Saturday, Sept. 16 - 2 p.m. ET
Rynearson Stadium, Ypsilanti, MI
ESPN+
The Eagles will try to get their offense back in gear this week when they host UMass Saturday.
Eastern Michigan was held to just two field goals and 152 yards of total offense at Minnesota last week. The Gophers also had a 28-9 advantage in first downs.
UMass, meanwhile, gave up several big plays while falling to Miami (OH) 41-28.
The Eagles and Minutemen have met four times, with each side winning two. Eastern Michigan prevailed last year, posting a 20-13 victory in Ypsilanti.
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UMASS
-- The Minutemen opened 2023 with a 41-30 win over New Mexico State. A 59-14 loss at Auburn followed, during which UMass quarterback Taisun Phommachanh was injured. He did not play last week against Miami but could return against EMU.
Phommachanh, a 6-4, 215-pound junior, has completed 54.5 percent of his passes this season, good for 247 yards with one interception. He can also run and contributed 96 yards (5.6 ypc) with one TD in the opener.
If Phommachanh is not available, the Minutemen can use Carlos Davis. The senior was effective throwing the ball -- especially in the second half -- against Miami. He completed 68.8 percent of his throws with three TDs versus the RedHawks.
-- UMass totaled 62 yards rushing last week.
-- The Minutemen are scoring an average of 27.7 ppg while surrendering 43.3 ppg.
-- RB Kay'Ron Lynch Adams rushed for 101 yards against Auburn.
-- UMass had two drives of 89 yards against Miami. One resulted in a touchdown. The other ended when MU stopped the host twice inside the one-yard line.
EASTERN MICHIGAN
-- The Eagles stayed within one score of Minnesota through intermission, trailing the Golden Gophers 10-6. Jesus Gomez booted field goals from 20 and 37 yards for EMU.
-- Eastern’s secondary has been outstanding in its two games played in the 2023 season.The Eagles are allowing the fewest passing yards per-game (155.5) in the MAC so far, and allow receptions on just 54.2 percent of its foe’s passes, the third best output in the conference.
-- Joe Sparacio posted 14 tackles at Minnesota, Sept. 9, including eight solo stops to his credit, which ties for the most he has recorded in his career. Overall, his 24 total tackles in 2023 ranks second in the conference while his 12 solo tackles stands tied for fourth.
-- Eastern’s opponents throughout the 2023 season have been ambitious on fourthdown, testing the EMU defense six times so far in the 2023 campaign. T The six times ranks second most in the MAC, and Eastern Michigan sits second in the league in opponent fourth down percentage (16.7%) asit has allowed just one conversion on the final down this season.
-- EMU has driven inside the 20 yard line six times this season, tied for the third highest in the conference, and has scored in five of such trips.
-- QB Austin Smith has completed 58.3 percent of his passes, totaling 246 yards with one TD and two interceptions.
-- RB Samson Evans is averaging 4.6 ypc.
-- Tanner Knue tops EMU receivers with 12 catches for 94 yards and the team's only receiving score.
-- EMU has one receiving and one rushing touchdown -- both coming in the Eagles opener.
Saturday, Sept. 16 - 2 p.m. ET
Scheumann Stadium - Muncie, IN
ESPN+
After two weeks of battling SEC competition, including the nation's No. 1 team, Ball State looks for its first win of 2023 when it hosts Indiana State Saturday. Like BSU, the Sycamores are also winless through two games.
The Cardinals have won six of the past seven meetings against Indiana State, but haven’t played the Sycamores since a 27-20 home defeat to ISU in 2014. In a rivalry series conducted 60 times in the 19th century, the Cardinals and Sycamores have played just three times since 2000 -- 2002, 2003 and 2014 -- all at Scheumann Stadium.
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INDIANA STATE
-- The Sycamores are a Division I FCS-level program competing in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
-- A preseason poll by league coaches, media and sports information directors picked ISU for 10th in the 12-team conference.
-- Indiana State has been outscored 68-7 through two games. The Sycamores lost to Eastern Illinois 27-0 to open 2023 and fell at Indiana 41-7 last week.
-- The Sycamores continue to remain without two key players from the 2022 season as quarterback Cade Chambers and safety Rylan Cole continue to work their way back from injury. Chambers, the reigning MVFC Freshman of the Year, is expected to retake the starting quarterback role after he is cleared for competition, while Cole, a HERO Sports Sophomore All-American, will look to get back to his ball-hawking ways in the secondary once he is given the full go.
