MAC News and Notes 9/25/12

MAC News and Notes:

Akron:
Running back Quentin Hines kinda, sorta complicated things at that position with his rather conspicuous outburst Saturday night.
His 75-yard dash showed the dash of explosiveness that coach Terry Bowden has been looking for since the beginning of preseason camp.
Even with the team heading into conference play, he’s committed to giving at least three backs – Jawon Chisholm, Conor Hundley and Hines, significant snaps.  Another, freshman Hakeem Lawrence, is nursing a shoulder injury.
http://www.ohio.com/blogs/ua-zips/university-of-akron-zips-blog-1.277207/zips-football-running-back-by-committee-1.336915

Ball State:
Pat Boylan gives his thoughts on Ball State's most high-profile win in the school's history.
Just one year ago, Ball State had suffered a 30-point loss at South Florida. Saturday night it was celebrating one of the biggest wins in program history.
Following his interception of South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniel’s desperate pass, Ball State cornerback Eric Patterson was mobbed on the field by his teammates. He had just clinched the 31-27 win over the Bulls as time expired when he ran down the field before sliding.
http://www.bsudailynews.com/mobile/football-ball-state-proves-it-s-no-longer-an-average-team-1.2768011

Bowling Green:
BOWLING GREEN -- The Bowling Green State University football team will be making some changes after its disappointing loss at Virginia Tech Saturday.
The changes will be subtle ones, though.
The Falcons' two-deep for the contest against Rhode Island Saturday at Doyt Perry Stadium is unchanged, but coach Dave Clawson hinted that who starts a game is only part of the game-plan puzzle.
"Is the depth chart the same? Yes," Clawson said. "But who gets the most [plays] during the game is up in the air depending on how players practice."
http://www.toledoblade.com/BGSU/2012/09/25/Clawson-hints-at-likely-changes.html

Buffalo:
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo struggled to get its offense going and dropped a primetime matchup with division-foe Kent State, 23-7, at UB Stadium on Wednesday night.
Injuries to key players were a huge factor in the game as All-MAC running back Branden Oliver as well as starting defensive end Steven Means and starting wide receiver Fred Lee were lost for the game with first-half injuries.
After two games of producing eye-popping offensive numbers, the Bulls struggled to get their offense going all night. Buffalo was held to a season-low 267 yards of total offense.
"It was a disappointed loss and very frustrating. I'm very aggravated," head coach Jeff Quinn said. "I expected us to play a lot better, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Give Kent State credit, they came in here and won a football game."
http://www.buffalobulls.com/sports/fball/2012-13/releases/20120920k9oh1i

Central Michigan:
MOUNT PLEASANT – Central Michigan senior quarterback Ryan Radcliff and senior kicker David Harman have been recognized with MAC West Player of the Week honors for their standout efforts in the Chippewas’ thrilling, come-from-behind 32-31 road win over Iowa on Saturday. Radcliff was named MAC West Co-Offensive Player of the Week while Harman earned Special Teams Player of the Week accolades.
Radcliff triggered a Central Michigan offense that totaled 394 yards, exactly 100 yards more than the Iowa defense had been allowing on average entering the game. Radcliff was on-target and efficient versus the Hawkeyes, completing 26-of-35 (74%) of his passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He started the game red hot, completing his first eight passes, and finished with a flurry, engineering a late fourth quarter scoring drive that covered 64 yards in just 1:33. Radcliff found receiver Titus Davis with a 13-yard touchdown strike with 45 seconds remaining to pull CMU within two points and then, after the Chippewas recovered an onside kick, guided the offense into position for Harman to boot the winning field goal.
http://www.cmuchippewas.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46371&SPID=4199&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205693073&DB_OEM_ID=10500

Eastern Michigan:
EAST LANSING, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - -  For more than three quarters, the Eastern Michigan University football team was in perfect position to stun Michigan State  University and pull off one of the biggest upsets in Spartan Stadium history.
EMU held a 7-3 advantage heading into the locker room at the half against No. 20/21 ranked MSU Saturday, Sept. 22, here at Spartan Stadium. But in the end it was the Spartans pushing in a pair of late scores to seal the 23-7 decision.
Eastern Michigan's losing skid against the Big Ten Conference nearly came to an end, but despite the valiant effort the Eagles drop to 0-4 on the young season. Meanwhile, the Spartans improved their mark to 3-1 on the year and 9-0 all-time versus Eastern.
Getting his first career start, redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyler Benz (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine Township South) led the Eagles offensively, going 13-for-26 for 137 yards via the air and a score.  Tight end Garrett Hoskins (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Creston) was the Eagles' leading receiver on the afternoon with a career-best eight catches for 102 yards.
http://www.emueagles.com/news/2012/9/22/FB_0922122600.aspx?path=football

