 Photo: Paul Nelson
The Crystal Ball: Ball State at 3-0 is the MAC's lone undefeated squad and with its next seven opponents owning a combined winning percentage of only .389 could rattle off several more consecutive wins. Such a streak should earn the Cardinals a spot in the Top 25 but first the Cardinals will need to get by Indiana (2-0) Saturday, the only one of Ball State's next seven opponents that currently owns a winning record.
Speaking of Ball State, while the focus usually centers on their high-flying Nate Davis-led offense, a redshirt freshman defensive back, Sean Baker, stole the spotlight this week and was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week
Last Second Redemption: Buffalo also grabbed some attention as well this week with its last second Hail Mary pass win over Temple, 30-28. The Bulls are one of four teams in contention this week for ESPN's Pontiac Game Changing Moment Award.
That's just the tip of the iceberg from this past week. Here is the lowdown with notes and quotes from every game. Also keep reading (or scrolling) for our choices for offensive and defensive players of the week and a look at how our picks turned out this past week.
Around The Conference
 Toledo 41, Eastern Michigan 17. 
Quick Take: Playing in near-monsoon conditions at times in Ypsilanti, the Rockets and Eagles opened MAC play with Toledo coming away with a dominating 41-17 victory. The Rockets opened up an early 14-0 lead on two first quarter TD runs from DaJuane Collins who rushed for a career high 168 yards. The Rockets blew the game open with 27 third-quarter points, scoring four touchdowns on five possessions to take a commanding 41-7 lead into the final stanza. Eastern Michigan turned the ball over five times in the game.
Notable:
** Toledo LB Archie Donald recorded his first two career interceptions and became the first Rocket to record two interceptions in a game since Bo Martin against Kansas on September 15, 2006.
**Rockets QB Aaron Opelt passed for three touchdowns, the third time in his career that he has tossed at least three touchdowns in a game.
**EMU TB Dwayne Priest rushed for a career high 80 yards on thirteen carries.
Quotable:
** "I was thinking we should all go home and go duck hunting." Toledo head coach Tom Amstutz talking about the weather conditions that led to turnovers on three consecutive possessions.
** "I know I can throw the ball in the rain. We took some shots right away and it showed the weather didn't affect our game plan." Toledo QB Aaron Opelt.
** "We definitely had our chances. I could have made more plays, the running backs could have made more plays, the wide receivers could have made more plays. We all could have made things happen…We really didn't come out and do that." Eastern Michigan QB Kyle McMahon.
Quick Take: The Bulls and the Owls hooked up in a classic match that literally came down to the final play when Bulls QB Drew Willy connected with WR Naaman Roosevelt for a 35-yard TD on the game's final play. The "Hail Mary" concluded a wild final three minutes that saw Buffalo take a 24-21 lead, their first lead of the contest, on AJ Principe's 25-yard field goal with 2:27 left in the game. The Owls however responded with an impressive 9-play 74-yard drive capped off by Bruce Francis' 11-yard TD reception from Adam DiMichele with 0:38 remaining in the game, setting the stage for Buffalo's late-game heroics. The game was tied three times and Temple held the lead on three different occasions. The loss was Temple's second straight heartbreaker, following last week's 12-9 OT loss to Connecticut on the last play of the game.
Notable
**Buffalo QB Drew Willy has now thrown a touchdown pass in seven straight games and moved into first place all-time at Buffalo with 35 touchdown passes in his career.
**Temple WR Bruce Francis has now recorded a reception in 29 straight games.
**Buffalo is now 12-1 all-time against Temple and with the win has started out 2-0 at home for the first time since moving up to 1A in 1999.
Quotable:
** "Our theme is about being relentless to the finish. This was a classic example of how to finish. You practice that play almost every week. You know you only get the opportunity like that once or twice a season. The guys didn't panic. Just like in practice, everyone kept doing what they're doing." Buffalo head coach Turner Gill.
