Halloween decorations are popping up in the wild, meaning our MAC Saturdays are running out and we’ll soon shift toward Midweek MACtion. Week 8 was an eventful MAC Saturday, featuring six conference matchups involving every team but Western Michigan.
Central Michigan proved that the conference remains unpredictable with a 21-point road thrashing of Bowling Green, Toledo and Ohio proved contention status with blowouts, and UMass… well, UMass almost won its first game.
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Without further ado, here is a list of running thoughts, takeaways, statistics, and more from Week 8 of MAC football:
Central Michigan 27, Bowling Green 6
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Central Michigan embodied Army football on Saturday. First-year head coach Matt Drinkall served on Army’s staff from 2019-24 in various roles, and he took a piece of West Point into the MAC. Central Michigan passed the ball five times and completed three passes while manhandling Bowling Green with 46 rushing attempts. Surprisingly, the time of possession battle wasn’t lopsided, but every other aspect of the Chippewas’ offense felt like watching Army. Angel Flores did his best Bryson Daily impression with three touchdowns and the Central Michigan blockers brought so much grit and physicality to the table.
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Bowling Green brought 23,000+ to its 24,000 seat stadium for the third-straight home game. With over a 60 percent attendance increase from 2024, the Falcons rank first in the FBS. And they’re 3-4 right now. Every Bowling Green game is a joy to watch because of the packed stands and the passion. We need more of this in MAC football.
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I’ve said it before in here, but Bowling Green needs an identity on offense. That might be hard to establish with starting quarterback Drew Pyne sidelined due to injury. The second half against Toledo was an inspiring rally, but there still hasn’t been a single consistent play, concept, or facet they’ve consistently mastered. This defense is very sharp though, which should make Bowling Green competitive in most MAC games.
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There is a wealth of linebacker talent in the MAC, and Central Michigan inside linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski is one of them. Kwiatkowski was one yard short of a pick-six on a 26-yard return and also generated 14 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss as an omnipresent force on a potent Chippewa defense.
Miami (OH) 44, Eastern Michigan 30
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The modern climate of college football coaching is a cruel world from a stability perspective. Nine FBS coaches have been fired since the 2025 season kicked off, and that number could very well double before Thanksgiving. But Miami (OH) and Eastern Michigan are the beacons of stability. Chuck Martin and Chris Creighton are both in year 12 with their programs. Martin won two MAC championships at Miami and has gone .500+ in MAC play every year since 2016. Creighton took an Eastern Michigan team that hadn’t made a bowl since 1987 and brought them to six postseasons. It’s good for the MAC and the sport in general to see two longtime head coaches square off.
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Corban Hondru picked off yet another pass, his third of the season. That’s eight interceptions in three years for an outside linebacker. Despite not being a defensive back, he’s one of the best coverage specialists in the MAC, and this is only his first year as a full-fledged starter. Watch No. 12 in coverage next time you tune into a Miami game. His instincts and ball tracking are sensational.
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Miami’s defense appears more vulnerable than the past two years, where it ranked top 15 in scoring defense. The RedHawks already allowed 40+ twice in non-conference play but really shored up in their first two MAC games vs. NIU and Akron. But Eastern Michigan’s offense — one of the best in the MAC — shredded Miami in the second and fourth quarters. This was a very unusual shootout win for Miami, marking its first victory with 30+ allowed since the 2020 season opener.
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True freshman Harold Mack never recorded a stat before Saturday but looked like a superstar with six receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns. He was only one yard off Texas State’s Chris Dawn Jr. (180) for the most prolific receiving performance of Week 8. I am upset Eastern Michigan only plays one midweek game, because a national audience needs some Midweek Macktion.
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Eastern Michigan’s last-ranked run defense was very porous, and nothing changed Saturday. Even without starting tailback Kenny Tracy, Miami’s ground game damaged the Eagles with 295 yards and four touchdowns.
Toledo 45, Kent State 10
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The two most dangerous teams in the MAC — Toledo at home and Toledo after a loss, and there is plenty of overlap. At the Glass Bowl, Toledo is 4-0 and outscoring opponents 195-34, picking up 45+ points and 500+ yards in each outing. After a loss, the Rockets are outscoring opponents 135-34, going above and beyond to correct the prior week’s mistakes. The only issue is the 0-3 road record with 21-0 and 13-0 squandered leads in MAC play. Both were highly preventable losses, but Toledo appears to have enough firepower to move past those and qualify for the MAC Championship Game.
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That might have been the best Tucker Gleason passing game we’ve ever seen. Season-high 294 yards and a career-high 4 touchdowns.
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Seeing Trayvon Rudolph produce a team-high 119 receiving yards was extremely cool. Rudolph — while at Northern Illinois — once produced 14 receptions for 309 yards and three touchdowns against Kent State in 2021, and unfortunately, an ACL injury prior to the 2022 season prevented him from building on that performance. The 119 yards were his second-most since the fateful night of Nov. 3, 2021. Those ACL recoveries are never easy to make — great to see him thriving again.
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For the second-straight week, Kent State scored on the very first play of the game. Da’Realyst Clark returned the opening kickoff 96 yards in Week 7 vs. UMass. Then in Week 8, after the opening kickoff was a touchback, Dru DeShields hit Cade Wolford for a 75-yard touchdown. That’s back-to-back 7-0 leads right out of the gate. Reminder: Kent State never led by more than seven last year and didn’t even lead until Nov. 13. That’s a very positive development.
