AKRON, Ohio -- A little sunshine is sure to beam down on either Akron
or Central Michigan Saturday as one of them will pull out its first league
victory of the dwindling football season.
Akron (1-7, 0-4 Mid-American Conference) goes into the game against the
Chippewas (2-5, 0-3) in Mount Pleasant, Mich., looking for its first road win
since Oct. 18, 2008, at Eastern Michigan. That was six wins and four years ago,
when J.D. Brookhart was the coach.
Akron coach Terry Bowden's team is battling mounting injuries --
starting tailback Jawon Chisholm is expected to miss the game with wrist and
shoulder injuries -- as it looks for its second victory of the season. Even
though Chisholm is out and the Zips' passing game is potent, look for Akron to
run the football more. CMU has allowed an average of 234.4 yards per game on
the ground, with 20 touchdowns.
Ball State:
Ball State’s final home game of the 2012 season against Ohio will have
some additions on Nov. 14 in Schuemann Stadium.
In a news release sent by the university, Scheumann Stadium will have a
video board for the first time, the team will wear black jerseys and one fan
has the chance to receive a car. All of the promotions are part of a continued
effort to raise attendance numbers to watch Ball State.
“This is exactly the kind of excitement and offerings that I’d like to
see around our home games,” coach Pete Lembo said. “We want to make our home
games entertaining events where the game itself is the centerpiece, but there’s
a lot of things going on to enhance the atmosphere.”
Lembo said most of the credit for creating the promotions for the
Senior Night to athletic director Bill Scholl and the athletic administrators.
The video board was made possible through Ball State’s corporate
sponsors and will be used just for the Nov. 14 game, but there is the
possibility a video board could be installed permanently in the future.
Bowling Green:
BOWLING GREEN – The defense for the Bowling Green State University
football team has put together a string of impressive Saturdays.
In the Falcons’ last five games, all wins, the defense has allowed just
23 points. Those five opponents have averaged roughly 208 yards of total
offense and combined for just three touchdowns, the same number of scores the
BG defense has produced.
Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson admits his team’s defense has looked
good on Saturdays. But he said one reason for that success is that the defense
has started to look good on Tuesdays, too.
“The things people don’t see are their attention to detail and the
effort that those guys practice with,” Clawson said of the defense. “We present
them with preliminary scheme on Sunday and have Monday off.
“The past two years Tuesdays have been a mess. It goes to show how
coach-able those guys are. They know the game-plan and they know the checks and
they know the offensive formations.
“Those guys have grown up.”
Buffalo:
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo football team came up just
short in its bid to upset Toledo, falling to the Rockets, 25-20, at a rainy UB
Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Buffalo had three offensive weapons back in its arsenal as Branden
Oliver, Alex Neutz and Fred Lee were all back in the starting lineup. Playing
in his first game since Sept. 19, Oliver finished with 101 yards on 24 carries.
Neutz, who missed the last game with a chest injury, had six catches for 135
yards and a touchdown.
Buffalo came out with a great defensive game plan to stop the
high-octane offense of the Rockets. The Bulls held Toledo to just 115 yards of
offense in the first half.
Cortney Lester put the Bulls on the board first as he intercepted a
pass and scampered 23 yards for a touchdown with 7:48 left in the first
quarter.
Toledo answered back with a defensive touchdown of its own as Dan Molls
returned a UB fumble 13 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.
Alex Zordich connected with Devin Campbell on a 42-yard touchdown pass
with 7:06 left in the half to give the Bulls a 14-7 lead – a lead they would
take into the locker room at halftime.
Central Michigan:
MOUNT PLEASANT, MI — Junior running back Zurlon Tipton has been named
the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week honors for his standout performance
in Central Michigan’s 35-14 win over Akron last Saturday.
It's the first such award of his career.
Tipton rushed his way into the Central Michigan football record books
versus the Zips, posting career highs in yards (243), attempts (37), and
touchdowns (3). Tipton’s 243-yard effort is tied for eighth all-time on CMU’s
single game rushing list and makes him the first Chippewa to break the 200-yard
barrier on the ground since 2010 when Paris Cotton ran for 207 versus Eastern
Michigan.
Tipton started the game fast, taking a hand off on CMU’s second play
from scrimmage and racing down the sideline for a career-long 72-yard
touchdown. He went on to add scoring runs from five and six yards out to equal
his career high of three touchdowns set earlier this year in awin over
Southeast Missouri State. Tipton's previous career best was 18 carries and 180
yards.
