MAC Previews - Week 11
Courtesy of The MAC
November 8, 2007


THIS WEEK'S SCHDULE
November 6 - Tuesday
*Central Michigan at Western Michigan, 7:30 p.m. - ESPN2

November 7 - Wednesday
*Ohio at Akron, 7:30 p.m. - ESPN2

November 9 - Friday
*Bowling Green at Eastern Michigan, 7:30 p.m. - ESPNU

November 10 - Saturday
Penn State at Temple, 12 p.m. - ESPNU
*Kent State at Northern Illinois, 3 p.m. - CSN Chicago

idle - Ball State (Nov. 13 vs. Toledo)
idle - Buffalo (Nov. 17 vs. Bowling Green)
idle - Miami (Nov. 14 vs. Akron)
idle - Toledo (Nov. 13 at Ball State)


LAST WEEK’S SCORES:
November 2 - Friday
*at Ohio 23, Temple 7
*at Bowling Green 44, Akron 20

November 3 - Saturday
at Indiana 38, Ball State 20
*at Miami 31, Buffalo 28
*at Toledo 52, Eastern Michigan 28


West Division Outlook
With a win over Western Michigan on Tuesday, the defending MAC Champion Central Michigan Chippewas would secure their place in the Marathon MAC Football Championship game Dec. 1 at Ford Field in Detroit. A win would give CMU a 4-0 division record. The worse they could finish would be in a 4-1 tie with Ball State, and the Chippewas hold the tiebreaker over the Cardinals. CMU defeated BSU 58-38 on Oct. 6.

East Division Outlook
The Miami RedHawks tied Buffalo for first place last week, however, with its win over UB, the Red-Hawks hold the tiebreaker. Miami can advance to the MAC Championship game with wins Nov. 14 at home vs. Akron and Nov. 24 at Ohio. UB would need Miami to lose in order to be a contender for the division title, and two-loss Bowling Green and Ohio also need RedHawk losses to climb back into the title chase.

McRae Climbs the List
Ohio RB Kalvin McRae jumped from 10th place into eighth place on the all-time MAC rushing list with his 151 yards in the 23-7 win over Temple. McRae boosted his total to 4,177 yards, just 13 yards from seventh place and 42 yards from sixth place. He is 191 yards from fifth place all-time. McRae’s 43 career rushing TDs is tied for sixth in league history and two behind the 45 rush TDs by Josh Cribbs of Kent State (2001-04).

Brown Town
Central Michigan freshman Antonio Brown has 1,540 all-purpose yards, just 10 yards shy of the MAC freshman record of 1,550 by former Chippewa Jerry Seymour in 2003. Brown will go for the record Tuesday night at Western Michigan.


MAC QUICK HITS
LAST WEEK (Nov. 2-3) - Miami grabbed a piece of first place in the East Division with a 31-28 triumph over Buffalo, handing the Bulls their first division loss. Ohio stopped Temple’s threegame winning streak, 23-7, in a win that kept the Bobcat’s championship hopes alive. Bowling Green derailed Akron 44-20 and also remained in the title chase for the East Division. In the West, Eastern Michigan suffered a 52-28 loss at Toledo to become one of three teams with two division losses.

THIS WEEK (Nov. 6-10) - The MAC’s national television lineup continues Tuesday (Nov. 6) with a West Division showdown on ESPN2 between rivals Central Michigan and Western Michigan at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo. Wednesday (Nov. 7) also on ESPN2, an East Division encounter has Ohio at Akron. A Nov. 9 ESPNU game has Bowling Green at Eastern Michigan with a 7:30 start time. The Saturday (Nov. 10) slate has Kent State at Northern Illinois and Penn State at Temple with a noon start for the ESPNU televised game from Lincoln Financial Field.

NEXT WEEK (Nov. 14-17) - Four playing dates for MAC teams dot the calender. Tuesday (Nov. 13) has Toledo at Ball State on ESPN2. Wednesday (Nov. 14) shows Akron at Miami on ESPN2. A Friday night (Nov. 16) contest has Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan (Comcast Local). Four games will be staged on Saturday (Nov. 17) with two East Division match ups in Bowling Green at Buffalo and Kent State at Temple. Non-conference action has Northern Illinois at Navy and Western Michigan at Iowa.


