Saturday’s Football Results
*Central Michigan 37, Ball State 34
*Buffalo 23, No. 23 Northern Illinois 20 (OT)
Eastern Michigan 36, Saint Francis 0
Kentucky 41, Ohio 6
Notre Dame 28, Miami 3
Penn State 56, Kent State 0
Texas A&M 26, Bowling Green 20
South Carolina 50, Akron 7
Western Kentucky 26, Toledo 21
Stories Courtesy of the Associated Press
*Central Michigan 37, Ball State 34
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Joe Labas hit Chris Parker with the winning touchdown pass in the final minute and Central Michigan defeated Ball State 37-34 on Saturday in a game that saw three lead changes in the last five minutes.
Ball State overcame Central Michigan’s 23-point second quarter to take a 24-23 lead on Braedon Sloan’s 22-yard touchdown run in the middle of the third quarter.
Ball State added a field goal for a 27-23 lead midway through the fourth, then things got wild in the final five minutes.
Bert Emanuel’s 16-yard run put Central Michigan up 30-27, then Kadin Semonza’s third touchdown pass of the game — a 16-yarder to Tanner Koziol — put Ball State up 34-30 with 53 seconds remaining. The key play on the 97-yard drive was a 45-yard connection from Semonza to Qian Magwood.
The Chippewas began the winning drive on their own 25-yard line, still with 53 seconds left. B.J. Harris opened the drive runs of 50 yards and 6 yards. Labas hit Harris for a short gain, then connected with Evan Boyd for 34 yards to the Ball State 20. On the next play, Labas hit Parker with the winning pass.
The Cardinals had 16 seconds left for their final possession, but a series of laterals backed them up to the 6-yard line as time ran out.
Labas completed 14 of 20 passes for 185 yards with one touchdown and Harris had 151 yards rushing for the Chippewas (2-2, 1-0 Mid-American Conference).
Semonza was 30-for-40 passing for 285 yards for the Cardinals (1-2, 0-1). Sloan had 94 yards rushing and Koziol 112 yards receiving.
The game opened Ball State’s 50th season of MAC football.
*Buffalo 23, No. 23 Northern Illinois 20 (OT)
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. (AP) — Upton Bellenfant kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime to give Buffalo a 23-20 victory over No. 23 Northern Illinois on Saturday.
The Huskies (2-1, 0-1 Mid-American Conference), playing for the first time since winning at then-No. 5 Notre Dame two weeks ago, managed just six points in the second half. Buffalo (3-1, 1-0), which began playing at the FBS level in 1999, beat a ranked opponent for the second time in its history.
“To me, it was just another kick,” said Bellenfant, who became Buffalo’s starting kicker just last week. “Kind of a magic story out there. Everything went right.
“It really gives us hope we can go undefeated the rest of the season.”
The Bulls led 20-17 after linebacker Shaun Dolac’s interception and 53-yard return set up a field goal, but the Huskies tied it with a 13-play drive that ended with Kanon Woodill’s 27-yard field goal with 26 seconds to play.
“As a defense, we buckled it down but we know we can count on the offense when it counts,” Dolac said. “They scored, they tied the game up and the rest is history.”
Woodill, who booted the game-winner at Notre Dame, missed a pair of field goal tries, including a 42-yarder that was blocked in overtime. That set up the winning kick from Bellenfant, who was 3 for 3 on the day.
“We were prepared to play but didn’t make the plays necessary to put ourselves in a position to win,” said Huskies coach Thomas Hammock, whose team also lost a fumble. “The only way we can lose the game is if we turn the ball over, and that’s what we did.”
Buffalo’s Pete Lembo, a head coach again after nine years as an assistant at four schools, said his players deserved all the credit.
“For them to be rewarded with a signature win like this, this early in our tenure is a big deal,” Lambo said.
C.J. Ogbonna was 10 for 17 for 107 yards and a touchdown for the Bulls. His 46-yard scoring toss to Victor Snow early in the third quarter got Buffalo within 14-10. Al-Jay Henderson’s 36-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter tied it at 17.
Eastern Michigan 36, Saint Francis 0
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — David Carter Jr. scored on a 99-yard fumble return, Zyell Griffin caught an 89-yard touchdown pass and Eastern Michigan rolled past St. Francis of Pennsylvania 36-0 on Saturday.
Carter grabbed a loose ball out of a goal-line pileup and raced 99 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. They added 40- and 49-yard field goals by Jesus Gomez for a 13-0 halftime lead.
Midway through the third quarter, the Eagles blocked a punt and Kendric Knowling recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown and a 26-0 lead. Since 2014, Eastern has blocked 25 kicks and turned six of its 14 blocked punts into touchdowns.
In the fourth quarter, Griffin and Jeremiah Salem hooked up on an 89-yard catch-and-run for the final score. It was the first EMU touchdown for Griffin, a graduate transfer from UNLV, and the first career touchdown pass for the freshman Salem. It matches the longest passing play in EMU history and is the longest passing TD for the Eagles.
Salem and Cole Snyder combined for 14 of 24 passing for 203 yards for the Eagles (3-1).
St. Francis (1-3) of the FCS was held to 154 yards by a swarming Eastern Michigan defense that had 26 players credited with tackles.
