A comprehensive list of thoughts from Saturday’s Week 8 MAC slate.
Week 8 of MAC football is in the books.
11 of the league’s 12 teams took the field Saturday, as Akron took its first bye of 2024 while Ball State completed its final non-conference matchup of 2024 — a trip to SEC country to battle Vanderbilt.
Western Michigan impressed with a shootout win over Buffalo to remain the MAC’s lone unbeaten team in conference play, Eastern Michigan erased a late three-score deficit, and Harold Fannin Jr. did Harold Fannin Jr. things.
Here is a comprehensive list of thoughts from Week 8 of MAC football.
Eastern Michigan 38, Central Michigan 34
- That did not feel like a typical Chris Creighton Eastern Michigan win. The Eagles usually win their games in the first half, slowly putting opponents away through strong defensive play and complementary football. Then in the second halves, smart clock management factors in as Eastern Michigan tries to shorten the game as much as possible. This highly contrasted as a come-from-behind thrilling shootout victory. Eastern Michigan trailed 34-16 with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter yet rattled off three unanswered touchdowns to knock off its in-state rival.
- Tristan Mattson is one of the better kickers in the country right now. The Central Michigan specialist is 11-of-12 on the year, and he drilled distant field goals from 51 and 56 yards out in the third quarter Saturday. Last season he finished 7-of-14 and his tremendous offseason improvement is evident. He’s 8-for-8 under 40 yards and 2-for-2 over 50 yards, showing reliability in both the short-range and long-range game.
- This was an interesting clash of styles. Central Michigan basically refrained from passing as much as possible, finishing 5-of-12 on the day between quarterbacks Tyler Jefferson and Bert Emanuel Jr. Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan’s Cole Snyder fired the ball 38 times, completing 17 attempts for 300 yards. It was the Eagles’ first 300-yard passing game since 2022. Snyder evidently unlocks that aspect of the offense, as Eastern Michigan quarterbacks only surpassed 200 yards twice in 2023 — peaking at 231.
Miami (OH) 30, Ohio 20
- Miami is firmly in the MAC contender circle once again. The RedHawks got their swagger back, especially on offense. Dropping 38 on 5-2 Eastern Michigan and 30 on 4-3 Ohio in back-to-back weeks — while winning both games by double-digits — is an excellent sign.
- Everything starts with Brett Gabbert. The sixth-year senior notably refrained from interceptions in his first five years in Oxford, but he uncharacteristically tossed seven in his first five games. The last two weeks, we’ve seen a new Gabbert who accumulated seven touchdown passes and zero interceptions in those consecutive 30+ point barrages. When Gabbert is in rhythm, the rest of the offense opens up, and we saw that through Keyon Mozee’s 111 rushing yards vs. Ohio.
- You can’t judge cornerbacks solely by interception numbers. It’s shocking Raion Strader only has two career interceptions, but the true sophomore is consistently one of the best lockdown corners in the MAC. He already has 21 pass breakups and he’ll likely be landing on an all-conference team as the 2024 MAC leader in the category. But he finally got on the highlight reel Saturday, perfectly jumping a route and completing a 33-yard return. Strader is one of the best defenders in the MAC, and he’s been that way since he first took the field as a true freshman in 2023.
Bowling Green 27, Kent State 6
- What is there left to say about Harold Fannin Jr.? Every so often, the MAC gets a statistically dominant superstar that captivates a national audience. Jordan Lynch did it with his mastery of the zone read and his remarkable QB rushing performances. Jaret Patterson did it as an automatic 200 yards per game runner. Sutton Smith did it by sacking every quarterback into oblivion. Now there’s Fannin who is third nationally in receiving yards with 873 — as a tight end after collecting 171 on Saturday.
- Fannin racked up 10 receptions for 171 yards vs. Kent State for his fifth 130+ showing of the season. His 60 catches are also third in the FBS, and he’s not just an elite receiving tight end — he’s one of the best run blockers too. Fannin has a 360 receiving yard advantage on the next closest tight end (Penn State’s Tyler Warren), so it seems like he’d be a shoo-in for the Mackey Award? Time will tell. Warren certainly amplified his stock in Week 7 when tying the FBS single-game record for tight end receptions with 17. Penn State lines him up in a myriad of positions too, ranging from quarterback to center. They’re both star tight ends with a likely All-American future come December. Also, the fact that they played against each other this year (Warren: 8 catches, 146 yards; Fannin: 11 catches, 137 yards, 1 TD) is like the tight end version of the 2016 Baker Mayfield vs. Patrick Mahomes game.
- Scoring six points is beyond deflating for a Kent State team which seemingly solved its offensive woes vs. Eastern Michigan and Ball State, which were quarterback Tommy Ulatowski’s first two starts of 2024. An explosive passing game fueled by Ulatowski’s connections to Chrishon McCray and Luke Floriea guided Kent State to 68 points in two weeks, but everything went back to square one vs. Bowling Green. Ulatowski finished 7-of-27 with 78 passing yards and two interceptions. True freshman backup Ruel Tomlinson even checked in and went 0-of-2 with one interception. Still, Kent State can’t give up on Ulatowski after one brutal showing. Kent State has played 19 games under Kenni Burns. Ulatowski started six of those 19, yet he owns the three highest passing totals of the Burns era. The Golden Flashes need the verticality he brings to the table, and another performance like the one he had vs. Ball State could snap this 16-game losing streak.
Western Michigan 48, Buffalo 41
- Western Michigan is 3-0 in MAC play as the only team still perfect in that regard. Every other FBS conference features multiple teams unbeaten in league play, which reinforces the level of parity in the MAC. Nobody looks dominant and every team possesses its flaws.
