MAC Football

2026 MAC Football Week 5 Late Gameday Feed and Analysis

Four games? At the same kickoff time?? In this time of year???

Neither of the games in the early window have ended quite yet, but we're still here for the rest of the MAC– aside from Sac State– being in action!

Below, you'll see each game segmented into its own little space, with observations regarding each game updating in real time, so be sure to bookmark this page and refresh often!

Akron Zips vs. Central Michigan Chippewas

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FUMBLE! There's a mistake on the snap exchange, and Akron falls right atop the ball deep in CMU territory. The Chips have had slow starts this season, and that will not help.
QB Brayden Roggow gets a nice chip block on a reverse pass to set up Akron inside CMU's redzone, but the Zips can't take advantage, as Roggow soon gets sacked and the Zips draw a personal foul penalty and takes them out of field goal range. They have to punt on fourth-and-goal.
Akron once again threatening inside CMU territory, but CMU's special teams come up big with a field goal block to once again deny the Zips early points.
Every time you look up in this one, Akron has the ball in favorable territory. CMU's offense has gotten nothing, and Akron has possessed the ball for over 10 minutes so far compared to CMU's 12 total plays.
Touchdown, Akron! It's Jordan Gant untouched up the middle from nine yards out, and the Zips draw first blood in Mt. Pleasant. 7-0 13:59 2Q
The TD was able to happen thanks in part to back-to-back defensive penalties by Central which affected a third-down play and the following first-down play. First, it was defensive holding by Donovan Philord, then a post-play personal foul by Justin Taylor. Gant scored one play later.
Touchdown, Central! On fourth-and-one from their own 45, CMU goes for it and it's Angel Flores on an explosive 55-yard scamper! Akron sends the house and no one gets to the front door. All tied at 7 with 10:37 2Q.
Akron goes three-and-out, and CMU gets the ball back quickly.
Flores nearly escapes for another touchdown on the first play of the drive, but gets nine.
Touchdown, Central! Flores finds Shawn Foster for a 40-yard touchdown pass– CMU's first of the year! The Chips now up 14-7 with 7:32 2Q!
Another Akron drive, another three-and-out with negative yards. The offensive line really has no answer for the CMU defensive front.
CMU with 11 rushes on their first 13 plays, absolutely winding the clock down as much as they can, knowing they get the ball back to start the third quarter. A little surprised Akron isn't trying to call a timeout to try and get the ball back here– even knowing you get the two-minute timeout.
Touchdown, Central! Brock Townsend gets the call on the cross-formation option, and he'll take that outside look to the house for a five-yard score. 21-7 Central with 18 seconds to go 2Q!
CMU gets the ball back to start the third quarter, and get three-straight runs of 10+ yards from three different rushers. Akron is getting mauled by the CMU offensive line.
Touchdown, Central! It's Nick Woodford from 27 yards out, and the Chippewas have now scored on four-straight possessions. 28-7 CMU early 3Q.
Brayden Roggow finds Jordan Gant for a 27-yard reception to jumpstart the offense, but they once again stall out trying to keep the ball to the ground.
Matthew Schramm kicks the field goal from 29 yards out, putting the score at 28-10 7:43 3Q.
Angel Flores getting loose once again, with runs of 21 yards and 15 yards to move the chains. He's already up to 154 yards on the day and we're not even in the fourth quarter as of yet.
Touchdown, Central! Jayden Clerveaux presses the spin button on third-and-eight and sheds tackles en route to a 31-yard score. This game is fully in CMU's control at 35-10 with 3:35 3Q.
Jaydn Glasser is in for Angel Flores at QB, and it feels like CMU has decided this will be good enough as far as a gap to manage. It'll be up to Akron to try and crack the nut that has been the CMU front seven if they want any chance.
Akron really leaning on Jordan Gant to try and find any rhythm. He's got 36 yards on their current drive.
That's back-to-back interceptions for Brayden Roggow now. Same thing happened for him in the game against UNLV, but when you're passing as much as you are, it's bound to happen. Coen Ali and Justin Taylor are the recipients for Central.
Touchdown, Central! Langston Lewis takes the screen pass 71 yards on his first reception of the day. All CMU in the second half, up 41-10.
Touchdown, Akron! Brayden Roggow finds Brandon Hills for an eight-yard strike, and that'll pretty up the scoreboard with 33 seconds remaining. 41-17 CMU.
That's your final score in Mt. Pleasant, as CMU now sits at 3-2 (1-0 MAC) and go on the road to Ohio. Akron, at 1-4 (0-1 MAC) doesn't have any more room for error if they want to compete for a bowl game.

