INSIDE MAC FOOTBALL: Week 9

Last week in the Mid American Conference, the Ohio Bobcats won ‘The Battle of the Bricks’ over Miami to retain their slim one-half game lead on Temple in the Eastern Division while Owls kept pack with a shutout at Buffalo.

In the Western Division, Northern Illinois completed a three-game homestand sweep with an emphatic victory over Central Michigan, but are still tied with Toledo who came from behind for the second consecutive game and defeated Ball State at home.

Kent State got into the battle in the east with a resounding victory over Bowling Green while Western Michigan is right there in the west after a rout of Akron who remain the only conference team without an overall victory in 2010.

This week in the MAC, big showdowns in the west as NIU travels to Kalamazoo to face the Broncos, Miami looks to rebound at Buffalo, Ohio plays out of conference hosting Louisiana Lafayette, while Temple looks to move into a first place tie as they host Akron

Here is a look at the thirteen MAC teams as we begin week nine.

EASTERN DIVISION

AKRON (0-8, 0-4): The Zips record fell to 0-8 last Saturday losing at home to Western Michigan 56-10 with their lone touchdown coming from sophomore LB BRIAN WAGNER who recovered a WMU fumble and raced 57 yards for the first touchdown of his career…The Zips are winless this late in the season for the first time since 2002 when they started the season at 0-10…KR JALIL CARTER is fifth in returns averaging 21.6 yards per return...WAGNER is tied for second in tackles with 83 (39 solo)…UA looks for that first win Saturday heading into South Philadelphia to face Temple.

BOWLING GREEN (1-7, 0-4): The Falcons dropped their fifth straight and sixth in the last seven games Saturday losing to Kent State at home 30-6. One bright spot for BGSU was KR BOO BOO GATES returned a kickoff 75-yards for the only touchdown of the game…WR KAMAR JORDAN is eighth in the FBS in receiving yards with 733..LB DWAYNE WOODS leads the MAC in tackles with 91 (eighth in the FBS)…DB CAMERON TRUSS has eight passes defended among the top 21 in the FBS…The Falcons head into Mount Pleasant this Saturday looking to end their losing streak against the Central Michigan Chippewas.

BUFFALO (2-5, 1-2): The Bulls returned home last Saturday and were shutout by the Temple Owls 42-0 at UB Stadium their fifth loss in the last six games…DB DOMINIC COOK tied for first in the FBS with five interceptions and first outright with 11 passes defended…QB ALEX ZORDICH got his first collegiate start last Saturday going 11-of-26 for 98 yards with three interceptions…DB DAVONT SHANNON is sixth in total t ackles with 64…UB looks for their first win since beating Bowling Green on October 2 nd as they host Miami in Amherst this Saturday.

KENT STATE (3-4, 2-2): The Golden Flashes rebounded after a tough loss at Toledo with an emphatic 30-6 win at Bowling Green last Saturday to keep them in touch of the Eastern Division race…The KSU DEFENSE held BGSU to -10 yards rushing and leads the FBS yielding just 65 yards on the ground average…DL ROOSEVELT NIX leads the MAC in tackles for loss with 16 (11 solo) and in sacks with eight…WR TYSHON GOODE caught a career best 12 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons garnering MAC East Offensive Player of the Week honors…PK FREDDY CORTEZ was named MAC East Speical teams player of the week as he had three field goals and made all three of his extra points against BGSU…KSU finishes the season with three of four at Dix Stadium beginning this Saturday with Ball State where they will retire the number nine of Josh Cribbs just the fourth player in the program’s history to have his name retired.

MIAMI (4-4, 3-1): The Redhawks fell to arch-rival Ohio last Saturday 34-13 at Yager Stadium…QB ZAC DYSERT passed for 332 yards but also threw four interceptions…WR NICK HARWELL had a career best 11 receptions for a school record 219 yards …DYSERT is third in MAC total offense averaging 245.2 yards per game…LB JERRELL WEDGE is third in tackles for loss with 13 (six solo)…MU looks to return to the winners list this Saturday making the long trek to Buffalo to face the Bulls.

OHIO (5-3, 4-1): The Bobcats collected their fourth straight win Saturday defeating arch-rival Miami 34-13 in the annual ‘Battle of the Bricks’ in Oxford and in doing so taking over first place in the Eastern Division by a half game over Temple. QB BOO JACKSON was 10-of-19 passing for 149 yards also rushing for 31 yards and two touchdowns…DB OMAR LEFTWICH had two interceptions against MU along with five tackles…P PAUL HERSHEY averaged 38.5 yards per kick last Saturday…The Cats complete the non-conference portion of their schedule Saturday as the Rajun Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt) visit Peden Stadium.

