MAC Football Final Scores: Saturday, August 30
Purdue 43, Western Michigan 34
Ball State 30, Colgate 10
Boston College 30, UMass 7
Marshall 42, Miami 27
Buffalo 38, Duquesne 28
Ohio 17, Kent State 14
Eastern Michigan 31, Morgan State 28
Toledo 54, New Hampshire 20
Game stories courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Purdue 43, Western Michigan 34
Box Score
Postgame Quotes
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Freshman running back Jarvion Franklin rushed for 163 yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns in his collegiate debut but the Western Michigan football team fell just short, 43-34, against Purdue on Saturday afternoon.
Franklin's 163 yards is the second-most by a freshman running back in his collegiate debut in Western Michigan. Only Jerome Persell rushed for more when he totalled 241 yards against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 11, 1976.
The Broncos outgained the Boilermakers 456-407, racking up 243 yards through the air and 213 on the ground. Sophomore quarterback finished 18-of-36 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Both of Terrell’s touchdowns came in the second half, in which he started 9-of-11. Sophomore wide receiver Daniel Braverman led all receivers with 10 receptions for 130 yards to set all new career-highs.
Junior linebacker Grant DePalma led the Broncos with 11 tackles on defense. Senior defensive tackle Richard Ash made seven tackles, all solo, and three tackles for loss.
Purdue took an early 7-0 lead when Danny Etling connected with Justin Sinz from 11 yards out with 7:45 left in the first quarter. The touchdown pass capped off a 9-play, 80-yard drive.
As the first quarter was winding down the Broncos forced a three-and-out and had great field position after Purdue’s Thomas Meadows’ punt only went 21 yards. Starting on the Boilermaker 28 the Broncos needed just four plays, all rushes, to score their first touchdown of the season. Terrell opened up the drive scrambling for 12 yards and then Franklin did the rest of the work with carries of eight, three and finally five yards for the six points and his first career touchdown.
After holding Purdue to a field goal, Western Michigan took a 14-10 lead after Franklin capped off a four-play drive by taking it to the house for a 61-yard touchdown run. After a nine-yard reception by Braverman the Broncos had the ball at their own 39-yard line, Franklin took the hand-off from Terrell to the right side of the line of scrimmage. Freshman tackle Chukwuma Okorafor opened up a hole and Franklin found daylight. The Tinley Park, Ill., native out-raced the Purdue safety and got a key block from wide receiver Michael Henry at the Boilermaker 15-yard line to seal the touchdown.
Purdue added another field goal to cut the lead to 14-13 before a Terrell pass was picked off by Frankie Williams and returned to the Western Michigan 4-yard line. Etling ran it in from there to give Purdue a 20-14 lead.
The Boilermakers added another field goal with 16 seconds remaining in the first half to push the lead to 23-14.
The two teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter with the Broncos striking first. WMU took the opening drive 75 yards in nine plays with Franklin breaking free from 26 yards out for his third rushing touchdown of the day.
Purdue scored two-straight touchdowns to push the lead to 37-21 on a rush by Raheem Mostert and a touchdown pass to Gabe Holmes.
The Broncos responded with a quick 7-play, 75-yard drive in just 2:35 to get back within nine. Terrell opened the drive with a 47-yard completion to Braverman and then six plays later found Kendrick Roberts open in the endzone for his first touchdown pass of the season.
WMU cut the lead to three, 37-34, with 8:11 remaining in the fourth quarter after Corey Davis made a highlight-reel catch in the left corner of the endzone to cap off an 12-play, 82-yard drive. Terrel completed all six attempts on the drive, including the 14-yard touchdown pass.
Purdue responded with a scoring-drive of its own, eating up 4:29 on eight plays and 75 yards. Akeem Hunt broke a 38-yard rush to push the lead to 43-34 with just 3:42 remaining.
WMU turned the ball over on downs with 2:40 left and once again with 22 seconds left before time expired.
The Broncos have a bye week before heading to Moscow, Idaho to battle the Vandals on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. ET. The game can be streamed live on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.
