MAC Football Scoreboard

Stories courtesy of The Associated Press

Ohio 20 at Ball State 17

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) -Theo Scott found Terrence McCrae for a 7-yard touchdown with just over 3 minutes remaining Saturday to lift Ohio to a 20-17 victory over Ball State.

The pair also accounted for a 2-point conversion following the TD, giving the Bobcats (6-3, 4-1 Mid-American) a 20-17 lead. Before the touchdown with 3:11 to go, Ohio's only scoring had come on four Matt Weller field goals.

Ohio led throughout the second half until Tanner Justice's 35-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Hill gave Ball State (1-8, 1-4) a 17-12 lead with 5:52 remaining. That play accounted for nearly half of the Cardinals' 78 yards of passing in the game.

Eric Williams had a 55-yard run in the first half, setting up his 1-yard TD run that gave the Cardinals a 7-6 lead. But Ohio regained the lead on Weller's 52-yard field goal before the first half ended.

 

Akron 10 at Northern Illinois 27

DE KALB, Ill. (AP) -Tailback Chad Spann scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and rushed for a game-high 125 yards as Northern Illinois came from behind to beat Akron 27-10 Saturday.

Spann?s 28-yard touchdown run with 13:35 to play erased a 10-6 deficit. He added a 2-yard scoring run with 7:59 showing as the Huskies (5-3, 3-1 Mid-American) won their second straight.

Nathan Palmer added a 7-yard touchdown run for Northern Illinois with 46 seconds left.

Freshman quarterback Patrick Nicely went 11 of 27 for 124 yards in his collegiate debut as the Zips (1-7, 0-4) lost their sixth straight.

 

Western Michigan 14 at Kent State 26

Courtesy of Kent State Sports Information.

KENT, Ohio - Kent State heads into November controlling its own destiny for the Mid-American Conference East Division title. Behind 373 passing yards from freshman quarterback Spencer Keith and 198 receiving yards from freshman receiver Tyshon Goode, the Golden Flashes (5-4, 4-1 MAC) topped Western Michigan 26-14 on a windy Saturday afternoon (Oct. 31) at Dix Stadium. Sophomore running back Jacquise Terry added 90 yards rushing on 23 carries, helping KSU convert 10-of-14 third down attempts.
After holding Ohio to minus-9 yards rushing last week, the Golden Flashes defense continued to dominate in the trenches. The Broncos (4-5, 3-3 MAC) were held to only 38 yards on the ground on 22 attempts. Senior defensive end Monte Simmons led KSU's pass defense with three sacks.

On the game's opening drive, the Flashes used 13 plays over six minutes with a steady mix of passing and running that led to a 24-yard field goal by Freddy Cortez. Goode made three catches on the drive as a sign of things to come.

The Flashes also took the ball into Bronco territory on their second drive. On a third-and-long, Keith heaved a deep pass down the left sideline. Senior Jameson Konz turned inside, then outside, watched the defender in front of him tip the ball, before making a spectacular 44-yard catch while falling to the turf. The drive came to a halt however, when a Keith pass bounced off the chest of Kendrick Pressley and into the hands of a defender.

The Broncos capitalized on the interception with an 11-play, 69-yard drive capped off by a Tim Hiller two-yard touchdown pass. The All-MAC quarterback finished with 31 completions for 255 yards.

A 40-yard one-handed reception by Goode helped set up a Cortez field goal from 39 yards out to make it a 7-6 game. On KSU's next drive, Goode made three more grabs, including a 34-yard score to give the Flashes the lead back (13-7).

In a two-minute drill at the end of the half, Hiller marched the Broncos down to the KSU 23 before a pass went incomplete on fourth down.

On KSU's first drive of the second half, Goode snagged a jump ball in the corner of the end zone for his second TD of the game as the Flashes took a 20-7 lead three minutes into the half. The Broncos attempted to respond with an 11-play drive, but a John Potter 32-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.

A fourth quarter Keith interception in KSU territory gave the Broncos life with 10 minutes to play. A 21-yard pass by Hiller then set up a nine-yard TD toss to Robert Arnheim.

With just under seven minutes to play, the Flashes faced a third-and-15. Keith tossed over the middle as Phil Garner made a clutch leaping grab to keep the drive alive. Terry then delivered the would-be knockout blow with a 15-yard touchdown scamper. It was Terry's second straight 15-yard carry to close out the seven-play drive.

The Broncos quickly moved down the field to the KSU 33 with five minutes to play. A Hiller pass went off the hands of a receiver and was picked off by freshman linebacker Luke Batton. The Flashes then marched 53 yards over nine plays to run out the final 4:26 on the clock.

Junior middle linebacker Cobrani Mixon led both sides with 10 tackles, while Dorian Wood added nine.

Kent State will take its three-game winning streak to Infocision Stadium for the first time next Saturday when the Golden Flashes take on Akron for the Wagon Wheel.