MR 4,000: Ohio RB Kalvin McRae became the 11th player in league history to reach 4,000-plus rushing yards Oct. 27 with his 200 yards at Bowling Green. McRae has a chance to move up on the list (below) in the Bobcats final two games (at Akron, Miami).
Player, school Yards Years All-time (NCAA)
1. Travis Prentice, MIA 5,596 1996-99 Sixth
2. Garrett Wolfe, NIU 5,164 2004-06 11th
3. Michael Turner, NIU 4,941 2000-03 18th
4. Chester Taylor, UT 4,659 1998-01 27th
5. Deland McCullough, MIA 4,368 1992-95 -
6. Robert Sanford, WMU 4,219 1997-00 -
7. Jerome Persell, WMU 4,190 1976-78 -
8. Kalvin McRae, OU 4,177 2004-07 - (2 games remaining)
9. George Swarm, MIA 4,172 1983-86 -
10. Curtis Adams, CMU 4,162 1981-84 -
11. Marcus Merriweather, BSU 4,002 1999-02 -

RAY GUY FINALISTS: Three MAC punters were named (Nov. 1) to the finalist list for the Ray Guy Award, which goes to the nation’s most outstanding collegiate punter and is selected by the Greater Augusta Sports Council. Ball State’s Chris Miller, Toledo’s Brett Kern and Buffalo’s Ben Woods were recognized among the 10 finalists. The winner will be announced Dec. 28 and presented at the ESPN College Football Awards Show in Orlando, Fla.

SACK CHARTS: Northern Illinois DE Larry English has nine sacks this year, boosting his career total to 22. Those 22 sacks are tied for 17th all-time in MAC history. Next on the list at 23 sacks is former Huskie Sam Kellar (1982-84). English had five sacks in one game, that at Idaho on Sept. 22. English was named as the Bronko Nagurski national defensive player of the week for that performance.

QB QUANDARY: Two MAC teams lost their starting QB Oct. 20 and went into their next game with new starters. Temple signal caller Adam DiMichele, rated No. 3 in the league in pass efficiency at 130.8 (138-of-223, 1,595 yards, 12 TDs, 10 int.) suffered a fracture of his left tibia in the second quarter of the 24-17 win over Miami. DiMichele is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the Owls remaining games. Kent State’s Julian Edelman (1,318 passing yards, 7 passing TDs; 412 rushing yards, 2 rush TDs) suffered a season-ending broken arm late in the fourth quarter against Bowling Green. Temple will go with sophomore Vaughn Charlton, who played in eight games a year agon and started three (Western Michigan, Vanderbilt and Clemson). Kent State calls on true freshman Giorgio Morgan out of East Point, Ga., who made his collegiate debut Oct. 27 vs. defending MAC Champion Central Michigan, completing 18-of-28 pass attempts for 247 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

A BULL MARKET: Buffalo has established a school record four wins since the program moved to Division I-A in 1999, the same year it joined the MAC. The Bulls have two regular season games (Bowling Green, Kent State) to add to those four wins.

TEMPLE MAKES ITS MARK: The Temple Owls won three games in a row in the same season for the first time since 1990 after the Oct. 20 win over Miami and previous triumphs against Northern Illinois and Akron. The Owls beat Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Boston College in the final three games of the 1990 campaign. The Owls were stopped in their quest for a fourth straight triumph Nov. 2 in a 23-7 loss at Ohio.

BEAT THE CLOCK: Akron’s 39-38 win Oct. 6 at Western Michigan that culminated on a touchdown by the Zips on an 89-yard free kick return as the clock ran out was nothing new for the program. In 2006, the Zips scored a 20-17 win at North Carolina State with a one-yard rushing touchdown as time expired. In 2005, the Zips grabbed a 31-30 win over Northern Illinois on a TD pass with 10 seconds left in the MAC Championship game. In 2004, the Zips scored 17 points in the last 2:18, with the game-winning field goal as the clock struck zero in a 31-28 victory over Marshall. WATCH FOR: With Toledo’s 52-28 win over Eastern Michigan (Nov. 3), head coach Tom Amstutz (37 wins) tied Miami’s Terry Hoeppner (Miami from 1999-2003) in MAC-only wins. Next on the list at 40 wins is former Rocket mentor Dan Simrell (1982-89). NIU’s Joe Novak is a victory shy of tying Al Molde of Western Michigan (62 wins, 1987-96) for eighth place all-time in overall wins as a MAC head coach.

GROUNDED: Add Ball State’s MiQuale Lewis (447 yards, 2 TDs, 92 attempts, 4.9 ypc) to the list of MAC RBs lost for the season. Lewis sustained a fourth-quarter injury at Nebraska on Sept. 22. Previously, Miami lost its top two backs, Brandon Murphy and Andre Bratton for the season.


