by East Division
Offensive Player of the Week: Ohio QB Nathan Rourke
Ohio senior quarterback Nathan Rourke (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) threw for a career-high 342 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores in a 45-38 win over Kent State. Ohio racked up a season-high 45 points, 571 yards of total offense and 31 first downs with Rourke recording his first career game with at least 300 passing yards.
He completed 19-28 passes (67.9%) and became the first Ohio quarterback to pass for at least 300 yards in a game since Greg Windham threw for 380 against Texas State in 2016. Rourke has been responsible for at least four touchdowns in a single game 10 times in his career and extended his school record for career touchdowns responsible for to 94.
He has thrown for 6,249 yards in his career, giving him the distinction of being one of only two quarterbacks in program history to throw for at least 6,000 career yards along with Tyler Tettleton (9,125 yards; 2009-13). Rourke’s 50 career passing touchdowns rank second in program history while his 42 career rushing touchdowns rank third.
Defensive Player of the Week: Buffalo DE Ledarius Mack
Buffalo senior defensive end Ledarius Mack (Vero Beach, Fla.) had the best game of his career in a 21-0 win at Akron on Saturday. Mack had four tackles, one sack, three tackles for loss, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery in Buffalo’s second-ever road shutout against a MAC opponent.
With the Bulls leading, 7-0, late in the third quarter, Mack recovered a fumble off a strip sack by teammate Taylor Riggins and dashed 35 yards for his first career touchdown. All three of Mack’s tackles for loss came in the first half to help set the tone for the game.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Miami KR/PR Maurice Thomas
Miami senior kick returner Maurice Thomas (Oxford, Ohio) had three kick returns for 133 total yards, including an 86-yard return in a 27-24 win over Northern Illinois. Thomas added 15 punt return yards, finishing the contest with 148 return yards.
West Division
Offensive Player of the Week: Eastern Michigan QB Preston Hutchinson
Eastern Michigan sophomore quarterback Preston Hutchinson (Mason, Ohio) made his first collegiate start and led a 34-27 win over in-state rival Western Michigan. Hutchinson accounted for four touchdowns as he completed 31-36 passes for 357 yards and three passing touchdowns. He added nine yards rushing and his first-career rushing touchdown.
His 86.1 completion percentage was the second-highest by an Eastern Michigan quarterback since the 1999 campaign, falling short of only Glass’ 90-percent game against Coastal Carolina, Aug. 31. Hutchinson’s perfect game-winning drive was part of a fourth quarter that saw him complete 11-of-12 passes for 140 yards and a pair of long touchdown passes.
He also made plays with his legs, finishing with 10 carries for 29 sack-adjusted yards, including a six-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter that gave Eastern Michigan its first lead of the game, 17-14. Hutchinson is the ninth Eastern Michigan quarterback to earn a start in the past decade, and the third signal caller to get his first career start against Western Michigan. Overall, his completions, attempts, passing yards, and touchdowns are all the best of any new quarterback since 2009. Furthermore, his 357 yards passing are tied for 24th-best in program history.
Defensive Player of the Week: Central Michigan DB Da’Quaun Jamison
Central Michigan senior defensive back Da’Quaun Jamison (Leesburg, Ga.) collected two interceptions, six tackles and three quarterback hurries in a 38-20 win at Bowling Green. Jamison’s two interceptions was double his previous career total of one and helped lead the Chippewas to its first road win since 2017.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Eastern Michigan P Jake Julien
Eastern Michigan junior punter Jake Julien (Barrie, Ontario, Canada) belted two punts for an average of 50.0 yards, including a long of 53-yards, in a 34-27 win over Western Michigan. Julien’s best work came in the final seconds of the game, as he successfully took the final 12 seconds off the clock with a near-perfect punt to close out the game.
