Saturday's MAC Football Results
Western Michigan 38, Miami 16
Bowling Green 20, Toledo 7
Ball State 29, Eastern Michigan 23
Central Michigan 42, New Mexico State 28
Kent State 26, Akron 3
NIU 39, Ohio 36
Bye: Buffalo
Game stories courtesy of MAC Athletic Communication Departments
Western Michigan 38, Miami 16
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- A 21-point outburst in the second quarter led Western Michigan past Miami, 38-16, on Saturday afternoon inside Waldo Stadium. The Broncos earned their second consecutive Homecoming victory, and their first 4-0 home start since 2016.
Western Michigan trailed 6-0 after the first quarter before scoring three times in the final seven minutes before intermission as a Drake Spears' 74-yard interception return for a touchdown at the 6:33 mark of the second sparked the turnaround. Spears set the tone for a Bronco defense that finished with three interceptions that led to 10 points.
During the fourth quarter, senior LeVante Bellamy became the eighth Western Michigan running back to reach 3,000 career rushing yards as his final carry covered 47 yards for a touchdown, pushing his career total to 3,012 yards. Bellamy turned in his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and has scored a touchdown in five consecutive games.
Graduate transfer Keith Mixon Jr. paced the receiving corps with a season-high 84 receiving yards on three catches with two touchdowns. Mixon Jr.'s 46-yard touchdown grab from senior quarterback Jon Wassink was Mixon Jr.'s first of the season and the longest reception of his career, topping his 43-yard catch at Michigan State.
In addition to Spears' defensive efforts, Justin Tranquill, Patrick Lupro and Alex Grace recorded nine tackles apiece. Lupro set his career high for pass breakups with four. The Broncos finished with a year-best 6.0 sacks as junior Ali Fayad earned 2.0 and finished with 2.5 tackles for lost yardage.
Miami outscored the Broncos 6-0 in the first quarter with 51 and 49-yard field goals by RedHawk kicker Sam Sloman. Spears' 74-yard return proved to be the game-winning score as it gave Western Michigan a lead it would not relinquish. Following the Spears touchdown, the Western Michigan offense marched into RedHawk territory as Wassink found Mixon Jr. for a 46-yard touchdown and 14-6 advantage.
The second quarter was wrapped up by the Brown & Gold as Wassink hooked up with Mixon Jr. again, this time for a 37-yard scoring strike with 1:06 to go in the half.
Miami cut the deficit to 21-9 with 8:06 to play in the third as Sloman nailed a 27-yard field goal.
The RedHawks struck again at 13:46 in the fourth quarter with their only touchdown of the day, a three-yard run by Jaylon Bester to make it a 21-16 Bronco advantage.
Bellamy took over from there, breaking a 35-yard run to put the Broncos in RedHawk territory. After a 16-yard pass from Wassink to Giovanni Ricci, Bellamy ran the ball for 17 more yards to score his first touchdown of the afternoon, putting Western Michigan up 28-16 with less than eight minutes to play.
The Broncos quickly found themselves in scoring position again as Lupro nabbed his second interception of the season, returning it 24 yards to the Miami 13-yard line. Thiago Kapps' 24-yard field goal extended the Bronco advantage to 31-16 with 4:13 to play. Bellamy put the exclamation point on the contest with a 47-yard touchdown with 1:50 to go, crossing the 3,000-yard mark in the process.
The Western Michigan defensive effort held Ball State to just 96 rushing yards during the final three quarters, and just two drives of more than 50 yards during the game.
Bowling Green 20, Toledo 7
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Bowling Green defeated Toledo, 20-7, on Saturday afternoon at Doyt L. Perry Stadium. The Battle of I-75 contest marked the 84th meeting between the two rivals. The victory is Bowling Green's first over Toledo since 2009. The all-time series is now tied at 40-40-4.
Bowling Green quarterback Grant Loy was 14-21 passing for 185 yards and one touchdown and added 137 yards rushing and another score to lead the Falcons offense.
On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Grant Loy rushed for 56 yards all the way down to the UT 24-yard line. The Falcons ultimately settled for a 32-yard Nate Needham field goal, but the Falcons took a 3-0 lead with 13:04 left in the first quarter. BGSU led for the duration of the game.
Head Coach Scot Loeffler becomes the first BGSU coach since Dave Clawson in 2009 to win his first game against Toledo.