- Speaking of flaws, Western Michigan’s defense needs work if the Broncos want to make their first MAC Championship Game appearance since 2016. The unit started the season strong, playing a shell style to prevent Wisconsin from a single explosive play in Week 1. It felt like that 56-0 drudging at Ohio State changed everything. Western Michigan since surrendered 31 to FCS Bethune-Cookman, 42 to Ball State, and 41 to Buffalo — yet those were all wins.
- Western Michigan’s offense is an elite group. The Broncos might showcase better balance than anybody in the conference. Hayden Wolff has been the MAC’s most efficient passer with a 68.5 completion rate, and he produced 280 yards and three touchdowns Saturday. Jaden Nixon is a star in the making at running back, and First Team All-MAC seems to be the likely future after his fourth 100-yard performance in a five-game span. Jalen Buckley (a 1,000-yard rusher in 2023) is an elite second fiddle, and Western Michigan is equipped with one of the deepest pass-catching crews in the league with Kenneth Womack back from injury, alongside Anthony Sambucci and tight end Blake Bosma. That’s a championship-caliber offense.
- It happened in a loss, but it’s hard not to feel inspired about the potential of Buffalo’s offense after that performance. The Bulls hadn’t scored 40 points since September 2022. CJ Ogbonna hadn’t thrown for 200 yards all year, yet he tore apart the Western Michigan defense with 309 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. The run game keeps improving each week with Al-Jay Henderson emerging as the No. 1 guy with 239 yards on an 8.0 average over the last two games.
Toledo 13, Northern Illinois 6
- Northern Illinois is falling into the Iowa conundrum this year. This means every game is winnable because the defense is that good, yet every game is losable because the offense cannot consistently finish in the end zone. The bright side of that conundrum was observed in Week 2 when stellar defensive play guided the Huskies’ to a low-scoring 16-14 upset at Notre Dame where they only needed one touchdown. But the team has lost a few games simply due to offensive lapses, notably the 23-20 overtime defeat to Buffalo and Saturday’s 13-6 defeat to Toledo — tied for the lowest-scoring FBS game of 2024. So most games going forward will at least come with intrigue but a lack of points.
- Northern Illinois went 2-of-8 on fourth down, and that doesn’t even include its missed field goal. The Huskies failed three different 4th and 1 situations, calling a different style run each time. An under-center handoff out of the backfield amounted to nothing in the first quarter. A jet sweep in the second quarter featured a fumble on the exchange, derailing the play from the start. And backup quarterback John Holst’s QB sneak in the fourth quarter from the Toledo 41 was suffocated at the line of scrimmage. The drive ending in Holst’s sneak was NIU’s best chance at second half points, but it amounted to nothing. NIU’s line has been stellar at times this year, so failing on three running plays was somewhat surprising. But the Huskies didn’t employ the ever-efficient tush push where a member of the backfield assisted Holst, so perhaps that’s an option going forward.
- Toledo has two very strong bounce-back wins this year, following its loss at WKU with a double-digit win over Miami (OH) and following a loss at Buffalo by upending NIU in this defensive slugfest. It was especially impressive that quarterback John Alan Richter, making his first start in place of the injured Tucker Gleason, refrained from a turnover against an elite defense to keep the Rockets in front. Toledo overall showed great poise Saturday.
- Northern Illinois’ loss essentially eliminates the MAC from College Football Playoff contention. In order for the MAC to qualify, its champion would have to finish ranked higher than four other conference champions. Every team has at least three losses except Toledo and Eastern Michigan. Getting a two-loss MAC team in the playoff field would have been a stretch, but NIU had its 16-14 win over otherwise-unbeaten Notre Dame in its back pocket for any debate. A third loss ends that debate from ever making it to the stage.
Vanderbilt 24, Ball State 14
- There are no moral victories in college football and Ball State is 2-5. However, it’s very hard to leave this game not inspired by the Cardinals’ performance against a currently-ranked 5-2 Vanderbilt squad, especially on defense. They entered the matchup second-to-last in the FBS in scoring defense and total defense, yet limited Vanderbilt to 14 points through three quarters and 24 in total — allowing just two touchdowns. Ball State yielded 34+ to each of its first six opponents including FCS Missouri State. The Commodores couldn’t get much from their running backs and Ball State kept them relatively inefficient in the passing game. Those are promising things to build on.
- This game was very reminiscent of the 2022 Quick Lane Bowl where New Mexico State beat Bowling Green, 24-19. New Mexico State’s quarterback that day, Diego Pavia, seemingly converted every crucial third down, playing with tremendous heart and physicality as a runner. Pavia led New Mexico State to an 11-of-17 showing on third down that day, picking up so many crucial ones in the fourth quarter to seal the game. Now at Vanderbilt, the same storyline unfolded Saturday against Ball State. Pavia rushed for a game-high 82 yards and led the Commodores to an efficient 9-of-16 on third down. His 20-yard pickup on 3rd and 13 in a tie ballgame proved the most costly of those nine conversions.
- Ball State is improving its Kiael Kelly usage over time. The team’s primary starting quarterback in 2023, Kelly temporarily flipped to defensive back over the offseason, but now he’s back as a utility player on the offense. He scored a 9-yard wildcat touchdown run on the opening possession. Switching from quarterback to defensive back is a very difficult and atypical transition, so abandoning that was probably the right step. Still, Kelly’s speed and quickness are too vital that he needs to operate in some sort of capacity, and wildcat quarterback is probably the best option.