-- Indiana State enters the weekend looking for their first athlete to break into the 100-yard column in the 2023 season as the
Sycamores rushing and receiving units look to get going against the Ball State defense. Justin Dinka is back to full strength after
drawing the start against Indiana this past week, while Dakota Caton and Harry Van Dyne look to get the passing game going as
ISU’s primary targets through the air.
-- Junior Gavin Screws has thrown a total of 26 passes to date, completing 50 percent for a total of 116 yards with two interceptions.
-- Maddix Blackwell has continued to make a name for himself in the 2023 season as the redshirt sophomore had made the second-year leap to lead the Sycamore defense this season. The Bloomington, Ind. native sits among the FCS leaders in both tackles (20), tackles per game (10.0), and solo tackles per game (5.5), while also sitting among the leaders in interceptions (1) and defensive touchdowns (1).
BALL STATE
-- The Cardinals showed well against Kentucky and Georgia, but were undone by secondquarter turnovers in each game. Kentucky and Georgia both scored on special team touchdowns, too. In all, Ball State allowed 45 points over two games directly tied to secondquarter turnovers and special teams touchdowns. Otherwise, Ball State played within a combined 38-17 score in the first, third and fourth quarters.
-- The Cardinals defense was stout while allowing fewer than half of Kentucky and Georgia’s total points and minimizing big plays. Kentucky reached the red zone just twice. Ball State led the possession battle in both games and outdualed Kentucky with 18 first downs to 17.
-- At Kentucky, three QBs saw significant playing time - Hatcher playing the first half, true freshman Kadin Semonza leading the Cardinals in the second half and Kelly offering a mix of versatility throughout the game. A 27-yard pass from Semonza to Ty Robinson and a 22-yard strike from Kelly to Qian Magwood were Ball State’s longest pass plays. 8 At Georgia, roles reversed slightly with Semonza taking first-half snaps and Hatcher opening the second half. In the fourth quarter, Kelly took the lead QB post and made a careerhigh five pass attempts. Hatcher’s 28-yard strike to Ahmad Edwards was the Cards’ longest play of the season thus far.
-- Kadin Semonza became the Cardinals’ first true freshman to take snaps at quarterback since John Paddock in 2018.
-- Junior Marquez Cooper is averaging just 1.5 ypc. As a team, the Cardinals average 2.2 ypc on the ground.
Saturday, Sept. 16 - 2:30 p.m. ET
Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame IN
Peacock
After registering their first win of 2023 last week, Central Michigan returns to the road for a matchup against No. 9 Notre Dame Saturday. It's the first meeting between the two schools.
The Irish are 9-0 all-time against teams from the Mid-American Conference with single victories over Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green and Toledo; two wins over Miami OH and three victories over Western Michigan.
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NOTRE DAME
-- The Irish have already played three games, posting wins over Navy (42-3), Tennessee State (56-3) and North Carolina State (45-24).
-- Notre Dame is averaging 47.7 ppg, which ranks 12th nationally.
-- Notre Dame has scored 143 points in the first three games of the season, which is the most for the program since 1944
-- Former Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman has continued his success at ND, completing 75 percent of his throws for a total of 731 yards with 10 TDs and no interceptions.
-- Hartman has thrown 87 touchdown passes since 2021 – the most of any Power 5 quarterback.
-- Junior RB Audric Estime (5-11, 211) is averaging 8.0 ypc on 43 trips. He has four TDs through three games.
-- Tight end Holden Staes and WR Jaden Greathouse have combined for 13 catches, 232 yards and six TDs.
-- Kicker Spencer Shrader has converted one of three field goals, but the successful boot was from 54 yards.
-- In 2023, Al Golden will enter his second year as the head of the Irish defense and hopes to get that second-year-in-the-system bounce. Golden’s first Irish defense was a solid 21st overall in total defense in ‘22, bolstered by a rush defense that held Notre Dame’s opponents under 200 total rushing yards per game for the first time since 2019.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
-- After being held to seven points at Michigan State in Week 1 action, CMU bounced back to score 45 last week against New Hampshire. Two Wildcat TDs inside the final six minutes tied the game at 42-all. However, the Chippewas moved 43 yards to kick a 47-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.
-- New Hampshire outgained CMU by nearly 100 yards (538-440) and had five more first downs.
-- Freshman Bert Emanuel Jr. completed 7-of-19 passes against UNH, contributing 193 yards and two TDs with two interceptions.
-- The Chippewas piled up 236 yards rushing against New Hampshire. Both Myles Bailey (108 yards) and Emmanuel (101 yards) logged 21 carries, and they combined for three touchdowns.
-- Chris Parker caught three passes for a total of 124 yards.
