MAC Football Scoreboard:
Tuesday, November 20
Miami 42, Ball State 21 Final
Western Michigan 28, NIU 21 Final
Friday, November 23
Buffalo 44, Bowling Green 14 Final
Ohio 49, Akron 28 Final
Toledo 51, Central Michigan 13 Final
Eastern Michigan 28, Kent State 20 Final
West Division:
NIU (7-5, 6-2) already clinched the MAC West Division with a 6-2 MAC record.
East Division:
Buffalo (10-2, 7-1 MAC) clinched the MAC East Division title with a 44-14 win at Bowling Green on Friday, Nov. 23.
Northern Illinois will play Buffalo in the 2018 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game on Friday, Nov. 30 at 7 pm ET at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.
Stories courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Staffs
Buffalo 44, Bowling Green 14
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — For the second time in school history, the University at Buffalo football team will play for the MAC Championship after defeating Bowling Green, 44-14, at Doyt Perry Stadium on Friday afternoon. The Bulls won the MAC East title and will advance to Detroit to face Northern Illinois next Friday. Buffalo (10-2, 7-1 MAC) dominated the line of scrimmage and, behind the blocking of their offense line, rushed for 332 yards and four touchdowns in the game.
Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson set the tone early with 88 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. He opened the scoring with a 40-yard touchdown run. The freshman running back added an 11-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Kevin Marks also scored on touchdown runs of one and three yards and finished with 63 yards in the game. Buffalo's leading rusher was Emmanuel Reed who had a game-high 109 yards on only 15 carries.
With the game tied, 7-7, midway through the first quarter, Tyree Jackson connected with George Rushing on a 37-yard touchdown pass, on fourth down, to give the Bulls a 13-7 lead. Bowling Green crossed midfield on its next possession, before the Buffalo defense made a play that change the course of the entire game. Khalil Hodge jarred the ball loose from Falcon receiver Scott Miller and Brandon Williams scooped up the ball and raced 69 yards for a touchdown to extend the Buffalo lead to 20-7 early in the second quarter.
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Ohio 49, Akron 28
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio (8-4, 6-2 MAC) defeat MAC East Division rival Akron (4-7-, 2-6 MAC), 49-28, on Friday afternoon in its Senior Day game at Peden Stadium. Ohio quarterback Nathan Rourke was 5-14 passing for 87 yards while compiling a game-high four touchdowns on his feet for 86 total yards on 18 carries.
Ohio senior running back A.J. Ouellette reached and surpassed 1,000 total rushing yards with 169 total yards today on 15 attempts, two for touchdowns. Ouellette also hauled in a reception for 17 yards on the day. Ohio senior wide receiver Papi White caught a team-high three passes for a team-high 63 yards and senior running back Maleek Irons rushed for 126 yards on 18 attempts for the Bobcats.
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Toledo 51, Central Michigan 13
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio -- Toledo redshirt freshman Bryant Koback rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns but it was Toledo's defense that dominated the day in a 51-13 victory over Central Michigan on Senior Day at the Glass Bowl on Friday. The Rockets held the Chippewas to just 181 yards of total offense, and their bid for their first shutout in 18 years was spoiled when Central Michigan scored on a 53-yard fumble recovery late in the game. Central then punched in a final score with 43 seconds left in the game. Toledo finishes the regular season with a 7-5 record (5-3 MAC). The Rockets, who clinched their ninth consecutive winning season, will now wait to see what their possible bowl destination will be.
Toledo dominated the action from beginning to end, outgaining the Chippewas, 473-181, in total offense. Toledo's defense held Central Michigan to 48 yards rushing in 32 attempts, and just 62 total yards in the first half. Toledo had six sacks, 13 tackles for loss and scored on an interception by linebacker Tyler Taafe. Taafe led Toledo with nine tackles to go along with his interception, while senior Richard Olekanma added eight tackles and two tackles for loss. Defensive end Tuzar Skipper had two sacks among his five tackles, and senior cornerback Ka'dar Hollman had a career-high four pass breakups.
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Eastern Michigan 28, Kent State 20
Box Score
KENT, Ohio -- With Kent State driving down the field with 4:28 to go, junior Vince Calhoun intercepted Kavious Price's fourth-down long ball to halt a late comeback as Eastern Michigan became bowl bound with a 28-20 win in its regular season MAC finale on Friday afternoon at Dix Stadium.
Kent State cut the Eagles' once 18-point lead down to eight points, as the Golden Flashes added 10 quick points late in the third quarter and early fourth quarter to send the score to 28-20 with 8:18 left in the game. With the Golden Flashes at Eastern Michigan's 39-yard line, a huge pass breakup from junior Kevin McGill at the goal line on third-and-six forced a fourth down try from Kent State. Calhoun then nabbed Kent State's last-ditch long ball effort on fourth-and-six, giving the Eagles the ball back with 4:28 to go. The Eagles were able to move the ball and eat up clock to secure the victory.
Eastern Michigan improved to 7-5 overall and 5-3 in MAC play with the win, it is the program's first winning record in conference play since 1995.The victory also marked the longest MAC win streak for the program since 1989. Meanwhile, the Golden Flashes finished their season 2-10 (1-7 MAC).
The Eagles defense was led by senior Jeremiah Harris, who filled up the box score with nine tackles, including 3.5 tackles-for-loss and three sacks. Harris' three-sack performance against the Golden Flashes tied the Eastern Michigan program record for sacks in a single game. He joined junior Maxx Crosby (2017), Kevin Howe (2005), and Ashley Travis(1999) as the only players to accomplish the feat.
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