Opening weekend for MAC football

Boston College 31, Central Michigan 24

CMU was able to cut Boston College's lead to within a touchdown twice but was unable to pull the upset against its Big East opponent.

Junior quarterback Matt Ryan led the Golden Eagles to victory as he threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Chippewa's freshman quarterback, Dan LeFevour, ran for a game-high 71 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing for 221 yards and another score.

Eastern Michigan 20, Ball State 38

Ball State's freshman quarterback Nate Davis threw for two second half touchdowns as the Cardinals flew by the Eagles.

Freshman quarterback Tyler Jones was EMU's jack-of-all-trades, rushing for a game high 164 yards while adding 146 more through the air.

Northwestern 21, Miami (OH) 3

It was an emotionally charged win for Northwestern as they downed the Miami RedHawks. The win marked the first game for the Wildcats since the death of its previous head coach Randy Walker.

Northwestern was led by freshman quarterback Mike Kafka who had 197 combined yards passing and rushing. Senior wide receiver Ryne Robinson hauled in nine catches for 143 yards for the Redhawks.

Minnesota 44, Kent State 0

A duo of running backs in sophomore Alex Daniels and junior Amir Pinnix both broke the century mark in rushing during the Golden Gophers' victory. Daniels had 155 yards and three touchdowns and Pinnix recorded 117 yards and a touchdown.

The game also marked Minnesota head coach Glen Mason's return to Kent State, where he received his initial head coaching job.

Toledo 43, Iowa State 45 (3 OT)

It was a triple overtime thriller in which the Cyclones beat the Rockets after Toledo failed to convert a two-point conversion on the last play of the game.

Iowa State was led by dual-threat quarterback Bret Meyer who threw for 238 yards and ran for 68 and had five total touchdowns. Toledo quarterback Clint Cochran went 39 for 49 with 370 yards and three touchdowns.

Akron 16, Penn State 34

Junior quarterback Anthony Morelli made the most out of his first collegiate start, passing for 208 yards and three touchdowns in the Nittany Lions' home opener win.

The Zips, who are last season's Mid-American Conference champions, were led through the air by senior quarterback Luke Getsy with 160 yards and a touchdown.

Northern Illinois 12, Ohio State 35

The No. 6 Spectrum ranked Buckeyes were too much for the defending MAC West Division champions as Ohio State took a 28-0 lead and never looked back.

OSU's two Heisman hopefuls, senior quarterback Troy Smith and junior wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr., each had productive days. Smith passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns and Ginn had two touchdown receptions and 123 receiving yards. Senior running back Garrett Wolfe was the lone shining star for NIU with 287 all-purpose yards and one touchdown.

Western Michigan 20, Indiana 39

The Hoosiers scored every way possible in their shellacking of the Broncos of Western Michigan. Indiana scored touchdowns through the air, on the ground, defensively and on special teams.

Junior quarterback Blake Powers threw for 187 yards and a touchdown while junior fullback Josiah Sears had a touchdown and 35 rushing yards. Sophomore cornerback Chris Phillips returned a Ryan Cubit pass 64 yards and junior punt returner Tracy Porter took a Jim Laney punt 86 yards for touchdowns as well for the Hoosiers.

Ohio 29, Tennessee-Martin 3

Ohio leaned on its defense in its defeat of I-AA opponent the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks. The Bobcats recorded a safety in the second quarter and had a 35-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown by senior cornerback T.J. Wright.

Neither offense could effectively move the ball. The Bobcats totaled just 144 yards from scrimmage and the Skyhawks only gained 123 yards for the game.

Wisconsin 35, Bowling Green 14

Wisconsin may have found its next highly touted running back in freshman P.J. Hill, who finished with 128 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown. Freshman quarterback Freddie Barnes set a BGSU record for single-game rushing yards by a quarterback with 150; he also had 82 yards passing to accompany his two rushing touchdowns.