** "We didn't do our job. They finished the game, and we didn't." Temple head coach Al Golden.
** "I was on a sprint out to the right. We practice this play every week. Three receivers go down. I made sure Naaman (Roosevelt) got down there so he saw it come out of my hands. I threw it high so he could look at it. He made an amazing catch. It's the most memorable play I've ever been a part of and congrats to the whole team. It was a once in a lifetime play and I'm glad I was a part of it." Buffalo QB Drew Willy.
 Ball State 41, Akron 24.  Quick Take: The Cardinals remained the MAC's only unbeaten squad, defeating Akron on the road at the rain-soaked Rubber Bowl, 41-24 to move to 3-0 for the first time since the 1988 season. The Cardinals tallied nearly 500 yards of offense behind 300 yards passing and two touchdowns from QB Nate Davis and were able to take advantage of five Zips turnovers, including four interceptions. The Cardinals drew first blood but held only a 17-10 advantage at the half before breaking the game open with two third quarter touchdowns, one from Sean Baker on a 33-yard fumble return for a TD and another on MiQuale Lewis' second TD of the game.
Notable:
**Ball State redshirt freshman strong safety Sean Baker had a record-setting outing, intercepting three passes and returning a fumble for a 33-yard touchdown. His three picks in one contest tied the school record.
**Cardinals' QB Nate Davis moved into first-place all-time at Ball State with 6,582 career passing yards.
**Akron WR Andrew Johnson scored his first collegiate touchdown since the 2004 season when he was attending Miami (Fla).
Quotable:
** "It was a good win. It is nice to be 3-0 at this point, but we have a long way to go. We have a lot of work ahead of us if we want to be a championship football team.” Ball State head coach Brady Hoke.
** "We certainly can’t play the way we played today and beat that team. You have to give credit to Ball State, they worked their offense and gave us some new looks defensively that forced mistakes.” Akron head coach JD Brookhart.
** “It was nice to come home and play in front of my family and friends. It was a great feeling." Ball State SS Sean Baker, a native of nearby Canfield. OH after his team-high nine tackle and record-setting three interception performance.
 Kent State 24, Delaware State 3.Quick Take: The Golden Flashes recorded their first win of the season, downing FCS-member Delaware State in their 2008 Dix Stadium debut, 24-3. The Flashes celebrated their newly renovated digs with a methodical, workmanlike performance that kept the Hornets off the scoreboard until just over three minutes remained in the game. The Flashes scored all three of their touchdowns on the ground and racked up 215 yards rushing while limiting DSU to 99 yards on the ground. It was the second straight win in as many seasons over Delaware State for the Flashes.
Notable:
**Kent State LB Derek Burrell had ten tackles, his seventh consecutive game with double digit stops.
**KSU DB Rico Murray's block of a Delaware State field goal attempt was the first blocked field goal registered by the Flashes since November 8, 2003 against Ohio.
**Flashes RB Eugene Jarvis only carried the ball five times before leaving the game with a twisted ankle, but his 11-yard first quarter run pushed him into fourth place all-time at Kent State with 2,668 career rushing yards.
Quotable:
** "We're just glad to get the win. It's been a long time. We've been through a lot. It feels good to get that monkey off our back." Kent State head coach Doug Martin on the Flashes' breaking their nine-game losing streak.
** We still turned the ball over three times but like Coach said it was a win." Kent State QB Julian Edelman.
** "He (Jarvis) could have gone back in the game but there was no reason. We just erred on the side of caution." Martin discussing Jarvis' injury early in the game.
 Central Michigan 31, Ohio 28.  Quick Take: The Chippewas overcame an early 14-0 deficit to post a comeback 31-28 win over the winless Bobcats in Athens in the conference opener for both teams. Ohio went up early on the defending MAC champs 14-0 with two first quarter touchdowns from Chris Garret, one on a 12-yard run on Ohio's opening possession and then on a 45-yard reception from QB Boo Jackson who recorded 413 yards of total offense. The Chips however responded with 24 unanswered points to take a 24-14 lead by the midway point of the third quarter. The teams each exchanged a pair of touchdowns with CMU holding on at the end by forcing two crucial fourth-quarter turnovers by the Bobcats to secure the win.
