Headlined by the Ohio State domination of Kent State, the Mid-American Conference faced numerous Power Five Conference opponents this week.
Week three is in the books for the Mid-American Conference.
The MAC named its six weekly players of the week Monday. In the East, Bowling Green quarterback James Knapke was named Offensive Player of the Week, Miami defensive back Quinten Rollins was named for defense and Bowling Green kicker Tyler Tate was named for special teams.
In the West, Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside was named Co-Offensive Player of the Week with Northern Illinois quarterback Drew Hare. Western Michigan defensive tackle Cleveland Smith was honored for defense and Northern Illinois punter and kicker Tyler Wedel took home the special teams award.
Now to some football.
Kent State faced Ohio State in The Horseshoe, but even with the superior matchup against the Buckeyes, their performance was subpar to say the least. The Golden Flashes were physically dominated 66-0.
“Ohio State is a very good football team,” Kent State coach Paul Haynes said. “We didn’t do the things we needed to do to make the game competitive.”
Kent State has a bye this week and looks forward to getting time to prepare for Virginia the following Saturday.
“Our attitude heading into this week is good,” Haynes said. “We didn’t perform how we wanted to Saturday and Ohio State didn’t make any mistakes, but our attitude is always sharp.”
It would be wrong to judge the Flashes all on one game, but they do need to run the ball better after gaining just 47 rushing yards on 23 attempts Saturday.
Buffalo fell to then-No. 8 Baylor this week 63-21, in what head coach Jeff Quinn called “a learning experience.”
Baylor plays with size and speed, while its defense is only giving up an average of nine points per game through three weeks. The Bears showed why they’re a top-10 team.
“Our team settled in the second half, our defense struggled somewhat with their tempo, but our rush defense was great holding them below their average,” Quinn said. “We have a mature team — more accountable. We knew this stretch would be a tough one, but our kids are definitely locked in.”
Bowling Green and head coach Dino Babers are fresh off a 45-42 last-second victory over Indiana this week.
“I thought it was a complete game,” said Babers, who led the Falcons to their first win over a Power Five Conference school since 2008 on Saturday. “We played well on defense and special teams played exceptional when we couldn’t get it in the end zone. After half, the offense finally came around and we got in the end zone.”
After losing initial starting quarterback Matt Johnson for the season, the Falcons offense isn’t moving very quickly and looks like they’re still learning.
Bowling Green plays Wisconsin this week in what Babers calls a “David vs. Goliath” type game.
This week was an uneventful one on the field for Akron, as the Zips just had their bye week. They will host Marshall and Rakeem Cato this Saturday.
“We get a few extra days for prep and rest,” coach Terry Bowden said. “Marshall has established a running attack, which eliminates double coverage on deep threats. Marshall throws great balls. They’ve scored 40 or more points the last nine out of 10 games, so we’ve got our hands full.”
Although Akron lost to Penn State 21-3 prior to the bye week, Bowden believes the Zips are moving in the right direction.
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