvis' 21-yard second-quarter touchdown run. The Flashes increased their advantage to 14-6 late in the third quarter when Coleman Lynn recovered a blocked punt in the end zone but the Owls responded with 18 unanswered points in part on a 9-yard Jason Harper TD run and Dy'Onne Crudup's 20-yard TD pass from Vaughn Charlton. The Owls added a pair of Jake Brownell field goals (who had a career-high four field goals in the contest) to put the game away.

Notable:
**The Owls' four conference wins are the most conference victories in a season for Temple since 1967 and the first time the Owls have recorded four wins in a single season since 2002.
**Kent State was held to a season low 124 yards total offense and RB Eugene Jarvis was also held to a season low with 57 yards rushing on 13 carries.
**Temple RB Darryl Robinson's 105 yards rushing were a career single-game high.

Quotable:
** "We had the ball for almost 39 minutes; you should win the game if you have it for that long." Temple head coach Al Golden.
** "Our defense really went out there and played their tails off today. We just didn't make plays, and you can't turn the ball over. We made some mistakes". Kent State QB Jon Brown.
** "When you lose one quarterback it's hard, but when you lose three it's downright almost impossible. That is kind of where we are. Our kids played hard. There is no lack of fight in them. We're just a little hamstrung right now." Kent State head coach Doug Martin.


Bowling Green 31, Buffalo 17.
Quick Take: Bowling Green used a 17-0 second quarter run en route to a 31-17 road win over Buffalo. The win gives Bowling Green sole possession of second place in the MAC East. BG also currently owns the MAC's best overall mark at 7-4 and remains hopeful for a postseason bowl bid. Falcons' quarterback Tyler Sheehan tossed two long scoring strikes of 44 and 83 yards and was on the receiving end of a 25-yard flea flicker TD pass from Anthony Turner. Turner opened the game's scoring by rushing for a two-yard TD in the first quarter. Bowling Green held a 31-10 lead before the Bulls scored the game's final touchdown with under ten minutes remaining on QB Drew Willy's 17-yard TD pass to Ernest Jackson. The loss knocked the Bulls out of contention for a division title and thus clinched the MAC East title for Miami which had defeated Akron earlier in the week.

Notable:
**Bowling Green wide receiver Freddie Barnes had 10 receptions for 113 yards, both single-game career highs.
**The Falcons have now scored thirty or more points in three straight games.
**Buffalo QB Drew Willy has now attempted 191 straight passes without an interception.
**Bulls RB James Starks became the first Buffalo player to rush for over 1,000 since 1996. Starks rushed for 137 yards and now has 1,049 yards on the season.

Quotable:
** "It's a five hour bus ride for us (to Buffalo). It's a long time sitting in the bus, crunched up. We knew what kind of team they were. They struggled with their schedule besides the MAC, but in MAC play they have been pretty good. They have great backs but our defense absolutely stepped up today. They made some plays, but we bounced back. Offensively we moved the ball all game. I was high with throws every once in a while, and the ball was slipping but ultimately we moved the ball and we made big plays when it was time to make plays. Today was a total team effort." Bowling Green QB Tyler Sheehan.
** "I'm proud of my football team. They played hard, but Bowling Green made more plays than we did and that's usually what happens as far as who wins and who loses. We still have one football game left (at Kent State next week) and we have to be ready to play that game to the best of our abilities." Buffalo head coach Turner Gill.
** "We knew Buffalo was going to be a formidable opponent, and Coach Gill has done a nice job this season with this team. Their seniors battled hard and we knew it was going to be a tough physical football game." Bowling Green head coach Gregg Brandon.


Navy 35, Northern Illinois 24.
Quick Take: The Huskies waged a strong battle against the nation's leading rushing squad but fell short, losing on the road at Navy, 35-24. Huskies RB Justin Anderson rushed for 140 yards and backup QB Ryan Morris had his best game of the season, passing for 206 yards and two touchdowns. Navy held a 21-14 halftime edge but the Huskies could not catch up after falling behind 28-14. Navy put the game out of reach when Zerbin Singleton, who rushed for three touchdowns, ran for a 12-yard score with 7:51 remaining to put the Middies up by eleven after NIU had closed the gap to 28-24 on Chris Nendick's 42-yard field goal.

