Mid-American Conference

MAC Football Final Scores:  Saturday, September 27

Virginia Tech 35, Western Michigan 17  Final
Akron 21, Pitt 10  Final
Ohio 34, Eastern Illinois 19  Final
Virginia 45, Kent State 13  Final
Bowling Green 47, UMass 42  Final
Buffalo 35, Miami 27  Final
Toledo 42, Central Michigan 28  Final

Game stories courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Staffs.

Akron 21, Pitt 10
Box Score
Postgame Notes

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- For the first time since 2006, the Akron Zips football team defeated a team from the ACC, defeating Pittsburgh 21-10 on Saturday at Heinz Field.

The Zips defeated N.C. State 20-17 on September 9, 2006, also on the road. Akron's last win over a BCS/Power 5 school came on Sept. 6, 2008 when Akron downed Syracuse, 42-28.

Led by a career day from RB Conor Hundley, Akron (2-2) posted 169 yards on the ground and 382 yards overall. Hundley finished with a career-high 148 yards on 19 carries (7.8 yards/carry).

Junior NT Cody Grice added two goal-line touchdowns and junior QB Kyle Pohl added a 52-yard touchdown pass. Pohl finished the day connecting on 15-of-29 for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The Akron defense held Panthers' RB James Conner, the nation's leading rusher (174.8 yards/game), to just 92 yards on 25 carries and zero touchdowns. Overall, Pittsburgh (2-2) was held to 349 yards offense and committed two turnovers.

After both teams had drives stall on their first two possessions, the Zips forced the first turnover of the game. With the Zips punting, a Pitt blocker ran into his own returner and Akron recovered the ball after it bounced off a Panthers' player. However, UA would not convert the fumble into points as Pohl's third-down pass intended for L.T. Smith would be intercepted in the endzone.

The Panthers would get on the board first, driving 80 yards on 10 plays for an 8-yard touchdown pass by Chad Voytik with 4:28 to go in the opening half. Pitt converted two third downs on the drive after going 1-for-6 prior to that drive.

The Zips responded, needing just three plays to tie the game at 7-all with 3:40 on the clock. Pohl hit Mykel Traylor-Bennett on a 52-yard touchdown pass to cap a three-play, 75-yard drive that took just 48 seconds.

After the Akron defense forced a Pitt three-and-out, the Zips drove down to the Panthers' 30-yard line with 24 seconds remaining. UA would not be able to stop the clock and would go into the locker room tied with Pitt, 7-7.

The Zips took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 75 yards on nine plays to take 14-7 lead. Hundley opened the drive with a 42-yard run and Cody Grice capped off the drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone with 12:13 on the third-quarter clock.

It looked like Pitt had tied the game on a six-yard pass, but offensive holding would negate the score, pushing the Panthers back to the UA 16. Kris Givens would break up the third-down pass, forcing the Panthers to kick a 34-yard field goal. The Zips would lead 14-10 with 6:15 left in the third quarter.

Akron opened the fourth quarter closing out a 10-play, 70-yard drive to take a 21-10 lead with 12:20 left in the game. Grice picked up his second touchdown of the day, this time punching it in from two yards. Grice, Akron's starting nose tackle, played and was recruited as a fullback.

With Pitt driving mid-way through the fourth quarter, DeAndre Scott would pick off Voytik at the UA 8 to give the ball back to the Zips with 9:30 remaining.

Scott thought he had the game-winner, picking off Voytik for a pick-six, but the Zips were called for offsides on the play. The Panthers would cross mid field, only to see the drive stall at the Zips' 32, with UA taking over on downs with 1:34 to go.

The Zips return home on Saturday, Oct. 4, when they play host to Eastern Michigan at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field. The homecoming contest is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN3.


Virginia Tech 35, Western Michigan 17
Box Score
Postgame Notes

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Western Michigan wrapped up non-conference play falling 35-17 at Virginia Tech in front of 59,625 fans at Lane Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Freshman running back Jarvion Franklin led the way with 76 yards on 15 carries and two rushing touchdowns. Daniel Braverman had a game-high 100 yards receiving on eight receptions and Zach Terrell finished 18-for-32 for 212 yards. Senior safety Justin Currie led all tacklers with 13, while Trevor Ishmael had 11 and Grant DePalma had 10. Ishmael led the Broncos with 1.5 tackles for loss.

The Bronco defense forced two turnovers, both interceptions, on the day but WMU’s offense was outgained 486-231.

Western Michigan surrendered 11 points in the first four minutes of the game after a fumble was returned for a touchdown on the opening kickoff, a bad snap on a punt results in a safety and the WMU defense forced a field goal in the red zone.