 

Toledo 24 at Miami 31

OXFORD, Ohio (AP) -Zac Dysert ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, and Miami (Ohio) earned its first win of the season with a 31-24 victory over Toledo on Saturday.  The win snapped a 13-game losing streak for the RedHawks (1-8, 1-4 Mid-American Conference).

Dysert went 31-for-51 with 344 yards passing, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Cruse. Dysert ran for 78 yards, with touchdown runs of 3 and 23 yards.  Trevor Cook broke his own school record with a 55-yard field goal in the second quarter for the RedHawks.  The RedHawks built a 24-7 halftime lead and held off a 17-point rally in the third quarter by the Rockets (4-5, 2-3).

Aaron Opelt went 7-for-14 with 79 yards passing for the Rockets. His 14-yard touchdown pass to Eric Page cut the lead to 24-17. The RedHawks responded with Dysert's 23-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach.

 

Temple 27 at Navy 24

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -Bernard Pierce rushed for 267 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown with 2:41 left, and James Nixon returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown as Temple became bowl eligible Saturday with a 27-24 victory over Navy.

The Owls (6-2) won their sixth straight game, their longest streak since 1974. The last time Temple went to a bowl game was the 1979 Garden State Bowl.

The Owls led 14-10 at halftime after Pierce's 68-yard run and Nixon's school-record 100-yard return.

Pierce, a freshman, carried the ball 29 times and became the first Temple player since Paul Palmer in 1986 to rush for more than 200 yards in consecutive games.

Navy (6-3) had a five-game winning streak snapped and, because it plays a 13-game schedule, still must win again to become bowl eligible. The Mids last won six in a row in 1979.

 

Central Michigan 10 at Boston College 31

BOSTON (AP) -Former walk-on kicker Steve Aponavicius became Boston College's all-time scoring leader in the Eagles' 31-10 win over Central Michigan on Saturday.

Montel Harris finished with 136 yards rushing on 27 carries and two 3-yard scoring runs for the Eagles (6-3), who improved to 6-0 at home. BC snapped the Chippewas' (7-2) seven-game winning streak - their best since consecutive seasons with eight-game streaks from 1979-1980.

Aponavicius had an 18-yard field goal and four extra points, giving him 267 total points to surpass place-kicker Brian Lowe's (1986-89) mark of 262.  Dave Shinskie was 18-for-28 passing for 262 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles, who became bowl-eligible for 10th consecutive season.

Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour, who entered fifth in the nation in completion percentage, was 20 of 34 for 152 yards and one interception.  Chippewas backup QB Ryan Radcliff had an 11-yard scoring run in the final minute.

BC linebacker Luke Kuechly had a 28-yard interception return for a score.

The Eagles took the ball on the initial possession of the second half with a stiff breeze at their backs and went 74 yards in seven plays, with Shinskie hitting Rich Gunnell down the middle for a 41-yard scoring strike to make it 14-3. For the first time since a very successful day two weeks ago when Harris ran for school-records 264 yards and five TDs - with a good chunk coming from the Wildcat formation - the Eagles lined up with Harris at QB a couple of times.

After holding Central Michigan to its first three-and-out of the game, the Eagles went in for another score. Shinskie hit Gunnell with a 21-yard toss down the right sideline on the first play.

One play later, Harris caught a short pass and turned it into a 36-yard gain. Three plays later, he scored up the middle.

Aponavicius, a former walk-on, kicked the extra point from the hold of Billy Flutie, nephew of 1984 Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, for the record.  When the next drive stalled at the 1, Aponavicius kicked his field goal, making it 24-3 late in the third quarter.

BC, which had gained just two first downs midway into the second quarter, marched 80 yards in 11 plays to take a 7-3 halftime edge on Harris' 3-yard scoring run in the closing minute of the second quarter. Shinskie was 5 for 6 on the drive for 57 yards.

The Chippewas had taken a 3-0 lead when Andrew Aguila's 34-yard field capped a 13-play, 60-yard drive. LeFevour ran and threw for a combined 57 yards during the possession.

It was the third meeting between the schools, with BC winning all of them.

 

Eastern Michigan 27 at Arkansas 63

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -Ryan Mallett went 14 of 16 for 248 yards and three touchdowns, and Broderick Green added a 99-yard touchdown run to lead Arkansas to a 63-27 rout of Eastern Michigan on Saturday night.

The Razorbacks scored 50 points for the first time under coach Bobby Petrino, who took over before last season.

Arkansas (4-4) led 42-0 at halftime and held the Eagles (0-8) without a first down until their second possession of the third quarter.

The easy victory was exactly what the Razorbacks needed after two straight losses. Since Arkansas' open date came after its first game, the Hogs are in the middle of a stretch of 11 games in 11 weeks. Their starters had plenty of time to rest against Eastern Michigan.