-- Donte Kent's 10 tackles paced the Chippewas defense
Saturday, Sept. 16 - 3:30 p.m. ET
Kinnick Stadium - Iowa City IA
BTN
After absorbing a 48-7 loss at Syracuse last week, Western Michigan has another tough assignment Saturday as the Broncos visit No. 25 Iowa.
It's the fourth meeting all-time between the Broncos and the Hawkeyes, with all four taking place in Iowa City. WMU leads the all-time series at 2-1, with wins back in 2000 and 2007. UI won the last meeting, 59-3, back on Sept. 21, 2013. Western Michigan’s last win over a Big Ten team came back on Sept. 3, 2016 at Northwestern, 22-21.
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IOWA
-- Iowa opend the season with a 24-14 win over Utah State and nipped rival Iowa State 2013 last week.
-- The Hawkeyes defeated ISU despite being outgained 290-235. The Cyclones owned a 19-9 edge in first downs.
-- Iowa limited ISU to 87 yards rushing (2.8 ypc).
-- Iowa played penalty-free football against Iowa State. The Cyclones had just two penalties totaling 24 yards.
-- The Iowa offense is led by Michigan transfer Cade McNamara. Through two games he has 314 yards passing on 29-for-52 throwing, with two touchdowns and one interception. Sophomore Kaleb Johnson is the top rusher on the team with 91 yards on 34 carries, averaging 2.7 yards per rush and one touchdown. Junior tight end Luke Lachey leads the team in receptions with 10 and yards with 131. The 6-foot-6 target is averaging 13.1 yards per catch.
-- Iowa’s defense is allowing just 309.5 yards per game and just 13.5 points per game through two games this season. Linebacker Jay Higgins is the team’s top tackler with 23 so far this season. UI has caused two turnovers so far, both interceptions.
WESTERN MICHIGAN
-- RB Jalen Buckley ripped off a 75-yard TD run on the game's second play last week to put WMU in front. However, Syracuse scored all of the game's next 48 points.
-- Through just two games this season, redshirt freshman running back Jalen Buckley is already leaving his mark both nationally and in the Mid-American Conference. Buckley has rushed the ball 38 times for 281 yards and two touchdowns. The Batavia, Ill., native ranks third in the nation in rushing yards per game at 140.5 and fourth in the nation in total rushing yards. He is also 15th in the nation in yards per carry at 7.39. Buckley is at the top of the MAC in all three categories.
-- Eighth-year tight end Austin Hence had a Bronco-best seven catches at Syracuse.
-- WMU used three QBs at Syracuse, eventually combining to go 28-of-47 for 221 yards with one interception. Jack Salopek leads Bronco passers with 33 completions on 48 attempts (58.8%), good for 280 yards with one TD and two interceptions.
-- Kenneth Womack leads WMU in receiving yardage (121), while Jehlani Galloway has a team-high 10 catches.
-- The Broncos entered 2023 with a new head coach. Lance Taylor was most recently offensive coordinator at Louisville.
Saturday, Sept. 16 - 7 p.m. ET
Memorial Stadium - Lincoln, NE
FS1
While Northern Illinois seeks to pick up a second win this week against Nebraska, the Cornhuskers are still looking for win No. 1.
Nebraska is coming off a high-profile loss to No. 22 Colorado last week. Prior to that, Minnesota nipped UN 13-10. Both those games were on the road, so NIU will be the Cornhuskers home opener.
Saturday's game between Nebraska and Northern Illinois will be the fifth matchup between the two schools, with all five contests at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska holds a 3-1 edge, most recently posting a 44-8 victory in 2019.
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NEBRASKA
-- The 'Huskers are coming off a 36-14 loss to No. 22 Colorado. After a scoreless first quarter, Colorado tallied 13 points before intermission. A 57-yard Jeff Simms run pulled Nebraska within six. However, the Buffaloes went on a 23-point run to pull away before a 'Husker TD as time expired.
-- Four Nebraska turnovers contributed to the loss. Three were fumbles.
-- NU gave up just 58 yards rushing, but allowed 396 through the air.
-- Starting QB Jeff Sims completed 9-of-15 passes for 106 yards with one interception. He has struggled at times and accounted for three of the Huskers turnovers Saturday. He was injured later in the game. Between that and the struggles, Nebraska could give another quarterback a shot.
-- Nebraska's ground game provided 222 yards, averaging 5.4 ypc. Gabe Ervin Jr and Sims combined for 27 carries, 141 yards and a score. Rahmir Johnson added 66 yards on 11 trips.
-- In games at Minnesota and Colorado, Nebraska has allowed a total of 113 rushing yards on 58 carries, an average of 1.9 yards per carry.
-- Nebraska's defense registered eight sacks last Saturday at Colorado. The eight sacks are the most by the Husker defense since Nebraska had nine sacks in the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game against Texas.
