Buffalo clinches MAC East Division, set to play Northern Illinois for conference title
After defeating Bowling Green (3-9, 2-6 Mid-American Conference) 44-14 on Nov. 23, Buffalo (10-2, 7-1) clinched a MAC East Division title and will play in its second-ever MAC Championship game at Ford Field.
The Bulls rushed for 332 yards and four touchdowns against the Falcons. Freshman running back Jaret Patterson had 88 yards with two scores while the leading rusher was junior tailback Emmanuel Reed who totaled 109 yards on just 15 carries. When the game was tied at 7-7 early, junior quarterback Tyree Jackson threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout George Rushing to give them a lead they would never look back on.
Awaiting the Bulls in the championship game will be Northern Illinois (7-5, 6-2) who already clinched the MAC West Division coming into the week.
Week 13 Scoreboard - Tuesday, Nov. 20, Friday, Nov. 23
Miami (OH) 42, Ball State 21
Western Michigan 28, NIU 21
Buffalo 44, Bowling Green 14
Ohio 49, Akron 28
Toledo 51, Central Michigan 13
Eastern Michigan 28, Kent State 20
With the regular season coming to a close, UB and NIU are joined by Ohio (8-4, 6-2), Miami (6-6, 6-2), EMU (7-5, 5-3), UT (7-5, 5-3) and WMU (7-5, 5-3) as teams that have bowl eligibility for the 2018 season. Here’s a look at Week 13’s action.
Miami 42 BSU 21
Miami came from behind by scoring 35-unanswered points against the Cardinals to earn the 21-point victory. They were led by senior running back Alanzo who rushed for a career-high 207 yards and three touchdowns. All six of the RedHawks wins in 2018 were in the MAC Conference. The win earned them the Red Bird Rivalry Trophy.
WMU 28 NIU 21
While NIU will play for the conference championship, they will enter the game on a two-game losing skid thanks to the Broncos win on Senior Night. Fittingly, senior tailback Jamauri Bogan scored the game-winning touchdown from one-yard out with 1:36 left in the game. With his score, Bogan added a team-high 63 rushing yards. This win snapped the Broncos three-game losing streak.
Ohio 49 Akron 28
The Bobcats rode a 169-yard rushing performance from senior running back A.J. Ouellette who scored two touchdowns against the Zips (4-7, 2-6). Ohio started the game with 21-unanswered points and outscored Akron 28-7 in the first half. Even in a losing effort, the Zips had 356 passing yards to the Bobcats 87. However, Ohio made up for it on the ground with 381 rushing yards to Akron’s 32 rushing yards.
UT 51 CMU 13
The Rockets held CMU (1-11, 0-8) to just 181 total yards of offense as they handed the Chippewas their 11th loss of the season — a program record. Redshirt freshman running back Bryant Koback rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns to led UT’s offensive charge. Hours after the game, CMU’s head coach John Bonamego was fired from the program. Athletic Director Michael Alford is currently searching to find a replacement for his position and defensive backs coach Cory Hall will lead the program until then.
EMU 28 KSU 20
With just 4:28 to play in the game and the Golden Flashes (2-10, 1-7) driving down the field in an attempt to tie the score, the EMU defense made a play. Junior linebacker Vince Calhoun intercepted a pass on a fourth down which sprung the Eagles to a bowl eligibility. KSU did score 18-unanswered points in an effort to comeback but came just one drive short. The win gives EMU a winning record in conference play for the first time since 1995.
