A look at the schools that are overlooked by the ESPNs of the world.


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

MAC News and Notes: 10/2/12


Akron:
With a couple of days to digest what happened against in their 56-49 loss to the Miami RedHawks, the Akron Zips will concentrate on returning to fundamentals defensively and moving on from a disappointing loss.
Offensively the RedHawks racked up more than 700 yards against the Zips defense.  In their past two games, the Zips have given up better than 1,300 yards of offense.  Although some might argue that was to be expected against the Tennessee Volunteers, it can be argued that it should have been a different story against Miami as their quarterback Zac Dysert ran wild and completed passes at will.
“When everyone did what they were supposed to do from the standpoint of assignments and technique, everything looked like a million dollars,” assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Chuck Amato said.

Ball State:
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State linebacker Travis Freeman said he felt something different when he walked around campus after Saturday's dramatic win against South Florida.
There was a buzz.
"Everybody is a little excited about how this season has started," Freeman said. "Like just with the community . . . and the fan support and the faculty and staff on campus. Everybody's excited. It's a big time for them. Everybody feels good about where the football program is."
The Cardinals felt the extra buzz as their program picked up some high-profile exposure following the 31-27 victory against the Bulls (from the Big East) and a 41-39 win Sept. 15 at Indiana (Big Ten).

Bowling Green:
BOWLING GREEN – The impact Anthon Samuel is having on the Bowling Green State University football team in his young career is undeniable.
But the person who had the greatest impact on the Falcons’ star running back is his father, who also was named Anthon. The senior Samuel for whom the BG running back was named passed away when the Falcons running back was eight.
The impact was so great that Samuel honors his father by writing, “RIP Dad” in silver marker on his jersey sleeve before every contest.
“My dad really got me started in football, so I do that every game to honor him,” Samuel said. “Before every game I look at his picture, and I listen to his favorite songs, and that motivates me.”

Buffalo:
BUFFALO, NY - Junior linebacker Khalil Mack was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Defensive Player of the Week Monday, fresh off a Saturday game at Connecticut where he recorded 3.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a sack. The weekly honor was the third of his career, and the first of the 2012 season.
Mack continued to be a terror in the offensive backfield, as he pushed his season total in tackles for loss to an astounding 11 through just three games. Even more impressive than that, he has posted 4.5 sacks over that span as well. In total, Mack has 24 total tackles through three games, and has made the opposition pay for almost every single one. His 11 tackles for loss have gone for 49 yards, and his 4.5 sacks have pushed the offense back 38 yards. His sack of Chandler Whitmer forced a fumble late in the second quarter, and gave Mack his eighth forced fumble as a Bull, setting a new career program record. For the season, Khalil has 24 tackles (17 solo).

Central Michigan:
DeKALB, Ill. - A pair of second-half turnovers thwarted two Central Michigan comeback attempts in a league-opening 55-24 loss at Northern Illinois.
The Chippewas (2-2, 0-1 MAC) came out of the half down just 10, and struck quickly with a 92-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage when Ryan Radcliff found Titus Davis for a short completion and Davis raced away to bring Central Michigan within three, 24-21.
The defense came up with a big stop in the red zone on the Huskies' (4-1, 1-0 MAC) ensuing possession, holding Northern to a field goal and giving the offense the ball back with just a six-point deficit, 27-21.
With the Chippewas driving downfield and threatening to take the lead, a Radcliff pass inside the red zone was tipped at the line of scrimmage and picked off by Sean Progar. The first turnover of the game eventually led to a Husky field goal and a 13-point deficit for the Chippewas.

Eastern Michigan:
The Eastern Michigan football program is at the forefront of a new effort to decrease concussions by strengthening players’ necks.
Eastern Michigan head coach Ron English with his team before the Illinois State game.
A report this week from Sports Illustrated details how coach Ron English has created target neck sizes for players, depending on their position. EMU players now devote 20-25 minutes in weightroom sessions to neck strengthening, and EMU invested in six neck machines last year.

Kent State:
Spencer Keith insists that he believed.
Trailing by one huge point with 1:16 showing on the clock and facing a fourth-and-10 from his own 33-yard line with no timeouts left, Kent State’s much-maligned senior quarterback claims he knew a victory was coming.
Even though his status as the team’s starting quarterback was up in the air all week long.
Even though he’d just thrown his first interception in nine games to put Ball State in position for the go-ahead touchdown.

Massachusetts:
AMHERST — Against Miami (Ohio), it was true freshman linebacker Kassan Messiah who stepped into the lineup for the University of Massachusetts football team and made a statement. Saturday against Ohio University, it was Joe Colton’s turn.
The true freshman safety, who walked on at UMass after playing at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, racked up 12 tackles against the Bobcats in place of the injured Christian Birt.

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).

Northern Illinois:
DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois kicker Mathew Sims gave the Huskies their fifth straight Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week honor Monday when he was chosen as the MAC West Specialist of the Week by the league office.
Sims won the award after scoring 17 points, including six on a seven-yard rushing touchdown off a fake field goal, in the Huskies’ 55-24 victory over Central Michigan Saturday at Huskie Stadium.  Sims, the first team All-MAC kicker a year ago, won a MAC weekly award for the first time in his career.
With the Huskies leading 34-24 and 11:28 to play, Sims lined up for an apparent 24-yard field goal attempt but instead received a lateral flip from holder Ryan Neir and ran seven yards for his first career touchdown.  Hit late in the end zone, Sims then got up and made his fifth PAT of the game.

Ohio:
Ohio University’s football team should not to be confused with, compared with, or even mentioned in the same breath with Ohio State University. The teams’ expectations and histories diverged a century ago, and Ohio is not contemplating a challenge to the Buckeyes for state supremacy.
But this season, both teams are off to 4-0 starts. And Ohio started the season with a 24-14 victory at Penn State.
“We’re not at the level of their program by any stretch of the imagination,” said Ohio coach Frank Solich. “No school in the MAC is. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make strides to elevate our program.

Toledo:
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Laziness. Poor practicing. A failure by the coaches to prepare their team.
Various opinions were offered two weeks ago when the University of Toledo came out lifeless and proceeded to play a clunker in a win over a Football Championship Subdivision team.
If Saturday was a challenge to fix those shortcomings, consider the challenge fulfilled. Determined to not allow that meager performance to spill into the rest of the season, the Rockets played a brilliant first quarter to jump start a 37-17 win at Western Michigan.
In racing out to a 17-0 lead after one quarter, Toledo outgained the Broncos 259-14, picked up 12 first downs to zero, and harassed stand-in quarterback Tyler Van Tubbergen into three three-and-outs to start the game.
The Rockets, 4-1 for the first time since 2005, got 213 rushing yards from David Fluellen, three field goals from Jeremiah Detmer, and a defensive touchdown from reserve cornerback Jordan Haden.

Western Michigan:
KALAMAZOO, MI – A marketing ploy did not end well Saturday night at Waldo Stadium.
In an attempt to keep up with the hottest college football fashion trends and possibly catch the attention of future recruits, the Broncos came out wearing shiny gray helmets and mostly-black alternate uniforms.
By 10:30 p.m., replica cardboard helmets littered Waldo Stadium and the alternate uniforms were probably boxed up and on their way to the depths of Hangar 51 for Indiana Jones to find years from now.

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