WMU responded after Ronald Zamort stepped in front of a Michael Brewer pass and returned it 39 yards to the Hokie 3-yard line. From there Franklin did the rest and on his third try ran it in for his 10th rushing touchdown of the season.

The Broncos turned another turnover into more points near the end of the second quarter. Donald Celiscar snatched his first interception of the season in the endzone and Terrell drove the Broncos down the field to set up a 36-yard field goal by Andrew Haldeman to cut the lead to 18-10.

The Hokies pushed the lead to 32-10 on a touchdown pass from Brewer to Isaiah Ford from seven yards out to cap off an 11-play 80-yard drive.

Western Michigan cut the lead to 32-17 in the fourth quarter after Franklin took it in from 1-yard out on an 8-play, 84-yard drive. Terrell found Braverman on third and five for 26 yards to keep the drive rolling and then the Hokies took two personal foul calls to keep the drive moving.

Joe Slye added his second field of the game with 3:50 remaining in the quarter to set the final score at 35-17.

The Broncos open up Mid-American Conference play next Saturday, hosting MAC West rivals Toldeo at 7 p.m.


Ohio 34, Eastern Illinois 19
Box Score
Postgame Notes

ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio freshman running back A.J. Ouellette rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries to lead the Ohio University football team (3-2) to a 34-19 victory over Eastern Illinois University (1-4) on Saturday (Sept. 27) in front of 23,027 fans at Peden Stadium.

The Bobcats piled up 24 points and 264 yards – including 139 on the ground -- in the first half en route to victory.

The Bobcats responded after Eastern Illinois’ opening-drive field goal with a 78-yard touchdown drive to take a 7-3 lead. Sophomore Jordan Reid (Stone Mountain, Ga.) caught a career-high 34-yard pass to get Ohio into the red zone. Ouellette capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run.

After the Ohio defense forced a punt, the Bobcats went down the field again and redshirt sophomore quarterback JD Sprague (Cincinnati, Ohio) put Ohio up 14-3 with a six-yard touchdown run.

In the second quarter, Ouellette broke through for a career-high 65-yard touchdown run. The run was the longest by any Bobcat this season and put Ohio up 21-3.

Redshirt freshman safety Grant Cunningham (Brecksville, Ohio) blocked a punt late in the first half. It was Ohio’s first blocked-punt since 2010. The block set up a field goal from redshirt junior kicker Josiah Yazdani (Albany, Ohio) at the end of the half to give the Bobcats a 24-10 advantage going into the locker rooms.

Yazdani connected on a season-high 46-yard field goal to get things rolling for Ohio in the second half and give the Bobcats a 27-10 lead.

Sprague scored his second rushing touchdown of the day and third of the season with an eight-yard scramble, putting Ohio up 34-10.

Eastern Illinois closed the gap to 34-16 with a touchdown in the fourth quarter on a six-yard pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Anthony Taylor from junior quarterback Jalen Whitlow.

Freshman kicker Nick Bruno connected on 24-yard field goal for the Panthers with just under two minutes to play, but that’s as close as Eastern Illinois got.

Sprague went 15-of-28 for 143 yards and rushed for 72 more on 12 carries.

Senior wide receiver Landon Smith Girard, Ohio) led the ‘Cats with five receptions for 53 yards while redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jordan Reid (Stone Mountain, Ga.) hauled in four passes for 52 yards. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Blair Brown (Moreno Valley, Calif.) led the way defensively with a team-high nine total tackles – including a game-high eight solo stops.

Ohio resumes Mid-American Conference play next Saturday (Oct. 4), taking on Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich. at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be seen on ESPN 3.


Virginia 45, Kent State 13
Box Score

A flurry of turnovers spoiled Kent State's hopes of capturing its first win of the 2014 season with an upset at the University of Virginia's Scott Stadium.  The Golden Flashes gave the Cavaliers a battle for the better part of three quarters before Virginia finally pulled away for a 45-13 win by taking advantage of five Kent State giveaways.

"We talk all of the time about how the ball is the program," said Kent State head coach Paul Haynes. "There is no way you can turn the ball over five times and win against a quality opponent … You can't beat two teams on Saturday. You can only beat one. And right now we are beating ourselves."