Notable:
** Ohio QB Boo Jackson, in his first major college start, passed for 365 yards and set a school record with 413 yards of total offense. Jackson also tossed three touchdowns.
** CMU QB Dan LeFevour passed for 361 yards, the seventh time in his career that he has passed for 300 or more yards in one game.
** CMU WR Bryan Anderson has now caught a pass in 31 straight games.
Quotable:
** "We can't come out slow like we did. That just can't happen. We can't get behind like this each game." Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour.
** "This game was such a big rush because it's a Division I school and there's a bunch of fans out there cheering for us. There were a lot of big plays today and they just made one more than us." Ohio QB Boo Jackson.
** "I was encouraged by our team's play in the fourth quarter. It was a lot better than what we've had the previous two games. We still need to play better football in the fourth quarter to give ourselves a chance to win." Ohio head coach Frank Solich.
 Miami 38, Charleston Southern 27.Quick Take: The RedHawks survived a serious upset bid by Charleston Southern, escaping with a 38-27 win over the Buccaneers who are winless and play out of the Big South Conference in the FCS. CSU took an early 13-0 lead and held a 13-10 halftime advantage before the RedHawks took their first lead of the game on Thomas Merriweather's third quarter one-yard TD run to go up 17-13 however the Bucs responded with two touchdowns to put Miami down 27-17 before the RedHawks responded back with 21 unanswered points, including Eugene Harris' 44-yard punt return for a touchdown, to pull out the victory.
Notable:
** Miami came into the game ranked seventh in the nation, allowing only 97 yards passing per game but surrendered 257 yards through the air to Charleston Southern.
** RedHawks FS Ben Bennett started his first game in place of injured starter Jordan Gafford and recorded a 78-yard interception return that set up Miami's go-ahead fourth quarter touchdown.
** Miami RB Thomas Merriweather had three rushing touchdowns, the first three rushing scores of the season for Miami and a single-game career-high for Merriweather.
Quotable:
** I told our guys all week that we better be ready for anything from this team. I didn’t expect those guys to come in here and lay down." Miami head coach Shane Montgomery.
** "When we’ve got a chance to take that momentum, we’ve just got to take it. We get some momentum, and then give it back to them. We score, and then we let them go score. That’s one area we’ve got to get better at.” Montgomery.
** "We had been doing screen drill all week and I kept joking about how I was going to take one to the house this week. It just came right at me, and I tipped it enough times so I could catch it and just took off running. Although, everyone has been hassling me that I didn't score." Miami FS Ben Bennett on his 78-yard interception return.
 Western Michigan 51, Idaho 28.Quick Take: Western Michigan made the long trip to Moscow, Idaho, coming away with a 51-28 win over the Vandals. The Broncos broke open a close contest with 23 third quarter points after holding 14-7 edge at halftime. Western Michigan QB Tim Hiller tossed four touchdowns, connecting twice each with Jamarko Simmons and Branden Ledbetter while backup QB Drew Burdi put the Broncos over the fifty-point mark with a 42-yard fourth quarter TD run. The Broncos got on the board first though via their defense as Louis Delmas returned a 47-yard interception for a touchdown to open the game's scoring.
Notable:
** WMU QB Tim Hiller tossed four touchdowns in a game for the third time in his career and for the first time since November 12, 2005 against Central Michigan.
** Brandon West set a new Broncos record when his 38-yard fourth quarter kick return broke the school record for career return yards. West now has 1,746 career return yards.
** The two teams combined for 871 yards in total offense (Idaho: 455; WMU: 416).
Quotable:
** “We like to hold a lot of things back and save them for the second half. The things we were successful with in the second half were looks we did not show them in the first half.” Western Michigan head coach Bill Cubit.