MAC Matchups

Games for Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007
Central Michigan (5-4, 3-0 MAC West, 4-0 MAC Overall) at Western Michigan (3-6, 2-2 MAC West, 2-3 MAC Overall) - 7:30 p.m.
SITE: Waldo Stadium (30,200/FieldTurf) - Kalamazoo, Mich.
TELEVISION: ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen, Ray Bentley, Todd Harris)
SERIES RECORD: WMU leads 43-33-2 ... the Chippewas won last year’s meeting 31-7 ... WMU took the 2005 contest 31-24 ... the teams have split the last four meetings.
COACHES:
CMU-Butch Jones (5-4, first season)
WMU-Bill Cubit (18-15, third season at school; 52-33-1, eighth season overall.).
GAME NOTES: The 79th meeting in this rivalry will have a direct bearing on the top spot in the West Division ... CMU is 11-1 in its last 12 regular season MAC games and is coming off a 41-32 win at Kent State (Oct. 20) ... the Broncos also last played Oct. 20, a 19-2 loss at Eastern Michigan, WMU’s second consecutive defeat ... each team has a former MAC Freshman of the Year in QBs Dan LeFevour (2006) at CMU and Tim Hiller (2005) at WMU ... LeFevour ranks second and Hiller fifth, respectively, in pass efficiency among MAC QBs ... the CMU offense has scored 40-plus points in four games this season and is averaging 32.2 ppg, however defensively the Chippewas are allowing 38.3 ppg overall and 27.8 ppg in MAC contests ... despite not producing any points from the offense last week, WMU is averaging 27.6 ppg in 2007 while the defense is allowing 32.3 ppg ... Bronco WR Jamarko Simmons leads the MAC in receptions (75) and receiving yards (865) ... CMU’s Antonio Brown is second in receptions (66) and Bryan Anderson seventh (56) ... both will be challenged by Bronco DB Londen Fryar, who has a league-leading, and second-leading nationally, 13 pass break ups.


Games for Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007
Ohio (5-5, 2-2 MAC East, 3-3 MAC Overall) at Akron (3-6, 1-3 MAC East, 2-3 MAC Overall) - 7:30 p.m.
SITE: Rubber Bowl (31,000/Astro Play) Akron, Ohio
TELEVISION: ESPN2 (Rece Davis, Lou Holtz, Mark May, Quint Kessenich)
SERIES RECORD: Tied 11-11-1 ... Ohio won last year 17-7 in Athens to break a three-game losing streak to thew Zips ... the Bobcats last win in Akron came in 1997 (21-17).
COACHES:
OU - Frank Solich (18-17, third season at OU; 76-36, ninth season overall)
UA - J.D. Brookhart (21-24, fourth season).
GAME NOTES: Ohio, after its 23-7 defeat of Temple, has won back-to-back games for the first time since starting the season 2-0 ... the Zips are on a season-long three-game losing streak following a 44-20 setback at Bowling Green ... Carlton Jackson stepped in for a suspended Chris Jaquemain at BG and rushed for 133 yards on 24 carries while completing 14-of-31 pass attempts for 192 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions ... Jaquemain has completed 105-of-181 attempts (58.0 pct.) for 1,100 yards, 8 TDs and 6 interceptions in 2007 ... Zips LB Brion Stokes had two tackles for a loss at BG, giving him 41 for his career and tying him with Jason Taylor for the school record ... Ohio’s offense features the league’s leader in rushing TDs with Kalvin McRae and his 17 scores via the ground ... McRae also is averaging 121.3 ypg and his 108 points is the most in the MAC ... McRae is chasing the OU school record of 114 points in a season set in 1968 by Bob Houmard ... defensively, the Bobcats have 24 sacks, the second most in the MAC ... PK Michael Braunstein set a school record with his 16 field goals this season and he tied a standard with five FG attempted in a game vs. Temple.


Games for Friday, Nov. 9, 2007
Bowling Green (5-4, 3-2 MAC East, 3-2 MAC Overall) at Eastern Michigan (3-7, 2-2 MAC West, 2-3 MAC Overall) - 7:30 p.m.
SITE: Rynearson Stadium (30,200/Field Turf) - Ypsilanti, Mich.
TELEVISION: ESPNU
SERIES RECORD: BGSU leads 21-10-1 ... the Falcons have won the last eight meetings ... BG took last year’s game 24-21 ... EMU’s most recent win came in 1989 (21-13)
COACHES:
BGSU - Gregg Brandon (35-23, fifth season)
EMU - Jeff Genyk (12-32, fourth season).
GAME NOTES: In BG’s 44-20 win over Akron, the Falcons scored 40-plus points for the third time this season, all at home ... as well, BG’s 517 yards of total offense and 216 rush yards were both season-highs ... Anthony Turner displayed his talents as a RB (104 yards, TD, 12 carries), QB (33-yard TD pass) and WR (3 rec., 16 yards) and recovered an onside kick as well ... P.J. Mahone’s two-interception game was his second of the season as he also had a pair of picks vs. Western Kentucky ... Mahone’s 182 returns yards on interceptions leads the MAC ... the Eagles will be playing their final home game of 2007 and are 2-3 at home thus far ... EMU dropped a 52-28 decision at Toledo last week and allowed the most points of any opponent this season ... EMU does lead the MAC in net punting (39.8) with Zach Johnson averaging 42.4 ypk ... in the first eight games, EMU’s Pierre Walker rushed for 291 yards and three TDs; in the last two games, he has gained 244 yards and scored three TDs ... the Eagles will have to stop the league’s top passing offense as BG is putting up 300 ypg through the air.