If not for a questionable call granting Virginia an interception just before halftime, Kent State may have taken the momentum and a 17-14 lead into the break. Instead, the Flashes trailed 14-10 at halftime after officials chose not to rule simultaneous possession by Kent State wide receiver Chris Humphrey and Virginia cornerback Demetrious Nicholson on what appeared to be a 9-yard touchdown pass by Colin Reardon with 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

"That play right before the half was big," said Haynes. "That's taking points off of the board. The explanation (from the officials) wasn't very good. But those things happen. We still have to come out … and play better in the second half. "

Virginia carried the momentum of the Nicholson pick into the second half, blowing open a close game behind a 17-0 third quarter. All three of Reardon's interceptions came in the first half. He also lost two fumbles deep in Kent State territory in the second half. Virginia turned both fumbles into touchdowns.

Other than the three interceptions and Kent State's offense moved up and down the field with ease before halftime, out-gaining Virginia 204-154 at intermission. The Flashes led 7-0 after a 45-yard touchdown pass from Reardon to James Brooks with 8:50 to play in the first quarter and then again at 10-7 on a 31-yard field goal by Anthony Melchiori with 1:48 to play in the first quarter.

Virginia tied the game in the first quarter when Maurice Canady returned a Reardon interception 69 yards for a touchdown. The Cavaliers then grabbed their first lead with 14:14 to play in the second quarter on a 25-yard Matt Johns touchdown pass to running back Khalek Shepherd, who broke wide open a wheel route.

While the early-second-quarter score was the beginning of a string of 38 unanswered points by Virginia, Kent State still trailed by just one possession until the 7:06 mark of the third quarter when a 4-yard touchdown run by Kevin Parks extended the Cavaliers lead to 24-10.

A 1-yard touchdown plunge by Johns late in the third quarter extended the lead to 38-10.

Kent State safety Nate Holley said Virginia's big second half was as much about "us losing our fundamentals and techniques" as the Cavaliers upping their performance.

Virginia (3-2) added two more touchdowns in the fourth with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Johns to Parks and a 2-yard Mizzell touchdown run. After being outgained in the first half, Vthe Cavaliers won the yardage battle 366-114 in the final 30 minutes.

"They didn't do anything differently, really," said Holley, who led all defensive players with 15 tackles. "It was more us beating ourselves."

Anthony Melchiori closed the scoring with a 43-yard field goal for Kent State.

Kent State's defense forced three turnovers of its own, including interceptions by defensive lineman Jontey Byrd and cornerback Malcom Pannell, both in the first half. In his first career start, freshman linebacker Marques Moore recovered a second-half fumble forced by safety Jordan Italiano.

Reardon finished with 239 yards on 15-of-32 passing while Nick Holley led Kent State's rushing attack with 36 yards on 14 attempts. Brooks finished with a team-high 76 yards on three catches.

Kent State (0-4) returns to Mid-American Conference play next week with a Saturday game at Northern Illinois.


Bowling Green 47, UMass 42
Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. - Bowling Green racked up 668 total yards of offense over 108 plays en route to a 47-42 victory over University of Massachusetts at McGuirk Alumni Stadium in both squads' Mid-American Conference opener. The game was played in front of a sold-out crowed of 17,000 fans.

Sophomore linebacker James Sanford forced a fumble with 1:46 remaining in the contest that was recovered by true freshman defensive back Clinton Stephens which all but sealed the win for the Falcons. The Bowling Green offense ran out the clock from there to secure the triumph.

With the win, Bowling Green improves to 3-2 (1-0 MAC), while Massachusetts falls to 0-5 (0-1).

James Knapke completed 38-of-59 passes for 443 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions for BGSU. On his way to a career-high 443 yards, Knapke had three receivers that went over 100 yards receiving, as Roger Lewis caught nine passes for a team-high 148 yards and one touchdown, Ryan Burbrink hauled in 11 receptions for 132 and one touchdown, and Ronnie Moore caught nine passes for 109 yards. Moore had one rushing and receiving touchdown for the Orange and Brown.

Travis Greene, who ran for 110 yards on 20 touches, led the Falcon rushing attack. Fred Coppet also contributed nicely with 78 yards on the ground on 15 carries.

While the 668 yards of total offense for BGSU is the most that UMass has ever allowed, five of the Falcons' six touchdown drives took less than two minutes off the clock.

Bowling Green's defense forced a season-high four turnovers. Three Falcons – linebacker Gabe Martin, defensive back Dernard Turner and Sanford – all had a team-high nine tackles. Along with the forced fumble, Sanford also recovered a fumble and registered two sacks. Defensive back Brain Sutton chipped in with eight tackles, and four other Falcons – defensive back Jude Adjei-Barimah, defensive linemen Bryan Thomas and Jhalil-Nashid Croley, and Martin – all recorded a sack apiece.

The Falcon defense held Massachusetts to just 49 rushing yards for the game.

