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Last week around the Mid-American Conference…Toledo routed Temple in a battle of division heavyweights…Central Michigan defeated Northern Illinois in an offensive shootout…Eastern Michigan and Ohio opened their MAC seasons with victories…Western Michigan picked up a big non-conference victory at Connecticut while Ball State and Bowling Green took hits against teams in the Top 25… Miami fell to an area rival out of the Big East.

This week there are five conference games: Bowling Green travels to Western Michigan…Temple heads into Ball State…Ohio makes the trip to Buffalo…Kent State makes the long trek to Northern Illinois and Toledo makes the short trek to Eastern Michigan. Akron, Central Michigan, and Miami face non-conference opposition for the final time in the 2011 season.

Here is a look at the thirteen MAC teams as we begin Week No. 5.

EASTERN DIVISION

AKRON (1-4, 0-1 MAC): The Zips headed to Eastern Michigan last Saturday and played the Eagles tough. In the end, UA fell 31-23 to extend its road losing streak to 16 games…Red-shirt freshman RB Jawon Chisholm rushed for 122 yards for his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game…WR Keith Sconiers had five receptions for 81 yards while QB Clayton Moore passed for 155 yards and two scores…Defensively, LB Brian Wagner had a season-high 17 tackles and a forced fumble, while DL Oren Wilson had a career day with 10 stops…Chisholm is second in the MAC with 532 yards rushing, while Wagner leads in tackles with 59 (21 solo)…UA completes the non-conference portion of its schedule this Saturday as the Zips battle the Panthers of Florida International out of the Sun Belt Conference at InfoCision Stadium. FIU comes into the game with a 4-2 mark after losing to Duke at home in its last game

BOWLING GREEN (3-2, 1-0 MAC): The Falcons took an early lead in their game last Saturday at West Virginia. However, the Mountaineers who suffered a heavy loss at home the previous week to Louisiana State on national television scored 52 unanswered points and routed the Falcons 55-10 as they rolled up 643 yards of total offense to just 217 for BGSU…QB Matt Schilz completed just 13-of-25 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown an 18-yarder to WR Ray Hutson…Schilz is second in the MAC passing with 1,283 total yards and third in average at 256.6 ypg …WR Kamer Jordan is third in MAC with 31 receptions…P Brian Schimdebush leads in punting at 47.9 per kick…KR Boo Boo Gates was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week as he had seven returns for 233 total yards…The Falcons stay on the road this week as they head into Kalamazoo to battle Western Michigan, who defeated Connecticut last week 38-31

BUFFALO (1-4, 0-1 MAC): The Bulls dropped their third consecutive game last Saturday as they traveled to Tennessee and were routed by the Volunteers 41-10….UT, who suffered a big Southeastern Conference loss the week prior at Florida, took out their frustrations on UB as they gained 451 yards on total offense while holding the Bulls to just 264…QB Chazz Anderson had seven rushes for 77 yards and a touchdown but was just 8-of-18 through the air for just 99 yards…LB Khalil Mack is second in tackles for losses with 11 (eight solo) for -39 yards…DB Nazzir Johnson leads the MAC with eight passes defended…UB returns home this Saturday as the 4-1 Ohio Bobcats head into Amherst after a 17-10 home win over Kent State in their MAC opener

KENT STATE (1-4, 0-1 MAC): The Golden Flashes opened MAC play last Saturday, heading to Athens and losing to the Ohio Bobcats 17-10…The Flashes offense struggled gaining just 217 total yards…Freshman RB Robert Holloman had four rushes for 44 yards while the tandem of Travon Durham & Anthony Meray managed just 64 combined yards…QB Spencer Keith completed 15-of-35 passes for 117 yards with two interceptions…LB C.J. Malalulu was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week for his 12-tackle performance against the Bobcats with a sack, a pass breakup and three tackles for losses….DB Josh Pleasant is second in MAC passes defended with eight…KSU remains on the road this week, making the long trek to Northern Illinois to face a Huskies squad smarting from a 48-41 loss at Central Michigan and have dropped three of their last four

