# TOLEDO 41, MASSACHUSETTS 24
# BUFFALO 37, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 13
# EASTERN MICHIGAN 24, BALL STATE 10
# OHIO 42, KENT STATE 17
# NORTHERN ILLINOIS 55, AKRON 14
# MIAMI 27, BOWLING GREEN 0
STARKVILLE, Ms. – Western Michigan fell short in its first-ever game at Mississippi State, 41-28, on Saturday afternoon at Davis Wade Stadium.
WMU kept the game close for the majority of it, three times getting within 10 points. Transfer quarterback Hayden Wolff had his best game as a Bronco, completing a career-high 27 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns. Kenneth Womack set a new career high with 12 receptions to lead the Broncos, picking up 113 yards receiving. Leroy Thomas had three catches for 61 yards and a highlight-reel touchdown reception. Tight end Austin Hence had five catches for 54 yards and a touchdown, while fellow tight end Blake Bosma caught his first touchdown of the season.
Sophomore safety Tate Hallock had a career-high 13 tackles, while Keni-H lovely had seven to go with 1.5 tackles for loss.
Mississippi State jumped out to 17-0 lead with a touchdown and field goal in the first quarter and then a touchdown late in the second quarter.
Wolff was inserted late into the second quarter and immediately moved the Broncos down the field, eventually capping the drive with a 10-yard toss to Hence along the right sidelines to get the Broncos on the board.
The Broncos forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, with kicker Palmer Domschke recovering it but missed a 41-yard field goal as time expirer in the half.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, with MSU going first each time.
Mike Wright pushed MSU's lead to 24-7 with a 3-yard touchdown run to open the quarter.
Wolff then led the Broncos down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Bosma, bringing WMU back within 10.
Seth Davis capped off a five-play, 51-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 31-14.
WMU responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by an 11-yard run by Abuds-Salaam to get the Broncos back within 10.
Mississippi State hit the big play to open the fourth quarter, with Will Rogers connecting with Freddie Roberson for a 36-yard score.
But the Broncos came back, once again, to cut it back to 10. This time the drive only took five plays, with WMU deciding to go for it on fourth and two from the MSU 25. Wolff went deep for Thomas and he mad a leaping catch to bring it down for the score from 25-yards out.
MSU kept WMU at bay the rest of the way and added a 49-yard field goal from Nick Barr with 4:12 to play.
-- Courtesy WMU Athletics
AMHERST, Mass. - Dequan Finn rushed for a career-high 172 yards and accounted for three touchdowns to lead Toledo to a 41-24 victory over UMass in Amherst, Mass. on Saturday.
Finn's rushing output was the most ever by a Rocket quarterback in a single game. He also established the career mark for rushing yards by a Toledo QB with 1,690, passing Ryan Huzjak (1,539 from 1993-96).
Finn had one rushing touchdown on the day and two passing TDs, both to Jerjuan Newton. For the day, Finn completed 15-of-23 passes for 139 yards. He now has 5,516 career passing yards, moving him past Tavares Bolden (5,417 from 1999-2001) and Chris Wallace (5,454 from 1995-98) into eighth place on UT's career list.
Junior running back Peny Boone contributed plenty to the Rockets' rushing attack as well, accumulating 129 yards on 17 carries and scoring twice. Sophomore wide receiver Junior Vandeross III led Toledo with five catches for 34 yards, and Newton caught four balls for 43 yards and two scores.
Toledo withstood a pair of long UMass touchdown tosses in the second quarter to overcome a 21-17 halftime deficit. The Minutemen connected on TD throws of 71 and 31 yards to take the lead heading into the locker room, but the Rockets' defense allowed just three points in the second half.
-- Courtesy UT Athletics
BUFFALO, NY – Devin Grant had an historic day to lead a ferocious defensive effort in a 37-13 Bulls win over Central Michigan at UB Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The sophomore safety had three interceptions, including two pick sixes, to help the Bulls improve to 2-0 in Mid-American Conference play.