Ball State 30, Colgate 10
Box Score
Postgame Notes
MUNCIE, Ind. – With 311 yards on the ground, an efficient performance from quarterback Ozzie Mann in his starting debut and a stout defensive effort, the Ball State football team rolled to a 30-10 win Saturday over Colgate.
The Cardinals (1-0) won their season opener for the fifth consecutive season. Ball State limited Colgate (0-1) to only 227 yards and nine first downs in front of the home crowd at Scheumann Stadium. The nine first downs were the fewest by a Ball State opponent in nearly 14 years.
“We faced some adversity and we responded well,” Ball State head coach Pete Lembo said. “It was a tight game for a while and nobody panicked. We stuck to the game plan. Overall a good solid day, and a lot of guys played a lot more football today than they have in a while. Hopefully, it was a good learning experience for them.”
Horactio Banks and Jahwan Edwards topped 100 yards rushing in the same game for the second time in their careers with Banks going for 134 and Edwards for 109. Edwards scored the 40th touchdown of his career, extending his own school record.
Mann accounted for the team’s first two touchdowns, finding Kevonn Mabon and Aaron Hepp for first-half scores as the Cardinals built a 20-7 lead at the half. A third potential TD toss was instead ruled Mann’s only interception of the day when receiver Chris Shillings came down with dual possession with a Colgate defensive back in the endzone.
“He was Ozzie,” Lembo said. “He was not a whole lot different than practice and just another day at the office. He identified things well, and he managed the clock well. Some of the shorter passes were on target and gave our receivers the chance to catch the ball and run. He was in control of the offense and we were operating like Ball State football operates.”
Scott Secor kicked three field goals on the day to account for the rest of the Ball State scoring. His third field goal plus Edwards’ touchdown in the third quarter extended the lead to 30-7 before Colgate added a fourth-quarter field goal.
Mabon caught a career-high 11 passes for a career-best 110 yards, making his return to the field after being sidelined by injury three games into the 2013 season.
James Travellin scored the only Colgate touchdown of the day on a 4-yard run in the second quarter, while quarterback Jake Melville threw for 137 yards for the Raiders.
Ball State will hit the road for the first time next week, traveling to face Iowa of the Big Ten. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT (3:30 ET) with the game to be televised by ESPN2.
Boston College 30, UMass 7
Box Score
Postgame Notes
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Massachusetts football team was unable to keep up with Boston College, dropping it's season opener 30-7 before a record home crowd of more than 30,000 at Gillette Stadium Saturday.
BC's Tyler Murphy ran for 118 yards and a touchdown, while also completing 17-of-24 for 173 yards and a TD and an interception.
For UMass, transfer quarterback Blake Frohnapfel was 9-of-22 for 147 yards, including a 77-yard scoring toss to junior Tajae Sharpe.
The 30,479 marked a school record for a UMass home game and the second-largest crowd for a Minutemen game at Gillette Stadium, just shy of the 32,848 against New Hampshire in 2010 (with the Wildcats serving as the home team).
UMass finished with 202 yards of total offense and just 55 on the ground. BC collected 348 of its 511 on the ground.
BC drove deep into UMass territory three times in the first half, but were held to a pair of second quarter field goals - a 44-yarder from Alex Howell and a 28-yard make from Joey Launceford - and took a 6-0 lead into the locker room.
The Eagles took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and drove 75 yards in just over six minutes to create some distance on the board. Myles Willis' 1-yard run put the visitors ahead 13-0.
Murphy's 1-yard scoring run five minutes later capped a 10-play, 52-yard drive that made it 20-0.
UMass' best scoring bid in the first half came late when Blake Lewis missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.
The 77-yard scoring pass was tied for the ninth-longest in school history. UMass will play host to Colorado (0-1) next Saturday at 3 p.m.
Marshall 42, Miami 27
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio—A 17-0 third quarter rallied the Miami University football team within eight of the Marshall Thundering Herd amidst an inspired effort by the RedHawks that opened the Chuck Martin era on Saturday afternoon at Yager Stadium. Despite a valiant effort, Miami (0-1) came up short in its opener, 42-27.
