We are almost halfway done with 2020 MACtion. Teams are beginning to settle into their places in conferences and front-runners continue to push forward.
Buffalo 42, Bowling Green 17
In a match-up between the potential best and worst teams in the MAC, Buffalo did not slip up. The Bulls led at one point 35-3 on an absolute monster of a game by Jaret Patterson who had 31 carries, 301 yards and four touchdowns. Patterson is starting to put NFL scouts on notice, and for very good reason. Matt McDonald showed improvement for the Falcons going 17 of 27 for 219 yards. True freshman Terion Stewart has begun to put some people on notice, as he scored two more touchdowns Tuesday night. The Bulls remain tied for first in the MAC East at 3-0 while Bowling Green drops to 0-3.
Akron 35, Kent State 69
Yes the score you read above is correct, the Golden Flashes are turning into an offensive juggernaut. Quarterback Dustin Crum is having a remarkable senior year, throwing for 348 yards and three touchdowns through the air and running 13 times for 104 yards and two more scores on the ground. Backfield mates Marquez Cooper and Xavier Williams combined for over 200 yards rushing and four touchdowns as well. Isaiah McKoy might also be on track to be the MAC’s best receiver with six catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. The Zips couldn’t stop anything on defense, and didn’t get much going in the passing game either, but quarterback Teon Dollard racked up 202 yards and four touchdowns on the ground for Akron. Kent State, who was a potential MAC sleeper in the pre-season has ascended up to Buffalo-levels in the MAC East race at 3-0 while Akron drops to 0-3.
Ohio vs. Miami – Postponed
Due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the Ohio Bobcats team, the game was cancelled and will not be rescheduled. This is the first cancellation of any MAC game since the revised six-game schedule.
Northern Illinois 25, Ball State 31
The Huskies fell to 0-3 but kept it close in quest for their first win, but the Cardinals were too much in the end. Running back Caleb Huntley ran for over 100 yards and a score while Drew Plitt threw for 214 yards and two scores through the air for Ball State. Ross Bowers played well for NIU, tossing for 300 yards and a touchdown in the air with Tyrice Ritchie having another big game receiving with 11 catches for 108 yards and a touchdown (all season highs). Ball State remains in a three-way tie for second in the MAC West.
Toledo 45, Eastern Michigan 28
Running back Bryant Koback had another great game on the ground for the Rockets as they moved to 2-1 overall with the win, rushing for 149 yards and a score while quarterbacks Eli Peters and Carter Bradley teamed up to throw four touchdown passes. Eagles’ quarterback Preston Hutchinson had a good day throwing through the air for nearly 250 yards and four touchdowns, albeit a good amount of that in garbage time. The Eagles, who fell to 0-3 with the loss were unable to get anything going on the ground and finished with 34 rushing yards. Toledo remains in a three-way tie for second in the MAC West while EMU remains tied with Northern Illinois in the bottom of the division.
Western Michigan 52, Central Michigan 44
In potentially the best game of the week between two MAC West unbeatens, the Broncos came out on top. In this high scoring game, quarterback Kaleb Eleby of WMU completed just 12 passes, but for a whopping 382 yards and five touchdowns. A big reason for that was the electric combo of receivers Dwayne Eskridge (who averaged over 50 yards per catch) and Jaylen Hall who combined for eight catches in total for 322 yards and four touchdowns. The Broncos racked up over 600 total yards. Central Michigan relied on the ground game, and it worked for the most part with Kobe Lewis getting 16 carries for 114 yards and two touchdowns while Kalil Pimpleton, a receiver, ran for 110 yards and three scores on just seven carries. The win puts WMU in sole possession of first place in the MAC West while CMU moves into a three-way tie for second place with Toledo and Ball State.