** When something bad happens, we have to counter that with something good, and, unfortunately, that was the tale of the second half.” Idaho head coach Robb Akey.
** “We hurt ourselves today. We've got to know our assignments. We’ve got to know what we are doing." Idaho CB Isaac Butts.
Boise State 20, Bowling Green 7. 
Quick Take: After spotting the Broncos a 20-0 halftime lead, the Falcons' defense shutdown the Broncos on the blue turf of Broncos Stadium but the offense could not avoid costly turnovers and mistakes for the second consecutive week, thwarting any comeback effort. Two first-half missed field goals and a fourth quarter fumble and interception were the most costly of the Falcons' miscues, with QB Tyler Sheehan being picked off with 1:17 left in the game sealing the Falcons' fate.
Notable:
** BG triple-threat RB/QB/WR Anthony Turner left the game after suffering a shoulder injury in the first quarter and did not return.
** The Falcons have now shutout an opponent in the second half twice this season (Pittsburgh and Boise State).
** BGSU WR Tyrone Pronty had a career high six catches for 74 yards.
Quotable:
** “We’ve got a damn fine football team. They worked their butts off. They won the second half. We just set our jaw at halftime and came out and played guts-out football in the second half and didn’t get it done.” Bowling Green head coach Gregg Brandon.
** “We took a toll on those guys. They were looking for the big play and we came in and shut those (playmakers) out. That breaks an offense’s confidence.” Boise State safety Ellis Powers.
** “(Bowling Green) is one heck of an offense. Those guys can move the ball. There’s a lot more going on out there than you can probably see from the stands — the different formations, the binds they’re trying to create. They’re very smart at Bowling Green with what they do offensively.” Boise State head coach Chris Petersen.
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| Ohio QB Boo Jackson |
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| Ball State DB Sean Baker |
Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week
Boo Jackson, QB, Ohio, 365 yards passing, three touchdowns, 413 yards total offense
Making his first major college start, Jackson led Ohio to a near-upset of the defending MAC champion Central Michigan Chippewas, passing for 365 yards and three touchdowns in his starting debut to go along with 48 yards rushing. His 413 yards of total offense set an Ohio Bobcats' single-game record for total yards by an individual player.
Defensive Player of the Week
Sean Baker, DB, Ball State, 9 tackles, 3 interceptions, fumble return for touchdown
Baker, a redshirt freshman, earned the Walter Camp Foundation's National Defensive Player of the Week award after recording a team-high nine tackles, returned a fumble 33 yards for a touchdown and tied a Ball State school record with three interceptions against Akron in the Cardinals' 41-24 victory over the Zips.
Prognosticating Prowess
Hey, not a bad week on the prediction front here at MAC Report Online after posting a 7-1 mark to bring our season tally up to 25-7 through the first three weeks.
Our best pick was in nearly calling the exact score in the Central Michigan - Ohio matchup while coming fairly close as well on several other contests. Our worst pick was our only incorrect call and when we miss, we don't mess around as Toledo throttled Eastern Michigan to ruin our bid at a perfect week.
Here is the breakdown from the past weekend:
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Prediction
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Actual
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Buffalo 27, Temple 17.
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Buffalo 30, Temple 28.
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Eastern Michigan 34, Toledo 31.
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Toledo 41, Eastern Michigan 17.
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Ball State 38, Akron 30.
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Ball State 41, Akron 24.
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Central Michigan 31, Ohio 26.
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Central Michigan 31, Ohio 28.
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Kent State 35, Delaware State 10.
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Kent State 24, Delaware State 3.
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Western Michigan 45, Idaho 23.
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Western Michigan 51, Idaho 28.
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Miami 31, Charleston Southern 7.
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Miami 38, Charleston Southern 27.
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Boise State 41, Bowling Green 24.
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Boise State 20, Bowling Green 7.
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