NIU becomes bowl eligible, earns two-game MAC West lead in Week 10
Northern Illinois defeated Akron 36-26 for its fifth straight victory, while also gaining a two-game lead in the Mid-American Conference West Division.
The Huskies rushed for a total of 269 yards on 69 carries to control the game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcus Childers completed 21-of-28 passes for 188 yards with a touchdown pass against the Zips (4-4, 2-3 MAC).
NIU (6-3, 5-0) joins Buffalo (8-1, 5-0), Ohio (6-3, 4-1) and Western Michigan (6-4, 4-2) as teams who are bowl eligible in the league.
Week 10 scoreboard - Tuesday, Oct. 30, Wednesday, Oct. 31, Thursday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 3
Kent State 35, Bowling Green 28
Buffalo 51, Miami (OH) 42
Toledo 45, Ball State 13
NIU 36, Akron 26
Ohio 59, WMU 14
Eastern Michigan 17, Central Michigan 7
In the East Division, UB leads the division by a game over Ohio. Here’s a deeper look into this week's action.
KSU 35, BGSU 28
In a battle of two teams with winless records in the MAC coming in, KSU (2-7, 1-4) was the team coming out with a victory. Junior running back Jo-El Shaw scored on an 18-yard rush with 1:50 left in the game to secure the win. Sophomore linebacker Kesean Gamble recorded an interception on the next possession from BGSU (1-8, 0-5) to end the Falcons hopes. The Golden Flashes’ sophomore quarterback Woody Barrett threw for 157 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
UB 51, Miami 42
The Bulls leaned on a season-high 51 points and 505 total yards in their shootout victory over Miami (3-6, 3-2) to gain a fourth straight victory. Senior wide receiver Anthony Johnson led the offensive charge with a single-game school record 238 receiving yards on eight receptions with three touchdowns. Junior quarterback Tyree Jackson continued his campaign for MAC Player of the Year with six total touchdowns, three through the air and a career-high three on the ground with a season-high 358 yards passing.
UT 45, BSU 13
The defense of UT (5-4, 3-2) led the Rockets with five takeaways while the offense racked up 531 total yards a blowout win over the Cardinals (3-7, 2-4). Backup sophomore quarterback Eli Peters stepped into the starting lineup and tossed for 327 yards on 25-of-34 completions with two scores and three interceptions. UT’s junior safety DeDarallo Blue and junior linebacker Jordan Fisher led the defense with seven tackles apiece. The win keeps the Rockets within two games of the MAC West leading Huskies.
Ohio 59, WMU 14
The Broncos fell for a second consecutive game in blowout fashion to the Bobcats, which has now pushed them two games behind NIU for the MAC West lead. Junior quarterback Nathan Rourke led the offense to a road victory on 12-of-14 passing for 149 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 68 yards on the ground with two more scores. The Broncos surrendered six turnovers to the Bobcats resulting in 31 points.
EMU 17, CMU 7
The Chippewas (1-9, 0-6) found life with a 68-yard fumble return from junior defensive lineman Mike Danna for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7 going into the break. However, the Eagles (5-5, 3-3) held CMU’s offense without a touchdown the entire game and scored 10 unanswered second half points to earn the rivalry win. The Eagles defense held CMU to 138 yards of total offense. Senior tailback Shaq Vann led EMU’s offense with 138 yards on the ground with one touchdown.
