Many teams have said the best thing about the first few weeks of the football season is the opportunity to become stronger on a weekly basis. However, somebody forgot to send the memo to the bulk of Mid-American Conference football teams. Last week, the MAC finished 3-12 collectively.
(9) Ohio State 24, Marshall 21
The weekend's bright spot came in a loss, as the Marshall Thundering Herd was able to come within a last-minute field goal on the road against the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are currently ranked ninth in the nation. Marshall controlled the game tempo, holding on to the football for 35:43, and piled up 290 total yards of total offense. Marshall's junior defensive back, Chris Royal, was able to pick off two passes and tackle three Buckeyes in a losing effort.
Virginia Tech 63, Western Michigan 0
Brian Randall led the Hokies with 253 yards through the air and two touchdowns, while Virginia Tech's two-pronged rushing attack added 103 yards and another touchdown. To compound the rout, freshman receiver Eddie Royal rushed for a touchdown, and caught one in the Hokies' demolition of the Broncos.
(25) Purdue 59, Ball State 7
The Boilermakers didn't have any kind of letdown after their 51-0 blowout over Syracuse last week. They held on to all of their momentum and mowed down Ball State by an even larger point differential. Kyle Orton was a ridiculous 23 of 26 passing, for 329 yards and five touchdowns. To add insult to injury, he ran three times for 15 yards and scored a touchdown on the ground. Purdue appears as though they won't be stopped this year, and if Orton can stay as hot as he is this team might compete in a BCS bowl game.
(10) West Virginia 45, Central Florida 20
Rasheed Marshall led West Virginia on an all-out assault, going 14-18 for 225 yards and four touchdowns. He added another on the ground just for good measure after the Mountaineers lost their top running back, Kay-Jay Harris. UCF is now winless in their last 15 games against ranked opponents, and drop to 0-2 on the year.
(11) Florida 49, Eastern Michigan 10
Coming off of a tight victory against the Bulls last week, Eastern Michigan fell -- and fell hard -- to the Florida Gators. Chris Leak led the Gators down the field with 244 yards and three touchdowns. The score at the half was 28-10, and the Gators never looked back, adding three more touchdowns in the second half.
Pittsburgh 24, Ohio 3
The Panthers' offense will be hard-pressed to replace Larry Fitzgerald as a receiving option this season. Pitt's big scores came on a blocked punt and an interception. Pittsburgh's freshman quarterback Tyler Palko went 6-19 for 49 with one touchdown and one interception. The performance was not a stellar debut for the replacement of Rod Rutherford, but the freshman still has time to step up and take control of his offense.
Michigan State 24, Central Michigan 7
The Spartans blew past the Chippewas with a big 9-19 183 yard game from quarterback Stephen Reaves. Central Michigan's Jerry Seymour made things interesting, with 170 yards on the ground and one touchdown, but couldn't keep Michigan State off the board, as they scored in every quarter on their way to an easy win.
Bowling Green 49, Southeastern Missouri State 10
Omar Jacobs passed for 285 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead Bowling Green to an easy victory over Southeastern Missouri State. The Falcons were led by Jacobs, who connected on two long touchdown passes from outside the red zone. The Falcons were also able to score on a 79-yard punt return by Charles Sharon who tacked on a TD reception to ease the Falcons to victory.
The rest of the MAC only won two games, with Kent State beating Liberty 38-10, and Northern Illinois defeating Southern Illinois 23-22. There were also a number of blowouts, with Miami (Ohio) falling to Cincinnati by a 45-26 deficit, and Kansas routing Toledo 63-14.
Next week, the MAC features a few interesting matchups, highlighted by Marshall at third ranked Georgia, Ball State at Missouri, and Northern Illinois at Iowa State.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