Bowling Green Falcons vs. Miami RedHawks

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Miami forced to punt on their first drive of the series, as Caleb Heavner's intentional grounding on what was already a 12-yard sack on third-down kills the drive.
BGSU goes for it on fourth-and-two inside Miami's 38, but the pass falls incomplete, and a 10-play, 44-yard drive goes for naught.
Both Miami and BG trying to play the possession game so far, with neither side being successful in finding points.
The RedHawks finally in position to threaten on third-and-goal from the BGSU six-yard line. Caleb Heavner's pass is overthrown and nearly intercepted, and the RedHawks settle for a field goal.
Kellan McLaughlin kicks the ball from 24 yards out, and puts Miami on the board at 3-0.
Miami looked to have a three-and-out, but commits holding, granting a new set of downs.
One play later, BGSU QB Jay Kastantin finds halfback Nakai Amachree wide open down the sideline for a 64-yard touchdown! 7-3 BGSU 7:05 2Q.
Travis Kenner extends BGSU's lead to 10-6 with 1:06 to go 1H.
The Falcons managed to get into the Miami redzone thanks to some big tosses by Kastantin (26 yards to Winn Sharp and 11 to Eli Jacon-Duffy) and a 17-yard rush by Leo Kemp, but stalled out trying to cash in. Finishing drives has been a major issue for BGSU; Falcon faithfuls should hope it doesn't come back to bite them here against a wounded Miami.
Cashmire Lewis drags Caleb Heavner down for a six-yard loss to take Miami out of midfield with less than 20 seconds remaining in the half. It has been a struggle for the former Division II prospect in his first start for Miami.
Damarion Witten comes to the rescue on the next play, with a 25-yard reception to set up a field goal from Kellan McLaughlin. It's good from 41 yards, and we go into the halftime break with BGSU up 10-6.
BGSU punts on their opening possession, and now Miami will get a chance to respond.
Not sure I've ever seen a 12-play, 34-yard drive, but Miami just managed to pull that off. It ends in a punt.
BGSU with a more old-fashioned three-and-out drive in reply. This game is falling into a bit of trench warfare.
Miami finally finishes a drive, but it's only for a field goal. BGSU still leads 10-9 mid 3Q.
Jay Kastantin standing tall on third-and-five, finding Brennan Ridley for a 48-yard reception and getting drilled for a roughing-the-passer penalty. BGSU now gets the ball deep inside Miami's side of the field at the 11-yard line.
Touchdown, BG! Jay Kastantin gets a touchdown pass into the hands of Eli Jacon-Duffy from 14 yards out, and the Falcons are up 17-9 over Miami early 4Q!
BGSU LB Dorian Pringle gets injured after a play and will be attended to. The Falcons are already down several defensive contributors, so losing him would be awful for their future prospects.
Caleb Heavner finds Lynel Billups-Williams for a 39-yard connection and that has injected some life into this Miami team.
Touchdown, Miami! Heavner connects with Billups-Williams once again, this time for an endzone shot from 10 yards out. In a rare instance, Chuck Martin opts for a two-point attempt– and the team makes it on a pass from Heavner to Brach Rice. We're tied at 17-all with 8:57 remaining.
BGSU takes a bad sack on second-and-eight, now situated at the Miami 34. It pushes the eventual field goal try to 52 yards out, and Travis Kenner misses.
Miami in the midst of running down the clock to try and win in walk-off fashion. They're on the BG nine-yard line for third-and-seven... and the pass floats incomplete. 1:54 remains on the clock.
Kellan McLaughlin good from 28 yards out, and Miami takes a tenuous 20-17 lead over Bowling Green!
This is feeling a lot like last week's game for Bowling Green, where they gave up a sizeable lead created by their excellent defense and then allowed a series of quick-hitter scores to put their offense in less-than-favorable position. This is still winnable, but to this point in the season, BG has not shown the ability to finish sustained drives.
Jay Kastantin is dealing, with a 14-yard pass, an 18-yard pass, a nine-yard pass and an eight-yard pass all in quick succession. They're at Miami's 26-yard line with 40 seconds remaining, in position to set up a potential game-winning shot.
Kastantin trying to flee from pressure and somehow gets the pass up, but it's just too far for Scoby to bring in over in the far corner of the endzone.
Kastantin gets three yards on third-and-one himself with a QB sneak, and they call timeout with 22 seconds remaining.
Amariyun Knight gets the pass break-up on first down, but on second down, Ben Minich commits DPI– moving the ball from Miami's 14 to Miami's two-yard line.
Touchdown, Falcons! Leo Kemp with a strong run up the middle of the trenches, and that puts BGSU up 23-20 with eight seconds remaining! The play is under review.
The touchdown stands, and Bowling Green is eight seconds from glory!
You couldn't write up a more fun ending than the one we just got, as Eriq George– son of BGSU coach Eddie George– wrangles down Caleb Heavner to nab his third solo sack of the contest and end the game, giving BGSU their first win of the season!
Lots of BG players emoting and hugging one another on the field; this has to feel good for a roster which has gone through some very tough losses recently.
Miami, on the other hand, is ruing their injury luck. Caleb Heavner was sacked six times on the day, showing his inexperience. He was QB3 entering fall camps, and looked every part of it. It wasn't just injuries though; lots of small lapses in play allowed BG to stay competitive as well, especially on defense.

