Toledo 52, Central Michigan 28
Toledo Rockets running back Chester Taylor broke a school record, scoring five touchdowns against the Central Michigan Chippewas in Toledo's 52-28 victory Saturday. One of the most durable backs in the conference, Taylor carried his team to victory with 22 rushes for 164 yards, including touchdown runs of 44, 19, 37, and 2 yards. He also caught a 43-yard scoring pass.
With the win, the Rockets moved up two spots to number 25 in the Associated Press national college rankings. Toledo remains out of the top 25 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
The Chippewas did their part to help Toledo break the rankings by taking eight penalties for a combined 51 yards.
The 17th-ranked Michigan Wolverines taught a defensive lesson to their cross-state rivals this week by allowing a mere 13 yards rushing while accumulating seven sacks en route to a convincing win. Running back B.J. Askew accounted for 178 of Michigan's total yards on 20 touches, scoring three times along the way.
Quarterback Jeff Walsh was the bright spot for Western Michigan, finishing the contest 36-58 passing for 374 yards and two touchdowns.
On the strength of solid defensive and special teams play, the Bowling Green Falcons upped their undefeated record to 3-0 by snuffing out the Temple Owls via the big play. Although they were out-gained in total yards 356-248, the Falcons amassed 126 return yards for three scores.
The two defensive touchdowns came on a 30-yard fumble return by Chad Long and a 31-yard interception return by Brandon Hicks, while Janssen Patton returned the Owls' last-minute on-sides kick 42 yards for another score.
David Bautista led Bowling Green's offensive attack, catching eight balls for 90 yards.
After a first quarter in which they gained a whopping 115 yards in total offense, the Akron Zips folded against 24th ranked Purdue Boilermakers and red-shirt freshman quarterback Brandon Hance.
The Boilermakers, who could not get their offense going early, rode Hance's 21-37, 252 yard, two-touchdown performance to victory.
John Standeford was the go-to guy for Purdue, as he finished with five receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Joey Harris also chipped in with TD runs of two and 58 yards.
Iowa State Cyclones running back Ennis Haywood torched Ohio's defense for touchdowns of 66 and seven yards on his way to a 33 carry, 219 yard rushing performance as the Cyclones defeated Ohio to remain unbeaten. Lane Danielson and Craig Campbell led the receiving charge for the Cyclones, with a combined 13 catches for 221 yards.
Ohio wide receiver Joe Mohler helped keep things close, however, with touchdown catches of 31 and 53 yards.
Running back Avon Cobourne once again paved the way for West Virginia, turning in a 181-yard rushing performance on 35 carries. Quarterback Brad Lewis was extremely productive for WVU, completing 27 of 34 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
Kent State QB Joshua Cribbs did his best to keep them in the game, running the ball 20 times for 144 yards, including a touchdown run of 84 yards. Cribbs also had a touchdown pass, but went a woeful 13-31 for 117 yards and two interceptions through the air.
Multi-dimensional threat Ben Roethlisberger turned in another fine performance at QB for Miami, with 264 yards on 20-25 passing, including two touchdowns. Roethlisberger also rushed for a touchdown in Miami's first game against an opponent not in the powerful Big 10.
The Cincinnati Bearcats pulled to within a touchdown of tying the game in the final quarter on a 12-yard touchdown scamper by running back Dema McClesky, which capped an 89-yard drive for the Bearcats, but were unable to put up more points.
A last-second field goal by Mac Hoambrecker from 33 yards out capped a 12-play, 69-yard drive that consumed the final 4:25 of play as Northern Iowa outlasted Ball State.
Quarterback Talmadge Hill and running back Scott Blair provided the spark for Ball State's offense, who out-gained their opponents, 507 to 337. Hill completed 20 of 31 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, while Blair ran for 107 yards on 22 carries.
Junior quarterback Julian Reese led the Indiana State Sycamores to victory by rushing for 81 yards on 21 carries, including touchdown runs of 11 and 3 yards. Reese also turned in a passing performance of 101 yards, with one touchdown, before having to split the majority of the game's remaining snaps.
Eastern Michigan QB Jeff Crooks managed to make things exciting, however, by tossing a 65-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Walter, and proceeding to run for the two-point conversion to tie the game before Reese returned to run for his second score.
Northern Illinois Huskies quarterback Chris Finlen connected with receiver P.J. Fleck on scoring strikes of 31 and 55 yards to lift the Huskies to their second victory. Fleck finished with eight receptions for 153 yards, while Finlen went 15 of 26 for 279 yards and three touchdown passes. NIU running back Thomas Hammock also got in on the action, rushing for 152 yards and a score.
Sam Huston State receiver Jonathan Cooper treated opposing fans to quite a show, hauling in 11 balls for 205 yards, one of which was a 52-yard scoring play from QB Josh McCown. McCown was the game's leading passer, finishing with 318 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
