Saturday, October 1
*NIU at Ball State, 2 pm ET (ESPN+)
UMass at Eastern Michigan, 2 pm ET (ESPN+)
*Central Michigan at Toledo, 3:30 pm ET (NFL Network)
*Bowling Green at Akron, 3:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
*Miami at Buffalo, 3:30 pm ET (ESPNU/ESPN+)
*Ohio at Kent State, 3:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
New Hampshire at Western Michigan, 6 pm ET (ESPN3)
2 Minute Drill
• Graham Nicholson made a 36-yard field goal with 21 seconds left and Miami rallied for a 17-14 win at Northwestern Saturday night. Keyon Mozee rushed 21 times for a career-high 171 yards to lead the RedHawks’ offensive attack. Aveon Smith threw for one score and ran for another to help Miami move to 2-2 on the year. Northwestern drops to 1-3.
• With Miami’s win over Northwestern, the MAC has now recorded a win over a Big Ten opponent in 16 consecutive seasons (2006-2002).
• Buffalo put together a dominant offensive effort to beat Eastern Michigan, 51-30, in the MAC opener for both teams at Rynearson Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The 50 points were the most points ever scored by a UB team in a MAC road contest. The Bulls offense couldn’t be stopped. They scored the first nine times they had the ball. UB signal-caller Cole Snyder led the way for the Bulls. He went 20-for-29 for 297 yards and two touchdowns and added two more scores on the ground. His favorite target was Quian Williams who had six catches for 99 yards and a touchdown against the school from which he transferred prior to the 2021 season.
• Led by a record-breaking offensive performance, the Ohio football team (2-2) defeated the Fordham Rams (3-1), 59-52. Redshirt junior quarterback Kurtis Rourke made program history, going for 527 yards in the air, breaking a record that was set in 1983. He finished the game 41-for-50 in addition to rushing 62 yards on 17 attempts. The offense also set a program record, gaining 692 total yards.
Week 5 Notes
*NIU (1-3, 0-0 MAC) at Ball State (1-3, 0-1 MAC), 2 pm ET (ESPN+)
NIU Notes | Ball State Notes | Watch Live | Live Stats
For the 15th consecutive year, NIU and Ball State will play for “The Bronze Stalk,” a traveling trophy designed specifically for this rivalry in honor of the farming community locales of both institutions. DeKalb artist Renee Bemis designed the trophy, which depicts a cornstalk. In 14 Bronze Stalk games, NIU is 11-3, and reclaimed the Trophy in 2021 after Ball State had possession of it following their wins in 2019 and 2020. This year’s game marks the 50th in the all-time series with Ball State and the teams will play for the 26th consecutive season. NIU owns a 25-22-2 edge in the all-time series.
NIU tested itself during non-conference play by taking on SEC teams Vanderbilt and No. 8 Kentucky in back-to-back weeks after opening with in-state rival Eastern Illinois at home, followed by a game at Tulsa out of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). NIU played consecutive games versus Southeastern Conference teams for the first time in school history and this year marked just the second time the Huskies faced two SEC teams in a season (1994). Since the MAC went to divisional play in 1997, NIU is 78-48 versus teams from the MAC West, including a 41-17 mark in the division since 2010. The Huskies went 4-1 against divisional foes a year ago with the only loss in the regular season finale to Western Michigan.
Ball State QB John Paddock was named the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week after a career game at Georgia Southern last Saturday. Paddock threw for 338 passing yards and 33 completions in a shootout against Sun Belt contender Georgia Southern. He connected with seven different receivers en route to being the first player in four seasons to complete at least 30 passes in a game at Ball State (Drew Plitt at NC State, Sept. 21, 2019). Out of the 112 players on Ball State’s roster, 82 are classified as underclassmen. The 82 underclassmen total ranks as the 18th-highest in college football. In addition, Ball State’s roster makeup of 73.2 percent underclassmen ranks as the seventh-highest in the FBS.
