Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
AKRON: The first year of the Terry Bowden era at Akron (1-9, 0-6) continued
its rocky course as the Zips were defeated, 35-24, at Kent State. Akron
managed to gain 442 yards of total offense, but surrendered a 24-14 lead in
the fourth quarter. Dalton Williams went 30-of-41 for 312 yards and two TDs
with no interceptions. Marquelo Suel made 11 receptions for 85 yards and Jawan
Chisholm paced the rushing attack with 115 yards and a touchdown on 16
carries. Kurt Mangum anchored the defense with 11 stops and a tackle for loss.
The Zips return home this weekend for a chance to snap their eight-game losing
as they host Massachusetts.
BALL STATE: The Cardinals (6-3, 3-2) had the week off, but will be back in
action on Tuesday night when they take on the No. 23 ranked Toledo Rockets at
the Glass Bowl.
BOWLING GREEN: The Falcons (6-3, 4-1) took their five-game winning streak into
the bye week. BGSU returns to action on Wednesday when it heads to Athens to
play Ohio University in a crucial conference matchup.
BUFFALO: The Bulls' (2-7, 1-4) tough play finally paid off as they defeated
Miami-Ohio, 27-24, for their first MAC win of the season. Patrick Clarke
delivered the victory by drilling a 47-yard field goal as time expired.
Filling in the injured Alex Zordich, Joe Licata went 13-of-24 for 127 yards,
two TD, and an interception. Branden Oliver continued to shine since coming
back by tallying 199 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries. Alex Neutz recorded
three receptions for 60 yards and a score. Derek Brim and Steven Means both
recorded 10 tackles on the defensive side of the ball. Buffalo stays at home
this weekend as Western Michigan visits UB Stadium.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Chippewas (3-6, 1-4) were unable to string together wins
as they were defeated 42-31 by Western Michigan. The loss was the fourth in
their last five games. The offense produced a season-high 506 yards and lost
just one turnover, but CMU let a nine-point lead slip through its fingers in
the fourth quarter. Ryan Radcliff was solid under center, completing 26-of-41
attempts for 383 yards and one touchdown. Zurlon Tipton was a factor in the
rushing attack with 112 yards and two TDs on 22 carries. Justin Cherocci was
all over the place on the other side of the ball and finished with a game-high
12 tackles. CMU will try to bounce back when its plays Eastern Michigan on the
road on Saturday.
EASTERN MICHIGAN: The Eagles (1-8, 0-5) suffered a lopsided loss for the
second week in a row as they were defeated 45-14 by Ohio University in Athens
on Thursday. EMU was held to 305 yards of total offense after producing just
178 yards in its prior outing. Tyler Benz struggled under center and finished
9-of-21 for 138 yards and an interception. He was also sacked four times.
Bronson Hill was productive with 111 yards on 25 carries. The Eagles return
home to face their in-state rival Chippewas on Saturday.
KENT STATE: The Golden Flashes (8-1, 5-0) kept the ball rolling with a 35-24
come from behind victory over Akron. The win kept Kent State in sole
possession of first place of the MAC East Division. Trayion Durham has a big-
time performance with 107 yards and three TDs on 24 rushes. Two of Durham's
three touchdown runs were in the fourth quarter. Dri Archer gained a team-high
126 yards on 11 carries. Spencer Keith managed the game well by going 14-of-19
passing for 103 yards. Now on the verge of cracking the top 25 polls, KSU
returns goes on the road to play Miami-Ohio in Oxford.
MASSACHUSETTS: The Minutemen (0-9, 0-5) had their FBS leading losing streak
extended to 12 games when they were buried, 63-0, by the Northern Illinois
Huskies in DeKalb. UMass continued to look helpless offensively and finished
with only 267 yards and four turnovers. Mike Wegzyn went 16-of-28 for 137
yards before A.J. Doyle relieved him to complete 4-of-9 attempts for 16 yards
with an interception. Michael Cox picked up 81 yards on 25 carries. Marken
Michel led the team with six receptions for 42 yards. Freshman DB Joe Colton
paced the defense with 10 total tackles and a forced fumble. The Minutemen
will try to end their losing slide this weekend when they play the Zips on the
road in Akron.
MIAMI-OHIO: The RedHawks (4-5, 3-2) were unable to build on their upset of
Ohio University and suffered a 27-24 setback at Buffalo as the Bulls made a
game- winning field goal as time expired. Miami's defense was unable to stop
Branden Olivier and surrendered 215 rushing yards in the loss. Zac Dysert
became Miami's all-time leading passer by throwing for 242 yards to overcome
Ben Roethlisberger in the school's record books. Nick Harwell made 10
receptions for 62 yards with three TDs and Andy Cruse reeled in six passes for
87 yards. Chris Wade led the defense with 13 total stops. Miami has a tough
task on Saturday when it will face the Kent State Golden Flashes, who are
undefeated in MAC play.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The Huskies (9-1, 6-0) protected their perfect league
record and extending their home winning streak to 20 games with a 63-0 rout of
Massachusetts in DeKalb. NIU took a convincing 35-0 lead into the intermission
and never looked back. The Huskies racked up 610 yards of total offense and
held UMass to only 267. Jordan Lynch showed off his duel threat ability by
throwing for 191 yards on 15-of-19 passing, rushing for 157 yards, and
compiling three total TDs. Tommylee Lewis led the Huskies with six catches for
86 yards. The defensive unit did its part by tallying four sacks and 10
tackles for loss. NIU faces Toledo on Wednesday in a pivotal MAC game at
Huskie Stadium.
OHIO UNIVERSITY: The Bobcats (8-1, 4-1) were able to bounce back from their
first loss of the season and took down Eastern Michigan, 45-14 on Thursday.
Coach Frank Solich gave Ryan Boykin the bulk of the carries as he rushed 18
ties for 131 yards and a touchdown. Beau Blankenship tallied 72 yards and a
score on 11 carries. Tyler Tettleton completed 19-of-27 for 255 yards and
three touchdowns. Ohio plays its last game in Athens on Wednesday when it
hosts Bowling Green.
TOLEDO: The Rockets (8-1, 5-0) cracked the top 25 for the first time this
season during their bye week. Toledo will go into its Tuesday night's game
versus Ball State ranked No. 23 in the FBS.
WESTERN MICHIGAN: The Broncos (4-6, 2-4) used a late rally to end their three-
game losing slide and defeat Central Michigan, 42-31, on the road. WMU was
productive with 513 yards of total offense, but CMU managed only eight less.
Tyler Van Tubbergen set a new career-high with 362 yards and four touchdowns
on 33-of-42 passing. Van Tubbergen also rushed for a score and threw an
interception. Dareyon Chance tallied 111 yards and scored on one of his 19
rushing attempts. Desmond Bozeman made a team-high 13 tackles to pace the
defensive unit. WMU will try to string together wins as it heads to upstate
New York to play Buffalo on Saturday.
The Sports Network