-- Matt Rhule is in his first season at Nebraska in 2023. Rhule is in his eighth season as a college head coach and 11th season overall after previously leading programs at Temple (2013-16) and Baylor (2017-19) along with a stint as head coach of the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2020-22).
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
-- Northern Illinois' lone victory in the series was in 2017, with the Huskies escaping Lincoln with a 21-17 victory on the strength of two defensive touchdowns.
-- In games at Minnesota and Colorado, Nebraska has allowed a total of 113 rushing yards on 58 carries, an average of 1.9 yards per carry.
-- The Huskies had three turnovers -- all interceptions -- against SIU.
-- Northern Illinois lost despite outgaining SIU 360-219. It also had an 18-11 edge in first downs.
-- After pulling within three points with a fourth quarter TD and two-point conversion, the Huskies had four more possessions. Those ended in: interception, downs, punt, interception.
-- QB Rocky Lombardi completed 23-of-38 passes for 297 yards with one TD and three interceptions.
-- Kacper Rutkiewicz led receivers with six catches for a total of 139 yards and a score.
-- Antario Brown paced NIU rushers with 22 carries totaling 59 yards.
-- The Huskie defense is allowing 19 points and 266.5 yards of total offense per game through the first two games of 2023, nearly 24 points and 192 yards fewer than a year ago.
Saturday, Sept. 16 - 7 p.m. ET
Glass Bowl - Toledo, OH
ESPN+
A couple of pretty good offenses will meet when Toledo hosts San Jose State Saturday at the Glass Bowl. Both schools are coming off decisive victories. The Rockets blasted Texas Southern 71-3 Saturday in the first of four straight home tilts. San Jose State, meanwhile, crushed Cal Poly 59-3.
Toledo leads the all-time series with San Jose State, 1-0. Though the two teams have met only once, it was a doozy played more than four decades ago. The Rockets upset then No. 20 San Jose State, 27-25, in the 1981 California Bowl in Fresno, Calif.
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SAN JOSE STATE
-- The Spartans opened 2023 with back-to-back matchups against ranked teams. SJSU fell to No. 6 Southern Call 56-28 in the opener and lost to No. 18 Oregon State 42-17 Sept. 3.
-- The last time SJSU played ranked teams in back-to-back weeks was In 2010 when the Spartans played at No. 1 Alabama and No. 11 Wisconsin to start the season. (9/4, 9/11). The Spartans ended up playing five ranked teams that season.
-- The San Jose State defense forced three Mustang turnovers in last week's 59-3 Spartan victory. SJSU also limited Cal Poly to a total of 169 yards.
-- Senior QB Chevan Cordeiro completed 15-of-21 passes, good for 205 yards and two TDs.
-- Cordeiro has 9,973 total passing yards during his career and is only 27 passing yards away until he hits 10,000 career passing
yards. Cordeiro is sixth all-time on the Mountain West career passing yards list and is behind Andy Dalton for fifth who threw for
10,314 yards at TCU.
-- Nine different receivers caught at least one pass, but none had over 39 yards receiving.
-- Senior Kairee Robinson (5-7, 189) topped Spartan ballcarriers with 16 carries, 124 yards and two TD. San Jose State totaled 267 yards and five scores on the ground.
-- Redshirt freshman Matthew Coleman returned his first career punt for a 75-yard touchdown against Cal Poly.
TOLEDO
-- The Rockets are one field goal away from a perfect 2-0 start to 2023. They dropped the opener at Illinois 30-28 when UI hit a 29-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to claim a 30-28 decision.
-- The 71 points scored were the most by a Rocket team in 72 years and the third-most in a game in school history. Finn, who rested for the entire second half, set the Toledo record for completion percentage (94.1%) as the Rockets put up 50 points in the opening 30 minutes, a school record for a half.
-- The Rockets had 549 yards of offense against TSU. They are averaging 482.5 ypg overall (22nd nationally).
-- Quarterback Dequan Finn ranks 35th nationally in total offense.
-- Finn has completed 67.9 percent of his passes this year, generating 468 yards with five TDs and one interception.
-- Junior Vandeross III and Jerjuan Newton have combined for 17 catches, 211 yards and two TDs. Eighteen different players have at least one catch.
-- Jacquez Stuart's 119 yards on 17 carries (1 TD) give him a 7.0 ypc average.
-- Senior defensive tackle Judge Culpepper earned Mid-American Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in Toledo's 71-3 victory over Texas Southern. Culpepper was a disruptive defensive force vs. Texas Southern on Saturday, collecting four tackles and a career-high two sacks while forcing and recovering a fumble.