|
MAC roundup
MAC Game of the Week
|
Toledo 45, Western Michigan 21 |
|
Having spent the better part of the season in an offensive coma, Gary Pinkel's Toledo Rockets pulled out all the stops and thoroughly embarrassed the Broncos -- a team that clinched the MAC West title a month ago. The win allowed Toledo (6-5, 5-3), winners of their last three, to avoid its first losing season since 1993. Western Michigan (7-4, 6-2), meanwhile, must begin preparations for the MAC Championship game after two miserable efforts. Last week the Broncos were drubbed by Marshall, the team they will play for the MAC title Dec. 3 in Huntington, W. Va. The winner of that game will represent the MAC in the Motor City Bowl.
Toledo took control of the game from the outset, scoring the first 21 points and leading 28-7 at halftime. Chester Taylor was the star for the Rockets, scoring on runs of three, one and seven yards. Western Michigan's Tim Lester was held in check most of the day, but did come up with a big play, hooking up with Corey Alston for an 82-yard TD in the second quarter.
|
Other MAC action
|
Central Michigan 27, Ball State 21 |
|
With their coach, Dick Flynn, running the show for the final time, Central Michigan (4-7, 3-5 MAC) gave him something he hadn't had all year -- a winning streak. Two weeks after Flynn tendered his resignation, the Chippewas won their second straight game and extended Ball State's losing streak to 17 games. The only active losing streak longer than the Falcons' belongs to South Carolina, which lost to Clemson Saturday for its 21st straight setback.
Ball State (0-8, 0-11) nearly broke its funk, leading 21-14 at the half and 21-17 after three quarters. CMU, however, took the lead on a three-yard scoring pass from Pete Shepherd to Rob Turner and later would add a 26-yard Paul Savich field goal to send Flynn out a winner.
|
|
Bowling Green 33, Central Florida 30, OT |
|
Down 17-6 at halftime, Bowling Green (5-6, 3-5) set its year-long struggles aside and rallied to force overtime on a one-yard TD plunge by Andy Sahm late in the fourth quarter. Once there, the Falcons' defense stiffened up and held the Golden Knights to a 28-yard Javier Beorlegui field goal. With an opportunity to end an otherwise forgettable season on a high note, Joe Alls found the end zone from eight yards out, sending the Falcons to victory and the stunned UCF crowd home in silence.
For Central Florida (4-7), the loss was just the second it had suffered at the hands of a team not in a BCS conference -- Louisiana Tech being the only other. |
|
Miami (Ohio) 43, Buffalo 0 |
|
It was a fitting end to Buffalo's first season in the Division I-A ranks, as Miami's Travis Prentice took sole ownership of the NCAA's all-time rushing TDs mark and the RedHawks defense pitched a shutout at the Bulls. Prentice, who needed only one TD to tie the record set by Ricky Williams, broke the mark with a 49-yard run late in the first quarter. The run gave the RedHawks a 16-0 lead and they were off to the races.
Mike Bath threw three TD passes for Miami (7-4, 6-2), which will finish the season in second place in the MAC East if Marshall, as expected, beats Ohio next week. The Bulls (0-8, 0-11), meanwhile, join Ball State as MAC teams to not win a game this season.
|
|
Northern Illinois 30, Eastern Michigan 23 |
|
Five days after their coach, Gary Rasnick, was fired, Eastern Michigan did its best to rally for the victory, but ended up falling just short. NIU (5-6, 5-3) led 24-9 after three quarters, but EMU (4-7, 4-4) rallied for a pair of TDs, but could not reel the Huskies in. The Eagles closed the season losing three of their final four. NIU, meanwhile, went 5-2 to close the year and finish with its best record since 1990.
|
|