Monday MAC Musings: 2025 Week 12

We are well into the thick of November, and this past week, we were treated to five games of Midweek MACtion and one Saturday dessert. The Tuesday night games were absolute thrillers, while the Wednesday and Saturday matchups were more one-sided affairs.

So in this week’s edition of Monday MAC Musings, let’s reflect on the week with thoughts, takeaways, stats, and notes from all six games:

Kent State 42, Akron 35 (OT)

• What a game. Rivalries rule. It’s no coincidence the top four MAC games of the season were the Wagon Wheel (Kent State-Akron), Battle of I-75 (Bowling Green-Toledo), Battle of the Bricks (Ohio-Miami (OH)), and the Battle for the Victory Cannon (Western Michigan-Central Michigan). Rivalries bring out the best of the MAC, and this was no exception.

• Most MAC teams are better on defense than offense this year. It was a nice change of pace to finally observe a MAC game where the offenses reigned supreme. Kent State quarterback Dru DeShields fired for 317 yards and 5 touchdowns on a 17-of-25 showing. Akron quarterback Ben Finley fired for 424 yards and 3 touchdowns on a 32-of-59 showing, with 14 receptions and 206 yards belonging to wide receiver Marcel Williams. There was no shortage of offensive fireworks in the MAC’s highest-scoring conference game of the season.

• Kent State has the fewest red zone attempts in the country this year at 15. The Golden Flashes only have eight red zone touchdowns. Yet they have four touchdown passes of 75 yards or longer. The boom-or-bust extent of this offense is fascinating. DeShields’ touchdown passes were from 89, 43, 7, 27, and 25 yards out Tuesday night.

• Da’Realyst Clark finally checked off another box on his résumé. The polymath receiver now has two kick return touchdowns, one passing touchdown, and one receiving touchdown. He was the recipient of an 89-yard deep ball in the second quarter, which marked his third touchdown of 80 yards or greater this season. He’s a First Team All-Electricity type of player.

• There were some serious shades of 2023 in this Wagon Wheel matchup. In 2023 at InfoCision Stadium, Akron erased a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to knock off Kent State. Two years later in the same venue, the Zips trailed by 18 in the fourth quarter and stormed back to force overtime. The comeback was assisted by one of the most perfectly executed onside kicks in recent memory, corralled on the sideline by Marcel Williams. The comeback felt like destiny at that point, but Kent State stopped the do-or-die fourth down in overtime.

Western Michigan 17, Ohio 13

• Western Michigan controls its own destiny for a MAC Championship Game appearance after knocking off the reigning champs in Kalamazoo. The Broncos’ remaining schedule features a pair of bowl ineligible teams in Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan, although both are in road environments. Despite fielding many competitive teams over the years, Western Michigan surprisingly has not qualified for the MAC title game since the storybook 2016 season under P.J. Fleck.

• Western Michigan’s defense is so elite. Toledo only managed 14 points on the Broncos and Ohio only amassed 13. Those are two of the best offenses in the MAC. It’s obvious in hindsight that this unit would be special based on how it contained College Football Playoff contender North Texas (the No. 1 scoring offense in the FBS) back in Week 2 — holding the Mean Green to 27 regulation points. Nadame Tucker is a premier pass rusher. Tate Hallock is a star in coverage. This unit is loaded at every level, and it delivers consistently on a weekly basis.

• Ohio’s scoring defense is remarkably consistent in MAC play. Here’s what they’ve allowed through six conference games — 20, 20, 21, 21, 20, and 17.

• Western Michigan won this game going 0-of-8 on third down, 1-of-3 on fourth down, and missing two field goals. A completion to Tailique Williams which spanned 71 yards was the deciding factor in this one, setting up the go-ahead Jalen Buckley touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Central Michigan 38, Buffalo 19

• Central Michigan’s ground-heavy attack came out of the gate firing through the air, which was quite surprising — considering the team throws fewer passes than every FBS team outside of option-based attacks (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rice). The Chippewas opened this contest with four-straight passes, and that was just a preview of what would unfold. Joe Labas threw a season-high 24 attempts and efficiently completed 18, gunning for a season-high 247 yards. This game proved the Chippewas’ versatility when the run game is shut down, and that 75-yard shot to deep shot to Langston Lewis was a beauty.

• Buffalo’s turnover problems are concerning. The Bulls committed exactly five turnovers in each of their last two defeats, falling to Akron and Central Michigan due to the turnover woes. Against Central Michigan, many of these turnovers were created by a mismatch at the line of scrimmage. The Chippewas were so much more physical in the trenches, generating five sacks and putting the game out of reach on a fourth quarter strip sack.

• Central Michigan produced two defensive touchdowns in the same game for the first time since Oct. 7, 2006 vs. Toledo. The Chippewas opened their scoring effort with a 48-yard Jordan Kwiatkowski pick-six and Dakota Cochran recorded an 85-yard scoop-and-score in the fourth quarter.