The program celebrated 100 years of Bowling Green football on the afternoon, recognizing many individuals who have paved the path for the first century of BGSU Football. Bowling Green's first game was against Toledo on Oct. 3, 1919...
Game Notes.
Ball State 29, Eastern Michigan 23
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The road hasn't always been Ball State's friend in recent years. This 2019 version of the Cardinals is doing its best to change that. Make it two weeks, two MAC road wins. And now, finally, headed home for two straight.
Ball State overtook Eastern Michigan in the fourth quarter Saturday and held off the Eagles in the closing seconds for a 29-23 win at Rynearson Stadium. The Cardinals (3-3) backed up last week's Bronze Stalk victory to improve to 2-0 in league play for the first time since 2013 with back-to-back road wins for the first time since the same year.
"At halftime, we came in, we were down; the mood in the locker room was awesome," Ball State head coach Mike Neu said. "We've been there before. Obviously, we're not trying to repeat that formula, but it certainly says a lot about this football team when you just continue to fight, especially on the road."
BSU gave Eastern Michigan (3-3, 0-2 MAC) a steady dose of Caleb Huntley, just like it did to Northern Illinois last week. The junior back ran 29 times for 152 yards just seven days after grinding out 157 yards on 35 carries against the Huskies.
Drew Plitt completed 23-of-32 passes for 255 yards, hitting Yo'Heinz Tyler and Just Hall for touchdowns. He also scored twice on quarterback sneaks, the second of which gave Ball State its first lead with 11:36 to play.
The Cardinals' defense finished it off from there. Ball State sacked EMU quarterback Mike Glass three times in the fourth quarter, picked him off for the third time and forced a fourth-down, red-zone fumble on the Eagles' final snap of the game.
Jordan Williams' strip sack sealed the win after some tense late moments, including a near touchdown catch from Arthur Jackson. The EMU receiver's toe landed barely out of bounds, a call confirmed by replay.
"We found a way; that's the most important thing," Neu said. "The defense did a great job at the end, bending, not breaking and causing a huge play on fourth down with the fumble. Very proud of the guys. Great effort."
Ball State scored the final 15 points after trailing 23-14 following Glass' second quarterback sneak touchdown with 7:32 to play in the third quarter. The Cardinals' defense surrendered just one second-half score for the third straight game.
Antonio Phillips and Ray Wilborn picked off Glass in the second half to go along with a Bryce Cosbyinterception in the endzone that kept Eastern Michigan from scoring on its first drive of the game.
Hall finished with a season highs of 11 catches and 109 receiving yards. In addition to his touchdown grab, Tyler set up Ball State's first touchdown of the day with a 39-yard catch-and run. Antwan Davis set up the go-ahead score with back-to-back catches.
Central Michigan 42, New Mexico State 28
Box Score
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. -- Central Michigan football coach Jim McElwain likes explosive plays. He got them – and a lead -- in the first half on Saturday. Then he settled for some good old-fashioned ball-control football in the second. Either way, McElwain and the Chippewas will happily take the result, a 42-28 non-conference victory over New Mexico State before 15,764 on homecoming at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
"We're starting to learn, there's some things we're going to get better at from this game as well, but at the same time it's about getting wins and we got a win today," McElwain said. "We ran the ball well at times, I think our explosive plays, second week in a row, kind of set the tone and that was good to see."
The win lifted CMU to 4-3 and it marked the first time the Chippewas, 42-16 winners over Eastern Michigan a week ago, have won back-to-back games since late in the 2017 season. It also marks the first time that CMU is over .500 since that same period.
Jonathan Ward and Kobe Lewis once again proved to be a potent one-two punch as the running backs combined for 328 yards in rushing and receiving and three touchdowns on 45 touches.
Ward continued his senior-season resurgence, rushing for 131 yards on 18 carries and catching four passes for 36 yards. Lewis, a sophomore, had 161 yards and scored twice on 23 carries.
"I love what both of those guys bring," McElwain said. "You feel really comfortable when they're in there. Both of them have finish speed and that's big."
The Chippewas finished with a season-high 352 yards on the ground, averaging 6.3 yards per attempt. They held a 10-plus-minute edge in possession time on a day when a strong southerly wind was clearly a factor.
"I felt from the start we were going to have an opportunity to be a good balanced football team, and I still think we are and can better at it," McElwain said. "Somebody told me when I took this job, the later the season gets, you'd better be able to run the football in this league because there's a chance you're going to play in some games where the weather's not real conducive to spinning it around the yard."
