MAC Football Scoreboard: Saturday, October 3
Ohio 14, Akron 12 Final
Toledo 24, Ball State 10 Final
UMass 24, Florida International 14 Final
Central Michigan 29, NIU 19 Final
Bowling Green 28, Buffalo 22 Final
Kent State 20, Miami 14 Final
No. 9 LSU 44, Eastern Michigan 22 Final
Game stories courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Ohio 14, Akron 12
Box Score
Postgame Notes
AKRON, Ohio -- Ohio (4-1, 1-0 MAC) held the Zips (2-3, 0-1 MAC) out of the endzone for four quarters as the Bobcats opened Mid-American Conference play with a 14-12 victory at InfoCision Stadium in Akron on Saturday, October 3. Bobcats starting quarterback Derrius Vick was 18-of-26 passing for 179 yards and one touchdown.
"It was not an easy ballgame. I give (Akron) credit. I think they prepared well for us," said Ohio head coach Frank Solich. "Their up-front people on the defensive side of the ball are pretty special in terms of their defensive group there. Offensively, their quarterback threw the ball well—probably better than he’s thrown it for a while. He put the ball on the money. Sometimes we were able to break it up, sometimes we weren’t. Sometimes they made great catches, sometimes the ball was right there and nobody was contesting them. All in all, we found a way to win a ballgame where I don’t think we played particularly well."
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Toledo 24, Ball State 10
Box Score
Postgame Notes
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Another dominating performance by Toledo's defense helped the Rockets defeat Ball State, 24-10, in a cold and blustery afternoon in Muncie on Saturday.
With the victory, the Rockets move to 4-0 on the season, 1-0 in Mid-American Conference play. Toledo, which entered the game just one spot out of the AP Top 25 poll, could crack into the list in next week's poll for the first time since 2012.
One week after stifling Arkansas State 37-7, Toledo held the Cardinals to just 262 yards of total offense and one touchdown on a long pass play, its first TD allowed from scrimmage since the fourth quarter of the Iowa State game. The Rockets led 24-3 at halftime and held Ball State to just 26 yards rushing on 30 carries. Rocket opponents have rushed for 12 yards on 54 attempts in the last two games.
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UMass 24, Florida International 14
Box Score
AMHERST, Mass. - UMass outpaced Florida International, 24-14, at McGuirk Stadium in Amherst, Massachusetts, Saturday afternoon as the Maroon and White defense limited FIU to 188 yards of total offense and Tajae Sharpe secured a single-game program record 15 receptions covering 159 yards receiving with one touchdown.
Blake Frohnapfel finished 32-for-42 with 363 yards passing and three touchdowns as he completed 76.2 percent of his passes against the FIU defense without tossing an interception. In addition to Sharpe, Marken Michel eclipsed 100 yards receiving with a career-high 113 over seven receptions (16.1 per catch), including two for touchdowns.
Joe Colton and John Robinson-Woodgett led the team's defensive effort, which kept FIU to just 3.0 yards per play. Robinson-Woodgett had a team-high and personal-best nine tackles, including a nine-yard sack while Colton added eight stops, including a pair of TFLs for six yards lost.
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Central Michigan 29, NIU 19
Box Score
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. -- Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush threw two touchdown passes and Brian Eavey kicked three field goals Saturday to help Central Michigan overtake Northern Illinois for a 29-19 win in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.
Trailing 10-3 at the half, Central Michigan (2-3) tied it up early in the third quarter with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Rush to Jesse Kroll, who later hauled in a 23-yard TD strike as well. Jahray Hayes punched in a touchdown from the 4 to extend the lead and Eavey padded it in the fourth quarter with his third field goal of the game, a 41-yarder.
Rush, who had been averaging 317 yards per game, completed 16 of 31 passes for 182 yards and an interception.
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Bowling Green 28, Buffalo 22
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Bowling Green defeated the State University of New York at Buffalo, 28-22, Saturday (Oct. 3) afternoon inside of UB Stadium. The contest served as the Mid-American Conference opener for both schools. With the victory, the Falcons move to 3-2 (1-0 MAC) on the season, while Buffalo drops to 2-3 (0-1 MAC).
On the first play of the fourth quarter, junior Ronnie Moore took a reverse for a touchdown on third-and-five from the Buffalo seven, putting the Falcons up, 28-9. The Bulls would go on to score the final 13 points of the game, scoring a touchdown with 5:13 left in regulation to pull within six.
But the Orange and Brown were able to run out the clock from there, ending the game in victory formation inside UB territory. Facing a third-and-one at the Bowling Green 34, redshirt-sophomore Donovan Wilson picked up two yards. Two plays later, Redshirt-senior Travis Greene rushed for 29 yards on second-and-10, before picking up the final first down of the ballgame after runs of seven and four yards.
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Kent State 20, Miami 14
Box Score
KENT, Ohio - Kent State's Juantez McRae's leaping interception in traffic ended Miami's hope for a fourth-quarter comeback and secured a 20-14 homecoming victory for Kent State in Saturday's Mid-American Conference opener at Dix Stadium.