The Minutemen's Blake Frohnapfel completed 36-of-61 passes for the home team, and Tajae Sharpe caught a game-high 13 passes for 179 yards.

UMass scored a touchdown on its second drive of the game, but the Orange and Brown countered with three straight scores to take a 13-7 lead.

A Moore 27-yard touchdown reception – which was aided by a defensive lineman Taylor Royster fumble recovery after Turner popped the ball out on a UMass run play – was sandwiched in between a pair of Tyler Tate field goals; the first from 21 yards out, while the second was good from 33 yards.  Tate's first field goal was the result of a Thomas forced fumble on a sack that was recovered by Sanford on Massachusetts' previous drive.

The two teams then traded multiple touchdowns to end the first half.

Bowling Green took a 20-14 lead with 9:47 remaining in the first half when Greene rushed for a four-yard score.  Coppet rushes of 16 and 31 yards set up the score.

After a seven-play touchdown drive for UMass, Knapke orchestrated an eight-play, 73-yard drive that was capped by a 35-yard reception by Burbrink after a nice pump fake to put the Falcons back in front at 26-21, which BGSU took into the halftime break.

Two of BGSU's touchdown drives in the first half took under three minutes, while all three lasted under four minutes.

Knapke completed 23-of-35 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions at the break. Burbrink caught nine passes for 118 yards and a score, while Moore also had a touchdown and hauled in six catches for 94 yards in the first half.

Lewis became the third receiver to catch a touchdown in the ballgame after Knapke found the true freshman for a 52-yard score. The seven-play drive covered 96 yards, only took 1:20 off the clock and gave BGSU a 33-21 lead.

However, it was UMass who held the advantage after the third quarter, as the Minutemen scored 14 consecutive points to take a 35-33 lead.

It was then the Orange and Brown who scored two straight touchdowns. Greene finished off a drive that lasted 1:56 with a 25-yard scamper. On the Massachusetts' ensuing drive, true freshman defensive back Nick Johnson created the Falcon defense's third turnover of the contest by intercepting Frohnapfel's pass at the Bowling Green 46-yard line, tip-toeing the sideline on the play.

Eight plays later, BGSU took a 47-35 lead on Moore's second touchdown of the evening – a 22-yard jet sweep.

Sharpe caught a five-yard touchdown pass with 3:22 to play to bring UMass within five points, but Sanford's forced fumble wrapped up the win for the Orange and Brown.

The Falcons will return to Doyt. L Perry Stadium on Oct. 4 at 3:30 p.m. to face MAC-East foe Buffalo. The contest will serve as the school's Homecoming game.


Buffalo 35, Miami 27
Box Score

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Buffalo running back Anthone Taylor rushed for a career-high 222 yards and three touchdowns to help lead the University at Buffalo football team to a 35-27 win over Miami (OH) on Saturday afternoon at UB Stadium. The only thing hotter than the late September weather (79 degrees) was a UB squad that rolled up 575 yards of total offense, the second-highest effort in their FBS era (since 1999).

UB quarterback Joe Licata finished 28-for-38 for 276 yards and two touchdowns. His second touchdown was the 45th of his career, moving him into second place all-time in school history. He also went over 5,000 career passing yards in the game.

Once again, another wide receiver emerged for the Bulls, a common theme this season. This time it was Jacob Martinez. The redshirt-freshman had eight catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Coming into the game, the South Port, FL native had five receptions for 48 yards on the year. With the Bulls trailing, 7-0, early in the contest, Martinez caught a nine-yard touchdown, the first of his career, to tie the game at 7.

The Bulls struck again on their next drive when Licata connected with Matt Weiser on a 31-yard touchdown to give the Bulls a 14-7 lead with 3:21 left in the first quarter. Miami broke a 61-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter to tie the game at 14 apiece. The game remained tied at halftime.

Miami struck first in the second half, scoring a touchdown on their first drive, to take a 21-14 lead. The Bulls answered right back as Taylor scored his first touchdown of the game, just over two minutes later. After a missed extra point, his 13-yard run cut the Miami lead to 21-20.

Taylor's second touchdown of the game, a 3-yard run, gave the Bulls a 26-21 lead in the closing seconds of the third quarter and capped an 11-play, 59-yard drive.

Miami quarterback and Notre Dame transfer Andrew Hendrix threw his third touchdown of the game to give the RedHawks a 27-26 lead with14:13 left in the game. However, the Bulls responded with an eight-play, 67 yard drive, capped by Taylor's third touchdown of the game to give UB the lead for good.

Patrick Clarke capped the scoring with a 37-yard field goal to give the Bulls a 35-27 lead with 6:28 left.