• Ta’Quan Roberson exited with an injury in the fourth quarter, leaving Gunnar Gray to conclude this game. Buffalo also briefly experimented with a more mobile quarterback in freshman Jason Wright. All three QBs could see playing time going forward as Buffalo strives for bowl eligibility, and possibly, a MAC title game appearance — depending on health and other in-game factors.

• This game made the MAC Championship race so much more complicated. There are now five teams 4-2 in MAC play, including Buffalo and Central Michigan.

Northern Illinois 45, UMass 3

• Northern Illinois never scored more than 21 points all year. The Huskies had 24 by the 2:29 mark of the second quarter, 31 by halftime, and finished with 45 despite not scoring in the final 23 minutes of action. It was like an entire season of offensive frustration let out at once.

• The 42-point win marked NIU’s largest FBS victory since Oct. 26, 2019. This stat is a recurring theme among MAC teams this year. Kent State got its largest FBS win since 2021 and Akron since 2002 when they played UMass this year.

• NIU is eliminated from bowl eligibility and there are only two games left, but the Huskies found a starting quarterback in Jalen Macon. Sure, it may have only been UMass, but NIU’s offense couldn’t find that gear against any opponent all year — including its Week 1 FCS opponent. Macon completed 3-of-4 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, while attaining 98 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. Great dual-threat effort by Macon, and he earned the role for the rest of November.

• I can’t believe we had the perfect moment to reenact the famous meme, “Chris Paul hits a huge three to cut the lead down to 42.” With 6:13 remaining, UMass ended the shutout and sliced into Northern Illinois’ 45-0 advantage on a 44-yard Derek Morris field goal — in other words, a huge three to cut the lead down to 42. Suddenly, McGuirk Alumni Stadium unloaded the clip of fireworks, like it was the city of San Diego on July 4, 2012.

Toledo 24, Miami (OH) 3

• Heading into this game, the Dequan Finn facing his former school storyline was extremely intriguing. It was quite surprising to find out he was unavailable in the moments leading up to the game, and even more surprising to find him off the roster two days later. Going to miss watching Dequan Finn in the MAC. He had a great six seasons in the conference.

• Toledo did it! Toledo finally won a road game! The Rockets’ offensive production was far from their usual outputs at the Glass Bowl, but the defense was so dominant it didn’t even matter. Miami completed 11-of-38 passes 147 yards and only attained 75 rushing yards on a 2.3 average. That’s multifaceted defensive dominance from the unit that ranks second in the FBS in fewest yards allowed, only behind Ohio State.

• I wonder how many draft picks hail from this Toledo secondary. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is one for sure. Avery Smith, Andre Fuller, Braden Awls, and Nasir Bowers are all excellent in coverage, and there could be future pro talent in that group. And here’s the thing — all of them except Fuller initiated at Toledo. That’s how excellent the Rockets’ defensive back development has been. Co-defensive coordinator Ross Watson — who specializes working with the DB room — has been on staff 10 years, and Toledo already churned out four defensive back NFL Draft selections in his tenure: Ka’dar Hollman, Tycen Anderson, Samuel Womack, and Quinyon Mitchell. That’s excellent lineage at a position group for a MAC program.

• This one is not on Miami’s defense. Toledo had four scoring drives and only one initiated from its own territory. The RedHawks produced three takeaways and countered the Rockets’ offense quite well. Despite the result, this was a very strong showing by that unit.

• The entire trajectory of this game changed on the Bryson Hammer 54-yard punt return (assisted by a sideline interference from the Miami coaching staff) seconds before halftime. Being down 7-0 at halftime vs. 14-0 is a monumental contrast in a game where the defenses are this good.

Eastern Michigan 24, Ball State 9

• Ball State is no longer unbeaten at home. The Cardinals dropped to 4-1 in Muncie, and this loss is going to make bowl eligibility a lot less likely. Ball State must defeat Toledo and Miami (OH) in order to qualify for its first postseason in four years.

• Ball State needs a passing attack to elevate to the next level. The Cardinals can run with a mobile quarterback in Kiael Kelly, but they have only attained 200 passing yards once this year. They rank fourth-to-last in passing yards, only ahead of option attacks Army and Rice, as well as Northern Illinois. Ball State finished 13-of-22 for 62 yards through the air Saturday.

• Eastern Michigan keeps unearthing new stars at receiver. A few weeks ago it was true freshman Harold Mack, who produced six receptions, 179 yards, and two touchdowns vs. Miami (OH). This time it was senior Jamarien Wheeler. Wheeler never attained more than four receptions or 32 yards in three years at the FBS level, but Saturday was a game to remember for him. He caught six passes for 131 yards and a touchdown as Eastern Michigan’s leading receiver, lifting the Eagles’ to a second-straight victory.