MIAMI (0-4, 0-1 MAC): For the second consecutive week, the Redhawks were beaten and, at times, outclassed last Saturday. They were shutout by the Cincinnati Bearcats 27-0 at Yager Stadium in the 116th meeting between the two schools as UC retained possession of the Victory Bell for the sixth consecutive year…WR Nick Harwell had six catches for 149 yards, his third consecutive game with 100 or more receiving yards. QB Zac Dysert completed 19-of-33 passes for 252 yards with an interception. It was the first time MU was shutout at home since 1983 (17-0 by Northern Illinois)…Harwell is third in the MAC with 450 receiving yards. . .The Hawks end their non-conference schedule this Saturday as the Black Knights of Army come to Oxford. Army will be facing its third MAC team this week (losses at Northern Illinois & Ball State) they are 2-3 after beating Tulane at home last week 45-6

OHIO (4-1, 1-0 MAC): The Bobcats rebounded from their first loss of the season at Rutgers to defeat the Kent State Golden Flashes 17-10 last Saturday at Peden Stadium in a MAC opener…The Cats are 4-1 overall for the first time since 1997 and are 3-0 at home for the first time since 2005…QB Taylor Tettleton was named MAC East Player of the Week as he completed 28-of-42 passes for 276 yards…WR LaVonn Brazil collected eight passes for 102 yards and a score…LB Noah Keller had 10 tackles, including three tackles for losses…Tettleton is third in total offense with 259.2 yards per game…PK Matt Weller leads all MAC kickers in scoring with 45 points. The Cats head out on the road to Buffalo this Saturday to face a Bulls team that has lost three straight and is 1-4 overall after losing last Saturday at Tennessee.

TEMPLE (3-2, 1-1 MAC): The Owls came back to earth last Saturday after their big win at Maryland as they were dominated by the Toledo Rockets 36-13 at Lincoln Financial Field…TU opened an early 3-0 lead before the Rockets scored 15 unanswered points in the first half and never looked back…RB Bernard Pierce was held to just 75 yards rushing with no touchdowns…QB Chester Stewart was 10-of-20 passing for 173 yards a touchdown ( a 55-yarder to TE Evan Rodriguez) and two interceptions…Pierce still leads the MAC with 571 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns…TU heads into Muncie this Saturday to battle the Ball State Cardinals, who are still licking their wounds from the 62-6 pounding handed to them by Oklahoma last Saturday.

WESTERN DIVISION

BALL STATE (3-2, 1-0 MAC): The Cardinals faced the second-ranked Oklahoma Sooners last Saturday night in Norman and were dismantled by the score of 62-6. It was the second ranked team BSU played this season (also losing at South Florida), but OU had 655 yards of total offense (425 of them supplied by QB Landry Jones, who passed for three touchdowns)…BSU’s only scoring came on two Steve Schott field goals of 34 and 31 yards…RB Jahwon Edwards managed just 53 yards rushing on 16 carries while QB Keith Wenning completed 12-of-31 passes for just 84 yards and three interceptions…LB Travis Freeman is third in tackles with 45 (16 solo)…Ball State returns to Schunemann Stadium this Saturday to face the Temple Owls, who have lost two of their last three games including a 36-13 loss at home to Toledo last week.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (2-3, 1-1 MAC): The Chippewas ended their three-game losing streak, surviving a shootout with the Northern Illinois Huskies, 48-41, at Kelly Shorts Stadium. In total, the teams combined for 89 points and 1,150 yards of total offense on a cloudy 37-degree day…QB Ryan Radcliff had 387 yards passing, completing 17-of-28 passes and four touchdowns…PK David Harman was named MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week as he was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points and connected on both of his field goal attempts…DB Jaleel Addae is ranked second among MAC players in tackles with 49 (19 solo) and leads in interceptions with three…CMU completes the non-conference portion of its schedule this Saturday, facing the North Carolina State Wolfpack out of the ACC.

