Click
on each team for game recaps, thoughts,
schedules and more and scroll down for
the games, results, players of the week
and the conference roundup.
East
Akron
|
Bowling Green
|
Buffalo
|
Kent
State |
Miami Univ.
|
Ohio
| Temple
West
Ball State
|
Central Mich
|
Eastern Mich
|
No
Illinois |
Toledo
|
West
Michigan
MAC
Game of
the Week
Toledo 36 ... Iowa State 35
Iowa State got a one-yard J.J. Bass touchdown run with
5:25 to play for a seemingly comfortable 35-24 lead, but
Toledo's Jalen Parmele returned the ensuing kickoff 82
yards for a touchdown to pull the Rockets within five.
After the UT defense held, Iowa State botched a punt,
with the fumble recovered by Greg Hay for a score and
the 36-35 lead. Iowa State marched into field goal
range, but a 38-yard attempt was blocked. Parmele
started off the scoring on a 13-yard runs, and Aaron
Opelt ran for a one-yard score and threw a 42-yard
touchdown pass to keep the Rockets alive. The Cyclones
got a ten-yard Bass touchdown run late in the first
quarter, and three Bret Meyer touchdown passes.
MAC
Player of
the Week
Northern Illinois DE Larry English made 12 tackles and
five sacks, and he recovered a fumble for a score
in the 42-35 win over Idaho.
Conference Roundup
Akron
…
An excellent second half
from the defense against Kent State overshadowed a rough
day from the offense. Carlton Jackson ran for a
touchdown and threw for another, but he wasn't able to
build on a nice day against Indiana and struggled to
keep the chains moving. The ground attack isn't there,
with a trio of backs all failing to crank out big runs.
Bryan Williams outplayed Alex Allen and Dennis Kennedy,
but not by much.
Ball State … Last year Ball State almost beat
Michigan, and now there's the near-miss against
Nebraska. Now, why aren't the Cardinals expected to be
bigger players in the MAC race? If the offense hums like
it did this week, it'll roll over the next three weeks
against Buffalo, Central Michigan and Western Kentucky,
but it has to be consistent. There's no one left on the
schedule who can light things up like Nebraska did this
week, so the BSU offense should be able to outbomb
everyone.
Bowling Green … It's all about Tyler Sheehan and
a high-octane passing game that's going to give the rest
of the MAC fits all season long. The running game never
got going against Temple, with the tailbacks an
afterthought. It was a shootout early on, and then the
momentum dictated Sheehan keep passing. While there were
plenty of mistakes, and the defense struggles way too
often, being bailed out by three fumbles, this was still
a nice stepping-stone to kick off MAC play. The Falcons
don't play another conference game until mid-October.
Buffalo … Buffalo had a prime opportunity to make
a big statement, getting a BCS league team at home, but
Baylor's offense was too effective, and the Bull attack
didn't do enough to get things moving. James Starks had
a nice game, but the ground attack only came up with 87
yards, and there were way too many mistakes on both
sides of the ball with ten penalties and five turnovers.
The secondary will have to be far tighter against Ball
State next week.
Central Michigan … The Chippewas had better come
up with a defensive stop in a real hurry or this will be
a long, long season. Giving up big yards and tons of
points to Purdue and Kansas is one thing, but to have no
prayer of stopping North Dakota State from driving the
ball at will is another. CMU's offense isn't blameless,
generating just 91 rushing yards and doing nothing to
keep the chains moving. The score could've been a lot
worse had NDSU not bogged down early, taking field goals
instead of touchdowns. All can be forgotten with a MAC
win over Northern Illinois, but the Ball State game
could potentially be ugly.
Eastern Michigan … With a two-game winning
streak, it's time the program enjoys a little bit of the
moment. Wins haven't been easy to come by in Ypsilanti,
but now at 2-2, the hope is for a corner to finally be
turned. Of course, beating Howard isn't anything to do
cartwheels over, and there were way too many problems
with the run defense, but the offense had its second
straight decent week and is going into Vanderbilt on a
roll.
Kent State … The Golden Flashes will be kicking
themselves after the loss to Akron. Eugene Jarvis and
Julian Edelman continue to be a tremendous rushing
twosome, but Edelman's passing went into the tank,
completing 8 of 21 passes with two interceptions. The
offense failed to build on a nice first half, and four
turnovers proved to be the overall undoing. The defense
did a good job against the Zip running game, and it
needs to be even better against Ohio. If the mistakes on
offense stop, and Edelman can be a bit more effective
throwing the ball, then the ship will turn around.
Miami University … MU is stepping backwards.
After a nice offensive day against Minnesota, the attack
has hit the skids over the last two weeks against
Cincinnati and Colorado, and that's because the
quarterback play hasn't been any good. Daniel Raudabaugh
simply isn't there yet. He never loosened things up
against the Buffs with any passes of significance, and
there wasn't any running game to help the cause. The
defense couldn't get CU off the field, while the offense
only held on to the ball for 19:36.
Northern Illinois … It seems like it's taken all
season long for Larry English to get going and now he
has. Of course, just getting a win, even a road win at a
place like Idaho, is a big step for a program that's
struggled so mightily over the last two weeks. Of
course, there's that little matter of yet another second
half collapse, and that can't be blamed on the lack of a
running game with Justin Anderson firing out 167 yards
on the ground. As shaky as things have been, just take
the W and don't ask questions going into Central
Michigan.