Then it was up to the defense. The Bulls thwarted two potential game-tying scoring drives late in the game to help seal the victory. Coming into to the game, Hendrix led the Mid-American Conference in passing yardage. He completed only 12 of 38 pass attempts in the game. Cortney Lester led the UB secondary with six of the Bulls' 11 pass breakups.

Recently converted wide receiver Boise Ross had another solid game at cornerback as he provided good coverage and knocked away a potential game-tying touchdown pass on fourth down late in the game.

Jake Stockman and Tedroy Lynch each had five tackles and one tackle for loss to lead UB's defense.

Along with Taylor, Devin Campbell also was strong outing at running back for the Bulls. The junior from Youngstown, OH had 61 yards on only nine carries for a 6.8 yards-per-carry average.

"It was a tough battle tonight, but it was a lot of fun to secure that win," head coach Jeff Quinn said. "I was really pleased with our leadership. We came in at halftime and really challenged them. A couple key guys stepped up for us and it really impacted our entire team. I was really pleased with the way these kids kept responding. [Miami] kept challenging us and they kept responding and in the end we were able to close it out for our first Mid-American Conference win."

Taylor's 222-yard effort was the seventh best single-game effort in school history and fifth best in the FBS era.

The Bulls improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in MAC play, with the win. UB will next play at Bowling Green next Saturday at 3:30 pm.


Toledo 42, Central Michigan 28
Box Score
Postgame Notes

TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo sophomore quarterback Logan Woodside threw for 339 yards and the Rocket defense contained Central Michigan’s ground attack as Toledo defeated the Chippewas, 42-28, at the Glass Bowl Saturday night.

The victory puts Toledo (3-2, 2-0 MAC) at the top of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. Central Michigan falls to 2-3, 0-1 in MAC play.

Playing without starting running back Kareem Hunt, the Toledo offense did not miss a beat, grinding out 543 yards of total offense. Woodside completed 23-of-34 passes and threw two touchdowns, both to junior Alonzo Russell. Russell had seven catches for 120 yards, while sophomore Corey Jones had a game-high eight receptions for 106 yards. Sophomore Damion Jones-Moore started in place of Hunt and rushed for 51 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries. Freshman Terry Swanson gained a season-high 97 yards and just 11 attempts.

Toledo’s defense held CMU to just 95 yards rushing on 26 attempts and forced two turnovers. Junior Christian Dukes led UT with nine tackles, a fumble recovery and added a key on-side kick recovery in the second half.

Toledo dominated the first half, outgaining CMU 338-89 in total yards, but four Rocket fumbles (one lost) helped keep the score close. The Rockets opened the scoring on their initial drive with a 32-yard field goal from Jeremiah Detmer after a 15-play march stalled on the CMU 15-yard line. The Chippewas answered with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a three-yard corner fade pass from Rush to Jesse Kroll. Detmer’s second field, a 22-yarder, cut the lead to 7-6.

Toledo regained the lead in the second quarter, thanks to a great catch and run by Corey Jones who took it 41 yards to the CMU 20-yard line. Four plays later, freshman Terry Swanson took it in on third-and-goal from the three-yard line to make 13-7 with 4:50 left in the half.

Following a three-and-out by CMU, the Rockets drove down the field once again. Russell took it the final six yards with 27 seconds left with a splendid one-hand reception on a Woodside pass.

Central cut the lead to 20-14 on its first possession of the second half behind a 10-play, 75-yard drive. Rush finished it off with a four-yard completion to Kroll, almost identical to their first-half hook-up.

Following a Toledo punt, senior safety Jordan Haden picked off Rush, giving UT great field position on CMU’s 35-yard line. Woodside hit Russell in the corner for a 12-yard TD to make it 27-14. It was another nice TD grab for Russell, who got one foot in bounds in the corner of the end zone.

Toledo then pulled off a beautifully executed on-side kick, with Christian Dukes grabbing it on the fly at midfield. Five plays later Jones-Moore made it 34-14 on a three-yard TD run.

CMU would not quit, however, scoring on its next two possessions. Thomas Rawls scored both touchdowns, one from three yards and another from six yards to cut the lead to 34-28 with 7:54 to play.

But Toledo answered the bell, as Woodside drove the Rockets 80 yards in eight plays, taking it the final 12 yards himself. A two-point conversion from Woodside to Jones-Moore made it 42-28 with just 3:00 to play.

A final desperate drive by the Chippewas ended when Dukes recovered a fumble by CMU receiver Anthony Rice at the UT five-yard line with just under a minute to play.

The Rockets will try to make it three straight MAC West victories when they travel to Western Michigan next week to face the Broncos.