MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week
Dustin Crum, Kent State, QB
Graduate, Grafton, Ohio (Midview)
Crum had a strong game for the Golden Flashes in their 34-27 win over Ohio. Crum completed over 80 percent of his passes for 257 yards and a score. He also made plays with his feet, rushing for 93 more yards and a score. Crum led an offense to 457 yards and no turnovers.
MAC East Division Defensive Player of the Week
Manny Lawrence-Burke, Kent State, LB
5th, Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville
Lawrence-Burke was all over the field for Kent State, recording a season-high 14 tackles, including seven solo. He forced a key first-half fumble in the red zone and made a key goal-line tackle for loss to force a short field goal.
MAC East Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Alex McNulty, Buffalo, Kicker
Junior, Caledonia, NY (McQuaid Jesuit)
McNulty made his only field goal attempt, a 23-yarder, to open the scoring and was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra point attempts in Buffalo's 45-10 win over Akron. In addition, 5 of his 8 kickoffs went for touchbacks
MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week
Rocky Lombardi, NIU, Quarterback
Junior (R), Clive, Iowa (Valley)
Lombardi led the NIU Huskies to a 39-38 Mid-American Conference road win over Central Michigan by throwing for a season-best 348 yards on 17-of-27 passing with three touchdowns. He threw a career-long 75-yard touchdown pass and also had touchdown throws of 21 and 15 yards. In addition to the 75-yard pass, he had completions of 46 and 50 yards as he averaged 20.5 yards per completion. Lombardi’s 348-yard total ranks 12th all-time at NIU and are the most by a Huskie QB since 2015. Lombardi directed the Huskie offense to an 18-point comeback victory and led a game-winning field goal drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Desjuan Johnson, Toledo, Defensive Tackle
Junior, Detroit, Mich. (East English Village Prep)
Johnson had six tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and a QB hurry vs. WMU. The fumble he forced was picked up by safety Zachary Ford and returned 35 yards for a touchdown, extending Toledo's lead to 27-15 at a key point in the third quarter.
MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Kanon Woodill, NIU, Kicker
Freshman, Plainfield, Illinois (Plainfield North HS)
In his collegiate debut, true freshman Kanon Woodill connected on three field goals, including a 26-yard game-winning field goal with 00:54 to play that gave the Huskies a 39-38 win at Central Michigan. Woodill made threes of 26, 24 and 26 yards, all critical as NIU overcame deficits of 18 and 17 points in the game. Woodill, who found out on Thursday that he would be handling kicking duties, also made both of his PAT tries to total 11 points in the game and kicked off eight times for a 53.2 yard average.