MAC Week 11 Highlights, Buff. Coach Lembo, EMU’s Creighton
MAC Football P-O-W – Week 11
MAC Football Offensive Player of the Week
Tucker Gleason, Toledo, QB
Sr., Tampa, Fla. (Plant)
Tucker Gleason completed 25-of-31 passes for a season-high 309 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another score, in Toledo’s 42-3 victory over NIU. It is the sixth game this season he has thrown for at least 200 yards and the fifth time in his career that he has eclipsed the 300-yard mark. Gleason passed two career milestones, competing the 50th and 51st touchdown passes of his career. He also became ninth Rocket QB to pass the 6,000-yard mark for passing yards, ending the evening with 6,174 yards, passing Kevin Meger (6,023 from 1989-92) for eighth place all-time.
MAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Gage Summers, Akron, LB
Sr. (R), Chandler, Ariz. (ALA-Queen Creek)
For the second week in a row, Gage Summers collected two turnovers for the Zips defense, recording two fumble recoveries and taking one of them 25 yards for a defensive touchdown. His defensive touchdown marked the first of his career, while also registering his first career fumble recovery. The Akron defense limited the UMass offense to 169 total yards, keeping UMass under 100 yards on both the ground and through the air. The Zips allowed only 92 passing and 77 rushing yards. This was the first time since September 12, 2009, that the Zips kept an opponent under 200 total yards (Morgan State, 127 yrds).
MAC Football Special Teams Co-Players of the Week
Sieh Bangura, Ohio, KR
R-Sr., Bowie, Md. (DeMatha Catholic)
Early in the fourth quarter of Ohio’s Nov. 4 matchup against rival Miami (Ohio), Bangura sent Frank Solich at Peden Stadium into a frenzy with Ohio’s first kick return touchdown since Nov. 6, 2024. In his first game as the kick returner, Bangura rushed up the middle of the field for 97 yards for the score, giving the Bobcats a 17-13 edge over the RedHawks. A force to be reckoned with, this marked Bangura’s second time scoring in the 2025 Battle of the Bricks, logging a 22-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter. By the game’s end, Bangura had a game-leading 229 all-purpose yards.
Trayvon Rudolph, Toledo, KR
Sr., Crete, Ill. (Crete-Monee)
Trayvon Rudolph took the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in Toledo’s 42-3 win over NIU. It was his first kickoff return for a TD as a Rocket and the first by a Rocket since Jacquez Stuart went 97 yards vs. Buffalo on Oct. 31, 2023. It was the second kick return for a TD in Rudolph’s career (2021 with Northern Illinois).
Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, November 11
*Kent State at Akron 7:30 PM ET (ESPNU | Live Stats)
*Ohio at Western Michigan 8 PM ET (ESPN2 | Live Stats)
Wednesday, November 12
*Toledo at Miami 7 PM ET (ESPN2 | Live Stats)
*Buffalo at Central Michigan 7 PM ET (CBSSN | Live Stats)
*Northern Illinois at UMass 7 PM ET (ESPNU | Live Stats)
Saturday, November 15
*Eastern Michigan at Ball State 12 PM ET (ESPN+ | Live Stats)
Two-Minute Drill
• Ohio defeated rival Miami (Ohio), 24-20, on Tuesday in Athens to gain bowl eligibility and secure a 12-game home winning streak. Sieh Bangura finished with 229 all-purpose yards, highlighted by a 97-yard kick return touchdown.
• Akron scored in every quarter as it took down UMass, 44-10, Tuesday night at InfoCision Stadium. Ben Finley led Akron’s air attack with 197 yards and two touchdown passes. Jordan Gant totaled 153 yards—his third 150+ yard rushing performance of the season, to lead the Zips’ ground game and added two touchdowns in the win.
• Kameron Anthony caught a 29-yard pass from Kiael Kelly with 1:53 remaining Wednesday night to give Ball State a 17-13 come-from-behind conference victory over Kent State. Additionally, Ball State improved its home record at Scheumann Stadium to 4-0 for the first time since 2013.
• Tucker Gleason threw for a season-high 309 yards and two touchdowns, while the Toledo defense put in another dominant performance in a 42-3 victory over Northern Illinois in front of 22,128 fans at the Glass Bowl on Wednesday night. The Rockets opened the game with a 96-yard touchdown return by Trayvon Rudolph on the opening kickoff and never looked back.
• Dontae McMillan rumbled for 100 yards for the fourth time this season while the Eastern Michigan defense posted big stops down the stretch as the Eagles defeated Bowling Green, 27-21, on Saturday, Nov. 8, inside Rynearson Stadium.
• Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (Jim Thorpe Award) and Buffalo’s Red Murdock (Butkus Award) were both named semifinalists for national awards at their respective positions.