Kent State:
Darrell Hazell is in the process of making a critical decision.
A choice that will severely impact the remainder of his Kent State football team’s 2012 season, for better or for worse. A selection that, when all is said and done, could be the biggest factor between a team that struggles to reach .500 or a squad that competes for a Mid-American Conference championship.
For the final time, Hazell must pick a starting quarterback
http://www.recordpub.com/news/sports_article/5217566?page=0

UMass:
AMHERST — From the way the University of Massachusetts football players were talking on Monday, you wouldn’t know that they were getting ready to take on the overwhelming favorite in their league, the Ohio Bobcats, on Saturday.
To them, it’s just another team in a different colored jersey.
“I’ve heard about them, but I’ve heard about everybody,” center Quinton Sales said.
http://www.masslive.com/umassfootball/index.ssf/2012/09/umass_football_notebook_talkin.html

Miami OH:
OXFORD, Ohio -- Miami University quarterback ZAC DYSERT (Ada) was named Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week Monday (Sept. 24) for his statistical accomplishments against the University of Massachusetts.
The senior quarterback had a hand in all four RedHawk touchdowns as Miami defeated UMass in the season opener at Yager Stadium, 27-16. Dysert completed nearly 55 percent of his 22 passes, throwing for 192 yards and three touchdowns (49, 17 and 33 yards). He also ran the ball 12 times for 76 net yards and scored one TD. In MAC career passing categories, Dysert now ranks tenth in passing yardage (9,427), eighth in completions (855, also a school record, passing Ben Roethlisberger with 854) and is tied for 19th in touchdown passes (53).
http://www.muredhawks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=26100&ATCLID=205693767

Northern Illinois:
DEKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois University quarterback Jordan Lynch (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel) earned his second consecutive Mid-American Conference honor when he was named the MAC West Co-Offensive Player of the Week following NIU's 30-23 victory over Kansas, the league office announced Monday.
Lynch, Central Michigan quarterback Ryan Radcliff and Ball State signal caller Keith Wenning shared the weekly honor after each led his team to a victory over a BCS automatic qualifying league opponent.
Lynch followed up last week's performance at Army, which earned him MAC West Offensive Player of the Week honors, by leading Northern Illinois to 17 fourth-quarter points in the fourth quarter as the Huskies came back from a 23-13 deficit to defeat Kansas. He threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns on 25-of-35 passing and added 134 yards on the ground on 22 rushing attempts. In just his fourth career start, Lynch surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in both passing (1,024) and rushing (1,046).
http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/092412aae.html

Ohio:
Columbus -- Twenty-seven major college football teams remain undefeated.
You can arrange them by conference: Big 12 (7); SEC (6); Pac-12 (3); Big East (3); Big Ten (3); WAC (2); ACC (1); MAC (1); and Notre Dame.
You can arrange them by state: Texas (five, Texas, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor, Texas-San Antonio); Ohio (three, Ohio State, Ohio, Cincinnati); Florida (two, Florida State, Florida); Oregon (two, Oregon, Oregon State) and Louisiana (two, LSU, Louisiana Tech) and 13 states with one team.
http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2012/09/ohio_bobcats_could_run_the_tab.html

Toledo:
TOLEDO - Toledo's quest for a Mid-American Conference Championship finds its way to Kalamazoo this Saturday as the Rockets face Western Michigan in a West Division battle. Despite the fact that this is only the second league game for Toledo, and the first for WMU,  the contest could be a big factor in determining who ends up on top of the MAC West by season's end.
The Rockets survived a stiff challenge from non-conference opponent Coastal Carolina last Saturday, rallying to defeat the Chanticleers, 38-28, at the Glass Bowl. The issue was not settled until the Chanticleers were stopped on downs on their final possession of the game.
http://www.utrockets.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18000&ATCLID=205693992

Western Michigan:
KALAMAZOO, MI -- The Western Michigan University football looked good against Connecticut in Saturday's 30-24 victory.
WMU hopes to look really good in this Saturday's Mid-American Conference opener against Toledo. The Broncos will be dressed for the occasion, anyway.
WMU unveiled alternate uniforms Monday night. Check them out in this video and these photos. You can also watch the Broncos players' reaction to the new unis, called "tech fit" from Adidas.
http://www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2012/09/western_michigan_football_unve.html