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Kent State has the most boom-or-bust offense in the MAC. It’s so fun to watch during the times of “boom” and not so much during the times of “bust.” DeShields now has three 75+ yard touchdown passes this year for touchdowns — and all were similar looking deep shots. Kent State’s top three receivers average 25.3, 14.9, and 21.7 yards per game. But when these home run shots aren’t working, the unit is subject to frequent struggles. For instance, Kent State racked up 120 yards on its first two drives vs. Toledo and 104 on its last 10 drives combined.
Buffalo 28, UMass 21
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This was just befuddling. Unthinkable. All signs pointed to a UMass upset victory as the Minutemen intercepted Buffalo with 59 seconds left clinging onto a 21-20 lead. This was a textbook collapse by one of two winless teams in America. Immediately after the seemingly game-winning interception, the meltdown started with an unsportsmanlike conduct by making a snow angel on the field to position UMass on its own 10. Then they lost five yards in two running plays, exhausting the first two of Buffalo’s three timeouts. And on third down, UMass elected to pass, giving Buffalo the ball back with 44 seconds remaining and a timeout in its pocket. Buffalo capitalized in 23 seconds, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 19 ticks left to snatch a 28-21 victory from the jaws of defeat.
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I’m (pleasantly) surprised with the amount of aggression Buffalo displayed when it received the ball on the 50 with 44 seconds remaining. Many teams would have played for a field goal in that situation, but the Bulls clearly established their desire for a touchdown. Ta’Quan Roberson was money with four-straight completions, hitting Jasaiah Gathings for 14 and 20 yards, and then Victor Snow for 16 on a corner route to the end zone. Jack Howes has been pretty reliable, but I’m in the party of never rely on a college kicker if you don’t have to — Exhibit A: Mizzou in first overtime vs. Auburn.
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Buffalo is 3-0 in the MAC, which sounds expected considering the Bulls’ 9-4 record last season, the amount of returning talent, and their schedule of Kent State, Eastern Michigan, and UMass. But if you watched all three games, it’s insane that Buffalo is 3-0. The Bulls needed immaculate late-game execution in all three. They defeated Kent State 31-28 on a game-winning Snow touchdown with 1:03 remaining, Eastern Michigan 31-30 in overtime on a failed two-point conversion, and UMass 28-21 on a collapse of epic proportions. This is like the opposite of the Arizona Cardinals right now.
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On the bright side for UMass, the Brandon Hood-led run game looked potent, the run defense and pass rush thrived, and it went toe-to-toe with a 4-3 MAC team. The remaining schedule features Central Michigan, Akron, Northern Illinois, Ohio, and Bowling Green. I think there’s a win there.
Ball State 42, Akron 28
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Ball State is now 3-4 with a win over Ohio and its next three games are 1-6 Northern Illinois, 2-5 Kent State, and 2-6 Eastern Michigan — with the latter two at home, where the Cardinals are a perfect 3-0 this year. Bowl eligible Ball State is a possibility, and that would be a magnificent accomplishment in year one of the Mike Uremovich era, especially considering the sheer transfer portal talent the team lost.
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That was certainly interesting timing for a weather delay. Akron had the ball at the 1-yard line with roughly seven minutes remaining when the teams went to the locker room. How many times do you think and rethink your next play if you’re Joe Moorhead during that hour hiatus? Akron wound up getting stopped on 3rd and goal from the 1 and settled for a 19-yard chip shot to slice the deficit to 35-28.
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Right after Akron kicked the field goal, Ball State sealed it with a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown by TJ Horton. There have been 24 kickoff return touchdowns by FBS teams this year, and six (25%) belong to the MAC. MAC teams comprise of 9.56% of the FBS. Welcome to the conference of electrifying special teams plays.
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Ball State’s offense bounces back from a 42-0 shutout at Western Michigan with by-far its best showing of the year. The Cardinals proved they can run the ball against Akron, and the Kiael Kelly/Qua Ashley speed option duo certainly has potential.
Ohio 48, Northern Illinois 21
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Northern Illinois finally broke 20 points for the first time this season, which would have won some ballgames earlier this year. And the 21 point outing means they pass the baton to UMass for the nation’s last-ranked scoring offense. However, the Huskies finally suffered their first terrible defensive performance in years, surrendering 538 yards and 48 points to the reigning MAC champs. NIU hadn’t allowed 40 points since the 2022 regular season finale.
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I love a good running back duo. In recent MAC history we had Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks at Buffalo and Jonathan Ward and Kobe Lewis at Central Michigan. On Saturday we were treated to the one-two punch of Sieh Bangura and Duncan Brune. Bangura recorded 147 yards and three touchdowns, while Brune added 126 and two. Ohio totaled 333 rushing yards and six touchdowns on a 6.4 average in total. Whew.
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Northern Illinois desperately needs a second receiver to break out. DeAree Rogers was a phenomenal portal addition, and he’s currently the No. 1 option by an extreme amount. Rogers has 35 receptions and 396 receiving yards. No other Huskies has more than 12 catches or 99 yards. Duplicating Rogers would work wonders for this offense.
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Seriously, what happened to Ohio’s offense against Ball State? How did this versatile and multifaceted unit get shut out in the second half in Muncie two weeks ago?
