Midweek MACtion Musings: 2024 Week 12

Old Dominion v Bowling Green — Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images

Thoughts and takeaways from all six midweek MACtion games in Week 12.

Week 12 of midweek MACtion is in the books. All 12 teams were featured in the conference’s six midweek games, as the MAC had a stranglehold on the college football world on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Four teams attained bowl eligibility in this midweek slate, increasing number of 6+ win teams in the MAC to six. Without further ado, here are thoughts and takeaways on all six Week 12 midweek games, ranging from the overtime thriller in Buffalo to the foggy rain in DeKalb:

Buffalo 51, Ball State 48 (OT)

My first thought is, what an incredible game. This is what midweek MACtion was made for — a ridiculous overtime shootout with clutch heroics, countless 30+ yard touchdown throws, a bunch of insane turnovers, a slew of lead changes, and a walk-off finish. This is clearly the game of the year when it comes to conference matchups in the MAC.
Buffalo attained bowl eligibility in year one under Pete Lembo. That’s remarkable, especially with two regular season games left (and they’re fairly winnable games vs. Eastern Michigan and Kent State).
Shaun Dolac and Red Murdock entered this matchup ranked first and third in the FBS in tackles, respectively, with 120 and 107. Dolac logged 17 and Murdock got 19. Ridiculous.
Words cannot express how far CJ Ogbonna has come as a passer. When Ogbonna was named the Week 1 starter, there was fair scrutiny. He was primarily utilized as a run-only quarterback in 2023, finishing 8-of-21 passing for 87 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Then at the beginning of the year, Buffalo didn’t pass much and he finished under 200 yards in each of his first six starts. But something clicked in that Oct. 19 Western Michigan game, and Ogbonna looks excellent. He delivered so many dimes in this game. That 33-yard connection to JJ Jenkins for the tying touchdown in the fourth quarter was spectacular. He remained poised on the final snap before halftime, reading through every progression before finding Victor Snow in the end zone — providing Buffalo a key seven points it desperately needed. Finally, he placed that ball to Lamar Sperling in overtime in the perfect spot where Sperling could find off Ball State outside linebacker Keionte Newson. What a game from Ogbonna, who came up clutch in so many moments.
November Ball State would beat September Ball State by a score like 56-7. The Cardinals made so much progress, but it doesn’t reflect in their record. They were coming out at the beginning of the season and getting boatraced 62-0 and 63-7. The defense tremendously improved, but on Wednesday, it finally took a step back to its September roots. Still, the offense looked spectacular as Kadin Semonza delivered a career-high 327 yards to go along with four touchdowns.
Where Ball State’s offense has improved most recently is wide receiver utilization. Tight end Tanner Koziol has been a star all year long, but the receiver usage is why Ball State hung in these Miami (OH) and Buffalo games. Justin Bowick is a star in the making, coming off 171 and 148 yard showings — providing Ball State the deep threat receiver it lacked all year. Cam Pickett is special in space. He scored a 65-yard touchdown on a screen and took an end around to the house. The offensive staff has gotten so much better at optimizing these receivers’ skill sets, and it’s shown.
Every Ball State MAC game this year has been decided by six points or fewer. Five of those games were decided by two or three points. Whether it’s a thrilling win or a crushing heartbreak, the Cardinals win the title for most entertaining MAC team of 2024.

