ByTheBelt MAC Musings-Miami v. CMU

Men's Sports Football
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Miami (OH) 28, Central Michigan 27

  • Miami is quietly 3-1 since losing David McComb for the season. Its only loss was Caleb Heavner’s first start at Bowling Green, when the Falcons scored the go-ahead touchdown with eight seconds remaining.
  • A lot of college football teams have fallen apart due to quarterback injuries. Pitt and Mississippi State come to mind. But Miami hasn’t been one of them. The RedHawks have shown strengths in other areas, and the run game has taken a noticeable step up lately.
  • Central Michigan looks like a completely different offense without Angel Flores. It was by no means a bad performance from the more passing-oriented Jadyn Glasser, who had an incredible connection with Langston Lewis (163 receiving yards). However, the Chippewas are at their best when grounding the ball and sticking to their M.O. Central Michigan only had 64 rushing yards, which was roughly a third of their season average of 184.
  • Miami is in position to qualify for a fourth consecutive MAC title game, but that’s a brutal schedule ahead — home games against Buffalo and Ohio and road games at Kent State and Western Michigan. Those teams are a combined 12-4 in MAC play.
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And for a peek at our next opponent, UB, here is the writeup on them:

Buffalo 31, Bowling Green 24

  • Messiah Burch is the most underrated running back in the country. He’s no secret in film study anymore, yet he continues to dominate on a weekly basis. He now has five-straight 100-yard games, and most of them are well beyond the century mark. Burch has produced 146, 106, 137, 172, and now 184 yards in the past five weeks. His 184 yards against Bowling Green weren’t his only career high — he also added a personal-best three rushing touchdowns. Burch is now ninth in the FBS with 845 rushing yards and first in the MAC.
  • Nobody envisioned Buffalo as a MAC contender after the Bulls eked out a 4-point win over FCS UAlbany and a 3-point win over FCS Robert Morris. But this team has found its footing and looks like a contender now. The Bulls fell one yard short of defeating Western Michigan, and that’s the only loss in a 3-1 start to conference play. Buffalo already defeated Toledo by 15 on the road and the remaining MAC schedule features Miami (OH), Ball State, Central Michigan, and Akron. All are road games except Central Michigan which could make the schedule tougher, but a realistic path is certainly available, especially with a tiebreaker over Toledo.
  • Buffalo has improved week by week, but so has Bowling Green. This Falcon offense is levels above where it was in September and actually led 21-14 in the third quarter on the road. However, Bowling Green is on the brink of bowl eligibility at 2-6 and it only faces one more sub-.500 opponent (Kent State).
  • Buffalo’s Miles Greer is definitely challenging for the best safety in the MAC title. He’s in the conversation, along with DJ Walker, Armorion Smith, and others.