Ohio Bobcats vs. Kent State Golden Flashes

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Ohio punts on their first drive, led by QB Matt Vezza. QB Nick Poulos, the starter, was listed as questionable coming in, but doesn't seem to be ready to play today.
Kent State steadily driving, sitting on the Ohio 28 after another third-down conversion.
The drive stalls out after a 15-yard personal penalty on Moustafa Daoud puts the offense well behind the sticks on first down.
Ohio cashes in the short field position for a 40-yard field goal from former Flash Will Hryszko to go up 3-0.
Kent State continues to be on the move offensively against Ohio, with a quarter-spanning drive which now sits at the Ohio 13-yard line.
Sean Leonard ties the game with a short field goal with 12:02 2Q.
Kent State pins their ears back and gets Matt Vezza for a 20-yard sack. He fumbles the ball, but Vezza manages to fall atop the ball on Ohio's side of midfield.
Levi Davis comes in for a play and gets 17 yards on the run before Vezza returns.
Touchdown, Ohio! Vezza rushes in from 35 yards out and the Bobbies take the 10-3 lead with 3:55 to go first half!
Kent State trying to tie the game with their last drive of the first half, but Dru DeShields gets sacked on third-and-11 by Michael Molnar, and it takes the Flashes out of field goal range. KSU elects to punt from the Ohio 47.
INTERCEPTION! Kendall Bannister gets in front of a ball from Dru DeShields, and the Bobbies will have an opportunity to extend their lead to start the third quarter.
FUMBLE! Vezza fumbles the ball attempting to escape pressure, and Semaj Bridgeman scoops it up!
DeShields immediately pays the defense back after a turnover, with a 47-yard pass to Ardell Banks to get inside the Ohio redzone.
Touchdown, Kent State! Mason King ends the drive with a strong one-yard run, and the Flashes tie the game at 10 apiece with 6:56 3Q.
Levi Davis in at QB for an extended look. He's leading the drive and has had some nice chunk plays, including an 11-yard run and two 10+ yard passing plays to extend the drive.
A false start on Jake Furtney squanders a scoring opportunity, turning third-and-one at the KSU 17 into third-and-six. Davis' pass falls incomplete, and Ohio has to settle for a field goal.
Will Hryszko kicks it true from 44 yards, putting the Bobbies up 13-10 near the end of the 3Q.
Kent State once again struggling to finish drives once they get into Ohio's side of the field. This time, Issac Ackerman and Jack Fries get DeShields for a loss on second down and Fries winds up DeShield's clock to force an incompletion to stall the drive out at OU's 32-yard line.
Sean Leonard, who has been fairly nails this season, misses from 49 yards out, and now Kent State is in a bad way, with Ohio taking possession up three with 10:54 remaining.
The teams exchanging punts here as time winds down. Ohio in possession with 5:10 remaining, up 13-10.
Duncan Brune with a critical 10 yards to convert a third-down and get the ball to the KSU 48-yard line. That'll be pivotal to running down the clock.