In total, Buffalo forced four turnovers in the game and was able to convert them into 31 points. Meanwhile, the defensive line allowed only 80 yards in the game, the lowest rushing total allowed by a UB opponent on the season.
Grant set the tone early, tipping a pass attempt to himself and returning it 29 yards for a touchdown on Central Michigan's third offensive play from scrimmage.
Midway through the first quarter, Red Murdock knocked the ball from the Central Michigan's receiver's hands and Jaylon Bass recovered it for the defense's second forced turnover of the game. It led to an Alex McNulty field goal to give the Bulls a 10-0 lead. McNulty finished with three field goals in the game.
With the Bulls leading 13-7 in the second quarter, Grant grabbed his second interception of the game near midfield. The Bulls capitalized with a Ron Cook, Jr. three-yard touchdown run to extend their lead to 20-7.
Grant's second pick six came on the Chippewas' opening drive of the second half. He stepped in front of the pass and raced 58 yards down the sideline for the score.
Grant is the first player in Buffalo's FBS era (since 1999) to have two pick sixes in a game and the first Bulls since Marcus Fuqua (last season against Toledo) to have three interceptions in a game.
Cook scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run to put the Bulls up 37-7.
Cole Snyder was efficient for the Bulls under center. The graduate quarterback completed 20-of-32 passes for 232 yards. Bobbie Curry, Cole Harrity and Marlyn Johnson each had four catches in the game. Curry tallied a career-high 74 receiving yards.
-- Courtesy UB Athletics
The Eagles, who led wire-to-wire to post their fourth home game in a row, improved to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in Mid-American Conference play while the Cardinals slipped to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the MAC.
Evans etched his name into the record books as the program's top scorer as his 2-yard touchdown score in the second quarter gave him 32 for his career. He finished with 42 yards on the ground and needs just 32 more to reach 2,000 for his career.
Smith, who connected on a pair of touchdown passes, including a 50-yarder to Hamze El-Zayat and another to Mitchell, recorded a season-high 192 yards through the air, finishing five shy of his career-high 197 yards accumulated last year against the Cardinals in a 20-16 road win, Oct. 16, 2022. Smith's top target on the day was Mitchell, who recorded career-highs in receptions and yards with seven and 71, respectively, while recording his first scoring grab as an Eagle. El-Zayat posted 63 yards, his highest total as Eagle. Mitchell, who entered the game with 11 catches and 103 yards, posted career-highs in receptions and yardage for the fourth game in a row, surpassing the five grabs for 48 yards he tallied at Central Michigan University, Sept. 30.
While the offense played well, the defense once again shined bright as the Eagles limited the Cardinals to just 10 points, including pitching a shutout in the second half. Joe Sparacio ) led the way with nine tackles and was one of three players with sacks, a group that included Elijah Williams and Peyton Price. The Eagles also won the turnover battle as they forced two turnovers, including David Carter Jr. recovering his first career fumble, which was the first forced fumble by Barry Manning, while Tim Grant-Randall secured the first interception of his career.
Layne Hatcher completed 20 of 33 passes, good for 132 yards and one Ball State TD. Kiael Kelly paced BSU rushing with nine carries totaling 104 yards. Marquez Cooper and Tanner Koziol combined for 13 catches, 110 yards and 1 TD.
How It Happened
Eastern Michigan got on the scoreboard first and jumped out to a 3-0 lead with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter as Jesus Gomez blasted a 53-yard field goal. Ball State then tied it up at 3-3 before the Eagles responded with a two-yard touchdown rush from Evans to jump back in front, 10-3. The Eagles then added a touchdown with 6:36 left in the second quarter with Mitchell pulling down a 3-yard pass from Smith to make it a 17-3 lead before Ball State scored with 2:32 remaining in the half to give the hosts a 17-10 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Eagles' 50-yard touchdown pass from Smith to El-Zayat was the only scoring as Eastern stretched its lead to the final margin of 14 points, 24-10.