Bowling Green 31, Western Michigan 13

Every time I write this column, I’ll always start with a Harold Fannin Jr. update. Fannin put up another jaw-dropping stat line of 10 receptions, 137 yards, and two touchdowns. At the time of this publish, he ranks FIRST in the FBS in receiving yards with 1,160, and he’s a tight end. He already has more receiving yards than any John Mackey Award winner in history, and he’s closing in on the best tight end season ever. Former Texas Tech tight end Jace Amaro (1,352 yards in 2013) currently holds the tight end receiving record. Fannin is 192 yards away, meaning he needs to average 64 if he plays three games (two regular season and bowl) and 48 if he plays four games (two regular season, MAC Championship, and bowl). Appreciate a talent like this in the MAC, because he’s dropping new records every single week.
Not only does Bowling Green have the luxury of the Connor Bazelak to Harold Fannin Jr. connection, but Terion Stewart is a bona fide star who could be playing on Sundays. Stewart churned out 150 rushing yards in the win for his fourth-straight game with 99+ yards. He’s been a consistent six yards per carry his entire career, and he’s an electrifying talent to watch.
Harold Fannin Jr. might be stealing enough of the show that I think it’s understated how stellar the Bowling Green defense has been lately. The Falcons held three of their last four opponents under 14 points. Penn State’s 34 is the most posted on this unit all season. Bowling Green absolutely crushed a dynamic Western Michigan offense, stifling the FBS’s 18th-ranked rushing attack to 97 yards and a 2.7 average. The pass defense was excellent too — four sacks, two interceptions, and zero passes exceeding 25 yards.
Western Michigan did one thing exceptionally well, and that was converting fourth downs. Jalen Buckley was an automatic yard every time, and the Broncos started 5-of-5 on fourth down with Buckley responsible for four of those conversions. In a game where the run game couldn’t get going, Western Michigan knew how to gain a critical yard or two when the chips were on the table.
I’d be remiss to mention the devastating injury to Bowling Green defensive end Bam Booker, who suffered a brutal hit on a second quarter kickoff. Incredibly scary moment and wishing the best for him. It was relieving that he was reported to be conscious and alert with movement in all his extremities.

Toledo 37, Central Michigan 10

Sometimes, there’s just teams where you can sense disaster coming. Central Michigan had the perfect storm of injuries (they’re on a fourth-string quarterback), heartbreak, and a conference schedule that lacked Kent State and Akron. Everything has been downhill for the Chippewas since they squandered a 34-16 fourth quarter lead to Eastern Michigan. That’s three-straight double-digit defeats since, and with Western Michigan and Northern Illinois on the docket, this year could very well end on a seven-game losing streak.
Toledo’s dunk tank on the sideline is one of my favorite MACtion things, and it’s 10 times funnier in frigid conditions. I love traditions that keep college football weird and fun.
Tucker Gleason didn’t light up the stat sheet as a passer, but that’s as good as a rushing performance as we’ve seen from the quarterback all season. Team-high 66 yards with touchdown scampers of 9 and 30 yards. It’s the second-highest total of his career after posting 106 rushing yards on Bowling Green in 2022. Those dual-threat abilities are quite helpful for Toledo, keeping this offense more versatile despite the season-long struggles out of the backfield.
This wasn’t Toledo’s most refined game offensively, yet it was never in question. The Rockets’ defense pulverized Central Michigan with a commanding 5-0 victory in the turnover battle, and that’s almost impossible to overcome (unless you’re SMU facing Duke). Toledo just finds a way to produce pass rushers every year, and Tuesday night it was Anthony Dunn Jr. who registered 2.5 sacks.

Miami (OH) 34, Kent State 7

It happened. It finally happened. For the first time all season, Kent State led. The Golden Flashes utilized a key takeaway in the opening minute, recovering a fumble at the Miami 25-yard line. Upon reaching that favorable position, the Golden Flashes utilized the connection they know best — Tommy Ulatowski to Chrishon McCray. The pair connected on Kent State’s only touchdown of the night. It’s been an extremely brutal season for the Golden Flashes, but it’s good they finally checked that box before the year ended.
The law of Keyon Mozee continues. Mozee has six 100-yard rushing performances this season. Miami is 6-0 in those games. Mozee has been held under 40 four times. Miami is 0-4 in those games. But we’ve never seen a better Mozee than the one unleashed Wednesday, as he attained a career-high 196 yards, putting on the finishing touches with a 74-yard breakaway run in the late third quarter.
I love Miami’s passing offense. There’s no dink and dunk. Brett Gabbert is dead set on beating you vertically, even if it worsens his completion percentage (currently at 56.8 percent on the season). He attempts the toughest throws of any MAC quarterback, and he hits on roughly half of them. Gabbert finished the night completing 10-of-22 passes. However, those 10 completions traveled 202 yards and he hit Reggie Virgil and Javon Tracy on deep ball touchdowns. The sixth-year senior quarterback has a 40+ yard completion in seven games this year, and even more impressively — he’s gone five-straight games without an interception. Not only is he pushing the ball downfield, but he simultaneously avoids careless deep throws where a high safety might intercept him.
Matt Salopek and Ty Wise are phenomenal. Earlier in the piece, I wrote about Buffalo’s dynamic linebacking duo of Shaun Dolac and Red Murdock, and Miami has another stellar pairing. Salopek recorded six tackles and a pick, while Wise logged five tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. These two are a huge reason why Miami’s defense is elite. That’s 23-straight games where the RedHawks held their opponent to 30 or below.
Kent State’s defense fights hard. The team is winless, it feels like half the unit is injured, yet these players are battling on every down. Huge props to Stephen Daley who recorded two sacks Wednesday night. The unit also forced two turnovers and nearly had a scoop-and-score touchdown, but it was called back.