Eastern Michigan:
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Eastern Michigan punter Jay Karutz was named a
candidate for the Ray Guy Award. The list of 69 candidates will be narrowed to
10 semifinalists Nov. 9. The presentation of the award will take place Dec. 6
and will be shown live on an ESPN awards show. ... EMU quarterback Tyler Benz
was named the MAC male scholar-athlete of the week.
Kent State:
It’s been 39 years since it’s felt this good to be a member of the Kent
State football program.
The Golden Flashes are still being showered with praise and accolades
following Saturday’s stunningly decisive 35-23 victory over No. 18 Rutgers —
and deservedly so. Kent State is 7-1 for the first time since 1973, has won six
straight games for the first time since 1940, and sits all alone atop the
Mid-American Conference East Division standings at 4-0 with four league games
remaining.
On Monday, head coach Darrell Hazell and his Flashes were beaming with
pride over Saturday’s performance in Piscataway, N.J.
“That was a great game. It was a great environment, and our kids were
hitting on all cylinders,” said Hazell. “It was just a lot of fun to be out
there and feel the energy from the players, from the sidelines, walking up the
tunnel after halftime, just all the energy that was being provided by our guys.
That’s probably the best from start to finish energy-wise and confidence-wise
that our team showed since we’ve been here. It was a lot of fun.”
But one word immediately wiped all the smiles off their faces during
Monday’s press conference.
Akron.
“Everyone’s pretty pumped up, but now we just gotta keep it going,”
said KSU junior defensive end Mark Fackler. “We can’t celebrate. We gotta get
ready for Akron now.”
Massachusetts:
AMHERST — If there’s one thing the 0-8 Minutemen would like on Saturday
— other than a win, of course — it’s a first-half visit to the end zone.
In its last two games, UMass (0-8, 0-4 Mid-American Conference) hasn’t
scored in the first half. It is probably no coincidence that it was outscored
in those two games, 73-7. The Minutemen’s last first-half touchdown came Oct. 6
during a 52-14 loss to Western Michigan.
“Once we get in the end zone, everybody’s confidence increases
exponentially,” coach Charley Molnar said. “It’s hard to be confident, to come
out as well as the defense has played in some games in the first half, and
you’ve got a goose egg on the scoreboard. You’re talking about coming back and
winning the game. But everybody is probably wondering inside, ‘Is the offense
going to get in the end zone?’ It’s been hard duty for the offense to do that.”
The last two games, the UMass defense has blunted opposing attacks in
the first half. On Oct. 20 at Gillette Stadium, UMass trailed Bowling Green at
halftime, 7-0. Last Saturday on the road, for most of the first half, the
Minutemen limited Vanderbilt to a lone touchdown. The Commodores scored two
touchdowns in a 55-second span late in the second quarter.
Miami (OH):
OXFORD, Ohio -- Nine seconds. No timeouts. Kick the tying field goal
and go to overtime, or try for the win outright by running one more play? No.
23 Ohio had a big decision to end its first game as a ranked team since 1968.
The Bobcats went for it and lost.
Tyler Tettleton lost track of his team's timeouts and held onto the
ball too long, getting sacked to preserve Miami of Ohio's 23-20 upset of its
Mid-American Conference rival on Saturday.
"Pandemonium, man!" said defensive end Wes Williams, who
wrapped up Tettleton and watched the clock run out. "It was crazy! That's
what you play football for."
The Bobcats (7-1, 3-1) had won the last six games in the edgy rivalry,
and had a chance to take this one to overtime after Tettleton - one of the
country's most dependable quarterbacks under pressure - scrambled out of bounds
at the Miami 7-yard line with 9 seconds left.
Kick it? Risk it? Ohio coach Frank Solich considered junior's poise
under pressure - only one interception all season - and let him run one more
play.
Northern Illinois:
DEKALB — Northern Illinois is on a roll, the kind that starts to
attract national attention.
The Huskies (8-1, 5-0 MAC) have the longest conference winning streak
in the country at 13 games. And their Huskie Stadium winning streak (19) ranks
second in FBS competition to LSU (22), which hosts Alabama on Saturday.