Senior quarterback Andrew Hendrix hit senior tight end Alex Welch on a 2-yard pass for the RedHawks’ first touchdown of 2014 at the 11:53 mark of the third quarter. Sophomore kick returner Fred McRae returned a Marshall punt 54 yards to put the RedHawks on the Thundering Herd’s 7-yard line to set up Miami’s second score of the third quarter as junior kicker Kaleb Patterson drilled a 24-yard field goal at the 10:06 mark.
Late in the quarter, Hendrix found sophomore wideout Rokeem Williams with a 41-yard pass to help stage his second touchdown pass of the quarter. Three plays later, Hendrix hit senior wide receiver Dawan Scott on a 3-yard pass with 10 seconds to go to move the RedHawks within eight points entering the final 15 minutes, 28-20.
The Thundering Herd (1-0) extended its lead to 35-20 midway through the fourth quarter on a 27-yard run with 8:37 to go. But Miami refused to back down and fired back as Williams hauled in a 40-yard pass from Hendrix with a beautiful catch in the endzone at the 6:25 mark. The Patterson PAT again put the RedHawks within eight, 35-27.
Marshall was able to tack on one more touchdown in the final minutes, scoring on a 2-yard run to push its lead to 42-27.
Marshall took a 21-0 lead in the opening half with touchdown passes at the 7:20 mark and 2:53 mark of the first quarter and with 14:11 to go in the second quarter. Miami put its first points on the board when Patterson connected on a 22-yard field goal at 8:03 in the second quarter. The Thundering Herd tacked on one more touchdown on a 2-yard run at the 3:10 mark of the second quarter to carry a 28-3 lead into the half.
Hendrix finished with 318 passing yards, completing 24-of-49 passes and throwing three touchdowns with one interception. Senior wide receiver David Frazier led all players with 109 receiving yards on six catches. Williams recorded 99 receiving yards and a touchdown. Defensively, junior linebacker Kent Kern led all players with 13 tackles, including seven solo stops and added a career-high 2.0 sacks for a total loss of 12 yards.
As a team, Miami amassed 418 yards of total offense to Marshall’s 432.
Buffalo 38, Duquesne 28
Box Score
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo football team opened the 2014 season with a 38-28 win over Duquesne at UB Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls got key contributions from young players on both sides of the ball getting the chance to step up and prove themselves in the absence of the All-MAC performers they replaced.
One such performance was by Ron Willoughby. The junior wide receiver, who had three career catches entering the 2014 campaign, had a career-best 10 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns against the Dukes. He was the favorite target of quarterback Joe Licata who went 25-of-36 for 298 yard and three touchdowns in the game.
Junior running back Anthone Taylor posted his third career 100-yard game with 115 yards on a career-high 30 carries and a pair of touchdowns. He paced a running attack that rushed for 174 yards as a team. Sophomore Jordan Johnson finally saw the first game action of his career and rushed for 38 yards on nine carries. He used his big frame to bulldoze the Duquesne defense and convert key third-down-and-short conversions late in the game. Devin Campbell added 37 yards on six carries.
Licata did a good job of distributing the football as he connected with eight different receivers. Marcus McGill had four catches for 40 yards. Boise Ross and Campbell each had three catches. Matt Weiser had two catches for 52 yards. The junior tight end opened the scoring with a 41-yard touchdown reception – the longest of his career.
Weiser's touchdown came on the Bulls' opening drive. The next time the Bulls got the ball, they were driving again before the game was halted for 44 minutes due to lightning. Once play resumed, it took them only three plays to find end zone as Taylor rumbled in from 11-yards out.
Another Taylor touchdown run, this time from five yards out, gave the Bulls a 21-0 lead with 5:24 left in half. The Bulls seemed in cruise control until a muffed punt return gave the Dukes the ball at the UB 29-yard late in the second quarter. Duquesne capitalized and scored to cut the lead to 21-7 at the half.
The Dukes rode the momentum into the second half as they marched 75 yards on their first possession to cut the UB advantage to 21-14. The Dukes struck again on their next possession and an 88-yard touchdown pass tied the game at 21 midway through the third quarter.