Ohio … That Ohio stayed alive as long as it did
against Wyoming with Kalvin McRae being completely shut
down shows just how strong the defense was. With
consistent pressure into the backfield and a
ball-hawking day from Michael Mitchell and the defensive
back seven, the Bobcats managed to overcome the
offensive woes by bending, but rarely breaking. The
Bobcats aren't going to win many when the running game
isn't going, but the MAC schedule isn't that bad over
the next several weeks. Even so, to win, the O line has
to be far stronger.
Temple … It might not seem like it after losing
to Bowling Green 48-35, but the team is making some
excellent strides in the second year of the Al Golden
era. Recent Owl teams wouldn't have had a prayer to stay
alive in a shootout, and despite the turnovers,
mistakes, and second half issues, the offense still put
up yards. Eventually, the little things will start to
come together. For now, getting better protection from
the offensive line is a must after allowing six sacks.
Toledo … It might not have been pretty, but after
the way the season has started, Toledo will take a win
any way it can get one. Iowa State's offense outplayed
the UT attack by 100 yards, but three turnovers and the
special teams collapse at the end gave the Rockets the
win. The quarterback situation might be a big more
settled. Aaron Opelt wasn't great, but he rebounded
nicely from the Kansas debacle, while Jalen Permele
saved the day with his kickoff return, along with his
running. This is exactly what the team needed going into
the Western Michigan game that needs to kickstart the
MAC season, which already has a loss.
Western Michigan … Finally, Western Michigan gets
its first win of the year, and it doesn't matter that it
came against Central Connecticut State. The defense
started to play like the D of last year, with several
plays made in the backfield and forcing several mistakes
and turnovers. The offense wasn't exactly clicking, but
it took advantage of every opportunity. Now the real
season begins with a date at Toledo next week. Could
this be the spark needed for the rest of the year?
That's asking for too much, but it was a much needed
win.
|
East |
Conference |
Overall |
Home |
Away |
| |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
STR |
W |
L |
W |
L |
|
Bowling Green |
1 |
0 |
48 |
35 |
2 |
1 |
97 |
94 |
W1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Akron |
1 |
0 |
27 |
20 |
2 |
2 |
75 |
95 |
W1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Buffalo |
1 |
0 |
42 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
90 |
124 |
L2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Miami Univ. |
1 |
0 |
14 |
13 |
1 |
3 |
59 |
143 |
L3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Ohio |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
107 |
99 |
L2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Kent
State |
0 |
1 |
20 |
27 |
2 |
2 |
101 |
104 |
L1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Temple |
0 |
2 |
42 |
90 |
0 |
4 |
78 |
142 |
L4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
West |
Conference |
Overall |
Home |
Away |
|
|
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
STR |
W |
L |
W |
L |
|
Ball
State |
1 |
1 |
51 |
30 |
2 |
2 |
125 |
102 |
L1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
Eastern Michigan |
1 |
1 |
37 |
57 |
2 |
2 |
78 |
99 |
W2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Central Michigan |
1 |
0 |
52 |
31 |
1 |
3 |
95 |
172 |
L2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Western Michigan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
126 |
165 |
W1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Toledo |
0 |
1 |
31 |
52 |
1 |
3 |
104 |
184 |
W1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Northern Illinois |
0 |
1 |
19 |
21 |
1 |
3 |
95 |
106 |
W1 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
|
Saturday, September 22 |
| 12:00 PM |
at Bowling Green 48 ... Temple
35
CFN Prediction: BGSU 31-23 BGSU -20.5 |
| 12:00 PM |
at Akron 27 ... Kent State 20
CFN Prediction: KSU 26-20 KSU -3.5 |
| 12:30 PM |
at Nebraska 41 ... Ball
State 40
CFN Prediction:
Nebraska 31-23
Neb. -21.5 |
| 3:00 PM |
Wyoming 34 ... at Ohio 33
CFN Prediction: Wyoming 24-20 UW -3.5 |
| 3:00 PM |
at Eastern Michigan 38 ... Howard
15
CFN Prediction: EMU 34-20 |
| 3:30 PM |
at Colorado 42 ... Miami
Univ. 0
CFN Prediction: CU 27-16 CU -13.5 |
| 3:30 PM |
North Dakota State 44 ... at Central Michigan
14
CFN Prediction: CMU 31-27 |
| 5:00 PM |
Northern Illinois 42 ... at Idaho
35
CFN Prediction: Idaho 24-21 Idaho -2 |
| 6:00 PM |
Baylor 34 ... at Buffalo 21
CFN Prediction:
Buffalo 37-34 BU -4 |
| 7:00 PM |
at Toledo 36 ... Iowa State 35
CFN Prediction:
Toledo 35-24 ISU -4 |
| 7:00 PM |
at Western
Michigan 51 .. Central Conn. State 14
CFN Prediction: WMU 45-20 |
Past
MAC
Games of the
Week
Sept. 1 -
Bowling Green
32 ... at Minnesota 31 OT
Sept. 8 - Minnesota 41 ... Miami Univ.
35 3OT
Sept. 15 - Ball State 34 ... Navy
31 OT
Sept. 22 - Toledo 36 ... Iowa State 35
Past MAC Players of the Week
Sept. 1 - Bowling Green QB Tyler Sheehan
Sept. 8 - Ohio RB Kalvin McRae
Sept. 15 - Ball State QB Nate Davis
Sept. 22 - Northern Illinois DE
Larry English