Northern Illinois 29, Akron 16

This was one of those off-the-rails special teams games. Akron’s first punt was quite a moment. The Zips mishandled the snap, then Avery Book decided to book it for a fake until he saw Northern Illinois jerseys swarming toward him. He punted it and it went a couple inches. But the Zips got their special teams redemption in the second quarter with a blocked punt and recovery in the end zone. Why does it feel like Akron is always involved in these bonkers special teams plays? I guess this was the team that once kicked off its season with an onside kick on a Wednesday night.
The CBS Sports Network play-by-play camera was extremely blurry throughout this game. It felt like watching through those drunk goggles you try on when local law enforcement visits your elementary school for a day. Just #MACtion things.
Wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, and somehow, neither was a receiving touchdown. He fielded a jet sweep and delivered a perfect 39-yard dime to Dane Pardridge for a touchdown (you could easily tell he was a former high school quarterback on the throw), and he logged a rushing touchdown from 58 yards out of a wildcat formation. Remember, Rudolph is a midweek MACtion legend. In 2021, he once recorded 309 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a single game. It’s good to see a performance like that from Rudolph after all the injuries he dealt with over the years.
Akron finished 19-of-52 passing. I’m not sure when the last time I saw fewer than 20 competitions on more than 50 attempts. But the ground game got nothing on NIU’s stout run defense, so it was probably the right move to rely heavily on the air.
Northern Illinois’ season has just been a rotating cycle of two wins, two losses. The Huskies take their two-game win streak into a matchup against first place Miami (OH) before ending against Central Michigan.

Ohio 35, Eastern Michigan 10

Ohio is 7-3. Do you realize how much talent the Bobcats lost from their 10-3 team a year ago? Nearly every starter graduated or hit the portal. Tim Albin was basically working with a blank canvas, and in typical Frank Solich era fashion, the Bobcats reloaded seamlessly. The first year was difficult, but Albin has this program running just like Solich had it running from 2009-20.
I don’t know how this happens in midweek MACtion every year, but there’s always a team that kicks off from the opponent’s 35-yard line. Thanks to a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Eastern Michigan after an Ohio fourth quarter touchdown, the Bobcats found themselves in this position. They tried to bounce it off the upman but it didn’t work. Also, the onside kick is the right move in this situation every time. Toledo had this come up a few years ago and somehow didn’t try the onside.
Ohio had zero points by the midway point of the second quarter, trailing 7-0. It led 14-7 at halftime and then steadily turned this into a blowout in the fourth. The Bobcats outscored Eastern Michigan 21-3 in the second half with all three touchdowns coming courtesy of Parker Navarro’s legs. The quarterback rushed for four touchdowns and 106 yards in a standout performance Wednesday. He also threw for 277.
Speaking of Parker Navarro, he is one of those quarterbacks who waited his turn. He backed up Dillon Gabriel at UCF for several years and then landed at Ohio for the 2022 season. Then he learned two years behind Kurtis Rourke before finally getting his turn as the starter in the 2023 Myrtle Beach Bowl. All that time spent learning behind two quarterbacks — who both start for top five teams in the rankings — paid off, and Navarro has the Bobcats with the best overall record in the MAC and tied atop the conference standings.
Eastern Michigan rides a three-game losing streak after starting 5-2, and the chances for bowl eligibility are running out. Losing to Akron was definitely painful for the Eagles, and losing to Toledo after snagging a last-second Hail Mary — thanks to a failure on the two-point try — was also brutal. All that’s left on the schedule is 6-4 Buffalo and 5-5 Western Michigan, and Eastern Michigan needs one of those to make four-straight bowls for the first time in program history.