Patrick Clarke put the Bull back ahead, 24-21, with a 24-yard field goal with 1:46 left in the third quarter. However, Duquesne responded and marched 75 yards on six plays to take a 28-24 lead with 14:55 left in the game.
After the teams traded punts, The Bulls regained the lead for good with an impressive nine-play, 97-yard drive that was capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass from Licata to Willoughby with 9:50 left. The Bulls sealed the victory with a 16-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a Licata to Willoughby 11-yard connection to make the final score, 38-28.
The UB defense was led by veteran safety Adam Redden who had seven tackles, including a pair of sacks, one of which came late in the game. Kristjan Sokoli and Lee Skinner each added seven tackles as well. The UB defense was stout up front, limiting the Dukes to just 51 yards rushing in the game. Brandon Crawford, making his first-career start, had a sack, forced a fumble that was recovered by UB's Kendall Roberson, and knocked down three Duquesne pass attempts.
"I told the team, nobody owes us anything, we have to go out there and earn it," head coach Jeff Quinn said. "Certainly not what I expected in terms of overall performance, but there were moments in the game when I saw our kids really dig deep and come up big, especially late in the game."
The win gives the Bulls their first 1-0 start to the season since 2010. They will next play at Army next Saturday.
Ohio 17, Kent State 14
Box Score
Postgame Notes
KENT, Ohio - With time expiring, Josiah Yazdani hit a 44-yard field goal to give the Ohio University Football team a 17-14 victory against Mid-American Conference foe, Kent State to open the 2014 season.
The Bobcats struck first at 10:01 in the first quarter when Derrius Vick connected with Landon Smith for a 23-yard touchdown.
A pivotal point in the game for the `Cats came in the second quarter. With the game tied at 7-7, the Bobcats were forced to punt, however, Kent State was called for having two men on the field with the same number, giving the ball back to the Bobcats.
Vick then capped the drive by matching up with Smith for their second touchdown of the night and putting Ohio up 14-7.
Defensively, Ohio limited Kent State to 31 yards rushing.
"This is a great group of guys, it's been that way through winter conditioning and spring ball. I knew that this was a special group in terms of great effort and never giving up. They showed today that they are extremely resilient, I couldn't be more proud of them," said Bobcats head coach Frank Solich.
The Bobcats return to action Sept. 6 when they travel to Lexington Ky., to face the University of Kentucky. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium and can be seen on ESPNU.
Eastern Michigan 31, Morgan State 28
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. — Eastern Michigan University's football team kicked off its 123rd season on the brand new "EMU Gray" turf at Rynearson Stadium with a neck-and-neck, 31-28, victory over Morgan State University Saturday, Aug. 30. The Eagles had to wait through a 57-minute rain delay along with a last-second field goal attempt by the Bears to give Head Coach Chris Creighton his first win as an FBS Head Coach.
EMU was led on the ground by Bronson Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Catholic Central) and Darius Jackson (Sparta, Ill.-Sparta), who combined for 187 yards rushing. Hill surpassed the century mark for the 10th time in his career, going 114 yards on 19 carries. Jackson notched a career high in rushing with 73 yards on 17 carries and also set a career mark in receiving yards, pulling in five catches for 22 yards. Reginald Bell, Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif.-Susan Miller Dorsey) led the offense, making a start in the first game of his collegiate career and throwing 11-for-16 with a total of 59 yards.
The Eagle defense saw a career night from Pat O'Connor (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Rita), who totaled 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss with a remarkable 20 yards in total loss. Also picking up 10 tackles were Hunter Matt (Wyandotte, Mich.-Roosevelt) and Great Ibe (Hanover, Md.-Meade (Concordia)). Matt led the team in solo attacks, with six, while Ibe and O'Connor notched five apiece.
Morgan State ran much of its offense through the air, as Robert Council went 18-for-28, throwing 269 yards for three touchdowns, including a 75-yard score. Lamont Brown III paced the offense, rushing for 124 yards on 18 carries. The Bears had some fierce defenders, as four members of the MSU line had at least 10 tackles. Cody Acker led the way with 19, while Delonta Hall added 16, Peterson Janvier had 12, and Paul Eatman, Jr. recorded 11 stops.
