It was a great Saturday in college football and the Mid-American Conference. No. 23 Bowling Green came up big with an upset over undefeated No. 12 Northern Illinois in a rematch of last year's game that NIU won, which in turn ended Bowling Green's undefeated start to their 2002 season. The Miami RedHawks got a late touchdown to complete a fourth quarter comeback over Kent State, and Ball State rolled over the Toledo Rockets in a blowout in front of their home fans.
Bowling Green Exacts Revenge
Bowling Green (6-1, 3-0 MAC) upset NIU (7-1, 3-1 MAC) 34-18 Saturday night in a nationally televised game to give NIU their first loss of the season. Only one time before this match have two MAC teams ranked in the top 25 met in a regular season game.
The Falcons jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter and outscored NIU 24-3 in the first half of the game. Northern Illinois tried to make it a game in the third quarter, scoring 15 points, but they could not stop the Bowling Green offense that put up another 10 points in the third to secure the 34-18 win.
Quarterback Josh Harris threw for 438 yards and three touchdowns, en route to the BGSU victory.
"Everybody was on their game tonight, the offensive linemen did a great job of protecting, and the wideouts - they were right where they needed to be," stated Harris after the victory.
Falcons' head coach Gregg Brandon was impressed with the way that his quarterback performed Saturday night.
"If there is a better quarterback in America, who is he?"
Bowling Green wide receivers Cole Magner and Charles Sharon both had 100-yard receiving days and combined for 13 catches for 223 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensive back Janssen Patton had a big game with two interceptions.
"I told him after the second pick he looked like a pro corner," stated Brandon after the game. "I said a guy on Sunday makes that kind of play."
There was a lot of disappointment from the NIU coaches and players following the defeat Saturday night.
"We got our butt kicked by Bowling Green tonight, we didn't play well enough," stated NIU head coach Joe Novak after their first loss of the season. "All season long we had been falling behind and sooner or later we wouldn't be able to catch up. We were outplayed; they made plays when they needed to be made and we didn't."
Miami RedHawks Rally to Beat Kent State 38-30
Kent State held a 27-24 lead in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game against Miami of Ohio until Martin Nance caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to give Miami a 31-27 lead late in the fourth quarter of the game.
The pass capped off a drive that went for eight plays and covered 80 yards, and turned out to be the game-winning touchdown.
Miami went on one more touchdown drive and gave up another field goal to Kent State before it was all said and done, but the final score was in their favor as the RedHawks topped the Flashes 38-20.
Roethlisberger threw for 409 total yards and three touchdowns - all to Martin Nance - in Miami's win over Kent State. The RedHawks improve their record on the year to 7-1 (4-0 MAC) while riding a seven-game winning streak. Kent State's record goes to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in the MAC after their loss to Miami.
Ball State Whips Toledo 38-14
Ball State racked up 505 yards of total offense against the Toledo Rockets in front of the crowd at Ball State Stadium during their 38-14 victory over the Toledo Rockets on Saturday. The victory improves Ball State's record to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in the MAC.
Toledo falls to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the MAC.
"We played and fought as a football team, we stressed this all week in practice," stated Ball State football coach Brady Hoke in a school press release. "We converted drives, especially on third downs. This was our best game as a team."
Ball State led 24-0 with less than 14 minuets left in the game, but Toledo was able to get on the board.
But it mattered not.
The Cardinals lead by as many as 31 points as they had a 38-7 lead late in the game. Talmadge Hill led Ball State completing 22-of-27 passing attempts for 303 yards and three touchdowns.
"Talmadge had great momentum today and carried it through the entire game," Hoke stated. "His quick feet and good decision making kept him on top of his game. The five guys up front did a great job and allowed Hill to play his game. This allowed for good control of the offense and good decisions."
Around the MAC
Darius Watts caught nine passes for 170 yards as Marshall rolled over Western Michigan 41-21. Ryan Schneider threw two touchdown passes on 254 passing yards and Central Florida beat Central Michigan 31-13. UConn kicker Matt Nuzzie kicked a 27-yard field goal as time ran out to lift the Huskies to a 38-37 win over Akron.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
