After one week of games, Mid-American Conference football teams have only two out-of-conference victories to their credit, both against Division I-AA teams -Ohio's 42-14 home-opening win against the Virginia Military Institute and Western Michigan's 42-0 shutout
of Tennessee-Martin.
The only other MAC team to win last week was Eastern Michigan, who rallied in the fourth quarter to beat conference rival Buffalo 37-34 Thursday. Not counting the conference game, MAC teams combined for a record of 2-10.
Six MAC teams faced Top 25 opponents, all on the road. The closest any team came to an upset was Northern Illinois, who fell 23-20 at No. 22 Maryland. The Huskies recovered a fumble for a touchdown during the fourth quarter to pull within three, but time expired with Northern Illinois at the Maryland 33.
Troy State defeated Marshall 17-15 at Edwards Stadium, handing the Herd its first home-opening loss since 1977. The two-point margin was the closest any MAC team came to winning against a non-conference I-A opponent.
Many MAC teams might still be searching for their first non-conference I-A win after this Saturday; four MAC teams will face ranked opponents. The Thundering Herd travels to Columbus to play the ninth-ranked Buckeyes, while Central Florida plays No. 10 West Virginia in the Citrus Bowl. Ball State is on the road against No. 25 Purdue, and Eastern Michigan is scheduled to play No. 11 Florida at The Swamp.
Frye wins honors despite loss
Akron quarterback Charlie Frye was named Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week after completing a school-record 81 percent of his passes during a 48-10 loss at Penn State last Saturday.
The senior, who Akron has touted as a Heisman Trophy contender, completed his first seven attempts. He completed 29 passes on 36 attempts for 223 yards, but threw two interceptions. This was his first game without a touchdown pass since Nov. 16, 2002.
Frye now has 722 career completions, becoming just the seventh MAC quarterback to complete more than 700 passes.
-Joe Merical
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Joe Merical
