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In non-conference action, Ohio moved to 3-0 for the first time since 1976 and
three teams suffered their first loss of 2011. Temple squandered a fourth quarter lead for the second consecutive year against Penn State. Bowling Green lost to Wyoming on a blocked extra point late in the fourth quarter, and Eastern Michigan had an early lead before losing to Michigan Northern Illinois and Toledo fell in games against two top 10 teams

This week, Miami opens defense of its MAC title at home against Bowling Green. Nine other schools face BCS opposition, with the highlights being Western Michigan at Illinois, Temple at Maryland, and Toledo at Syracuse

Here is a look at the thirteen MAC teams as we begin Week No. 4

EASTERN DIVISION

AKRON (0-3, 0-1 MAC): The Zips were better statistically for the second consecutive week. However Cincinnati scored 35 unanswered points in the second quarter to rout the Akron, 59-14. UA did score its first two touchdowns of the season in the fourth quarter as QB Clayton Moore found WR Keith Sconiers for a 51-yard connection and then hit WR A.J. Price from 11-yards out. RB Jawon Chisholm had 133 yards on 25 carries. LB Jamar Williams led the defense in tackles for the second consecutive game with 11. Fellow LB Brian Wagner leads the MAC in total tackles with 32 (14 solo). UA starts a stretch of four games in the next five at InfoCision Stadium Saturday as they face the Keydets of Virginia Military Academy (Big South-FCS) who are also 0-3 after losing last week at Richmond

BOWLING GREEN (2-1): The Falcons lost a heartbreaker on Saturday against Wyoming as QB Matt Schilz capped an 89-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ray Hutson with just 1:18 remaining in regulation. But the point after attempt was blocked, and the visitors from the Mountain West Conference escaped with a 28-27 victory. BGSU did not help themselves with six turnovers in the contest. Schilz was 34-for-55 passing for 437 yards - part of a Falcons offense that amassed 514 total yards. Schilz leads the MAC with 936 yards. He is completing 63.3 percent of his passes and leads in total offense at 324.7 yards per game. WR Kamer Jordan made nine receptions for 101 yards and two scores. LB Dwayne Woods had 12 tackles in the game with two tackles for loss to garner MAC East Defensive Player of the Week. The Falcons open MAC play on Saturday as they travel to defending conference champion Miami who beat them last year 24-21.

BUFFALO (1-2, 0-1 MAC): The Bulls opened MAC play last Saturday as they traveled to Muncie, dropping a 28-25 decision to the Cardinals when the home team scored with 29 seconds remaining. QB Chazz Anderson completed just 13-of-23 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown, along with a rushing score that gave the Bulls the lead before BSU put together its game-winning drive. RB Branden Oliver had 27 carries for 118 yards and a score. Oliver leads the MAC in rushing with 358 total yards, while LB Khalil Mack leads in tackles for loss with eight (seven solo). UB returns to Amherst to face Connecticut, who lost last week at home to Iowa State 24-20.

KENT STATE (0-3): The Golden Flashes were shutout last Saturday at Kansas State, 37-0, to go 0-3 for the first time since 2000. Freshman RB Traylon Durham rushed for 72 yards. Another freshman, RB Anthony Meray, ran for a career best 45 yards. QB Spencer Keith completed 11-of-23 passes for just 81 yards with two interceptions. The Flashes return home Saturday as they face the South Alabama Jaguars, an FCS team that is beginning a two-year transition to the FBS and will play in the Sun Belt Conference. USA is 2-1 after losing last week at North Carolina State 35-16. It was the Jaguars  first loss in 20 games and was also the first game against FBS opposition

MIAMI (0-2): The Redhawks for the second consecutive week almost upset an opponent from the BCS. Last Saturday they lost to Minnesota 29-23. QB Zac Dysert’s pass for WR Chris Givens on the final play was broken up in the end zone. In the game, Dysert completed 22-of-47 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns as he moved into fifth place on Miami’s all-time passing yards list with 5,536. WR Nick Harwell had 12 catches for 162 yards, part of a MU offense that gained 405 yards against the Golden Gophers. LB Jerrell Wedge notched 12 tackles. The Hawks head home to open MAC Play as Bowling Green comes to Yager Stadium. Last year, their 24-21 last second win over the Falcons was a key in the drive to the Eastern Division title.

OHIO (3-0): The Bobcats continue their roll as they routed Marshall’s  Thundering Herd, 44-7, last Saturday before 24,422 fans. The third largest crowd in Peden Stadium history saw Ohio move to 3-0 for the first time since 1976. QB Taylor Tettleton passed for a career best 285 yards and three touchdowns, along with rushing for 53 yards and a score in picking up MAC East Offensive Player of the Week honors. Eleven different receivers caught at least one pass in the contest. PK Matt Weller, meanwhile, was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week as he was perfect in the game, converting all five extra points and three field goals attempts.  The three three-pointers gave Weller 38 in his career, tied for first on the all-time school list. Ohio travels to Northern New Jersey this Saturday to face Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have not played since losing on September 10 at North Carolina, 24-22