The Green and White was able to keep the Bears at bay for the first part of the opening drive, as Matt, Lavonte Robinson (Cleveland, Ohio-Saint Edward), and DaQuan Pace (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Technical) did their part in stopping Morgan State players off the pass. Council was able to break through the defense with a handful of rushes, culminating in a 23-yard rush along the left sideline before being denied entry into the end zone by Pace on the three-yard line. However, the Eagles were unable to stop the next play, as Council found his favorite target of the drive in Brown III for the first touchdown of the contest. An extra point from Chris Moller left the Green and White with a 7-0 deficit, but the Eagles had ample time to battle back with 8:08 remaining in the first quarter.
After gaining possession of the pigskin for the first time in the 2014 campaign, the Eagles quickly gained a first down thanks to a stealthy sprint up the middle by Bell in his first appearance donning the Green and White. Bell kept his composure to help the Green and White move the chains another time by finding Tyreese Russell (Melrose Park, Ill.-Walther Lutheran) in the open pocket, tossing an easy 14-yard lob to find the senior on the MSU 36-yard line. Another throw along the left side found Jackson inside the red zone, and the Eagles found themselves at first and goal. A handoff to Jackson paved the way for the team's first touchdown inside "The Factory," and Dylan Mulder (Saline, Mich.-Saline) was able to convert the extra point to knot the score, 7-7, with 3:06 remaining.
Riding the momentum from an outstanding offensive performance, the Eagle defense stepped up its game in the Bears' next possession. Ibe made two consecutive stops to give MSU a third down before helping O'Connor slam Council back 10 yards, giving the Bears a highly lengthy fourth-and-14.
The entirety of Rynearson Stadium was sent into a mad frenzy when Nathan Adams (Crozier, Va.-Goochland) blocked the punt, recovered the ball, and scrambled into the end zone for another EMU touchdown. The blocked punt touchdown was the first since Travis Lewis accomplished the feat at Kent State University, Nov. 13, 2004. It was also just the third blocked punt return touchdown by an EMU squad since 1967. Mulder's leg remained perfect on the extra point, giving the Eagles a quick command of the board with a 14-7 advantage with 54 seconds remaining.
The Bears started off the second quarter with a bang as Council found Eme Akonawe open for a dash down the middle to the EMU 25-yard line before he was taken down by Willie Creear (Seattle, Wash.-Lindbergh (ButteJC)). MSU made a statement and fought back from its previous possession's kerfuffle, making its way down the field to the 10-yard line. O'Connor made another tremendous sack on Council for a loss of 12 yards off an attempted third-down conversion. Gary White, Jr. (Raleigh, N.C.-Southeast Raleigh (Grossmont)) then blocked the field goal attempt, the first time since a matchup against Kent State on Nov. 19, 2011, that an Eagle had done so.
Bell turned to Ryan Brumfield (Chester Springs, Pa.-Owen J. Robert) on the Eagles' next drive, as the senior running back helped the ball move 30 yards down the field. Bell found an open Brumfield for the rush into the end zone, this time making a 16-yard jaunt to elevate the Green and White's lead to 21-7 with 6:49 to play.
Unfortunately, the Bears picked up their offensive pace drastically on the next drive, thanks in large part to Brown III. The redshirt-sophomore running back moved the ball down the field 65 yards over four plays, breaking free for a 46-yard rush to a touchdown to put the Bears within seven points as the Eagles still led, 21-14, with 4:57 to play in the first half.
The Eagles were unable to muster any points in the ensuing possession, and fell victim to another touchdown from the Bears as they deadlocked the score after going 80 yards in just eight plays and less than 90 seconds. With less than one minute remaining in the half, the score stood at 21-21.The Eagles made their way into MSU territory, but were unable to put any more points on the board before they made their way into the locker room at the close of the half.