Quinten Dormady returned to quarterback for the Chippewas after missing the better part of five games with an injury. The graduate transfer completed 14 of his 24 pass attempts for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
"I thought he was rusty, I thought he missed a couple throws, and yet he did a good job of commanding the game and taking advantage of some of the things they gave him," McElwain said.
Dormady's first scoring pass went for 44 yards to Kalil Pimpleton on CMU's first possession of the game. Lewis bolted 57 yards for a touchdown the next time the Chippewas had the ball, increasing their lead to 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
Lewis scored on a nifty 20-yard spinning run midway through the second quarter, and Ward ripped off a 75-yard TD run with under four minutes to play in the half. The Chippewas led at the break, 28-21.
The second half featured nowhere near the highlight-reel plays as did the first, but the Chippewas were plenty good enough, getting a pair of Ryan Tice field goals in the third quarter when the wind was at their backs, and a 7-yard Dormady-to-Tony PoljanTD pass as they kept the Aggies (0-7) at arm's length.
Kent State 26, Akron 3
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio -- Kent State (3-3, 2-0 MAC) defeated Akron (0-6, 0-2 MAC), bringing the Wagon Wheel back home and jumping to the top of the MAC East Division with a 26-3 victory inside InfoCision Stadium in the 49th installment of the rivalry. The Golden Flashes evened up the all-time Wagon Wheel series, 24-24-1, with the victory. It is their first time hoisting the trophy since 2014.
"Great family win today!" said Head Coach Sean Lewis. "I cannot wait to take the wheel home and paint it our colors. It was a great effort in all three phases that made a day like this possible."
The Golden Flashes came out slinging, as Dustin Crum hit Isaiah McKoy on a 49-yard touchdown strike. Crum finished the game 16-of-21 for 149 yards and a touchdown, and he extended his interceptionless streak to 153 passing attempts. McKoy racked up his fourth game of the season with 50 or more receiving yards.
After the two teams traded field goals, Kent State posted an 11-play, 83-yard drive that resulted in a five-yard Will Matthews touchdown run. Matthews dominated on his way to a career-high 126 yards on 25 carries. He became the first Golden Flashes' running back since Dri Archer in 2012 to rush for over 100 yards against the Zips.
A scoreless second half for both teams ended when Matthew Trickett nailed a 43-yard field goal, his second of the day. Jabbar Price recovered a Kato Nelson fumble on the next play from scrimmage to give the Flashes the ball in Zips' territory. Trickett drilled a 45-yard field goal to extend the Kent State lead, 23-3. Trickett tied his career-high with four field goals as he hit a 43-yarder with two minutes to go.
The Flashes' 23-point win is the biggest win over Akron since a 35-3 victory in 2011, and the three points allowed were the fewest by Kent State in the rivalry since that same game.
Elvis Hines was a force for the Kent State defense, totaling 11 tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Qwuantrezz Knight – the Flashes' leading tackler on the season – posted nine tackles and a career-high two tackles for loss. Kesean Gamble recorded five tackles, including a career-high two sacks.
Northern Illinois 39, Ohio 36
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio -- Northern Illinois kicker John Richardson made a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give the NIU Huskies a 39-36 win over Ohio at Peden Stadium Saturday. The field goal capped a second half comeback as NIU scored 29-second half points to earn its first MAC win of the season and improve to 2-4 overall, 1-1 in the MAC.
"I'm proud of our kids, I'm proud of our coaches," said NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock. "We were resilient. It was a team effort; I liked the fight of our team. We wanted to play four quarters of Huskie Football, not getting too high or too low, just play the next play. The difference today was guys making plays. We talked to our guys at halftime about making plays."
Tailback Tre Harbison scored three touchdowns and gained 113 yards on 25 carries, with 108 of those yards coming in the second half. On the Huskies' game-winning drive, NIU got the ball with 3:38 to play and after a 14-yard completion from quarterback Ross Bowers to wide receiver Tyrice Richie, Harbison ran six consecutive times for 42 yards, advancing NIU from its 39-yard line all the way to the Ohio 19. From there, Richardson, who had hit a career long 51-yard field goal earlier in the game but had missed his last two attempts, from 44 and 49 yards, was good for the first game-winner of his young NIU career.
