2022 Week 5 MAC Conference Round-Up

[PoopyRhinoPickle]

Results

Bowling Green def. Miami (OH) 55-17

Buffalo def. Kent State 38-16

Akron def. Eastern Michigan 37-17

Illinois def. Northern Illinois 17-3

#1 Western Michigan def. Ball State 34-14

#4 Central Michigan def. Toledo 31-21

Ohio - Bye

 

Best performance of the week: Bowling Green def. Miami (OH) 55-17

Bowling Green has reacted in a very positive way after their defeat to Northwestern, scoring a total of 103 points in wins over Kent State and Miami. The Falcons put up 776 yards of total offense against Miami, a school record. QB Dexter Reed was impressive, going 34-45 538 yards, 5 TDs and no picks. Bowling Green also had a season high 238 rushing yards with a 3 TD performance from RB Frank Robinson. A breakout star may have emerged as well in WR Chris Allen, who had 11 catches for 258 yards (3rd most all-time in MAC). The strong offensive performance also moved Bowling Green into the #1 offense in the conference in terms of offensive yards per game. The Falcons' run defense, which has been pretty disappointing, made an improvement as well allowing only 3.3 yards per carry against 47 carries.

 

Worst performance of the week: Bowling Green def. Miami (OH) 55-17

This is a first for me where the worst performance pairs up with the best performance. Most likely Miami is just be glad to be done with Western Michigan and Bowling Green in back-to-back games. Miami has lost the last 2 games 110-23 combined, giving up 1,301 total yards of offense. The Red Hawks won't face QBs of the same caliber as Scribner or Reed again this season. Having said that, they do face Akron this week, who recently had RB Devontae Harrison rush for 399 yards in a win over Kent State. Allowing Bowling Green to rush for a season high doesn't bode well for Miami's game against a strong balanced offense like Akron.

 

Offensive Player of the Week: Akron RB Devontae Harrison; 38 carries, 399 rush yards (all-time MAC record), 2 rush TDs, 6 catches, 72 rec yards, 1 rec TD vs Eastern Michigan

 

Defensive Player of the Week: Kent State DT Curtis Garcia; 9 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF vs Buffalo

 

Special Teams Player of the Week: Western Michigan K Duke Lotulelei; 2-2 FGs, 4-4 XPs vs Ball State

 

MAC Snapshot

West Division

Team	Conference	Overall	Next game
Western Michigan	2-0	5-0	Toledo
Central Michigan	2-0	4-0	Bowling Green
Eastern Michigan	1-1	2-3	Buffalo
Toledo	1-1	2-3	at Western Michigan
Northern Illinois	0-1	2-3	Ohio
Ball State	0-2	2-3	Bye

The usual suspects stay at the top of the West standings. It will be interest to see how Western Michigan's offense performs against a Toledo defense that tends to overperform. Central Michigan faces their toughest test up to this point in the season as the #1 MAC defense goes up against the #1 MAC offense in terms of defensive/offensive yards per game. Behind those teams we have a cluster of Sneaky Good TeamsTM that will fight it out for bowl eligibility. Ball State has the week off, and a chance regroup before a stretch of games they should be looking to win (Kent State and Miami).

 

East Division

Team	Conference	Overall	Next game
Akron	2-0	3-2	Miami (OH)
Bowling Green	2-0	3-2	at Central Michigan
Buffalo	1-1	2-3	at Eastern Michigan
Ohio	0-1	1-3	at Northern Illinois
Miami (OH)	0-2	2-3	at Akron
Kent State	0-2	0-4	Bye

We're seeing leaders emerge in the East, as Akron and Bowling Green remain undefeated in conference play. Akron will be heavily favored hosting a Miami team that is struggling just to get up off the mat after taking two beatings from Western Michigan and Bowling Green. Speaking of the Falcons, it may the biggest game of coach PoopyRhinoPickle's career as they travel to #4 Central Michigan and hope to make a point that they can hang with the best in the MAC. Put Buffalo into that Sneaky Good TeamsTM conversation for now as their defense, #2 in the conference, keeps them in most games despite a pretty average offense.