Mid-American Conference Football Weekly Release September 19, 2016 Football Contact: Ken Mather, Assistant Commissioner for Media & Public Relations ([email protected]) Mid-American Conference, 24 Public Square, 15th Floor, Cleveland, Ohio 44113, 216-566-4622, www.mac-sports.com Become a fan of the Mid-American Conference on Facebook. Follow the MAC On Twitter @MACSports, Snapchat (MACSports) and Instagram (MACSports) MAC Standings MAC Storylines Conference Overall • The MAC is coming off an extremely competitive weekend WEST DIVISION W L Pct. Stk H A W L Pct. Stk H A with a 7-5 record in 12 non-conference games. Western Michi- Central Michigan 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 3 0 1.000 W3 2-0 1-0 gan defeated Illinois, 34-10, for the MAC’s fourth ‘Power Five’ Toledo 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 3 0 1.000 W3 2-0 1-0 win. MAC split games with Conference USA and Mountain West Western Michigan 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 3 0 1.000 W3 1-0 2-0 with FBS wins over Marshall and Charlotte, along with Fresno Ball State 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 2 1 .667 W1 1-0 1-1 State and UNLV. Eastern Michigan 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 2 1 .667 W1 1-0 1-1 Northern Illinois 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 0 3 .000 L3 0-1 0-2 • The MAC West Division features three teams at 3-0 -- Cen- Conference Overall tral Michigan, Toledo and Western Michigan. All three have EAST DIVISION W L Pct. Stk H A W L Pct. Stk H A received votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 Poll (CMU-16; Akron 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 2 1 .667 W1 1-0 1-1 WMU-6; Toledo-6) and Amway/USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll Bowling Green 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 1 2 .333 L1 1-1 0-1 (WMU-16; CMU-6; Toledo-6). Ohio 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 1 2 .333 L1 0-1 1-1 Kent State 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 1 2 .333 W1 1-1 0-1 • Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis added 97 yards Buffalo 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 0 2 .000 L2 0-1 0-1 on four receptions in a 34-10 win at Illinois. Davis moved into Miami 0 0 .000 - 0-0 0-0 0 3 .000 L3 0-2 0-1 second place in MAC history with 4,187 career receiving yards. Davis needs only 86 yards to become the MAC’s all-time leader. MAC WEEK FOUR NOTES This Week’s MAC Schedule • Western Michigan won its second game vs. a Big Ten opponent this year with Friday, September 23 a 34-10 win at Illinois. With the win, the Broncos become the fourth MAC pro- Wyoming at Eastern Michigan, 7:30 pm ET (CBS Sports Network) gram in Conference history to win two games against Big Ten opponents in the Saturday, September 24 same season. Kent State at Alabama, Noon ET (SEC Network) • 2016: Western Michigan 34-10 win at Illinois; 22-21 win at Northwestern Central Michigan at Virginia, 12:30 pm ET (ACC Regional Sports • 2015: Bowling Green wins at Maryland; at Purdue Network/FOX Sports Detroit/ESPN3) • 2013: Northern Illinois wins at Iowa; at Purdue Gardner-Webb at Ohio, 2:00 pm ET (ESPN3) • 2003: Bowling Green win at Purdue; vs. Northwestern (Motor City Bowl) Appalachian State at Akron, 3:30 pm ET (American Sports Net- work/ESPN3) Miami at Cincinnati, 3:30 pm ET (ESPNews) Western Michigan has started 3-0 for the first time since 1994. The 34 points Western Illinois at NIU, 3:30 pm ET (ESPN3) scored is the most against a Power 5 opponent since scoring 34 at Missouri in Ball State at Florida Atlantic, 6:00 pm ET (C-USA Network) 1999. The 10 points allowed is the fewest to a Power 5 opponent in program his- Army at Buffalo, 7:00 pm ET (ESPN3) tory. Western Michigan outrushed Illinois 287-3, outgained Illinois 437-315 and Georgia Southern at Western Michigan, 7:00 pm ET (ESPN3) held Illinois to 1-of-11 on third down. Bowling Green at Memphis, 8:00 pm ET (ESPNews) • The MAC now has 10 FBS wins this season after only three weeks of the regu- Last Week’s MAC Schedule lar season. Last year the MAC totaled 12 FBS regular season wins. This season Akron 65, Marshall 38 the MAC also has four ‘Power Five’ wins -- Northwestern, Illinois from the Big Middle Tennessee 41, Bowling Green 21 Ten and Oklahoma State and Kansas from the Big 12. No. 15 Tennessee 28, Ohio 19 Ball State 41, Eastern Kentucky 14 Toledo 52, Fresno State 17 • Toledo dominated Fresno State 52-17 and improved to 3-0 for the