"I knew that the snap and hold were going to be great, I knew the line was going to block just like they had all year," Richardson said. "I just had to be confident in myself because my team had confidence in me. It was tough missing earlier. I knew I had to deliver for my team."
Trailing 21-10 at halftime, the Huskies got a spark on their second drive of the third quarter from back-up quarterback Marcus Childers. From the NIU 23, he took the snap and took off, running up the middle for 70 yards before getting tackled at the Ohio seven-yard line. Two plays later, Harbison ran in from the four-yard line to trim Ohio's lead to 21-16 after the two-point try failed. Childers' run was the longest for a Huskie player since 2016 when another quarterback, Anthony Maddie, had a 70-yard run versus Ball State.
After the Huskie defense forced a three-and-out, Bowers led NIU on a 13-play, 76-yard drive to take the lead. The Huskies converted two third downs and a fourth down on the drive, with Bowers hitting Cole Tucker for 20 and 10 yards, respectively, on two plays and connecting with freshman Michael Love for 13 yards on the third. Harbison finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to give NIU a 22-21 lead.
Tucker finished the game with a career high eight catches for 118 yards as Bowers found him in critical situations. Bowers finished the game with an NIU career best 338 yards on 23-of-39 passing and a touchdown.
Hammock said Tucker earned his chances.
"Number one, he catches the football," Hammock said. "He's a good route runner. We're going to play the guys that play consistent football. Going into the game, he knew he was getting the start, he knew we were going to him and he did what we expected him to do, catch the football and make plays."
Leading 22-21, NIU got the ball back after Ohio could not convert on fourth and six, and the Huskies quickly extended their lead to 29-21 with a six-play, 63-yard drive. Bowers hit tight end Mitchell Brinkman, who caught five passes for 100 yards in the game, for a 28-yard pick-up on third and three. He connected with Richie for a 30-yard touchdown after the receiver broke a tackle and took it in for the score. NIU led 29-21 with 12:02 to play.
Ohio responded behind quarterback Nathan Rourke, who took the Bobcats down the field with his arm and his legs, running twice for 25 yards and connecting with tight end Ryan Luehrmann on the eight-yard score. The two-point try was good and the score was tied at 29 with 8:25 left.
NIU took the lead again, Harbison scoring his third TD after a 48-yard pass to Brinkman put the Huskies on the Ohio three-yard line. The Bobcats took just four plays to respond as Shane Hooks powered into the end zone on a 47-yard pass play from Rourke with 3:38 to play, leaving the Huskies plenty of time for their game-winning drive.
The Ohio QB finished with 258 yards passing and 80 rushing on 12 carries as the Bobcats fell to 2-4 overall, 1-1 in the MAC.
Mykelti Williams led the Huskies defensively with 14 tackles, while Antonio Jones-Davis added 12 stops and a sack.
The Bobcats took a 21-10 halftime lead with a pair of second quarter touchdowns and used trick plays to score both. First, a wide open Rourke caught a two-yard pass from receiver D.L. Knock to finish a 13-play, 59 yard drive and put the Bobcats ahead 14-10.
After the Huskies missed a 44-yard field goal and an Ohio punt, the Bobcats got the ball back off an interception that nearly ended in a fumble back to the Huskies. Ilyaas Motley made the interception and appeared to fumble the ball back to NIU, but after replay, it was called an illegal forward pass and Ohio retained possession at the NIU 30-yard line.
Six plays later, the Bobcats went copycat to score when Rourke lateralled to offensive lineman Austen Pleasants who ran for the two-yard score. It was the same play the Huskies used to record a two-point conversion in its win over OU a year ago in DeKalb. After the PAT, Ohio led 21-10.
The Huskie special teams put NIU on the scoreboard just two minutes into the game when Corey Lersch blocked a Michael Farkas punt and senior safety Adam Buirge picked it up and scored from three-yards out.
Ohio tied the game with a nine-play, 75-yard drive on an eight-yard rush by Rourke with 8:06 to play in the first. NIU's offense finally took the field at that point and went 42 yards on nine plays to the Bobcats' 33-yard line. From there, John Richardson drilled a 51-yard field goal, the longest of his career and the longest by a Huskie kicker since Christian Hagan's 52-yard effort versus Toledo in 2015. The kick, with 5:41 to play in the first quarter, gave the Huskies a 10-7 lead.