Notable:
**Huskies' freshman safety Alex Kube recorded 15 tackles and has 100 tackles on the season making him the nation's leading freshman in that category.
**Navy QB Jared Bryant attempted only six passes but led the team with 139 yards rushing.
**Northern Illinois was only 7-21 on third down conversion attempts.

Quotable:
** "He made a couple of plays that even I was shocked at, He played at a high level and had a good game." NIU RB Justin Anderson on the play of Huskies' QB Ryan Morris.
** "We've got to get a win. By any means necessary we have to get a win next week. We have to do whatever we can to get a win against Ball State." NIU DE Larry English.
** "Their defense was better than we thought, I was just excited because this is a special place to play. My knee was iffy, but once I got in and ran around I got warm." Anderson.

Western Michigan 28, Iowa 19.
Quick Take: The Broncos scored perhaps the MAC's biggest non-conference victory of the season by stunning Iowa, scoring a convincing 28-19 victory over the Hawkeyes and likely delivering a fatal blow to Iowa's bowl hopes. The Broncos never trailed and built up a 19-0 lead midway through the second quarter on a pair of Tim Hiller TD passes and two Mike Jones field goals. The Broncos opened the scoring when Hiller connected with West on a 32 yard touchdown, then after Jones' two field goals, Hiller found paydirt again with a 35-yard TD pass to Anthony Middleton. The Hawkeyes got on the board with just over one minute left in the half but missed the PAT and the Broncos held a 19-6 halftime advantage. Iowa twice closed to within six points in the second half but the Broncos responded when Middleton caught his second touchdown of the game to give WMU an insurmountable 25-13 edge heading into the final quarter. Iowa added their final TD on a three-yard pass from Jack Christensen to Brandon Myers but again failed on its PAT effort. Western Michigan put the game out of reach when Chris Kelly nailed a 30-yard field goal with just over one minute remaining to make it 28-19.

Notable:
**Western Michigan RB Brandon West tallied 209 total yards and became WMU's single-season record holder in all-purpose yards.
**The Broncos outgained Iowa 489-397 yards and were 2-2 on fourth down conversions.
**Western Michigan is now 2-0 all-time versus Iowa, handing the Hawkeyes their only two losses against MAC competition in19 games all-time.

Quotable:
** "Western Michigan out-played us in all phases, particularly in the first half. They played extremely well. They certainly deserved the win." Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.
** "It's the best team effort that I've been a part of since I've been playing here. It's a great feeling, a lot of validation." Western Michigan QB Tim Hiller who passed for 367 yards and three touchdowns.
** "We came in this summer expecting to win big and things haven't been going our way. This took the chip off our shoulders, made us feel real good." Western Michigan DB Louis Delmas.

Players of the Week
MAC Report Online announces its choices for offensive and defensive players of the week for week twelve of the MAC season.

Offensive Player of the Week:
Tim Hiller, QB, Western Michigan: 26-45 367 yards and three touchdowns.
Comment: Hiller, a redshirt sophomore, led Western Michigan in its upset win over the Iowa Hawkeyes by throwing for touchdown passes of 32, 35 and 7 yards on his way to a total of 367 yards passing.

Defensive Player of the Week:
Clayton Mullins, LB, Miami: 11 tackles (4 solo); 5 tackles for loss; one QB sack and one forced fumble.
Comment: Mullins was the leading tackler for a Miami defense that shutout the Zips and was responsible for the game-winning quarterback sack and forced fumble that was recovered by the RedHawks for the game's only touchdown in Miami's MAC East clinching 7-0 victory.

Prognosticating Prowess
Stop the presses! After going 5-2 this week, that makes four straight weeks with a winning record. For the season our picks now stand at 63-36.

The week's breakdown: