Bowling Green celebrates their victory over Toledo in battle in northwest Ohio (Photo by Bowling Green Athletics)
Buckeyes, Bearcats, RedHawks, Falcons, and Flyers all have big victories for the state of Ohio in Week 7.
#1 Ohio State 6-0 (3-0 in the Big Ten)
Ohio State is undefeated and has one of the best defenses in college football. They’ve won ten straight games, eight straight against ranked teams. They blasted Illinois 34-16. The scary thing for opposing teams is that the Buckeyes still haven’t reached their peak yet, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Ohio State stays on the road this week with a game at Wisconsin.
#18 Cincinnati 5-1 (3-0 in the Big 12)
They had to grind out the win, but the Bearcats are still atop the Big 12 standings. The Cats were led by their defense to a 20-11 victory over UCF. UC needed this kind of win. They had been all offense all year until today. They proved a lot about themselves, showing that even with their offense slowed, their defense could lock down the game. It has to help their confidence to know that even if Brendan Sorsby and the offense don’t have their best game, they can still win conference matchups. They hit the road next week to play at Oklahoma State.
Miami (Ohio) 3-3 (2-0 in the MAC)
The RedHawks have won 16 of their last 18 MAC games. After a 0-3 start, Miami bounced back with three straight wins. They outrushed Akron 147 yards to 62. They’ll try to make it their fourth straight win, and 17 of their last 19 in the MAC on Saturday when they host Eastern Michigan.
Ohio 3-3 (1-1 in the MAC)
The Bobcats were off this week and will try to get back to winning this weekend when they welcome Northern Illinois to Athens.
Bowling Green 3-3 (1-1 in the MAC)
It was a Battle of I-75 for the ages between Bowling Green and rival Toledo. The Rockets jumped out to a 21-0 lead over the Falcons. Bowling Green started fighting back, got on the board late in the second quarter with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Lucian Anderson III to Cameron Pettaway, and it was 21-7 Toledo at halftime. After a mostly uneventful third quarter, BGSU would again cut into Toledo’s lead with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to Jacob Harris.
Cameron Pettaway would strike again on a 73-yard touchdown pass from RJ Garcia, and Bowling Green had the game tied in the fourth quarter. A 1-yard touchdown run from Chris McMillan after a Toledo fumble would give the Falcons their first lead, 28-21. Bowling Green would eat a safety at the gun to end and win the game 28-23, after being down by three touchdowns. This was a gigantic win for first-year head coach Eddie George. Georgie and BGSU will host Central Michigan this Saturday.
Toledo 3-3 (1-2 in the MAC)
Picking yourself up after blowing a 21-0 lead over your biggest rival is extremely tough, no matter who you are. The bright side for Toledo is that they have the best running back in the MAC to lean on, and Kent State is coming to Toledo for a visit.
Akron 2-5 (1-2 in the MAC)
The Zips lost to Miami, 20-7. Not much went right for Akron against the RedHawks. They’ll try to recover when they visit Ball State this Saturday.
Kent State 2-4 (1-1 in the MAC)
Kent State got their first MAC win over the weekend, thumping UMass, 42-6. The Golden Flashes needed the win, and needed one like this. They’d been on the other side of too many beatdowns this season, and it had to boost their spirits to be on the winning side of one and snap their four-game losing streak. They’ll try to make it two straight wins when they play at Toledo on Saturday.
Dayton 5-1 (3-0 in the Pioneer League)
The Flyers won their fifth straight game, beating Valparaiso 41-10. Dayton dominated so much that their players won both offensive and defensive player of the week awards in the Pioneer League. Quarterback Bryce Schondelmyer was 15 of 22 for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Defensive lineman Brandon Martin had six tackles, three tackles for a loss, a sack, and a fumble recovery. Dayton hosts Butler on Saturday.
Youngstown State 3-3 (0-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference)
After a promising 3-0 start, the Penguins have dropped three straight to fall to 3-3, though I don’t think they’ll be firing their coach for it. YSU was behind 28-7 at halftime and just never recovered. Beau Brungard continues to play well. He was 18 of 33 for 269 yards and two touchdowns with 71 more yards rushing. It doesn’t get easier for Youngstown State as they play at #10 Illinois State next week while in search of their first conference win.
Bill Willis Award Player of the Week
I had to go with the player of the game in the Battle of I-75 between Toledo and Bowling Green. That was Cameron Pettaway. The freshman running back made two of the biggest plays of the game, catching the football. Pettaway had a 45-yard receiving touchdown and a 73-yard receiving touchdown as Bowling Green clawed back from being down 21-0 to win 28-23.
Writer’s Note: The FBS rankings are from The College Football Power Rankings at TheForkball.com. The FCS rankings are from the FCS STATS Poll.
