Another weeknight and another Mid-American contest. Tonight’s game pits the Akron Zips (1-7, 0-4) against the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks (3-5, 2-2) in Oxford (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU).
Miami started the season 0-4, but has rebounded winning three of its last four contests. A win tonight will put the Redhawks in a tie for first place in the MAC East with Ohio. The Zips have yet to beat an FBS team this season (only win was against FCS Virginia Military Institute) and have lost 17 out of their last 18 contests against FBS foes. The Zips have also lost 17 straight road games dating back to 2008.
The Temple Owls (5-3, 3-2) and Ohio Bobcats (5-3, 2-2) will be looking to establish some separation in a crowded MAC East when they meet in Athens tonight (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET). Both teams were projected to be contenders for the East crown, but have found some company in Miami of Ohio (2-2 in the MAC) and Bowling Green (2-3).
Unlike last night’s MAC contest between Northern Illinois and Toledo (won by NIU, 63-60), tonight’s game should be a low-scoring affair. Temple is ranked first in the MAC in scoring defense (10.00 ppg) and total defense (252.18 ypg), while Ohio is second in the conference in both categories (20.38 ppg and 320.50 ypg).
The Glass Bowl in Toledo will be the site of one the Mid-American Conference’s biggest games of the season when the Northern Illinois Huskies (5-3, 3-1) and the Toledo Rockets (5-3, 4-0) meet (ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET). The winner will move into the driver’s seat in the MAC West title race.
Both teams enter the game on a roll. Toledo has won four straight after its controversial loss at Syracuse while Northern Illinois has won three straight. The Rockets will be looking for revenge against the Huskies. Last year, Northern Illinois beat Toledo, 65-30 in DeKalb–the Rockets only loss in its last 12 MAC games.
Boise State and Houston continue their hold on the one and two positions, respectively. Boise State had a bye week, while the Cougars crushed Rice 73-34 last Thursday night. Southern Mississippi, who has won six straight, moves into the third slot after BYU lost Friday night to TCU.
Also moving up one slot are fifth-ranked TCU and sixth-ranked Toledo. Two teams join the top ten for the first time this season after slow starts. Tulsa (eighth) and Nevada (10th) are newcomers to the rankings.
SMU drops out after back-to-back losses while San Diego State also falls out of the power rankings after a loss at home to Wyoming.
This week’s rankings:
With many non-BCS teams either on a bye or having games on weeknights, the Saturday slate is a little leaner than usual. The biggest game is a showdown between Conference USA West Division rivals SMU and Tulsa. Meanwhile, upstarts such as Ball State and Western Kentucky look to keep title dreams alive on Saturday. The late game features Wyoming at San Diego State, two teams that started off 3-0 and then cooled off.
Here is a look at Saturday’s best:
