MAC Thursday Night Football Results

 Thursday's Football Recaps

Ball State 38 – Eastern Michigan 20

Story courtesy of Eastern Michigan athletic media relations

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped a 38-20 Mid-American Conference West Division decision to Ball State University in the 2006 season opener here tonight at Scheumann Stadium. EMU enjoyed a 10-7 second quarter lead, but Ball State outscored the Eagles, 28-10, over the contest's final 40:28. With the loss, EMU drops to 0-1 overall, 0-1 in the Mid-American Conference and Ball State moves to 1-0 and 1-0 in the MAC standings.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyler Jones ran for 164 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown, while completing 11-of-16 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman Andy Schmitt added 7-of-12 for 63 yards and an interception. Senior wide receiver Eric Deslauriers caught 10 balls for 127 yards and a touchdown, while Trumaine Rilery added three catches for 27 yards.

The Cardinals were paced by senior quarterback Joey Lynch who passed for 122 yards on 10-of-20 passes and true freshman Nate Davis was 7-of-8 for 108 yards and three touchdowns.

The Eagles opened the game by driving all the way to the Ball State 32-yard line but three offensive penalties stalled the drive. Following a punt by Andrew Wellock down to the five-yard line, the host Cardinals responded by driving out to midfield before the drive ended with a punt back to EMU.

The early season jitters showed for both teams as neither team was able to move the ball much following the first drive of the game. Following two short drives for Eastern, Jones rolled off a 30-yard run to get the Eagles out of the shadows of their own goal post. The chains continued to move for head coach Jeff Genyk's crew, as Jones took another keeper and ran 42 yards down to the one-yard line. Two plays later, the redshirt sophomore signal caller from Belleville, Mich. put EMU on the scoreboard with a six-yard scamper for the touchdown with 2:05 remaining in the first quarter. A Wellock PAT followed to give the Eagles a 7-0 advantage.

Ball State returned the favor with a nine-play, 66-yard drive, capped off by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Lynch to Darius Hill on a 4th down and 1 play with 13:03 showing on the clock in the second quarter.

EMU's spread offense began to click as Jones once again drove 77 yards in 10 plays, culminating in a 20-yard field goal by Andrew Wellock with 8:31 left in the second period to give EMU a 10-7 lead. With the field goal, Wellock become the school's all-time leader in points with 240, surpassing fellow place kicker Justin Ventura's mark of 239 set in 1998.

The Cardinals took the lead for the first time on a little trick play, utilizing a double-pass as Nate Davis hooked up with a streaking Louis Johnson for the 46-yard touchdown with 6:55 to play in the half. A Brian Jackson PAT followed to give BSU a four-point margin, 14-10.

The momentum was starting to swing Ball State's way, as Jackson tacked on a 46-yard field goal with 1:46 left in the second quarter to make it 17-10.

Wellock pulled Eastern Michigan back within four, 17-13, with a 31 yard field goal as time expired.

In the second half Ball State used good starting field position, as Lynch found Love for a nine-yard touchdown strike just 5:31 into the third quarter to give the Cardinals their biggest advantage of the game at 24-13. BSU would tack on another six-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Hill at the 2:24 mark on the third quarter to make it 31-13.

After forcing the Cardinals to punt from their own end zone, Eastern used great starting position and was able to capitalize as Jones found Deslauriers for a 20-yard touchdown completion with 11:51 left in the fourth quarter to pull the Eagles within 11, 31-20.

But once again Ball State was able to respond with a 31 yard touchdown rush by Love and the Jackson PAT to seal the 38-20 victory.

The Eagles open non-conference action Saturday, Sept. 9, in East Lansing, Mich. versus Michigan State University. Kick off is set for 3:30 p.m Ball State returns to action Sept. 9  hosting Indiana University at 6:30 p.m.

 

Buffalo 9 – Temple 3 – overtime

Story courtesy of Temple athletic media relations

BUFFALO, NY – Redshirt freshman RB James Starks scored the only touchdown of the game on an 18-yard run in the first overtime to lead the host Buffalo Bulls to a 9-3 win over the visiting Temple Owls on Thursday night in front of a record crowd of 29,795 fans at UB Stadium.   It was the first win for first-year UB coach Turner Gill while spoiling the debut of the Owls first-year coach Al Golden. 

 

Defense ruled the night for both teams as the game was scoreless until Buffalo PK Taylor Packwood converted a 27-yard field goal with 7:38 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Bulls a 3-0 lead.   Packwood had missed two field goals inside 30 yards earlier in the contest.

The Owls answered right back as junior QB Adam DiMichele, making his first collegiate start, led Temple down the field on its most impressive drive (75 yards on 12 plays).  DiMichelle, who was 19-of-24 passing for 103 yards, completed all four of his passes in the drive for 29 yards, the biggest a 10-yarder to senior RB Tim Brown on a third-and-nine play at the Temple 23. 

Brown rushed for 31 of his game-high 81 yards on the drive, broke a 17-yard run to the UB 27.  A personal foul penalty on the play moved the ball to the Buffalo 17.   Brown, who led all TU receivers with six catches (23 yards), followed that with a 12-yard run for a first and goal at the UB 2 yard-line.

It looked at that point that the Owls were going to walk away winners, but the Buffalo defense held tight.  Brown was stopped for a one-yard loss on first down, but then picked up two yards to reach the Buffalo one.  Buffalo stopped him for a two-yard loss on third down, setting up a 20-yard field goal attempt by junior Danny Murphy. 

Murphy drilled it through the uprights with 1:44 to play to tie the game.

The Bulls won the coin toss at the end of regulation and elected to defend first.  The Bulls defense backed the Owls offense up, forcing a third-and-16 play.  DiMichele was intercepted by Jesse Imes, the only turnover of the game for the Owls, to end the drive.

Sophomore QB Drew Willy, who completed 13 of 24 passes for 188 yards, found Ike Nduka for a 13 yard reception to give Buffalo a first down on the 13. After an offside penalty pushed the ball back to the 18, Starks rushed the ball down the right sideline for the game-winning score.

Defensively, freshman LB James Galette, one of two true freshmen (TE Marcus Brown) in the starting lineup, led the Temple defense.  Galette tied senior LB Ryan Gore for team honors with nine tackles while recording 2.5 tackles for loss.  Senior LB Walter Mebane had six tackles, two for a loss, and forced a critical first half fumble that was recovered by sophomore LB Leyon Azubuike on the Temple 18. Sophomore Philip Simpson added five tackles, including 1,5 tackles for loss.

Simpson was one of four Owls credited with a sack.  Senior DE Doug Morris, who had four tackles (two for loss), joined Simpson in the sack attack as did sophomore NT Terrance Knighton (3 tackles, 1 for loss) and true freshman LB John Haley (2 tackles, 1 for loss).

Eleven true freshmen played for the youngest Temple team in the program's history with 20 players competing in their first Division 1-A game. 

Freshman punter Jake Brownell had a strong game, posting a 39.9 average on eight punts with a long of 55 yards.
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The Owls (0-1) host #13 Louisville on Saturday, September 9 in their home opener at Lincoln Financial Field.  Kick-off is scheduled for noon. Buffalo begins conference play Sept. 9 at Bowling Green at 3:00 p.m.

 

 

Boston College 31 – Central Michigan 24

 

Story courtesy of Central Michigan athletic media relations

MOUNT PLEASANT - Dan LeFevour accounted for 293 yards of total offense and three touchdowns for Central Michigan University, but Boston College signal-caller Matt Ryan threw for 323 yards and three scores as the Eagles (1-0) held off CMU, 31-24, on Thursday night.

The Chippewas (0-1) trailed by 21 points in the fourth quarter, but LeFevour scored on runs of two yards and one yard to pull CMU within a touchdown with 3:55 remaining. Following a punt and a personal foul penalty, CMU took over at the BC 44-yard line with 2:05 left. On the third play, however, LeFevour was flushed to his right and threw an interception along the sideline that ended the Chippewas' final threat.

Brian Brunner started under center for CMU, but left the game for good after the second snap from scrimmage. Running to his left, Brunner was sandwiched between a pair of defenders and took a hit to his chin that knocked him out of the game.

Boston College's opening possession resulted in a 44-yard Ryan Ohliger field goal that put the visitors in front. CMU evened the score later in the quarter when Rick Albreski converted a 21-yard attempt. The key play of CMU's scoring drive was a 41-yard LeFevour run on third-and-four.

The Eagles scored twice in a three-minute span to take a 17-3 lead into the locker room. Brian Toal crossed the goal line from 1 yard out with 7:03 left, and Ryan Purvis scored after recovering a fumble at the 3-yard line and tumbling into the end zone. Purvis' score came after Ryan had completed a short pass to L.V. Whitworth over the middle at the 5-yard line. A Doug Kress hit forced Whitworth to fumble, and Purvis scooped the loose ball off the turf.

Tony Mikulec's 5-yard run on a fake punt on fourth-and-two midway through the third quarter set up a 13-yard touchown pass from LeFevour to Sneed with 5:42 left in the period. The Chippewas had taken over on the BC 26-yard line following a fumble on a punt. The Eagles again fumbled the ball away on the possession following the CMU score, but the Chippewas returned the favor with a fumble of their own that led to a BC touchdown.

The Eagles found the end zone on both of their next two possessions, as Ryan tossed scoring pass to Kevin Challenger (24 yards) and Tony Gonzalez (19 yards) to build a 31-10 lead with 10:11 remaining.

LeFevour took over on the Chippewas' next two possessions, completing 7-of-10 passes for 106 yards and running for two touchdowns to pull CMU within seven points. The defense, meanwhile, forced a pair of punts and set the offense up just 44 yards from the game-tying score with 2:05 left.

LeFevour finished 22-of-37 for 221 yards through the air and ran 14 times for a game-high 72 yards. Sneed ran seven times for 47 yards and caught six passes for 51 yards and score, while Obed Cetoute hauled in six receptions for 102 yards.

Ryan completed 32-of-48 attempts to amass his career-high 323 yards. He spread his completions around to 11 different receivers; Challenger was his favorite target, catching six passes for 61 yards.

Defensively, CMU linebacker  Red Keith compiled a game-high 15 tackles. Ike Brown added 11 stops and a forced fumble, while Pacino Horne and Doug Kress chipped in 10 tackles apiece. Jolonn Dunbar made eight tackles to lead Boston College.

CMU is on the road next Saturday, visiting No. 14 Michigan at noon. Boston College opens Atlantic Coast Conference play by hosting Clemson at 3:30 p.m.

 

Northwestern 21 – Miami 3

Story courtesy of Miami athletic media relations

OXFORD, Ohio (AP) -With his number on their helmets and his nickname on their hearts, Randy Walker's players gave him one more tribute.

Erryn Cobb blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown Thursday night, helping Northwestern finally get beyond two months of mourning with a 21-3 victory over Miami University.

The entire night was a tribute to Walker, the 52-year-old Miami graduate and Northwestern coach who died two months ago of an apparent heart attack. The season opener featured a lot of emotion but no points in the first half.

Coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was Walker's close friend and top assistant, watched his Wildcats find their stride in the second half behind redshirt quarterback Mike Kafka, who threw a 19-yard touchdown pass.

Terrell Jordan made the Miami fans head for home with a 4-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter that made it 21-3 - too much for Walker's alma mater to overcome.

Walker scheduled the game when he left Miami in 1999, agreeing to make Northwestern only the second Big Ten team ever to visit Oxford. Walker was remembered during a pregame tribute behind one of the end zones, where a plaque with his likeness was unveiled.

There was a moment of silence before the kickoff, and Walker's wife, Tammy, went on the field for the coin toss. Players from both teams wore a decal with Walker's uniform number and nickname just above their facemasks.

Northwestern players also had a rectangle that said "WALK" sewn on the front of their jerseys over their hearts.

Video and photos of Walker's career were shown on the scoreboard at halftime, lending the feel of a memorial instead of an opener. Two listless offenses provided little distraction in the scoreless first half, a reflection of the mutual inexperience at quarterback.

In Walker's wide-open offense, the Wildcats averaged more than 500 yards per game last season behind Brett Basanez, the school's career passing leader. His replacement started out playing like a freshman.

Kafka went 7-for-11 for a measly 26 yards in the first half. In two telling throws, he bounced passes at the feet of wide-open receivers on back-to-back plays.

His counterpart had his own problems. Junior Mike Kokal made only his second career start for Miami, which managed 54 yards in the scoreless half against a defense that finished last in Division I-A last season.

Maybe that was another appropriate tribute. Walker never minded a low-scoring game. A star tailback at Miami, he preferred the slog-it-out style - his spread offense was a matter of necessity, not deeply held philosophy.

Cobb, a senior tight end, broke the stalemate by breaking through the line on Miami's first punt in the second half and batting Jake Richardson's kick to the ground. The ball bounced straight up, and Cobb caught it cleanly and ran 8 yards for his first career touchdown.

Kafka finally settled down and got the Wildcats moving. He led a 69-yard drive finished by his 19-yard touchdown pass to tailback Tyrell Sutton, who beat safety Joey Card on a slant and found the ball right there. Kafka finished 13-of-17 for 106 yards, and led the Wildcats with 89 yards on 17 carries.