ATHENS, OH -- Kurtis Rourke threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns as Ohio won its fifth straight game with a 42-16 triumph over Kent State Saturday at Penden Stadium.
Backup QB Parker Navarro, who came in with Ohio holding a commanding fourth quarter lead, topped Ohio with three rushes for 65 yards. Most of that came on a 52-yards gallop. Overall, the 'Cats totaled 166 yards while registering three rushhing scores. Miles Cross led receivers with seven catches for a total of 125 yards, while, Tyler Foster's two receptioned totaled 59 yards.
Ohio, which generated 466 yards of offense overall, limited KSU to 228 yards. The Bobcats recorded six sacks and 10 TFL. Bryce Houston had a game-high 10 hits (4 solo, 1.5 TFL).
Kent State's Michael Alaimo completed 9 of 13 passes, good for 107 yards with one TD and one interception. Jaylen Thomas carried the rushing load, logging 24 trips totaling 67 yards. Tommy Utatowski ran four times for a total of 60 yards.
Chrishon McCray led Flashes receivers with six grabs for 93 yards and two TDs.
Two Rourke TD tosses and a Rourke run gave Ohio a 21-7 halftime lead. After a Flashes field goal, Ohio ran off three straight touchdowns (two on runs by Bangura) to go up 42-10 before a final KSU TD midway through the period.
-- MRO Staff
AKRON, Ohio – Junior running back Antario Brown ran for 280 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 carries to lead Northern Illinois to a 55-14 Mid-American Conference victory over Akron Saturday at InfoCision Stadium.
Brown's performance tied Kentucky's Ray Davis for the most rushing yards by a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) player this season and was the most rushing yards by a Huskie since Jordan Lynch ran for 321 yards versus Western Michigan on November 26, 2013. He scored on runs of 66, 58, 46 and 50 yards to record the best day of his NIU career and become just the sixth player in Huskie history to run for 280 or more yards in a game.
NIU's 55 points were the most under Hammock, and the most since the Huskies defeated Ball State 63-17 on November 9, 2017. NIU gained 571 yards of total offense on 52 plays, including 380 rushing yards on just 35 carries. The Huskies averaged 10.9 yards per carry as a team while Brown's average of 21.5 yards per rush broke the NIU record of 17.6 by Stacey Robinson versus Cincinnati on November 18, 1989.
"Our offensive line was outstanding," Hammock said. "[Akron] was giving up 90 yards a game rushing and we had over 300 yards rushing. That's a credit to the offensive line. AB [Brown] gets the credit, but he wasn't touched for 7-8 yards on most of those runs."
The Huskies (2-4, 1-1 MAC) scored six rushing touchdowns with Gavin Williams adding a three-yard score and a one-yard TD to Brown's quartet of scores.
NIU opened the game with a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, with Kacper Rutkiewicz scoring on a 64-yard reception from quarterback Rocky Lombardi. The touchdown was NIU's first on an opening drive this season.
Akron (1-5, 0-2 MAC) came back to tie the score with an 11-play, 65-yard drive, helped by a pass interference penalty that gave the Zips the ball on the NIU four-yard line. Three plays later, Akron quarterback Tahj Bullock scored from one yard out.
The Antario Brown/Huskie offense show hit another gear in the second quarter and by halftime, NIU led 35-7. Brown gained 160 yards on seven carries in the period with two scores, his first – from 66-yards out – giving NIU a 14-7 lead, and his second – of 58 yards – closing out NIU's 28-point outburst. In between, Williams scored on a three-yard run one play after Lombardi connected with Trayvon Rudolph on a 42-yard completion. After a second consecutive three-and-out by the Huskie defense, Lombardi hit Grayson Barnes for a 34-yard score for Barnes' first NIU touchdown.
