Six weeks remain in Mid-American Conference play, and we’re finally starting to see who’s contending and who’s pretending on the road to Detroit.  

1. Two streaks broken out in Buffalo – Both teams ended a streak in Saturday’s game between Buffalo and Bowling Green. BG’s Odieu Hiliare was riding a 41-game reception streak dating back to his time at Alabama A&M and was left without a target. He only touched the ball once on a 15-yard rushing attempt. For Buffalo, they were finally starting to put the pieces together after a disappointing start to the season. They were riding a two-game winning streak after starting the season 0-4. They were undefeated in conference play until the Falcons came to town.  
2. Bobcats drop first game since Week Zero – “Very disappointed in the loss today, I want to tip my hat to Thomas [Hammock] and his staff. They did a great job,” said Ohio’s Tim Albin after the Bobcats’ loss to NIU. The Bobcats fell 23-13 out in DeKalb. The biggest stat line came from Ohio’s Kurtis Rourke, who threw three interceptions in the loss. “The turnovers, I’m disappointed. You’re not going to come in here and have three interceptions and beat a good team like Northern.” The loss is Ohio’s first conference loss since the MAC Championship Game this past season, and their first regular season conference loss since their conference opener last season against Kent State.  
3. Week Eight features potential preview of MAC Championship – The leaders of each division clash this weekend: The 6-1 (3-0 MAC) Toledo Rockets take a trip down to Oxford to take on the 6-1 (3-0 MAC) Miami RedHawks in what is a very likely preview of this season’s conference championship game. “Got to hit the road this week, play a good Miami team,” Toledo’s Jason Candle said on Monday. “They’re getting good quarterback play from their starter, who’s a veteran guy. Very good defensive team led by a really good front, team that communicated at a high level on both sides of the football, and a field goal kicker that hasn’t missed, he’s a real weapon. This is a complete team, a team that’s well coached, program we’ve obviously got a lot of respect for, and we’ll have to be on our best to go on the road and get a victory.” This is the first time Toledo and Miami have faced off since the 2011 season, where Toledo cruised to a home victory, 49-28. “Toledo’s coming to town, they won the league last year, they got everybody back,” Miami head coach Chuck Martin said at his weekly presser. “They’ve got an incredibly experienced team. You look at their defense, it’s fifth, sixth-, and seventh-year guys, so it’s not only really good guys who are really well coached, but they’ve been in their system for a while, so they really know what they’re doing. And then, talent everywhere on the offensive from the offensive line to all their skill guys are really, really good, to a dynamic quarterback that can run and throw and has already put up insane numbers in his career there. We’ve got a great challenge, we’re happy to be at home.” 

Mid-American Conference Standings through October 17 (courtesy of getsomemaction.com) 

Here’s a look at this weekend’s MAC slate (courtesy of getsomemaction.com):