second- Central Michigan 44, UNLV 21 consecutive season and third time since 2001. The Rockets are 25-7 in the Glass Kent State 27, Monmouth 7 Bowl since the start of the 2011 season. Toledo finished with a decisive 619-254 San Diego State 42, NIU 28 edge in total yards, with 318 yards passing and 301 yards rushing. Toledo ran Western Kentucky 31, Miami 24 83 plays, held a commanding 27-7 advantage in first downs and held a decisive Western Michigan 34, Illinois 10 36:16-23:44 edge in time of possession. Toledo forced Fresno State to punt 12 Eastern Michigan 37, Charlotte 19 times, tied for fourth most in a single game in school history. Toledo held Fresno Nevada 38, Buffalo 14 State to 0-of-13 on third-down conversions, yet were an efficient 8-of-15 (53.3 Follow MAC football percent) on third down and were a perfect 6-of-6 in red-zone chances. with the MAC Digi- tal Network at www. • Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush threw for 352 yards and six touch- mac-sports.com. downs in a 44-21 win over UNLV. His six touchdowns tied a Kelly/Shorts Sta- dium record and ranks tied for second most in a single-game in MAC history. In the process, Rush topped the 10,000-yard career passing yards milestone and currently ranks 15th in MAC history with 10,241 career passing yards. • The Akron Zips stunned Marshall with 34 second quarter points to turn a 21-7 deficit into a 41-21 halftime lead and cruised to a 65-38 road win. The Zips’ 34 points in the second quarter are the third most points scored in a quarter in The MAC has partnered with collegepressbox.com to continue program history. The Zips’ 65 points tie for the second most in program history media services and provide access to information on the confer- (66 points vs. Morgan State, Sept, 15, 2012). Zips quarterback Thomas Woodson ence and our membership including rosters, bios, game notes, went 21-of-32 passing for 379 yards and four touchdowns. depth charts, stats, quotes, flipcards, media schedules and more. Mid-American Conference Football SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 MAC COACHES PARTICIPATE IN ‘COACH TO CURE MD’ EFFORT The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) will hold its ninth an- MAC Players of the Week nual Coach to Cure MD effort with the games of September 24. MAC head football coaches will be wearing a Coach to Cure MD patch to raise awareness East Division and funding for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. JoJo Natson, Offensive Player of the Week Akron, Senior, Wide Receiver Fans are encouraged to donate online at www.CoachtoCureMD.org or donate by texting CURE to 90999. This is the ninth year of the Coach to Cure MD Akron senior wide receiver JoJo Natson (Ft. Lau- program, which has raised more than $1.2 million in donations. derdale, Fla.) collected seven receptions for 134 yards and one touchdown and helped lead the Zips in a 65-38 win at Marshall. He recorded his first The goal is to raise money and awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, 100-yard receiving game as a Zip, and second of which is the most common fatal genetic disorder among boys worldwide. The his career. program is a partnership between Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy and the American Football Coaches Association. Quentin Poling, Defensive Player of the Week; Ohio, Junior, Linebacker TWO MAC RECEIVERS LEAD NATION IN RECEPTION STREAK The MAC is home to two of the top 10 wide receivers with the longest current Ohio junior linebacker Quentin Poling (Gomer, reception streak in the nation. Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis Ohio) led an Ohio defense which held Tennessee (39 games) is tied for second in the country, while Bowling Green’s Ronnie to its lowest rushing numbers of the season, while Moore (33 games) ranks eighth in the nation. Also, Toledo wideout Corey recording 14 tackles including nine solo stops, in a 28-19 loss to No. 15-ranked Tennessee. Poling also Jones (28 games) is tied for 14th in the country in this category. recorded 1.5 tackles for three yards lost and forced a fumble. Ohio also held Tennessee without a 100- yard rusher for the first time this season. MAC Announces Multi-Year Extension With Marathon Petroleum The MAC announced on Sept. 5th a multi-year contract extension with Louie Zervos, Special Teams Player of Week; Marathon Petroleum Company LP as the title sponsor for the Marathon MAC Ohio, Freshman, Kicker Football Championship Game through the 2018 college football season.