Last week in the Mid-American Conference, the theme seemed to be slow starts to games. With a third of the MAC teams playing not being able to score in the first quarter, these rough starts meant many teams’ records were tarnished.
These records are going to start to matter a significant amount more as soon as conference championship games come onto the horizon.
Buffalo, Ohio, and Western Michigan are the only three teams left without a loss within the MAC this season. With Western Michigan set to play at Buffalo on Saturday, this list will be down at least one team.
Buffalo Hosts Western Michigan
Western Michigan heads up to Buffalo to take on the Bulls on Saturday at 3:30. Both teams have a record of 2-0 within the MAC with convincing wins last Saturday.
Buffalo beat Toledo 30-15 last week.
While senior quarterback C.J. Ogbonna was able to help his team by running for two touchdowns and throwing for another, the Bulls didn’t score in the second quarter.
Keeping this momentum rolling will be key for the Broncos when they face Western Michigan’s defense, who put up an impressive fight last week.
Western Michigan was able to pull off their convincing win against Akron on Saturday after being one of the MAC teams to score no points in the first quarter.
Redshirt senior kicker Luca Zurak was able to get his team back on track after a rocky start. In a joint effort with the defensive unit from the Broncos, they were able to win 34-24.
These scoreless quarters are bound to catch up with MAC teams as the season progresses. Getting off to a scoreless start could be the downfall of Western Michigan this week, as they are facing a team that was able to put points on the board in the first quarter.
In the end, only one of these teams can keep their perfect in-conference records. Whichever team can find a way to avoid scoreless quarters is more likely to keep that winning streak.
Ohio at Miami [OH]
Ohio is the only other team in the MAC to hold a perfect in-conference record. They will face the RedHawks of Miami, OH, at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Bobcats of Ohio are coming off a two-point win against Central Michigan last week.
The offense in Ohio was led by grad student quarterback Parker Navarro, who ran for a touchdown and threw for another in the second quarter.
Despite these efforts, the final quarter almost cost the Bobcats the game.
Ohio’s win was a race against the clock, with the Chips scoring 17 points within the final quarter alone. Although the Bobcats ultimately were able to hold off the efforts of Central, their defense will need to hold it together until the end to protect that winning streak this week.
Miami’s win was much more convincing than Ohio’s, as they topped Easter Michigan 38-14.
The RedHawks soared in the second quarter both offensively and defensively, scoring 14 points and holding their opponents to zero.
Junior wide receiver Reggie Virgil caught an impressive 75-yard pass from sixth-year quarterback Brett Gabbert in the first quarter to start the game strong. The two were able to connect again in the second quarter.
Miami’s defense only allowed their opponents two touchdowns the entire game. If they can recreate this, Ohio will need to put up a fight offensively to advance to 3-0 within the MAC.
Eastern Michigan hosts Central Michigan.
Both Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan hold a record of 1-1 within the MAC. Only one team can keep this record once the teams face off in Ypsilanti at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
As previously mentioned, Eastern struggled last week in their game against Miami. The Eagles were only able to put up two touchdowns the entire game.
Despite their loss last week, senior running back Delbert Mimms III has been leading his team to victories throughout the season. Mimms has averaged 65.33 rushing yards so far this season, leading his team by over 20 yards per game.
If the Eagles can back up the efforts of Mimms, they have the opportunity to be very successful. However, it will take more effort than just Mimms alone.
Central Michigan was another MAC team to get off to a slow start. The Chips didn’t score any points in the first half, going into halftime down by 24.
Senior running back Marion Lukes helped his offensive unit put up a significant fight in the last quarter, scoring two touchdowns of the 17 points CMU’s offense was able to put up, but ultimately, it wasn’t enough.
Central will need to find a way to start as strong as they finished their previous game to advance to 2-1 in the MAC.
Toledo at Northern Illinois
Two more teams with 1-1 records within the MAC will face off when Northern Illinois hosts Toledo on Saturday at 3:30 pm.
Toledo is coming off their first in-conference loss of the season, handed to them by Buffalo last week.
After going scoreless the entire first quarter, senior wide receiver Jerjuan Newton was able to complete passes from sophomore quarterback John Alan Richter twice for the Rocket’s only two scores of the game.
Toledo is another case of needing to find their footing faster. MAC play is competitive, and whichever teams can find a way to get the momentum rolling earlier in the game are likely those teams who are going to produce more wins.
Northern Illinois found more success last week after they beat Bowling Green 17-7.
The Huskies held their opponents to no scores after one initial touchdown in the first quarter.
The second half of the game was where NIU took off. Redshirt freshman quarterback Josh Holst made an eight-yard pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Cam Thompson to solidify the win for the Huskies.
With this tail-end momentum from both Toledo and NIU, whichever team can find points earlier and keep that momentum rolling will likely come out on top, advancing to 2-1 in the conference.
Ball State will travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Vanderbilt is coming off big SEC wins against Alabama and Kentucky in the past two weeks, while Ball State has a 1-1 record within the MAC.
