This week’s East Division honorees are: Tyree Jackson (Buffalo), Quentin Poling (Ohio) and Louie Zervos (Ohio)
The week’s West Division honorees are: Jarvion Franklin (Western Michigan), Maxx Crosby (Eastern Michigan) and Jackson Abresch (Northern Illinois).
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Offensive Player of the Week: Buffalo QB Tyree Jackson
Buffalo sophomore quarterback Tyree Jackson (North Shores, Mich.) was 23-of-37 passing for a career-high 406 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-28 win over Bowling Green on Oct. 7. He had touchdown passes of 21, 69 and 37 yards. His 406 passing yards were the ninth most in school history for a single game and the fourth highest total in the Bulls’ FBS era (since 1999).
Defensive Player of the Week: Ohio LB Quentin Poling
Ohio senior linebacker Quentin Poling (Gomer, Ohio) led with 12 total tackles and five solo stops in a 38-10 win over West Division leader Toledo on Nov. 8. Poling recorded three sacks for 24-yards and had a fumble recovery. Poling ranks second in the MAC with 92 tackles this season, which leads the Bobcats and includes 40 solo stops. Poling ranks 28th nationally in tackles, 12th in fumble recoveries and 16th in forced fumbles. With his three sacks against Toledo, Poling became the all-time Ohio leader in tackles for loss (44.0). Earlier this season, he became the Ohio career leader in solo tackles (212).
Special Teams Player of the Week: Ohio K Louie Zervos
Ohio sophomore kicker Louie Zervos (Tarpon Spings, Fla.) connected on his only field goal attempt against West Division leader Toledo on Nov. 8 draining a 44-yard attempt in a 38-10 win. Zervos also went 5-5 on PAT attempts. Zervos is 12-15 on field goals and 49-50 this season which ranks second in the MAC in scoring by a kicker. Zervos ranks 31st in the NCAA in scoring and 28th in total point scored.
West Division
Offensive Player of the Week: Western Michigan RB Jarvion Franklin
Western Michigan senior running back Jarvion Franklin (Tinley Park, Ill.) totaled 191 yards rushing with one touchdown on 22 carries in the Broncos' win over Kent State this past week. Franklin's 191-yard game was his sixth-straight over 100 yards, pushing him over the 1,000-yard mark (1,061) for the season. Franklin ripped off a career-long 72-yard touchdown run to give the Broncos a 21-14 lead in the first quarter and from there WMU would hold the lead the remainder of the game as the Broncos snapped a two-game losing streak at home. With the win, Western Michigan also became bowl eligible for a program-record fourth consecutive year. With the performance against Kent State, Franklin moved into the top 5 all-time in the Mid-American Conference for career rushing touchdowns with 51 and rushing yards with 4,700. Franklin also moved into second all-time at Western Michigan for career all-purpose yards with 5,370, passing Corey Davis with 5,212.
Defensive Player of the Week: Eastern Michigan DE Maxx Crosby
Eastern Michigan sophomore defensive end Maxx Crosby (Colleyville, Texas) finished with a career-high three sacks, including one that was stripped away and returned 14 yards for a touchdown on the opening play of the game, in a 42-30 loss at Central Michigan on Nov. 8. It was the first fumble returned for a score for Eastern Michigan since 2013. Crosby now has 9.5 sacks in just his second year in the Green and White, which ranks eighth all-time at Eastern since 1998. Additionally, it was the third three-sack game for an Eagle since 1998, and the first since Kevin Howe did so against Ball State in Nov. 12, 2005. On the season, Crosby's eight sacks rank fourth in the conference and 18th in the country.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Northern Illinois S Jackson Abresch
Northern Illinois senior safety Jackson Abresch (Hartland, Wisc.) tied the NCAA record for most touchdowns scored on blocked punts in a game when he scored two touchdowns on blocked punt returns in a 63-17 win over Ball State on Nov. 9. Abresch is just the third player all-time to score two touchdowns in a game off of blocked punts, and the first to do so since Nov. 1, 1997 (by Frank Staine-Pyne of Air Force). With NIU leading 14-7 late in the first quarter, Abresch picked up a Trayshon Foster block at the 13-yard line and ran it in for his first career score. The touchdown turned momentum in the game permanently toward the Huskies. Abresch then scored the Huskies’ final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter when he fell on Jauan Wesley’s block at the back of the end zone for his second score.