EASTERN MICHIGAN (3-2, 1-1 MAC): The Eagles ended their two-game losing streak last Saturday as they defeated the Akron Zips 31-23 at Rynearson Stadium, where the Green and White are a perfect 3-0 this season…EMU ended a two-game losing streak to the Zips as they gained 228 yards on the ground (164 of them coming from Dominque White on 28 carries)..QB Alex Gillett passed just nine times in the game (completing four for 94 yards), but he added 62 rushing yards and a score…The Eagles make the short trek down U.S. Route 23 this Saturday to battle the Toledo Rockets ,who emphatically defeated Temple 36-13 last Saturday in Philadelphia,  ending UT’s three-game losing streak

NORTHERN ILLINOIS (2-3, 0-1 MAC): The Huskies opened MAC play last week with a 48-41 shootout loss at Central Michigan. It was their third loss in the last four games but not without a fight as they came back in the fourth quarter, scoring 25 points…QB Chandler Harnisch completed 27-of-50 passes for 370 yards and two touchdowns…RB Jasmin Hopkins had 95 yards rushing on 19 carries while WR Martel Moore had six receptions for 130 yards and a scor…Harnisch leads he MAC in total offense with 321.6 yards per game and in passing efficiency at 157.6…The Huskies return home to DeKalb this Saturday to face the Kent State Golden Flashes, who are 1-4 overall (0-1 MAC) after losing their conference opener at Ohio last Saturday 17-10.

TOLEDO (2-3, 1-0 MAC): During the telecast of the Rockets game last Saturday at Temple, ESPN Plus analyst Doug Graber said, “Toledo is the best 1-3 team in the country.” Well, UT showed it last Saturday in South Philadelphia as they routed the Temple Owls 36-13 in their MAC opener…The game took a turn in the first quarter when, after the Owls gained a 3-0 lead, UT scored 15 unanswered points and never looked back…QB Austin Dantin was 12-of-14 passing for 115 yards and a touchdown, he also ran for a score…RB Morgan Williams playing for the injured Adonis Thomas gained 121 yards on the ground and a score…RB David Fluellen spelled Williams and had 67 yards receiving and 41 rushing and two scores, while WR Eric Page threw a 33-yard strike…Page leads the MAC in all purpose yards averaging 191 yards per game. He is second in receptions (43) and yards (468)...Toledo returns home to face the Eastern Michigan Eagles, who ended their two-game losing streak last Saturday by defeating Akron, 31-23. UT won last year’s meeting 42-7 in Ypsilanti

WESTERN MICHIGAN (3-2, 1-0 MAC): The Broncos came back from a heartbreaking loss at Illinois to rally and defeat defending Big East Champion Connecticut 38-31 last Saturday in Hartford. WMU  rallied from a 20-17 fourth quarter deficit after squandering 14-0 and 17-7 first quarter leads…QB Alex Carder, who was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week, completed 37-of-51 passes for 479 yards and five touchdown, the final one coming to WR Chleb Revenell with 2:03 remaining in regulation from 41-yards out. That catch was one part of nine receptions for 123 yards and two scores…WR Jordan White had 12 receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns. WR Robert Arnheim had ten for 113 (the first time three WMU receivers registered 100 yards since 2008 at Central Michigan)…Carder leads the MAC in total passing yards (1,466) and in average per game (293.2). He is third in passer efficiency at 153.4 and second in total offense at 297.4…White leads the MAC with 55 receptions and 668 yards and also leads in punt returns at 16.6 yds per return… LB Mitch Zayac led the Broncos defensively with nine tackles…WMU hosts the Bowling Green Falcons this Saturday at Waldo Stadium with the visitors still smarting from their 55-10 loss last Saturday at West Virginia. The Broncos won last year’s battle at Perry Stadium 41-7

There you have it, your MAC Checkup for Week No. 6, with the big games being a pair of inter-division battles in Muncie, where Ball State battles Temple and in Kalamazoo as the Broncos take on Bowling Green. Let the games begin!