MAC football powered on. With most of the nation glued to UCF and Temple Thursday night, Ohio and Northern Illinois did their things in MACtion games.
The Bobcats had no trouble putting Western Michigan away, 59-14, while the Huskies remained unbeaten in the Mid-American Conference by fighting past Akron on the road.
Teams from the MAC have been given a chance to hit the field early in the week and earn prime-time games, and more times than not, something special happens in them.
Ohio jumped out to a 45-0 lead after two quarters of play, as Nathan Rourke threw three touchdown passes and ran in two more scores. Rourke had himself a night in limited action due to the blowout score, completing 12 of 14 for 149 yards with 68 yards rushing on nine carries – and of course, five total touchdowns.
As a collective unit, the Bobcats ranked up 256 yards rushing and another 164 yards passing, while the Ohio defense did its part with six turnovers. They also held Western Michigan to just 270 yards of total offense.
The stage is now set for the 6-3 Bobcats if they can take care of Miami (Ohio) next Wednesday, as league-leader Buffalo awaits at home on November 14. The Bulls are a game up in the win column thanks to Northern Illinois’ 24-21 win over Ohio earlier this year.
Western Michigan dropped to 6-4 on the year, as the Broncos have now lost two in a row after a six-game win streak from September through most of October. They are off until November 13 when they travel to Ball State.
The Huskies were big winners on the night, as they are now two games clear of Western Michigan and Toledo in the West division of the MAC thanks to their 36-26 victory over Akron.
Northern Illinois proved they are for real with a 7-6 victory last week over BYU, as the win Thursday stretched the win streak to five in a row. The defense was big for the Huskies, as Jalen McKie returned an extra-point for two and later picked off a pass that he returned for a touchdown.
Tre Harbison was the key part of an offense that racked up almost 500 total yards and had 34 first downs. The sophomore ran for 169 yards, recording his third 100-yard game of the season.
The Huskies meet Toledo next Wednesday with dates against Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan to close out the season.