Coaches Pressers, News and Notes, Schedule for October 12th and more
By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net and MAC SID
The beatdown season with MAC schools being chum for the Power Four conferences is over. NIU, I salute you. Notre Dame feels otherwise. Now, its MAC schools getting down to business and plenty of great action is on tap for this weekend. EMU continues their resurgence with the Eagles hosting defending MAC Championship Game champion Miami (Ohio). The teams are going in different directions with EMU 4-1 and Miami 1-4. Coach Creighton will have his teams entire attention.
Toledo at Buffalo will see Jason Candle’s Rockets (1-0 MAC 4-1) traveling to Buffalo (1-0 MAC 3-2) in a early season test for both squads.
Finally, a third game on the MAC radar is Central Michigan (1-0 MAC/ 3-2) will host the Ohio Bobcats who also sport the same MAC and overall records. CMU has won two in a row and Ohio had a league win in its first game last weekend. Can’t wait
MAC Standings going into week 7
Coaching Pressers… they said it
MAC Teams and Players making the NCAA Stat sheet
- Toledo QB Tucker Gleason (Jr.) is tied for 13th in the NCAA in Touchdown passes with 13.
- Bowling Green QB Connor Bazelak (Sr.) is 43rd in the NCAA in passing yards with 1243.
- Bowling Green WR. Harold Fannin Jr. (Jr) is fourth in the country with 676 receiving yards.
- Buffalo has two defensive players in the top seven in the country in the top five among tacklers.
- Shaun Dolac (Sr.) leads the NCAA in combined tackles with 72 and Red Murdock (Jr.) is 7th with 55.
MAC Football Tidbits that interest both hardcore and casual fans.
Two Minute Drill- Jeremy Guy- MAC
• Gavin Williams and Jaylen Poe combined to rush for 223 yards, 220 in the second half, as Northern Illinois overcame a 13-7 halftime deficit to defeat UMass, 34-20, on Saturday. The Huskies gained 249 of their season-high 367 rushing yards in the second half, with Williams tallying 124 of his 125 yards in the game after halftime and Poe gaining 91 of his 98. Both running backs, and Ethan Hampton, posted career best rushing totals as all four of NIU’s second half touchdowns came on the ground.
• Western Michigan overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to down Ball State, 45-42, on the road in its MAC opener on Saturday. The Broncos racked up 461 total yards and forced two key turnovers in the fourth quarter to open Mid-American Conference play with the victory. Quarterback Hayden Wolff went 26-for-29 for 264 yards and three touchdown passes, while Jaden Nixon became the first Bronco since 2019 to rush for 100 yards in three straight games after totaling 124 on 14 carries, along with three touchdowns.
• Harold Fannin Jr. scored a 31-yard rushing touchdown on 4th-and-2 with 2:39 left in regulation to elevate Bowling Green to a 27-20 victory over Akron inside InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field. It was the program’s 300th all-time win in MAC play, which ranks No. 3 all-time in league history.
• Tucker Gleason threw for 318 yards and Dylan Cunanan made three field goals as the Toledo Rockets came through with a 30-20 Homecoming victory over Miami inside the Glass Bowl Saturday.
• The MAC has now defeated at least seven non-conference FBS
opponents in the same season 23 times since 2000 and is currently on a 19-year streak with at least seven victories against FBS foes (minus 2020 due to COVID). Additionally, the MAC has defeated double-digit non-conference FBS opponents in back-to-back seasons for the eighth time since 2000.
• The MAC has established a new football scheduling model that will go into effect starting this season. The new scheduling model will eliminate the MAC East and West Divisions. The top two teams based on conference winning percentage will compete in the MAC Football Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.