The division races are winding down with Buffalo and NIU looking to wrap up championship births with wins. This past week both teams got important wins to close the door a little more.
Quarterback of the Week
Marcus Childers from the Huskies had a good game against Toledo. Childers rushed for 58 yards and two touchdowns, and passed for 131 yards and one touchdown. The Northern Illinois defense did it’s job and held Toledo to 15 points, but Childers got enough done to put the Rockets away.
Honorable Mentions
Eli Peters didn’t air it out against an aggressive Huskie defense but he did play well. His final line was 26 for 47 for 264 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Dustin Crum got his first significant playing time of the season and accounted for two total touchdowns. He is one of three quarterbacks to be responsible for at least two touchdowns this week.
Running Back of the Week
The mid week Buffalo vs Kent State game was a gusty game. The passing was depressed so Jaret Patterson ran away from Kent State for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Patterson’s first touch went for 64 yards to the endzone.
Honorable Mentions
AJ Ouellette did everything but score a touchdown against Miami. He had 197 total yards on 18 touches. The Miami running back, Alonzo Smith, had 95 yards on 21 touches and two touchdowns to try to rival Ouellette. Miami ended up winning that game that was decided by a safety.
Wide Receiver of the Week
Kenny Young had seven rushes and seven catches this past week, refusing once again to be defined by a position. He totaled 104 yards and one touchdown. It wasn’t a monster game but it was another solid contribution from a player that the Miami offense will lean on heavily down the stretch.
Honorable Mentions
There weren’t a ton of passing touchdowns to go around this week so no player had a monster game. Cody Thompson for Toledo did have an eight catch, 110 yard performance against Northern Illinois. The MAC leader in yards per game, Scott Miller, had 7 catches and 73 yards for the Bowling Green Falcons.
Sack and Tackle For Loss Leader
Ohio linebacker Evan Croutch did his best to keep Miami off the scoreboard. Croutch had two sacks, 4 tackles for loss, and one pass defensed. His two sacks forced a third and 11 and forced a punt. That got blocked and returned for a touchdown to pull within 7.
Volume Tackler
The MAC leading tackler was the leader this week in solo tackles again. Malik Fountain for Central Michigan had 10 solo tackles and 14 total. Fountain leads the MAC by 1.5 tackles a game.
Interceptions and Pass Deflections
Eastern Michigan was nursing a three point lead at the start of the fourth quarter against Akron. On third and four from their own seven yard line, Maxx Crosby intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. The flood gates opened and Eastern went on to win 27-7. Crosby also recorded a sack and three tackles for loss.
See who were the players of the week last week!
