Photo courtesy of Western Michigan Athletics
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sports Network) -
AKRON: The Zips played tough and were tied with Tennessee, 23-23, at halftime before losing 47-26 to the Volunteers in their final non-conference game of the season. Dalton Williams was under center for Akron and completed 27-of-49 passes for 229 yards and three interceptions. Williams now has 121 completions in the first four games of the season which broke Charlie Frye's school record of 110 set in 2003. Marquelo Suel grabbed a career-best 12 passes for 92 yards, while Zach D'Orazio finished with 72 yards on six receptions. Quentin Hines made a spectacular 70-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. The Zips allowed a season-worst 643 yards of total offense in the loss. Terry Bowden's squad is now 1-3 overall heading into its MAC opener versus Miami-Ohio.
BALL STATE: The Cardinals improved to 3-1 overall with a 31-27 victory over South Florida in Muncie. Ball State has now defeated a BCS conference opponent in back-to-back weeks. The feat marks the first time BSU has defeated two BCS opponents in the same year in school history. Keith Wenning completed 24-of-36 attempts for 244 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Jahwan Edwards also had a big game for Ball State with 98 yards rushing and a touchdown on 16 carries. Wenning moved into fourth on Ball State's all-time career touchdown passes list. Willie Snead, who had the game winning touchdown catch with just over a minute left for the Cardinals, brought in a career-high 11 passes for 135 yards. Ball State won despite allowing 518 total yards of offense and being limited to 314.
BOWLING GREEN: The Falcons could not get anything going against the Hokies in their 37-0 shutout loss to Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium. The team had not been shutout in 169 games. Bowling Green, which is now 1-3, compiled just 266 yards of total offense in the contest while Tech gained 396. The Hokies were able to score on all five of their trips to the red zone, including four touchdowns. Matt Schilz completed only 9-of-25 passes for 87 yards with an interception before Matt Johnson came in to relieve him. Johnson did not fare much better and finished with 46 yards on 5-of-17 passing. Anthon Samuel was held to 32 yards on nine carries. Aside from Andre Givens's 47-yard run, BGSU averaged just 3.4 yards per carry. Chris Jones recorded a sack for the third game in a row. The Falcons will look to end their two-game losing slide and rebound against Rhode Island of the FCS on Saturday.
BUFFALO: The Bulls (1-2) suffered a 23-7 loss to Kent State at home in the first game of week four on Wednesday after they were shutout after halftime. Buffalo managed 152 yards rushing on 39 attempts, but struggled moving the ball through the air. Alex Zordich, who entered the game with 385 yards passing and five touchdowns through the first two games, completed just 4- of-22 passes for 92 yards with two interceptions. The low scoring output was surprising as Buffalo entered the contest leading the MAC with an average of 39.5 points per game. On the other side of the ball, Khalil Mack recorded a team-high 12 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks. Najja Johnson made his first career interception in the contest. Buffalo will hit the road to face the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday, which will be the first stage of a three-game road trip.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Kicker David Harman connected on a 47-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to lift the Chippewas (2-1) to a 32-31 victory over Iowa. CMU scored nine points in the final 45 seconds to complete the thrilling upset on the road over its Big Ten opponent. Not only did Harman make the game-winning field goal, he also perfectly placed an onside kick to help CMU regain possession and put him in position for his fourth field goal of the day. Ryan Radcliff completed 26-of-35 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns, while Zurlon Tipton dashed for 72 yards and a score on the ground. CMU allowed Iowa to gain 430 yards in the contest.
EASTERN MICHIGAN: The Eagles (0-4) lost their sixth game in a row dating back to last season as they were defeated, 23-7, by the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing. EMU was held to a season-low 183 yards of total offense and eight first downs in the contest. The poor offensive showing came after coach Ron English benched four-year starter Alex Gillett in favor of sophomore Tyler Benz after three weeks of inconsistent play from the senior. Benz went 13- of-26 for 137 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. Tight end Garrett Hoskins finished with a career-high eight catches for 102 yards. Donald Coleman anchored the defense with 19 tackles, while Michigan State's Le'Veon Bell gained 253 rushing yards. EMU has a week off before it begins its conference season with Kent State on Oct. 6.
