FoSat Week Four MAC Football Recap: Buffalo Cruises at Rutgers, Eastern Michigan Falls Short in San Diego

It was nearly a banner week for the MAC, but most schools ran out of gas down the stretch, missing out on a few key road wins.

What Happened?

• Kent State played tight at Ole Miss for most of three quarters down in Oxford, but couldn’t sustain the great effort for four quarters, losing 38–17.

• Buffalo took off in Piscataway and never looked back, pummeling Rutgers 42–13 to push the Bulls to 4–0 on the season. The Bulls showed off their explosiveness on offense through the air, completing just 14 passes but for 18.8 yards per grab.
• It felt for most of the noon slot on Saturday like Akron was about to pull off another upset, this time over Matt Campbell’s Iowa State team. It just wasn’t meant to be as the Zips lost 26–13 in Ames. It was another excellent performance turned in by the Akron defense, but Kato Nelson and company just couldn’t get the offense going well enough to take over the game.
• Ohio blew a 24–7 halftime lead at Cincinnati, losing 34–30. It was a fantastic start for the Bobcats who seemed to have solved all of their issues from the previous two games. Turns out it was too good to be true.
• Toledo proved it can still win shootouts, beating Nevada 63–44 in a game that seemed like it would never end. Diontae Johnson was phenomenal:

• Western Michigan dominated Georgia State on the road 34–15. The Broncos never trailed in the game, had two 100-yard rushers in LeVante Bellamy and Jamauri Bogan. Quarterback Jon Wassink was at his best, going 20 of 25 passing for 234 yards and three touchdowns.
• Miami beat Bowling Green 38–23 in a game that really wasn’t even that close. The RedHawks defense held the Falcons to just three points through three quarters, but surrendered 20 in the fourth quarter with the game in hand at 31–3.
• Ball State fell to Western Kentucky at home 28–20. The Cardinals have gone from potential dark horse candidate to a cautionary tale on assuming too much in early September. The offense is still struggling through the air, even against teams like WKU.
• Central Michigan beat Maine 17–5. Um, I suppose the most exciting play of the game was this:

• Northern Illinois is probably extremely ready to be back playing MAC competition soon. The Huskies fell to Florida State 37–19 despite creating four turnovers. The offense struggling is officially A Thing.
• You’re not going to believe this but Eastern Michigan lost another one-score game. The Eagles lost to San Diego State 23–20 in overtime on the West Coast. EMU got another good performance from Mike Glass in the loss as he went 9/16 passing for 153 yards and a score, adding 29 more yards on the ground.

Why is Eastern Michigan Cursed?

I’m starting to think there is a heavy curse placed upon Eastern Michigan. It’s the only way to explain how a team can continually play so well for long stretches of football games and somehow turn into a different version of itself when it counts. It’s like those Progressive commercials where people turn into their parents, except instead of husbands/wives becoming their moms or dads they become Ron English.

For about 58 minutes of game time and one 24 yard San Diego State touchdown pass that left a receiver wide open due to miscommunication on defense, Eastern Michigan looked every bit one of the best teams in the MAC. It battled back from 17–3 down to take a 20–17 lead deep in the fourth quarter. With 3:18 to play in regulation, Eastern Michigan had taken the lead over a San Diego State team that hadn’t scored since that defensive hiccup with 9:03 left in the second quarter. Surely the Eagles would win. That’s exactly what the curse wanted you to think.

EMU let the Aztecs return the ensuing kickoff out to their own 42 yard line, which meant Aztecs had a short way to go to get into range for John Baron, who made kicks of 50 plus yards in back to back weeks. They gained 25 yards on six plays, and Baron took care of the rest. When EMU took over with 1:16 to play it was left with what I imagine is one of the more difficult decisions a coaching staff has to make in a tight football game. Do you risk all of the hard work it took to get the game to this point and aggressively try to get into field goal range through the air, or do you play for overtime? The Eagles played for overtime. It didn’t work.

Over the past two seasons EMU has been faced with this decision a lot, and every time it seems it makes the wrong decision. I have no idea whether or not EMU would have gotten into field goal range and won the game in regulation — though with Mike Glass I like my chances — but maybe it was worth a shot. That said, EMU tried getting aggressive against Army last year and ended up with a loss anyway. That’s why maybe the only explanation is some sort of deep, unknowable curse haunting the EMU football program. I’ll let you know if I find any better ideas.

Quick Thoughts on Week Four

• NIU’s not dead yet. The S&P+ statistical profiles have been updated, and you’ll see very quickly that the Huskies are still damn good on defense. NIU ranks 29th in the country on defense by this measure. This is a power five defense that won’t be tested that often in the MAC. If the Huskies go down, they’ll go down in some close, ugly games.
• Ohio has the opposite problem as NIU. It’s so poor on defense right now that it could be looking at a season where it struggles to make a bowl game. The first half against Cincinnati was a glimpse at what the Bobcats are capable of, but the second half might be closer to what they actually are.
• Ball State’s running out of measuring stick games to prove this thing is on the right track down in Muncie. If the offense doesn’t pick up, it’s going to be another long season.
• The MAC is struggling on offense as a whole. Only four MAC teams (Toledo, EMU, Buffalo, Western Michigan) reside within the top 60 on offense in S&P+. It’s two fewer than the number of teams that reside in the triple digits.

A Look Ahead at Week Five

• Ball State hosts Kent State. It’s a must-win for the Cardinals
• It’s going to be interesting watching Buffalo against Army. The Bulls are going to need to make the most of every drive, and efficiency is going to play a huge role.
• Western Michigan travels to Miami. Miami could get to 2–0 with a win and keep their hopes alive in a suddenly competitive MAC East.
• Toledo’s taking a trip out to Fresno State with the conference’s last best chance at “raising the flag”