Western Michigan edges Buffalo in OT
10/25/2009KALAMAZOO, Mich. - John Potter's 28-yard field goal in overtime gave Western Michigan victory over Buffalo yesterday in Mid-American Conference play.
The Broncos (4-4, 3-2) were on defense first in the extra period, and when John Rachuna missed on a 43-yard attempt, they needed only to score to win. Five Brandon West rushes put the ball on the Bulls 10 and Potter's kick ended the game. The Bulls (3-5, 1-3) had forced overtime on the final play of regulation on A.J. Principe's 28-yard field goal.
West ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, and Tim Hiller threw for 350 yards and two touchdowns for Western Michigan. West's second TD put the Broncos ahead 31-28 with
1:58 left in the fourth quarter after Ike Nduka's third touchdown, a 56-yard run, had given the Bulls a 28-24 lead with 5:16 to play. Nduka finished with 172 yards rushing for Buffalo.
Ball State 29,
Eastern Michigan 27
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Cory Sykes rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns, and Ball State beat Eastern Michigan.
Eastern Michigan (0-7, 0-4) took an early lead when Ben Thayer caught a 3-yard scoring pass from Kyle McMahon. The Eagles held the lead until the last two minutes of the game.
That's when Sykes ran 37 yards for a score to put the Cardinals (1-7, 1-3) on top. He earlier scored on runs of 6 and 51 yards.
MiQuale Lewis was the Cardinals' leading rusher with 301 yards and a touchdown on a 48-yard run. The margin of victory came from a Ball State safety in the fourth.
Corey Welch scored for the Eagles on a 12-yard run, and DeAnthony White added a 10-yard rushing score.
Northern Illinois 27, Miami 22
OXFORD, Ohio- Chad Spann had two long touchdown runs to lead Northern Illinois over Miami.
Spann, who had 156 yards on 21 carries, opened the scoring on a 42-yard run with 8:01 left in the first quarter. Spann also had the last TD for Northern Illinois (4-3, 2-1 MAC) on a 40-yard run for a 27-16 lead with 58 seconds to play.
The Huskies, who had 202 rushing yards, limited the RedHawks on the ground to minus-11 yards.
The Northern Illinois defense, led by Jake Coffman with 2 1/2 sacks for a loss of 20 yards, sacked Miami quarterback Zac Dysert eight times for a loss of 66 yards.
Despite the sacks, Dysert had a career-high 348 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-37 passing for the RedHawks (0-8, 0-4). Armand Robinson had seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown for Miami.
Kent State 20, Ohio 11
ATHENS - Spencer Keith threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns to lead Kent State over Ohio.
Keith was 23-for-38 and threw fourth-quarter touchdown passes of 3 and 15 yards to Tyshon Goode as the Golden Flashes (4-4, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) took a 20-3 lead.
Kent State dominated defensively, holding Ohio (5-3, 3-1) to minus-9 yards rushing and 164 yards of total offense. The Golden Flashes had seven sacks, 15 tackles for loss, intercepted three passes and didn't allow an offensive touchdown for the second consecutive game.
LaVon Brazill scored Ohio's lone touchdown on an 87-yard punt return with 2:18 left in the game.
Kent State led only 6-3 before Keith connected with Goode on a 3-yard scoring pass that capped a six-play, 57-yard drive. Goode had nine catches for 105 yards. Kevin Hogan led Kent State with 2 1/2 sacks.
Syracuse 28, Akron 14
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Delone Carter gained a career-high 170 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns, Greg Paulus hit Marcus Sales for an 11-yard score and Syracuse beat Akron to snap a two-game losing streak.
Syracuse (3-4) avenged a 42-28 loss to the Zips a year ago in the Carrier Dome. It was the fifth straight loss for Akron (1-6). Carter, who had a career-high 30 carries, broke open a tight game with his third score. He broke two tackles and raced 53 yards to the Akron 9, then scored two plays later on a five-yard run.