Games for Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007
Penn State (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) at Temple (3-6, 2-3 MAC East, 3-3 MAC Overall) - Noon
SITE: Lincoln Financial Field (68,532/Natural Grass)
TELEVISION: ESPNU (Clay Matvick, Larry Coker)
SERIES RECORD: Penn State leads 32-3-1 ... the Nittany Lions won last year’s game 47-0 ... Temple’s last win came Oct. 18, 1941 in a 14-0 contest.
COACHES:
PSU - Joe Paterno (370-124-3, 42nd season)
TU - Al Golden (4-17, second season).
GAME NOTES: Temple head coach Al Golden played at Penn State for Joe Paterno from 1987-91 ... Golden also coached LBs at PSU during the 2000 season ... the Owls had their three-game win streak broken last week in a 23-7 loss at Ohio ... the Nittany Lions beat Purdue 26-19 last week for their fourth win in the last five games, only a loss to No. 1 Ohio State maring the record ... this
game could establish a MAC record for attendance as the mark of 61,500 was set earlier this year with the Iowa at Northern Illinois game staged at Soldier Field ... the Owl’s league-leading defense (370.9 ypg allowed) will have to contend with QB Anthony Morelli, who is the first in school history to have 2,000 yards passing in multiple seasons ... Temple’s offense will be challenged by LB Dan Connor, who is the school’s all-time leader in tackles ... since the loss of starting QB Adam DiMichele in the Oct. 20 game vs. Miami, the Owls have turned to Vaughn Charlton (28-of-42, 287 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int.) ... Temple’s 47 combined frehmen and sophomores account for 63.5 percent of the team, the second highest total in the nation ... LB Alex Joseph has set career highs the last two games ... against Miami he was credited with 12 tackles, then bettered that last week with 18 stops at Ohio ... among league leaders, Junior Galette is tied for third in sacks with 5.5 and Terrance Knighton tied for second in forced fumbles with three.


Kent State (3-6, 1-3 MAC East, 1-4 MAC Overall) at Northern Illinois (1-8, 0-4 MAC West, 0-5 MAC Overall)
SITE: Huskie Stadium (24,000/ Field Turf) - DeKalb, Ill.
TELEVISION: CSN Chicago
SERIES RECORD: NIU leads 13-7 ... the Huskies have won the last two meetings, the most recent a 34-3 triumph in 2005 at Kent ... the Golden Flashes last won in 2001 at Kent 44-34 ... NIU has won eight straight meetings in DeKalb.
COACHES:
KSU - Doug Martin (15-28, fourth season)
NIU - Joe Novak (62-74, 13th season).
GAME NOTES: Both teams were idle last week and come in with losing streaks ... the Huskies have dropped five in a row and the Golden Flashes four straight ... NIU last won Sept. 22 at Idaho 42-35 ... KSU’s most recent triumph was a Sept. 29, 33-25 victory at Ohio ... KSU freshman QB Giorgio Martin made his first career start Oct. 27 vs. Central Michigan and completed 18-of-28 attempts for 247 yards, 3 TDs and no interceptions in guiding the team to their third highest point total (32) this season ... TB Eugene Jarvis leads the MAC in rushing (139.9 ypg) and his counterpart at NIU, Justin Anderson, is fourth in the league rushing department with 110.9 ypg ... Jarvis is 66 yards shy of the school single season rushing record of 1,325 yards set by Eric Wilkerson in 1988 ... Jarvis can also tie the school record of eight 100-yard rushing games in a season held by Don Fitzgerald (1966) and Wilkerson (1988) ... DB Jack Williams had a career-best 19 tackles last time out vs. CMU ... NIU’s Larry English has a MAC best 9 sacks for minus 65 yards ... NIU has been stymied by turnovers, standing at -13 ... the Huskies are the least penalized MAC team, fl agged 48
times in nine games for an average of 47.9 ypg ... among the league’s top 10 receivers, Huskie Matt Simon averages a high of 19.1 yards per reception (36 rec., 687 yards.).