MAC Week Three Review

Another week is in the books for the 2015 college football season with MAC going 6-7 with only one  conference game (Ball State-EMU) taking place. Let's take a look at the good, bad, and ugly of week three MAC football action.

Week Three Scoreboard:

• Minnesota 10, Kent State 7
• Buffalo 33, Florida Atlantic 15
• Akron 52, Savannah State 9
• Syracuse 30, Central Michigan 27 (OT)
• Ohio 35, Southeastern Louisiana 14
• Temple 25, Massachusetts 23
• Memphis 44, Bowling Green 41
• Ball State 28, Eastern Michigan 17
• Cincinnati 37, Miami (OH) 33
• Ohio State 20, Northern Illinois 13
• Western Michigan 52, Murray State 20
• Toledo 30, Iowa State 23 (2OT)

Who/What Looked Good:

• Buffalo’s Defense: The Bulls forced five FAU turnover, retuning three for touchdowns, in the 33-15 win. FAU moved the football, but when you outscore an entire team with defensive scores, it is a very good day.
• Roger Lewis: As good as quarterback Matt Johnson played versus Memphis, Lewis was even better with 261 yards receiving. Lewis proved to the nation just why he is one of the best receiving prospects in the FBS in dominating a good Memphis defense. Lewis leads the nation with 510 receiving yards.
• Northern Illinois’ Defense: The national story is that Ohio State played poorly, but the Huskies made every play of the game a battle in holding the defending national champions to 298 total yards, 14 first downs, and creating five turnovers. The NIU defense only gave up 13 of the 20 Ohio State points.  
• Toledo: The mark of a great team is the ability to beat a good team on an off day. That is what Toledo did despite totaling only 309 yards and 16 first downs. Toledo is in the driver’s seat for a perfect season.

Who/What Looked Bad:

• Close But Not Quite: Six different MAC schools had a chance late in the game to pull a major upset and could not come through with the win. Moral victories are nice, but beating a Minnesota, Syracuse, Temple, Memphis, Cincinnati, or Ohio State would have been huge for the conference.
• Bowling Green’s Defense: The Falcons have a video game offense with at least 30 points scored in all three games of the season. The defense was never expected to be very good, but it has been downright terrible on several occasions. It is hard to take the Falcons seriously until they prove they can stop someone.
• The UMass Ending: The Minutemen were an extra point away from taking a four point lead with 1:20 left in the game. Instead, their kick was returned for a two point score followed by Temple driving for a game winning field goal. The kick was good, sending UMass to a sickening loss.

Week Four Schedule:

• Central Michigan at Michigan State
• Bowling Green at Purdue
• Northern Illinois at Boston College
• Ohio at Minnesota
• Massachusetts at Notre Dame
• Marshall at Kent State
• Miami (OH) at Western Kentucky
• Nevada at Buffalo
• Western Michigan at Ohio State
• Army at Eastern Michigan
• Akron at Louisiana
• Arkansas State at Toledo
• Ball State at Northwestern