UMass (1-3, Independent) at Eastern Michigan (2-2, 0-1 MAC), 2 pm ET (ESPN+)
UMass Notes | Eastern Michigan Notes | Watch Live | Live Stats
Eastern Michigan will conclude its 2022 non-conference slate when the Eagles play host to the University of Massachusetts Saturday, Oct.1, inside Rynearson Stadium. This past Saturday, EMU dropped its MAC opener, falling to Buffalo, 50-31. Sophomore Austin Smith made his first collegiate start for the Eagles, finishing 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) through the air for 190 yards, a rushing touchdown, and an interception. Meanwhile, UMass comes into the contest seeking a bounce back after it fell, 28-0, to Temple University on the same day. Wide receiver Tanner Knue continued his outstanding senior season against Buffalo, Sept. 24. The Mason, Ohio native racked up a team-best 106 yards on three receptions, including the team’s longest reception of the season, 67 yards. That catch is the second farthest of Knue’s career; he hauled in a 71-yard grab in a game at Ball State University, Nov. 11, 2020. Knue became the Eagles first 100-yard receiver with his performance vs. Buffalo.
*Central Michigan (1-3, 0-0 MAC) at Toledo (2-2, 0-0 MAC), 3:30 pm ET (NFL Network)
Central Michigan Notes | Toledo Notes | Watch Live on NFL Network | Live Stats
Toledo (2-2, 0-0 MAC) and Central Michigan (1-3, 0-0 MAC) are both looking to get off to a quick start following losses last week. The Rockets fell 17-14 at San Diego State while the Chippewas were defeated by No. 14 Penn State, 33-14.
Toledo’s fourth quarter comeback bid fell just short against San Diego State on Saturday. The Rockets trailed 10-0 entering the fourth quarter, but scored two touchdowns in the closing minutes to take a 14-10 lead with 2:56 to play. San Diego State put together one final drive, however, and scored the game-winning touchdown with 41 seconds remaining. An interception on their final play squashed any possibility of the Rockets completing the comeback. Sophomore quarterback Dequan Finn has thrown for 781 yards and six touchdowns this season, and leads the Rockets with 252 yards and five scores. His favorite target has been sophomore DeMeer Blankumsee, who has hauled in 24 receptions for 235 yards.
Central Michigan RB Lew Nichols needs 53 yards to move into 10th on CMU’s career rushing list. The sophomore running back has 2,785 career yards. Mose Rison (1974-77) sits in 10th with 2,838 yards. Carlos Carriere had 11 receptions last week at Penn State. That is tied for eighth all-time on CMU’s single game list along with seven others. The last Central Michigan player with 11 catches in a game was Kalil Pimpleton against Miami (Fla.) in 2019.
*Bowling Green (1-3, 0-0 MAC) at Akron (1-3, 0-0 MAC), 3:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
Bowling Green Notes | Akron Notes | Watch Live | Live Stats
Bowling Green is looking to win its MAC opener for the first time since 2015 when the Falcons won on the road at Buffalo, 28-22.The Falcons have 10-different players that have recorded at least 1.0 sack this season, which is the most in the nation. They share the spot with Ole Miss.
QB Matt McDonald is one of three FBS quarterbacks with 10+ passing touchdowns and zero interceptions. He joins Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) and Todd Centeio (James Madison), who both have 11 passing touchdowns. McDonald is No. 1 in the MAC and tied for No. 18 in the nation with 10 passing touchdowns. His 24.0 points responsible per game ranks No. 1 in the MAC and No. 6 in the nation. Three of his passing touchdowns have come in overtime. WR Odieu Hiliare has a catch in 26-straight games, which includes his career at Alabama A&M. It is tied for the 16th-best active streak in the nation. The Alabama A&M transfer has 116 career receptions for 1,529 career receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns.
LB Bubba Arslanian enters the Zips’ contest with BGSU needing a pair of tackles to reach the 300-tackle plateau for his decorated career at Akron. Additionally, his 16 tackles against Liberty stand as the eighth-best single-game effort in Division I this season. Akron WR Shocky Jacques-Louis has registered a pair of 100-yard receiving games this season pulling ineight catches for 122 yards against Saint Francis (Sept. 1) and nine receptions for 103 yards at Tennessee (Sept. 17). Akron is rated 22nd in the NCAA in blocked kicks (1) and 39th in interceptions (4). Individually, QB DJ Irons is rated 20th in completions per tilt (23.00), while WR Shocky Jacques- Louis is ranked 42nd in combined kick returns (147) and 44th in kickoff returns (21.0). LB Bubba Arslanian is rated ninth in solo tackles (6.0) and in total tackles (10.8). Additionally, WR Tony Grimes, Jr. is 13th in the country in punt returns (14.5).
