2022 Week 9 MAC Conference Round-Up

[PoopyRhinoPickle]

Results

Middle Tennessee State def. Ball State 30-13

Bowling Green def. Akron 23-20 2OT

Kent State def. Ohio 24-3

Central Michigan def. Northern Illinois 27-0

Western Michigan def. Eastern Michigan 62-0

Buffalo def. Miami (OH) 27-21

Toledo - BYE

 

Best performance of the week: Western Michigan def. Eastern Michigan 62-0

This is the greatest overall team performance by a MAC team in the sim to this date. Theo Scribner threw for a MAC-record 689 pass yards, besting Yusei Asencio's previous record of 680 yards against Miami (OH) in 2021. 62 points is the most ever scored by a MAC team in a single game, which combined with the shutout is obviously the largest margin of victory by a MAC team. It's also worth mentioning that Western held Eastern to only 195 yards of offense in this game, well below their average of 493 going into the game. Total dominance against a decent opponent in Eastern Michigan who only lost to Maryland by 10 and Michigan State by 14 and beat a 5-3 Middle Tennessee State squad. If there was any doubt about it before, this game solidifies Western Michigan as the top team in the country.

 

Worst performance of the week: Kent State def. Ohio 24-3

On the other end of the spectrum we have these two teams. Going into the game Kent State was 0-6 with the 11th ranked offense in the MAC and Ohio was 2-5 with the 12th ranked offense in the MAC. Ohio showed some signs of life in Week 8 with a 15-0 win over Buffalo, but it was short lived as they managed only 170 yards of offense against the previously winless Golden Flashes. This has to be rock bottom for the Bobcats as surely it can only get better from here? I feel like I've said that before for this team yet here we are with another uninspired and sad loss.

 

Offensive Player of the Week: WMU QB Theo Scribner; 49-64 689 yards (MAC record), 5 TDs, 0 Ints vs Eastern Michigan

 

Defensive Player of the Week: WMU DT Paul Reed; 7 tackles, 6 TFLs (T-MAC record), 2 sacks, 1 FF vs Eastern Michigan

 

Special Teams Player of the Week: Bowling Green K Rudy Howell; 3-3 FGs, 2-2 XP vs Akron

 

MAC Snapshot

West Division

Team	Conference	Overall	Next game	Remaining games
Western Michigan	5-0	9-0	at Bowling Green	Northern Illinois, at Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan	3-2	4-4	at Kent State	Toledo, at Ball State, Boise State
Central Michigan	3-2	6-2	BYE	Ball State, at Akron, Notre Dame, Western Michigan
Ball State	2-2	4-4	at Ohio	at Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois
Toledo	2-2	3-5	at Northern Illinois	at Eastern Michigan, at Buffalo, Bowling Green
Northern Illinois	1-4	3-6	Toledo	at Western Michigan, at Ball State

Western Michigan gave themselves a lot of breathing room with their win against Eastern Michigan. They're going to follow it up this week with probably the biggest MAC matchup to date in the 2022 season, traveling to Bowling Green. It's likely a preview of the MAC Championship game as they can afford to drop a couple games (unlikely) and should be favored against Central Michigan in the final week of the season. Looking for anyone to compete with Western in the West? Your only chance would be Central Michigan who will be hoping Bowling Green can pull off the upset and then beat Western at home.

 

East Division

Team	Conference	Overall	Next game	Remaining games
Bowling Green	4-0	6-2	Western Michigan	Buffalo, at Ohio, at Toledo
Akron	4-2	5-4	Appalachian State	Central Michigan, at Kent State
Buffalo	3-3	4-5	at Ole Miss	at Bowling Green, Toledo
Kent State	1-4	1-6	Eastern Michigan	Nebraska, at Miami (OH), LSU, Akron
Ohio	1-4	2-6	Ball State	Rice, Bowling Green, at Miami (OH)
Miami (OH)	1-5	3-6	at Coastal Carolina	Kent State, Ohio

Bowling Green finds themselves in a similar position as Western Michigan in the East Division as their win against Akron provided them the inside track to a division title. The Falcons will likely be favored in the final 3 games of their season even with 2 of them on the road. The game against Western Michigan provides Bowling Green with a chance to have a sniff at the College Football Playoffs. We'll see multiple members of the East take a break from MAC opponents as, notably, Akron has a chance to reach bowl eligibility this week against App State at home.