by Kent State comes off a huge win last week against Northern Illinois who they have not beat since 2001. Going into the week Northern Illinois was undefeated in conference play and on top of the west division.
NIU still leads the west, but out east the Kent State Golden Flashes are on top. Kent States only loss in the MAC this year came against Western Michigan who looked like the early season favorite in the MAC but has lost their last two games.
This week there are 6 matchups, and the schedule is as follows:
Key Games:
Ball State (5-4) (3-2 MAC) at Northern Illinois (6-3) (4-1 MAC)
Ball State and Northern Illinois is a showdown between the top two teams in the west and will have important implications for a future tie breaker between the two. Ball State got off to a slow start to the season winning just 1 of their first 4 games but has now won 4 out of their last five.
They are coming off a close call against Akron in which their quarterback Drew Pitt threw for 185 yards and 3 Td’s. Northern Illinois looks to get back to their winning ways after a tough loss to Kent State. They are led by their quarterback Rocky Lombardi who had a monster game against Kent where he threw for 532 yards and 3 TD’s. With a name like that, how can you not be a quarterback.
Buffalo (4-5) (2-3 MAC) at Miami (4-5) (3-2 MAC)
Miami is looking for an important win as they are a game behind Kent in the east and will play each other in 2 weeks. They have had an up and down season but if they can win their last 3 games, they will find themselves at Ford Field for the MAC championship.
Buffalo on the other hand is in a tough position and would need a lot of help to have a shot at the MAC title. Miami is coming off of a close call against Ohio where their quarterback Brett Gabbert threw for 492 yards and 5TD’s. He will look to continue his success against a Buffalo team that gave up 56 points last week to Bowling Green.
Kent State (5-4) (4-1 MAC) at Central Michigan (5-4) (3-2 MAC).
Kent State will play Central Michigan who is coming off a win over Western Michigan. They have won 3 out of there last 4 with their only loss being by 1 to Northern Illinois.
Their star player is Lew Nichols III who has 1,082 yards rushing and 7 Tds. Kent will have to try and slow him down as he is coming of two huge games where he combined for 355 yards and 4 Td’s. On the other side of the ball its Dustin Crum leading the way. Crum has been efficient this year throwing only 2 interceptions all season.