KENT STATE: The defense stepped up its play in the Golden Flashes' 23-7 victory over Buffalo on Wednesday night. The Bulls were held to 265 total offensive yards and just 113 through the air, while KSU (2-1) amassed 404 yards of its own. The Golden Flashes were led by the one-two punch of Dri Archer and Trayion Durham, who became the first two KSU runners to eclipse the 100-yard mark in the same game since 2008. Archer gained a game-high 127 yards and a score on 14 carries while Durham amassed 112 rushing yards. Keith Spencer and Davis Fisher combined to pass for 165 yards. David Polk made two interceptions for KSU, which will try to improve to 2-0 in MAC play on Saturday when it hosts Ball State.
MASSACHUSETTS: The Minutemen's transition to the FBS continued its rocky trend as they lost, 27-16, to Miami-Ohio in their MAC debut on Saturday. UMass (0-4) has now lost seven games in a row dating back to last season. The team produced a season-best 471 yards of total offense after coming in with an average of 194 per game. Running back Michael Cox gained a career-high 188 yards and two touchdowns to carry the offense. Mike Wegzyn continued to struggle and threw three interceptions while completing 19-of-40 passes for 213 yards. Deion Walker tallied 81 yards on six catches. UMass had no answer for Miami's Zac Dystert, who produced all four of the RedHawks' touchdowns. UMass will try to end its losing skid this week against the MAC's only undefeated team, Ohio University.
MIAMI: Zac Dysert completed 12-of-22 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns to lead Miami to a 27-16 victory over UMass in the RedHawks' (2-2) MAC opener. Dysert passed Ben Roethlisberger to become the school's all-time leader in completions in the contest. Miami finished with a season-high 216 rushing yards after entering the contest with just 158 yards on the ground through three games. The RedHawks were outgained in total yards of offense for the fourth time in as many games this season. However, defense did manage to make some big plays as Justin Bowers, Dayonne Nunley, and D.J. Brown each intercepted a pass. Miami begins a three-game road set on Saturday as it heads to Akron for an instate bout with the Zips.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Jordan Lynch submitted a sensational performance to push the Huskies (3-1) to a 30-23 victory over Kansas to give the team its third win in a row after a season opening loss to Iowa. Lynch threw for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also ran for a team-best 134 yards. Martel Moore caught five passes for 105 yards and a score and Perez Ashford had eight receptions for 78 yards. The Huskies scored 17 unanswered points to close out the game. NIU outgained Kansas by a 455-329 margin. It was the third-straight game this season the Huskies totaled 400-or-more yards of offense. The win was the 17th in a row at Huskie Stadium for NIU, which will attempt to make it 18 consecutive home wins on Saturday when it kicks off its MAC season with Central Michigan.
OHIO UNIVERSITY: Despite being without their leader and starting quarterback Tyler Tettleton, the Bobcats (4-0) rolled past Norfolk State for a 44-10 victory at Peden Stadium. Ohio remained the only unbeaten team in the MAC with the win. In his first career start, Derrius Vick went 14-of-20 for 199 yards and four touchdowns. Vick completed a reception to eight different wideouts. Donte Foster tied his career-high with five catches and tallied career-highs of 69 yards and two touchdowns. Beau Blankenship finished with 109 rushing yards. Blankenship has past the century mark in all four games this season. Coach Frank Solich and his squad will continue their quest for perfection on Saturday when they head to Gillette Stadium for their MAC opener against Massachusetts.
TOLEDO: Although it was not easy, the Rockets (3-1) outlasted Coastal Carolina to earn a 38-28 victory in a non-conference bout at the Glass Bowl. Terrance Owens led the way by throwing three touchdown passes and rushing for another. Owens has thrown 230 passes without an interception. Bernard Reedy caught a career-best 10 passes for 102 yards. Alonzo Russell contributed seven receptions for 97 yards and Cordale Scott grabbed the first two touchdown catches of his career. David Fluellen left the game with an injury in the third quarter and was replaced by Cassius McDowell. Dan Molls anchored the defense with 14 tackles and a sack. Trent Voss, who entered with just one tackle on the season, recorded 13 stops. Toledo, which is 1-0 in league action, takes on its MAC rival Western Michigan on Saturday.
WESTERN MICHIGAN: The Broncos (2-2) evened up their record by taking down Connecticut, 30-24, at home in their final non-conference game of the season. Alex Carder passed for 237 yards and two scores while Josh Schaffer and Jamie Wilson each broke the 100 yards receiving mark. Desmond Bozeman was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week after he registered a career-high 12 tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, forced fumble, and fumble return for a touchdown. Despite the victory, WMU allowed a season-high 430 yards of total offense to its opponent in the contest. The Broncos will try to solve their defensive questions this Saturday when they begin their MAC season versus Toledo.