TEMPLE (6-2, 3-1): The Owls stayed just a half-game behind Ohio in the Eastern Division as they traveled to Western New York and shutout Buffalo 42-0 the first blanking for TU since 1992 vs Boston University and the first against FBS opposition since 1984 against East Carolina…TEMPLE became Bowl Eligible for the second consecutive year and the fifth time in school history…RB BERNARD PIERCE rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns while teammate RB MATT BROWN had 109 yards first time the Owls had a pair of 100-yard backs since 1997…DT MUHAMMAD WILKERSON was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Year as he had a carer high 2 ½ sacks against the Bulls along with his six total tackles in the game…The Owls look for their third straight win and fourth in the last five games Saturday when Akron comes to Lincoln Financial Field.

WESTERN DIVISION

BALL STATE (2-6, 1-3): The Cardinals suffered their sixth loss in the last seven games Saturday falling at Toledo 41-34 as for the second consecutive week they squanded a double-digit lead…Freshman QB KEITH WENNING was 19-of-39 passing for 224 yards and three touchdowns but also threw three interceptions…LB TRAVIS FREEMAN is fourth in MAC tackles with 79 (33 solo)…KR ERIC WILLIAMS leads the MAC in returns averaging 31.7 yards per return and in all-purpose yards with a 168.6 yard average…The Cardinals head on the road Saturday to Kent to face the Golden Flashes.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (2-6, 1-4): The Chippewas were handed their fifth consecutive loss and sixth in the last seven games last Saturday at Northern Illinois 33-7 QB RYAN RADCLIFFE is fourth in the FBS in total pass yards with 2,210 and second in the MAC in total offense (276.2 yds)…WR CODY WILSON is third in receiving yards averaging 87 yards per game…The Chips return home to Kelly-Shorts Stadium this Saturday to battle Bowling Green.

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EASTERN MICHIGAN (1-7, 1-3): The Eagles played their 1,000 game in program history last Saturday falling at Virginia 48-21..RB JAVONTI GREENE had 155 yards on just eight carries against the Cavaliers but became the first player in school history to have two touchdown runs of over 50 yards (55 & 53)…THE EAGLES DEFENSE ranks fourth in the MAC rushing yielding just 161 yards per game...EMU returns home to Rynearson Stadium to face Toledo.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS (6-2, 4-0): The Huskies won their fifth straight game overall and fourth in the MAC defeating Central Michigan 33-7 as they scored 30 unanswered points while rushing for 282 yards while the defense forced five CMU turnovers…THE HUSKIES are off to their best start since 2003 and have become Bowl Eligible…B CHAD SPANN rushed for 101 yards and three touchdowns while leading the MAC with 854 yards rushing…QB CHANDLER HARNISH passed for 138 yards and leads in passing efficiency…LB TYRONE CLARK was named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week as he had two interceptions against CMU…the Huskies head on the road for their biggest game in the Western Division so far as they head into Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan.

TOLEDO (5-3, 4-0): The Rockets came back for the second consecutive week to get a victory. Against Kent State they came back from a pair of 14-point deficits last Saturday against Ball State they were 17-points down and came back to win 31-24 as RB ADONIS THOMAS rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown…QB AUSTIN DANTIN was 14-of-18 passing for 197 yards and a score adding 58 yards and a touchdown on the ground…DB DESMOND MORROW had six tackles, a sack, and an interception against the Cardinals…KR ISIAH BALLARD was named MAC West Special Teams player of the week as he had three returns for 103 yards…UT remains tied with Northern Illinois atop the Western Division as they make the short trek north on U. S. Route 23 to Ypsilanti to face Eastern Michigan.

WESTERN MICHIGAN (3-4, 2-1): The Broncos routed Akron 56-10 last Saturday as they amassed 519 yards in total offense to get right into the Western Division race. WR JUAN NUNEZ was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week with six receptions for a career best 192 yards and three touchdowns against the Zips…QB ALEX CARDER passed for 372 yards and five touchdowns…DT TREVONTE BOLES had four tackles and an interception in the end zone for the first touchdown of his career…WMU’s biggest game of the MAC season comes this Saturday as Northern Illinois comes into Waldo Stadium.

Last week Kent State and Western Michigan got back into their respective division races with emphatic victories. This week cam they sustain their challenges as both face stiff opposition. Can Temple move into a first place tie in the East with Ohio? While the big game this week is in Kalamazoo as NIU battles WMU

See you at the Stadium!!

By Evan Meyer