Week 1 MAC Recap

 Week 1 of MACtion is in the books, and there was a lot to dissect. I wanted to take this time to just briefly go over the other games in the MAC so if you only watched the BG game you can get a decent feel for the conference this week. 

Eastern Michigan vs Kent State

EMU took on Kent State in one of the two early games. Kent State jumped out to an early 13 point lead as Dustin Crum was showing off his skills with a throwing touchdown as well as one on the ground. The first quarter wasn't past the excitement as the Eastern Michigan Eagles rallied of 9 points with a Chad Ryland field goal and a passing touchdown from Preston Hutchinson to Thomas Odukoya. Kent State went back in the drivers seat with an early 2nd quarter touchdown by RB Xavier Williams put the Golden Flashes up 20-9. In the 2nd half the Eagles actually looked like the better team but still fell short as the Flashes held on for a 27-23 win. The main takeaways for the game was that Kent both ran and threw for over 200 yards, establishing a balanced attack, but also incurred 9 penalties. EMU lost the turnover battle 2-1 and also only gained 61 yards on the ground. Both defenses had C level games, and special teams missed some early PATs. Dustin Crum had an ugly picked but overall looked good as the Flashes look to build on their momentum, winning 5 games in a row now counting last season. 

Western Michigan vs Akron

Akron started off this game with an onside kick, what a way to kick off weekday MACtion. This game went as expected. Akron went up 7-3 but eventually the dominant offensive and defensive lines took over for the Broncos. WMU held the Zips to just 6 points in the last 3 quarters, and out scored Akron 28-0 in the 2nd half. Kaleb Eleby was stellar for the Broncos, going 12-16 with 262 yards and 3 touchdowns. The sophomore was able to sit back as his line just pushed past the Akron defense. Tough start for the Zips as head coach Tom Arth moves to 0-13 in his tenure in Ohio. The Zips averaged just 3 yards a pass and struggled to get anything going. Only up for here for Akron, and the Broncos have their toughest test of the season against Toledo. 

Ball State vs Miami-OH

This game was absolute craziness. The defending MAC Champs hosted the ever mediocre Ball State Cardinals, a team boasting the longest bowl drought in the conference. Well, the Cardinals came out hot scoring the first TD to go up 7-0 on a Justin Hall run. This game proved to be pretty back and forth as Miami tied up the game 7-7. It is also important to note last year's QB Brett Gabbert got injured early and backup AJ Mayer became the field general. After a lot of back and forth, and not much defense, the game was 31-21 early in the 4th quarter in favor of Miami. The RedHawks then fell to a spot where Ball State not only tied the game up 31-31 with a FG with one minute left, they got the ball back again. Instead of running out the clock for OT, coach Mike Neu decided it to take a risk and get down the field to score. However, the defending champs forced a fumble at the 10 yard line and scored a touchdown by Zack Kahn to go ahead 38-31 with just 10 seconds left. Both teams left a lot to be desired by their defense but both teams can walk away with confidence in the offense. 

Ohio vs Central Michigan

This was another tight game, as the Bobcats game into this game against the defending MAC West champions. This game was a thriller all the way through, as no team took a lead of more than 7. All the way down to the 4th quarter where CMU took a 30-27 lead with over 9 minutes left. The defenses then showed up and showed out as each team was held scoreless the rest of the way. Kurtis Rourke, the younger brother of Ohio legend Nathan Rourke, had a great first game. Rourke went 12-19 with 231 yards, 2 touchdowns and no picks. CMU had to start freshman Daniel Richardson who went 23-41 with 243 yards and 1 touchdown. CMU running back Kobe Lewis took the Bobcats by storm, rushing for 112 yards and 2 scores. Overall the offense and defense for both sides of the ball played well and I think each team should have some confidence going into week 2. 

Buffalo vs Northern Illinois

The pre-season favorite to win the MAC Buffalo came to Dekalb to take on the NIU Huskies, a team that dominated the 2010s decade. Buffalo entered the game and never lost the lead. 2 defensive scores by the Bulls and they were up 42-16 in what seemed to be a blowout. NIU clawed back to make it respectable but still fell 49-30. Jaret Paterson was the story of the day, rushing 20 times for 137 yards, averaging 7 yards per carry with 2 touchdowns. Buffalo should have all the confidence in the world as they seem to be far and away the best team in the East, while NIU is poise to struggle in the West.