Last weekend, one of the gods of the Mid-American Conference was knocked off Olympus when Central Michigan fell to Ball State.
The Cardinals' running game gained 306 yards in a 31-17 victory over the Chippewas. Ball State running back Eric Williams contributed in the passing game as well as running the ball.
Williams ran for 77 yards and added 83 receiving yards, producing three touchdowns in the process. Ball State's defense stood tall, getting four turnovers and limiting the Chippewas, who have been MAC champions three out of the past four seasons, to 13 points below their scoring average on the season.
We were at a crossroads emotionally. We spent a lot of time talking about playing together and playing with a great purpose
Ball State coach Stan Parrish said in the MAC teleconference. Nobody gave us much of a shot but the beauty about sports is we gave ourselves a shot.
Northern Illinois beat up on Akron, 50-14. Huskies quarterback Chandler Harnish threw for a season-high 281 yards and three touchdowns.
Akron running back Alex Allen continued to produce for the Zips. Although he was held to 99 yards, Allen had two touchdowns in the loss.
Close games
Miami outlasted Kent State, 27-21, but it took 17 points in the fourth quarter to do so. Zac Dysert threw for 294 yards and a touchdown for the RedHawks in the win.
Miami running back Thomas Merriweather put the team ahead on a touchdown run to start the fourth quarter. A blocked punt returned for a touchdown later in the quarter put the Redhawks in the lead for good.
We were fortunate to score a touchdown we blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown
Miami coach Mike Haywood said via the teleconference. We were able to go up and keep the lead through the rest of the game.
Golden Flashes running back Jacquise Terry had 23 carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
In a turnover-laden game between Buffalo and Bowling Green, Buffalo came out on top by a final of 28-26.
There were 11 total turnovers in the contest. Buffalo had six and Bowling Green had five.
The contest between Temple and Independent Army went down to the final minutes. Temple came away with the win 42-35.
Filling in for Bernard Pierce, who missed the game with a high ankle sprain, Temple running back Matt Brown ran for 226 yards on 28 carries with four touchdowns.
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Sports
Nick Robbe