The improved quality of competition in the MAC is being recognized, as
well. The MAC already has six bowl-eligible teams. Toledo, Northern Illinois,
Kent State and Ohio have a combined record of 30-4. Ball State (6-3) and
Bowling Green (6-3) also are bowl-eligible.
The MAC was ranked fifth-strongest nationally this week by
CBSSports.com, behind the SEC, the Big 12, the Pac-12 and the Big Ten.
"I remember the last home game that we lost here (Sept. 26, 2009)
against Idaho when I was a redshirt freshman," senior defensive end Sean
Progar said Tuesday. "So that's a big streak. But the biggest one for the
program is obviously the MAC streak. As long as we keep that going, we know the
program is making a point to be the best … the best in the MAC."
Ohio:
Coming off their first loss of the season, the Ohio Bobcat football
team prepares for a tough upcoming pair of games against Eastern Michigan and
Bowling Green that, including last Saturday's loss against Miami, totals three
games in a span of just 12 days.
Although this is a difficult task due to the physicality of the sport,
head coach Frank Solich said he's relying on past experience to best utilize
the limited practice time.
"We've been here a couple times before when we've had to play
three games in 12 days. That is not easy on your football team," Solich
acknowledged. "Physically, that's challenging to do, so we've got to be
somewhat smart about how we practice, but yet, we've got to go into the game
with a mental attitude of really having to play physical football if you're
going to get it done."
With almost everything going right for the Bobcats prior to their game
in Oxford, the loss was tough to take. However, Solich said that his players
have mostly put the loss behind them in focusing their efforts on their next
opponent.
Redshirt junior running back Beau Blankenship succinctly echoed his
coach's sentiments. "Every loss hurts, but that one really hurt,"
Blankenship said. "It's heartbreaking, but we've just got to move on and
put it behind us and get better."
While redshirt junior quarterback Tyler Tettleton could be forgiven for
being especially hard on himself after his end-of-the-game mistake in
Saturday's defeat (taking a sack, which ran out the clock when a field goal try
would have been available otherwise), he also knows that there's no point in
dwelling on the past. He's ready to move forward.
http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/article-38296-rscats-ready-to-put-disappointing-loss-behind-them.html
Toledo:
This is as close to a bye week as the University of Toledo will
experience this football season.
The Rockets are back in action Tuesday night against Ball State, giving
them some precious time to gear up for a pivotal stretch of mid-week tests that
will sort out the hierarchy in the Mid-American Conference.
Coach Matt Campbell has instituted three objectives for his team in its
brief reprieve: Stay healthy, sharpen their fundamentals, and prepare for a
credible Cardinals squad that will visit the Glass Bowl before a national TV
audience on ESPN2 at 8 p.m..
The Rockets, who have played nine Saturdays in a row, are one of six
MAC teams to not have enjoyed a full week off since the summer.
Satisfying Campbell’s first goal, to stay healthy, will take little
effort. After nine weeks of mostly down-to-the-wire battles, including the last
three played in rain, the Rockets (8-1, 5-0) are remarkably healthy. No one
other than defensive ends T.J. Fatinikun and Christian Smith, who suffered
season-ending injuries five weeks ago, is expected to miss out on Toledo’s bid
to win its ninth in a row. Still, the garden variety bumps and bruises are
accumulating — for instance, running back David Fluellen’s wrist on Monday was
confined to a protective cast — and the absence of decisive wins means starters
have had scant rest. That changed Sunday, a typical day of practice that
Campbell called off.
"It comes at a good time to give those guys a day or two to
regroup themselves," Campbell said.
Western Michigan:
KALAMAZOO, MI – Kyle Lark could not put his finger on it, but he said
there is definitely something special about this week.
The Alma native and junior Western Michigan University linebacker said
he has had an eye on the Broncos’ rivalry with Central Michigan University
since he was a young boy and he said the games in Mt. Pleasant always created
an enthusiastic environment.
“Growing up in the Alma area I’ve known about this rivalry since I was
eight,” I’ve been to a lot of these games. It feels like a Big Ten atmosphere.
Everyone is there to watch and they’re totally into the game. Everybody becomes
diehards.”
Lark became a Bronco in 2009 and the intensity of the rivalry was put
in a brand new light.
http://www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2012/10/wmu_football_players_say_theyr.html
http://www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2012/10/wmu_football_players_say_theyr.html
No comments:
Post a Comment