TEMPLE (2-1, 1-0 MAC): Last Saturday, the Owls had a recurring nightmare against Penn State. As in the previous year, TU lost a late lead to the Nittany Lions. This time, the fourth quarter flounder took place in South Philadelphia before 57,223 fans. RB Michael Zordich scored on a one-yard run late in the fourth to keep Temple winless against PSU since 1941. RB Bernard Pierce rushed for only 50 yards and QB Mike Gerardi completed 9-of-22 passes for 95 yards and two crucial interceptions. TU heads to Maryland (1-1) this Saturday to face a Terrapins team that mounted a furious comeback before losing at home to West Virginia 37-31

WESTERN DIVISION

BALL STATE (2-1, 1-0 MAC): The Cardinals rebounded from their loss at South Florida by coming back late to defeat Buffalo 28-25 in the MAC opener for both schools last Saturday at Schunemann Stadium. QB Keith Wenning engineered an 18-play, 75-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to WR Willie Snead with 29 seconds remaining. Wenning completed 24-of-36 passes for 226 yards. RB Jahwon Edwards rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown as the Cardinals gained 406 total yards in the contest. LB Travis Freeman was named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week. Nathan Ollie leads the MAC in sacks with three. BSU faces Army this week at home. The Black Knights defeated Northwestern last week 21-14 and face a MAC opponent for the second time this season (losing in the season opener at Northern Illinois).

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (1-2, 0-1 MAC): The Chippewas fell in the MAC opener at Western Michigan 44-14. Their lone offensive touchdown came on a 28-yard touchdown run by RB Tim Phillips. QB Ryan Radcliff completed just 20-of-36 passes for 215 yards while WR Cody Wilson caught three passes for 46 yards. CMU has lost their last two after opening the season with a home victory against South Carolina State. They head to Michigan State this Saturday. The Spartans are coming off a loss last week at Notre Dame, and the last time the two teams met in 2009 at Spartan Stadium, the Chips won the game on a field goal late in the contest

EASTERN MICHIGAN (2-1): The Eagles lost last Saturday at Michigan 31-3, ending their two-game winning streak. EMU did hold a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter, silencing the crowd of over 110,000 fans momentarily before the Wolverines scored  the last 31 points of the game. RB Javonti Greene was held to 80 yards rushing. QB Alex Gillett was held in check by the Maize and Blue defense, completing just three-of-five passes for 29 yards while rushing for 61 more. LB Marcus English led the EMU defense with 10 tackles in the game (3.5 for losses). The Eagles get another stern test this Saturday as they head to Penn State to face the 2-1 Nittany Lions, who rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Temple last Saturday 14-10

NORTHERN ILLINOIS (1-2): The Huskies were routed last Saturday by the seventh-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, 49-7. The game was technically an NIU home game played at Solider Field in Chicago. NIU was never in the game as they gained just 237 yards against the Badgers defense. QB Chandler Harnisch completed just 14-of-24 passes for 164 yards. Even with his rough time against Wisconsin, Harnsich still leads the MAC in passing efficiency with a 172 rating. WR Perez Ashford caught six aerials for 77 yards. The Huskies lone score came late in the first quarter on a three-yard run by Jasmine Hopkins. NIU has lost their last two after beating Army in the season opener It completes the non-conference portion of the schedule this Saturday as perennial FCS power Cal Poly comes to DeKalb. The Mustangs from the Great West Conference are 1-2 after defeating South Dakota State last week 48-14 in San Louis Obispo.

TOLEDO (1-2): After their narrow loss to Ohio State, the Rockets had a golden opportunity to put their name back on the College Football map as the fourth-ranked Boise State Broncos came to the Glass Bowl. However UT fell 40-15 before a national television audience. The game was competitive for at least 20 minutes before the Broncos, led by QB Kellen Moore, opened the flood gates in the second quarter, starting with a 71-yard touchdown pass by Moore to RB Doug Martin. From that point on it was all BSU as the Broncos showed why they are in the top five in both national polls. The Boise State defense kept the UT offense in check as QB Terrance Owens completed 17-of-31 passes for 201 yards, while Austin Dantin was just 3-of-8 for 50 and a score. WR Eric Page did have nine catches in the contest, but they produced only 69 yards. One other note on the game involved television. ESPN’s telecast posted a 2.2 on the Nielsen Ratings. That, according to Toledo Media Relations, was the best ever for a televised UT football game and nearly doubled the Iowa State-Connecticut game shown simultaneously on ESPN 2. The Rockets complete the non-conference portion of their schedule on Saturday as they travel to Syracuse to face the Orang, who lost last week at Southern California

WESTERN MICHIGAN (2-1, 1-0 MAC): The Broncos opened MAC play last Saturday with a 44-14 win over Central Michigan at Waldo Stadium, breaking a five-game losing streak to the Chippewas. QB Alex Carder completed 28-of-37 passes for 385 yards, with WR Jordan White collecting 13 of those passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. White leads the MAC with 29 receptions for 363 yards and two scores. With his performance, White moved into fourth place on WMU’s all-time reception list and also was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week. The Broncos offense gained 442 yards on the afternoon and was a perfect six-for-six in the red zone. PK John Potter was named MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week as he collected three field goals and five extra points. After losing their opener in the lightning-shortened game at Michigan, the Broncos have won two straight and head to Illinois this Saturday to face a Fighting Illini squad fresh off an upset of Arizona State at home last week.