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 Last week the Mid-American Conference…It was another week for offense, mixed in with surprises, records and heartbreak. This week the conference, for the second consecutive week, is in its mid-week night game mode, with six games scheduled - all of them with divisional ramifications.
Toledo and Western Michigan kicked off the week Tuesday with another wild one at the Glass Bowl. Toledo pulled out the scoring slugfest with a 66-63 decision. Northern Illinois and Bowling Green hooked up just down the road, with the Huskies pulling away in the second half for a 45-14 win.
Temple picked up a key win Wednesday, turning three Miami turnovers into 17 points in a 24-21 victory. Ohio is scheduled to meet Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant tonight. Saturday’s matchups pit Buffalo against Eastern Michigan and Kent State against Akron in a rivalry game.
Of the five games played last week, four of them were decided by seven points or less, starting with the classic between Northern Illinois and Toledo, which the Huskies won 63-60. Ohio then defeated Temple for the third consecutive season. Kent State won consecutive games for the first time this season as Central Michigan missed a game-tying field goal on the final play of regulation. Ball State became bowl eligible after getting the winning field goal in the final seconds to beat Eastern Michigan. The only non-competitive game on the schedule was Miami dominating Akron in the rain.
Here is a look at the thirteen MAC teams as we begin Week 11
EASTERN DIVISION
AKRON (1-8, 0-5 MAC): The Zips lost their fifth consecutive game and 12th of the last 13 MAC contests, falling at Miami 35-3. The Zips only points of the game came off the foot of freshman kicker A.J. Fox late in the fourth quarter. RB Jawon Chisholm gained just 66 yards in the contest. LB Brian Wagner had 10 tackles against the Redhawks and leads the MAC with 128 (47) stops - the third consecutive year he has gone over 100 tackles in a season…UA plays its final home game of the season this Saturday as it battles arch-rival Kent State for possession of the Wagon Wheel Trophy. Last year in Kent, KSU regained possession of the wheel for the first time in three years with a 21-7 victory
BOWLING GREEN (4-5, 2-3 MAC): The Falcons had the week off after being shocked on the road losing to the Kent State Golden Flashes 27-15 on October 29th despite QB Matt Schilz completing 29-of-49 passes for 400 yards. The third time this season Schilz had passed for 400 or more yards in a game. WR Kamer Jordan had a career high 12 receptions for 203 yards (fourth best single-game total in school history) and a score. The Falcons played the game without freshman RB Anthon Samuel who did not make the trip due to post concussion syndrome. LB Dwayne Woods and DE Charlie Walker each had six tackles in the contest. BGSU got back into action Tuesday, falling to Northern Illinois 45-14.
BUFFALO (2-7, 1-4 MAC): The Bulls had the weekend off after incurring their fourth consecutive loss, falling to the Miami Redhawks 41-13 in Oxford on October 29th . QB Chazz Anderson was 24-of-41 passing for 281 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions RB Branden Oliver had just 47 yards rushing on 27 carries, while WR Alex Neutz had four receptions for 110 yards. DB Fred Branch led the defense with 10 tackles. Oliver is second in the MAC with 900 rushing yards. LB Khalil Mack leads the conference with 15 tackles for losses and is tied for the lead in forced fumbles with four. DB Najaa Johnson is tied for first with 12 passes defended. UB gets back into action on Saturday as it travels to Eastern Michigan to face an Eagles squad who recently lost in the final seconds to Ball State 33-31
KENT STATE (3-6, 2-3 MAC): The Golden Flashes won consecutive games for the first time this season when they defeated Central Michigan 24-21 at Dix Stadium. It was their first win over CMU overall since 2000 and at home since 1997. QB Spencer Keith completed 17-of-31 passes for 281 yards and a season-high three touchdown passes, including KSU’s longest offensive play of the season - an 85-yard score to WR Matt Hurdle, who had just three receptions in the game, but for 102 yards. RB Trayion Durham had a career day with 90 yards rushing on 18 carries. DB Luke Wollett is tied for the conference leads in interceptions with four. KR Rob Hollomon was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 35.7 yards on three returns. The Flashes look for three straight wins for the first time since 2009 Saturday making the short trek to Akron for the annual battle with the Zips for possession of The Wagon Wheel. KSU looks to retain possession for the first time since 1987-88.
MIAMI (4-5, 3-2 MAC): The Redhawks won their second straight and fourth in the last five games Friday night routing the Akron Zips 35-3 at Yager Stadium. QB Zac Dysert completed 12-of-19 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns. WR Nick Harwell had four catches for 117 yards his sixth 100-yard receiving game this season the second highest in school history. RB Justin Semmes rushed for a career best 100 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns. LB Jerrell Wedge had nine tackles and a fumble recovery and was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week.
OHIO (6-3, 3-2 MAC): The Bobcats got back in the Eastern Division race as they defeated Temple Wednesday night at Peden Stadium 35-31. It was Ohio’s third consecutive victory after losses to Buffalo and Ball State and third straight over the Owls. QB Tyler Tettleton’s five-yard touchdown pass to WR Donte Foster with 1:41 remaining in the fourth quarter were the winning points. Tettleton completed 15-of-24 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns., RB Donte Harden rushed for 184 yards on 20 carries, including an 81-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Harden finished the night with 322 total yards from scrimmage and was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week. Along with his 184 rushing yards, Harden had 75 receiving yards and 63 return yards.
