MAC is back! Power briefly goes out, Central Michigan holds off Ohio as Mid-American Conference season kicks off
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Kobe Lewis had 28 carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns, Daniel Richardson accounted for two more TDs, and Central Michigan beat Ohio 30-27 on Wednesday night in the season, and Mid-American Conference, opener for both teams.
Richardson was 23-of-41 passing for 243 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown to Kalil Pimpleton, and scored on a 1-yard run.
De’Montre Tuggle had a 3-yard touchdown run to tie the score with 58 seconds left in the first half, and returned the opening kickoff of the second 93 yards for a score that gave Ohio a 27-20 lead. Those plays happened just minutes apart, thanks to a brief power outage that forced the final 1:17 of the first half to be played after the traditional halftime break.
After Central Michigan was forced to punt on its ensuing drive, Willie Reid forced and then recovered a fumble by Tuggle at the Bobcats’ 22, setting up an 8-yard TD run by Lewis with 10:36 left in the third quarter.
CMU’s Marshall Meeder kicked a 22-yard field goal to cap a 15-play, 70-yard drive with 9:05 to play.
Ohio, which went three-and-out on its following two possessions, moved into Chippewas territory in the closing minute but a holding penalty and then a false start stalled its final drive.
Kurtis Rourke passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns for the Bobcats.
Kent State 27, Eastern Michigan 23
KENT, Ohio – Dustin Crum accounted for three touchdowns, leading Kent State to a 27-23 victory over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night in the season and Mid-American Conference openers for both teams.
Crum threw an 9-yard pass to a wide-open Mark Williams in the end zone that capped scoring with 7:31 to play. Jeremiah Salaam then intercepted a Preston Hutchinson pass on Eastern Michigan’s ensuing and final possession.
Crum was 21 of 29 for 219 yards passing. He threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah McKoy and ran for a 1-yard score in the first half. McKoy finished with eight catches for 104 yards.
Hutchinson was 21-of-35 passing for 241 yards with a pair of touchdown passes to Thomas Odukoya, and had a 1-yard scoring run. Hassan Beydoun had nine receptions for 112 yards.
Per COVID-19 guidelines, no fans were allowed inside 25,319-seat Dix Stadium.
Western Michigan 58, Akron 13
AKRON, Ohio – Kaleb Eleby passed for 262 yards and three touchdowns, including two to D’Wayne Eskridge, and Western Michigan cruised to a 58-13 win over Akron on Wednesday night in the season, and Mid-American Conference, opener for both teams.
Eskridge had three receptions for 113 yards – including a 76-yard TD that made it 37-13 early in the third quarter – and his 45-yard kickoff return in the first quarter eventually led to his 5-yard scoring catch that gave Western Michigan the lead for good at 10-3.
Akron has lost 18 in a row since a 17-10 win over Central Michigan on October 27, 2018, leaving second-year coach Tom Arth – who went 0-12 in last season – in search of his first win with the Zips.
La’Darius Jefferson, Sean Tyler, Jaxson Kincaide and Christian Singleton each scored a rushing touchdown for WMU and Jaylen Hall scored on 68-yard catch-and-run.
Jeremiah Knight had 74 yards rushing on 11 carries for Akron.
Buffalo 49, Northern Illinois 30
DEKALB, Ill. – Jaret Patterson had 20 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns and the Buffalo defense scored three TDs as the Bulls beat Northern Illinois 49-30 on Wednesday night.
Patterson opened the scoring with a 5-yard run about three minutes into the game and his 56-yard TD with 2:14 left in the first half gave Buffalo (1-0, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) a 21-10 lead. The junior has a school-record 35 career rushing touchdowns in just 28 games.
Tim Terry Jr. and Isaiah King scored on fumble returns of 46 and 42 yards, respectively, and Kadofi Wright had a 65-yard pick-6 that made it 49-16 with 12:14 to play.
Ross Bowers had 202 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception for Northern Illinois (0-1, 0-1). Tyrice Richie had nine receptions for 106 yards.
Kyle Vantrease completed 11 of 17 for 175 yards, including a 17-yard TD pass to Antonio Nunn, and scored on a 4-yard run. Nunn finished with six catches for 102 yards.
Miami (Ohio) 38, Ball State 31
OXFORD, Ohio – Zach Kahn scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds remaining to give Miami (Ohio) a 38-31 victory over Ball State on Wednesday night in the season and Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.
Ryan McWood intercepted a Drew Plitt pass and returned it 18 yards to the 6-yard line that set up Kahn’s game-winning run. Kahn also had a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and finished with 42 yards rushing on nine carries.
AJ Mayer was 16 of 24 for 212 yards passing with three touchdowns for Miami. Jack Coldiron had two TD catches and Jalen Walker had one.
Plitt was 19-of-32 passing for 309 yards with a touchdown pass. Caleb Huntley ran 21 times for 131 yards, including touchdown runs of 45 and 18 yards for the Cardinals.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, no fans were allowed inside 24,286-seat Yager Stadium.
Toledo 38, Bowling Green 3
TOLEDO, Ohio – Eli Peters threw four touchdown passes to lead Toledo over Bowling Green 38-3 on Wednesday night in the season and Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.
Peters threw a TD-pass each to Bryant Koback, Devin Maddox and Jerjuan Newton as the Rockets scored on their first three possessions. Peter’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Mitchell capped an 11-play, 93-yard drive with 5:42 remaining in the third quarter.
Peters was 20-of-32 passing for 214 yards. The Rockets finished with 310 yards rushing on 52 carries. Shakif Seymour led with 93 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown run with 10:40 remaining.
Matt McDonald completed eight of 30 passes and threw two interceptions for Bowling Green. Nate Needham kicked a 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
No fans were allowed inside the 26,038-seat Glass Bowl due to COVID-19 restrictions.