A relative of one of Miami's most notable families got the RedHawks' points. Nathan Parseghian, a great-grandnephew of Miami graduate Ara Parseghian, kicked a 22-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, but later missed a 37-yard try.

 

Minnesota 44 – Kent State 0

Story courtesy of Kent State athletic media relations

KENT, Ohio (AP) --Converted linebacker Alex Daniels rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns to lead Minnesota over Kent State 44-0 Thursday night in Glen Mason's return to the school where he got his head coaching start.

Daniels, a highly touted linebacker whom Mason switched to running back following several losses at the position, opened the third quarter by carrying all seven times on a 56-yard touchdown drive.

The sophomore enjoyed wide open running lanes and punished Kent State's defenders with his 6-foot-3, 255-pound frame. He scored on runs of 1, 3 and 6 yards.

After Daniels left, Amir Pinnix scored on a 15-yard run and Justin Valentine went in on a 2-yard run. Pinnix finished with 114 yards.

The Golden Gophers (1-0) forced six turnovers, including two interceptions by Jamal Harris, to dominate Kent State heading into their Sept. 9 game at No. 9 California.

Minnesota's defense twice allowed Kent State (0-1) to reach the 1 in the first half, but the Golden Flashes wasted both opportunities.

Julian Edelman hit Najah Pruden on a 64-yard pass, but as Pruden fought to break a tackle, linebacker Mario Reese forced a fumble and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback.

The Golden Flashes, 1-10 last season, got to the 1 again behind strong running by Eugene Jarvis, but failed to get in on three attempts. Reid Macko missed a 19-yard field goal.

Jarvis ran for 109 yards in his collegiate debut, becoming the first Kent State rusher to gain for 100 yards in a game since 2004, and Pruden had five catches for 118 yards.

Edelman was 7-of-13 for 150 yards and three interceptions.

Minnesota's Bryan Cupito was 8-of-14 for 146 yards and a 39-yard touchdown to Eric Decker.

Jason Giannini, who missed eight extra point attempts last season, kicked a 22-yard field goal and was 5-of-6 on PATs.

Mason was 12-10 in two seasons at Kent State (1986-87) and is the last Golden Flashes coach with consecutive winning records in the Mid-American Conference.

Kent State, which was shut out for the first time since the 2002 season, fell to 0-8 against the Big Ten. The Gophers were the first Big Ten team to play at Kent State.

 

Iowa State 45, Toledo 43  - 3 overtimes

Story courtesy of Toledo athletic media relations

 AMES, Iowa (AP) -Todd Blythe caught a pair of touchdown passes in overtime and Iowa State held on to a 45-43 in triple overtime win Thursday night over Toldeo when Rockets' receiver Chris Hopkins couldn't hold on to a potential game-tying a 2-point conversion pass on the goal line.

Quarterback Bret Meyer added three TD runs for Iowa State (1-0), which picked up its first OT win in six tries.

Blythe caught a 29-yard TD pass from Meyer to bring Iowa State even in the second overtime. Blythe and Meyer hooked up again on the first play of the third overtime, with Blythe grabbing a 25-yard TD pass with one hand. Meyer ran in the 2-point conversion.

Toledo (0-1), which had rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit, finally ran out of answers. Jalen Parmele scored from 2 yards out to cut Iowa State's lead to two. Hopkins caught 13 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns but couldn't come up with one more grab and the opening night thriller ended.

Meyer's third TD run, a 10-yarder, gave Iowa State a 30-23 lead in the first OT. Toledo tied it on its first play of the extra session on a 25-yard pass from Clint Cochran to Hopkins.

Meyer completed 17-of-25 passes for 234 yards and two TDs.

Toledo tied the game at 23 with 3:28 left in regulation, marching 79 yards for a touchdown after Iowa State botched a field goal try on a bad snap. The Rockets kept the drive alive with a 31-yard reception by Steve Odom on 4th-and-11, and Richard Davis tied the game with a 3-yard TD run on the next play.

The Rockets got within 20-15 on Hopkins' second TD reception of the game, a 21-yarder from Cochran in the third quarter. Bret Culberson hit a 39-yard field goal to push the Cyclones' lead to eight.

Iowa State took a 20-8 third-quarter lead on Meyer's 18-yard TD run.

Toledo took its only lead of regulation, 8-7, in the second quarter with a 99-yard TD drive and a 2-point conversion off a blocked extra point attempt.

Cochran, making just his second career start, was 39-of-49 passing for 367 yards and three touchdowns. The Rockets next game is Sept. 9 at Western Michigan in both team’s MAC opener.