TEMPLE (5-4, 3-3 MAC): The Owls suffered their second consecutive loss last Wednesday night falling to the Ohio Bobcats for the third consecutive year 35-31 in Athens. RB Bernard Pierce was held to just 84 yards on 22 carries but still leads the MAC in rushing with 1,035 yards and 19 touchdowns. K Branden McManus leads the conference in punting averaging 47.0 per kick. LB Tahir Whitehead is tied for the lead in forced fumbles with four and in fumble recoveries with three. TU returned home to Lincoln Financial Field Wednesday, defeating the Miami Redhawks , 24-21,for a bit of revenge after losing to MU last year in Oxford 23-3 - a key game in deciding the 2010 MAC East title
WESTERN DIVISION
BALL STATE (6-4, 4-2 MAC): The Cardinals have won three of their last four games and became Bowl Eligible for the first time since 2008 as they went into Ypsilanti and defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles 33-31 as PK Stephen Schott kicked a 44-yard field goal his longest of the season with 12 seconds remaining. QB Keith Wenning completed 20-of-35 passes for 284 yards. RB Jahwon Edwards rushed for 56 yards and a score. The Cards are off until November 15th when they play the second of three straight on the road at Northern Illinois.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN (3-7, 2-4 MAC): The Chippewas fell to the Kent State Golden Flashes 24-21 Friday night in Kent, coming back from a 24-14 deficit only to see PK David Harman miss a 27-yard field goal on the final play of regulation. QB Ryan Radcliff completed 26-of-42 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Radcliff is second in passing averaging 269.1 yards per game. TE Titus Davis had 10 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns while RB Anthony Garland had 78 yards rushing on 16 carries. S Jaleel White is tied for the conference lead in interceptions with four. CMU returns home to Kelly-Shorts Stadium Thursday night to face the Ohio Bobcats, who come in with a three-game winning streak after beating Temple at home 35-31
EASTERN MICHIGAN (5-4, 3-3 MAC): The Eagles suffered a heartbreaking 33-31 loss at home to Ball State last Saturday as the Cardinals Stephen Schott hit a 44-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining in regulation. EMU is averaging 234.9 yards rushing per game, 15th in the Football Bowl Subdivision. QB Alex Gillett rushed for 126 yards against BSU while completing 12-of-17 passes for 196 yards and four touchdowns. EMU had a season high 501 yards of total offense. EMU still has a chance to be bowl eligible but needs to win two of its last three games, beginning with the home finale this Saturday against Buffalo, who has lost its last four games. In their meeting last year in Western New York, Eastern emerged with a 21-17 victory.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (6-3, 4-1 MAC): The Huskies pulled themselves into a first place tie in the Western Division, and became bowl eligible in the process, as they went into Toledo and beat the Rockets 63-60, registering 532 yards of total offense in the process. QB Chandler Harnish’s pass to WR Perez Ashford with 19 seconds remaining ended the highest scoring game in the FBS – until UT’s 66-63 win over WMU a week later. Harnish had 133 yards rushing in the game and completed 17-of-26 passes for 265 yards and six touchdowns, garnering MAC West Offensive Player of the Week honors. Harnish is third in MAC rushing with 871 yards. KR Tommylee Lewis returned two kicks for touchdowns in the first quarter, becoming the 13th player in FBS history to have two kickoff returns for scores in the same game. He leads the MAC with kick return average (31.8 ypr).. Against the Rockets, he had 224 total return yards and was named MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week. NIU stayed on track Tuesday, defeating Bowling Green, 45-14.
TOLEDO (5-4, 4-1 MAC): The Rockets saw their four-game winning streak come to an end a week ago as Northern Illinois picked up a 63-60 win at The Glass Bowl. QB Austin Dantin completed 20-of-33 passes for 322 yards and five touchdowns. WR Eric Page had nine receptions for 150 yards and all five scores. Page is second in MAC receptions with 75 and third in yards with 814. RB Adonis Thomas had 160 yards and two scores on 25 carries on a night when the Rockets had 589 yards on total offense. LB Dan Molis returned to the lineup and had 17 tackles in the contest. He was named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week. UT played a very similar game Tuesday against Western Michigan. This time, however, Toledo came out on top, 66-63
WESTERN MICHIGAN (4-4, 2-2 MAC): The Broncos had the week off after beating Ball State on October 29th at Waldo Stadium 45-35. It was a day where the WMU offense amassed 610 yards of total offense and was 11-for-15 on third down conversions. QB Alex Carder completed 29-of-41 passes for 404 yards and two touchdowns the third 400 yard passing game in his career. Carder leads the MAC averaging 273 yard per game. WR Jordan White leads the MAC with 95 receptions and 1,164 yards along with punt returns with 13.2 per return. WMU fell to Toledo, 66-63 Tuesday.
There you have it, your MAC Checkup for Week No. 11. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!
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