by ***Press Release Per MAC***
East Division
Offensive Player of the Week: Ohio RB O’Shaan Allison
Ohio junior running back O’Shaan Allison (Norristown, Pa.) scored the first two rushing touchdowns of his collegiate career in a 21-20 overtime win at Buffalo on Saturday at UB Stadium.
Allison scored a one-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to help the Bobcats even the score at 14-14, then he scored from five yards out in overtime to tie the contest at 20-20 and give Ohio the opportunity to convert the game-winning extra point. Allison accounted for a career-high 96 of Ohio’s 186 rushing yards in the victory.
The Bobcats handed him the ball on all five plays of their overtime possession, and he delivered with 25 yards and the game-tying score.
Defensive Player of the Week: Buffalo DE Taylor Riggins
Buffalo junior defensive end Taylor Riggins (Rochester, N.Y.) tied a career high with two sacks and five tackles in a 21-20 overtime loss to Ohio. Riggins also recovered a fumble forced by teammate Malcolm Koonce and the Bulls scored on a 34-yard touchdown the very next play.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Kent State P Derek Adams
Kent State junior punter Derek Adams (Manheim, Pa.) punted six times and averaged over 47 yards per kick in a 48-0 loss at No. 8 ranked Wisconsin on Saturday.
Adams was extremely consistent with a long punt of 51 yards and one inside the 20-yard line. The six punts resulted in just 20 return yards.
West Division
Ball State junior running back Caleb Huntley (Atlanta, Ga.) piled up a season-high 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 27-20 win at Northern Illinois on Saturday.
The 157 yards rushing were only two yards shy of his career-high and he carried the ball a career-high 35 times. Huntley scored the go-ahead 45-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter
Central Michigan senior running back Jonathan Ward had 205 all-purpose yards in a 42-16 win over Eastern Michigan. Ward had 132 yards rushing on 12 carries, an average of 11.0 ypc, and scored a pair of touchdowns, including a three-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 86-yard score in the third quarter.
The 86-yard touchdown is the longest by a MAC player this year and the seventh-longest in FBS play. Ward also had 3 catches for 73 yards, highlighted by a 64-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Toledo sophomore linebacker Saeed Holt (Pittsburgh, Pa.) tied a career-high with 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks in a 31-24 win over Western Michigan. Holt made two big plays at the end of the contest.
With Western Michigan at the Toledo 12-yard line with just over two minutes to play, Holt sacked quarterback Jon Wassink for a 12-yard loss, setting up a fourth-and-24 situation. Wassink scrambled on the next play and was tackled two yards shy of the first down by Holt with 1:44 left.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Ball State K Ryan Rimmler
Ball State senior kicker Ryan Rimmler (Heidelberg, Germany) set a career-high with four field goals – 24, 25, 42 and 22 yards – on a wet and rainy day in a 27-20 win at Northern Illinois on Saturday. His 42-yarder in the third quarter tied the game at 17-17. Rimmler is the first Cardinal to make at least four field goals in a game since Scott Secor tallied five field goals against Akron on Oct. 25, 2014.