NIU's defense, meanwhile, forced Akron into four three-and-outs in the second quarter alone. Akron finished with just 253 yards of total offense, 107 rushing, and punted eight times. Huskies Roy Williams, Devonte O'Malley, James Ester and George Gumbs each recorded sacks and Nate Valcarcel collected his second interception of the season.
The Huskie defense continued to shut down Akron in the third quarter while the offense did not lay off the gas pedal, scoring three times with Brown scoring from 46 and 50 yards on back-to-back drives. Williams' one-yard touchdown run was once again set up by Rudolph whose 36-yard run put the Huskies at the two-yard line.
Tagj Bullock handled QB duties for Akron, completing 19 of 34 on the day, good for 146 yards with one TD and one interception. Akron rushing provided another 141 yards, most from Lorenzo Lingard (12 carries, 49 yards) and Bullock (21 carries, 41 yet yards, 1 TD).
-- Courtesy NIU Athletics
By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH - After surrendering just three points a week earlier, the Miami RedHawks defense improved on that Saturday as MU shut out Bowling Green 27-0 at Yager Stadium.
While registering MU's first shutout since 2007, the RedHawks held Bowling Green to 135 yards of total offense. A week earlier, BGSU generated 438 yards of offense and scored 38 straight points in a 38-27 upset win over Georgia Tech. The Falcons converted 10 of 17 third downs in that one. Against Miami, Bowling Green converted one of eight.
Offensively, Miami produced 356 yards. Quarterback Brett Gabbert completed 15 of 18 for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran nine times to contribute another 47 yards. Several of those carries helped sustain RedHawk drives.
Miami's first drive took seventeen plays to yield points. Gabbert completed six passes along the way, but Rashad Amos culminated the march with a 1-yard plunge at 3:29 of the first quarter.
Between several long RedHawk drives and MU's dominating defensive performance, Miami ultimately owned 39:29 in posession time. The Falcons punted on three of four first half possessions, with the final drive lasting one play before intermission. Conversely, Miami punted just once on the whole day. That came in the first half.
A promising RedHawk possession early in the second period ended abruptly when Gabbert's 23-yard pass to Joe Wilkins Jr. came loose. Darrien Anders recovered for the visitors. However, the Falcons managed only one first down.
Although dominating play, Miami clung to a 7-0 lead as halftime approached. With 4:45 remaining, MU began a final drive.
Two plays into that possession, BGSU appeared to pick off a deep pass. However, officials flagged the Falcons for roughing the passer. Given new life, the drive continued, eventually covering 82 yards in 10 plays. Gabbert completed five of six along the way, including a 2-yard toss to Nate Muersch for the TD with 52 seconds left.
Miami's final touchdown came on a 72-yard drive late in the third period. Eight plays in, MU had reached the Falcon 39. Gabbert dropped back to pass again and quickly found running back Kenny Tracy standing by himself in the center of the field. After receiving a quick toss, he ran untouched to the end zone.
Tracy led Miami rushing with 11 carries for 58 yards and added three catches totaling 52 yards with the TD. Wilkins topped MU receivers with six catches totaling 70 yards.
When Graham Nicholson hit a career-best 52-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the third period, Miami owned a 24-0 advantage. As it had done the previous week, MU turned to a grinding, clock-consuming offense. That gave it two more possessions, and Nicholson added a 30-yard field goal on one of them to close out scoring with 3:21 remaining.
NOTES:
-- Connor Bazelak handled most of the Falcon quarterback duties, eventually completing eight of 17 passes totaling 64 yards with one interception. Camden Orth hit three of six throws for a total of eight yards.
-- Terion Stewart led BGSU rushing with eight carries for 63 yards (7.9 ypc). After deducting for losses, his 63 yards accounted for all of the Falcons net rushing yards (63).
-- Miami registered four sacks and five TFL.
-- Ty Wise recorded his first career interception for MU.
-- Nicholson remained perfect on the season. He has now hit 11 straight field goals to start the year, and is also perfect on PATs.
-- Miami standout WR Gage Larvadain did not play again this week.