*Miami (2-2, 0-0 MAC) at Buffalo (1-3, 1-0 MAC), 3:30 pm ET (ESPNU / ESPN+)
Miami Notes | Buffalo Notes | Watch Live | Live Stats
Miami faces Buffalo on Saturday, Oct. 1 at UB Stadium in Buffalo, N.Y. Opening kick is slated for 3:30 p.m.
The Bulls have won four of the last five meetings with Miami at UB Stadium. Buffalo has scored points in 13th straight quarters. The last quarter the Bulls didn’t score was the third quarter of the opener at Maryland. The Bulls have run 74 more plays than their opponents over the last two games. UB was +40 at Coastal Carolina and +34 at Eastern Michigan. Buffalo leads the MAC and ranks ninth in the nation in time of possession (34:34). Quarterback Cole Snyder has thrown for 260+ yards in three straight games, becoming the first quarterback to throw for 260+ yards in three consecutive games since Tyree Jackson did it in 2018. Jackson was also the last throw for 260+ yards in four straight games, doing it over the final four games of 2017.
Miami is 2-2 on the season and is coming off a 17-14 upset over Northwestern. The RedHawks are led by wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer who has 17 receptions for 219 yards and four touchdowns on the season. It would be hard to believe the RedHawks could upset a member of the Big Ten with just 62 yards passing, but that is exactly what happened. To accomplish this feat, Miami needed an impact from all areas of the team. Offensively, Miami did not turn the ball over. Defensively, Miami forced a pair of fumbles and held Northwestern to 107 yards rushing on 31 carries. Northwestern’s Evan Hull entered last Saturday’s contest averaging 203 total yards per contest (tops in the country). Miami surrendered just 72 yards to Hull in the win.
*Ohio (2-2, 0-0 MAC) at Kent State (1-3, 0-0 MAC), 3:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
Ohio Notes | Kent State Notes | Watch Live | Live Stats
Ohio is slated to open MAC play against Kent State. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Dix Stadium. The game can be seen on ESPN+
The Golden Flashes have won ten-straight home games, the 10th longest streak in the FBS and a new program record breaking the streak set September 1949 through October of 1951 and again October of 2011 through August of 2013. Kent State was one of 12 teams with a home win streak of nine games or more entering the 2022 season, Georgia is also on that list. Kent State topped 60 points for the fourth time in the Sean Lewis/FlashFAST era against Long Island, Kent State had done it twice in the previous 95 seasons before Lewis took over.
Currently, the Bobcats are 2-2. They average 30 points, 102.3 rushing yards and 313.75 passing yards per game. Saturday was a record-setting night for redshirt junior quarterback Kurtis Rourke. Not only did he break his personal career records for pass attempts (50) and pass completions (41) while matching his career high for passing touchdowns (4), the redshirt junior set a new single-game program high with 537 passing yards, breaking a record that was set in 1983. On the ground, Rourke finished the night with 10 carries, 45 yards and one touchdown. Rourke is 102-for-147 for 1,195 yards and nine touchdowns. On the ground, Sieh Bangura has net 167 rushing yards with one touchdown and Nolan McCormick has 122 rushing yards on 28 attempts, while Rourke has two rushing touchdowns on 68 yards.
New Hampshire (3-1, 0-0 CAA) at Western Michigan (1-3, 1-0 MAC), 6 pm ET (ESPN3)
New Hampshire Notes | Western Michigan Notes | Watch Live | Live Stats
Western Michigan hosts New Hampshire on Saturday at 6 p.m.The game can be seen live on ESPN3. This is the first-ever meeting between the Broncos and the Wildcats and just the third time the Broncos have played a team from the Colonial Athletic Association. Western Michigan looks to jumpstart its offense on Saturday against UNH. Last Saturday’s loss at San Jose State was the first time the offense failed to produce a point this season, with the lone touchdown coming off a 90-yard kickoff return by Sean Tyler. The Broncos were held to a season low of 201 total yards. Last Saturday was also the first time this season the Broncos failed to force at runover. Senior linebacker Corvin Moment has retaken the lead in the race for the top tackler on the Broncos defense. Moment had seven tackles against San Jose State to push ahead by one over Zaire Barnes with 32 total on the season. Barnes still leads the team in unassisted tackles with 16. Moment is currently tied for second on the team in tackles for loss at 2.0 with defensive lineman Andre Carter and fellow linebacker Ryan Selig.