The Eagles were able to get the gears moving to start the second half with a ground attack by Hill and Jackson. However, the Green and White was unable to gain any momentum and was forced to concede a punt. Owen Dubiel (East Jackson, Mich.-East Jackson) was able to make the most of the situation, dropping the ball on the MSU five-yard line to give the Bears a challenging distance of 95 yards to travel. Though the Eagles had ample room to stop the Bears, they only allowed Morgan State to travel 15 yards down-field before regaining possession.
Brogan Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Toledo St. John's Jesuit) entered the game to give the Eagles a fresh look at the quarterback position, but the veteran Eagle could not work any magic to give the Eagles the offensive spark that they needed. The Bears jumped at the opportunity to gather some more points of their own, and their effort proved fruitful when Council threw to Thomas Martin for a 75-yard touchdown. With 5:30 to play in the third quarter, the Eagles trailed once more by seven points, down 21-28.
The previous MSU touchdown seemed to fire the Eagles up, especially Hill, who busted through the MSU defense and carried the ball 35 yards in four plays before the Bears called a timeout in an attempt to slow the determined senior. The defense keyed in on Hill when the teams took to the field again, and Roback found a new target in Dustin Creel (Industry, Pa.-Western Beaver), who had two catches for 15 yards to put the Eagles in the red zone. As the Bears turned their attention to Creel after the success of the previous plays, Brumfield took the ball and stomped through the line for a 14-yard rush, marking the second time in his career to score two rushing touchdowns in one contest, to equalize the score, 28-28, with two minutes to play in the quarter.
Facing formidable winds and a 42-yard distance between his foot and the goal posts , Mulder was brought in for a field goal attempt with 13:41 left in the contest . The junior kicker rose to the occasion and sailed the ball through the uprights to give the Eagles the advantage once more, 31-28.
The Bears were faced with a sturdy wall of defense on their next drive, capped off with a stellar tackle off a read on a screen pass from Matt. The Green and White was faced with a lofty task in making its way nearly the entire length of the field after MSU's Lawrence Forbes delivered a punt on the one-yard line. Jackson barreled through the MSU defensive line to carry the ball 17 yards in three attempts.
EMU's momentum was halted due to inclement weather in the area and the contest was delayed for 57 minutes until the teams were allowed back on the field with 9:13 to play.
When the game finally resumed in front of a small but loyal crowd of Eastern fans, the Eagles gave a valiant effort to advance the ball. Despite its best efforts, the team had to give up another punt. The Bears appeared refreshed by the game delay, as Brown ran 32 yards on the first play before Pace forced him out of bounds. But the EMU defense had not given up and returned to the ensuing plays more determined, resulting in a stripped ball by O'Connor to give the ball back to the Eagles with just 42 yards to the goal and 5:21 to play.
Inspired by the change in game direction from the outstanding defensive play, the Eagles began to move the chains quickly with a pair of rushes by Hill to move the ball 25 yards up the field. The Green and White soon found itself within reasonable scoring distance and decided to go in for a field goal attempt, but Mulder's kick veered off to the left and returned the ball to the Bears.
MSU made a handful of scrambles toward the goal line before a fumble by Council dropped the Bears back to second-and-17. They were able to advance to fourth-and-nine at the EMU 38-yard line, giving Chris Moller a 55-yard attempt. A false start on the snap pushed the attempt back five yards, and MSU was unable to tie the contest, giving the Eagles the first win of the 2014 season and Coach Creighton's first win as an FBS Head Coach. After the game, the team personally thanked the fans who remained throughout the entire game before heading into the lockerroom as victors.
The Eagles will take to the road for five weeks, playing their next contest at the University of Florida, Sept. 6, in Gainesville, Fla. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network as well as on the airwaves of WEMU 89.1 FM.
Toledo 54, New Hampshire 20
Box Score
Postgame Notes
Toledo, OH – Junior Phillip Ely made a successful debut as Toledo’s new quarterback and sophomore Kareem Hunt rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns as the Rockets rallied to defeat a tough New Hampshire squad, 54-20, in the season opener for both schools in the Glass Bowl Saturday night.