Ohio wants to seal the game by keeping possession, so they go for it on fourth-and-one at KSU's 39. Duncan Brune gets stood up by Joel Cordoba and the Flashes will have one last try to either tie or win the game!
Da'Realyst Clark bails out Dru DeShields on a broken pocket play, coming back to the ball on a scramble drill on third down! The ball is now at the Ohio 22-yard line.
Ohio is going to escape Kent State with a win! Sean Leonard misses his second field goal of the day– this one from 40 yards out– to keep the score at 13-10. Leonard's kick was never close, starting with a rightward lean and never correcting.
It's a brutal loss for Kent State, who had managed to claw their way back into the contest with some stout late defense, but ultimately showed off the inability to finish on offense they've been dealing with for most of the season.
Ohio, meanwhile, can take solace in the fact their offense largely operates as expected even with their third-string QB in for most of the second half of play. Once Nick Poulos comes back, this team should be even more formidable.

Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. UMass Minutemen

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UMass with a five-and-out on their first offensive drive, giving the ball right back to Eastern after just under three minutes.
Touchdown, EMU! The Eagles strike first on a 27-yard completion from Noah Kim to Kozy Isaac, and will take the early 7-0 lead.
Pop Watson III with some great passes on the last UMass drive, including a 25-yarder and an 18-yarder to Jabari Lewis to get into EMU territory– but a fumble by Elijah Faulkner negates all that. Hector Gonzalez falls atop the ball for EMU!
The Minuteman defense stood tall and forced a three-and-out, and now the offense gets a chance to redeem themselves.
Two penalties– including one on a 49-yard gain– wind up ending the drive for UMass, and they're forced to settle for a field goal.
The 54-yard try by Derek Morris is no good, and EMU will have the ball in favorable position.
EMU still with possession, on the UMass 48. UMass gets a third down stop– but hold on, it's an unpsortsmanlike conduct penalty. Romando Johnson gets flagged, and EMU gets a fresh set of downs off it. That's a very bad look.
Another UMass defensive penalty on an incompletion, this time for Chris Stanley. EMU now gets the ball at UMass' 20-yard line.
Touchdown, Eastern! Braydon Bennett finally gets EMU across the line on a journey of a drive on a two-yard rush. EMU now up 14-0 with 1:55 to go 2Q.
UMass hurrying up to try and get a score before the break... EMU commits a personal foul penalty after an incompletion and UMass gets the ball on EMU's 39.
Touchdown, UMass! Pop Watson III finds Max Dowling open at the 15-yard line, and Dowling takes it to paydirt! EMU's lead is trimmed to 14-7 with 28 seconds remaining in the first half.
EMU gets the ball back to start the third quarter, up a touchdown.
An unsportsmanlike conduct call on Benson Prosper on first-and-10 is rough in a game this close. It negates all their previous gains and forces EMU to start over again.
Noah Kim bails Prosper out with a 29-yard conversion to Harold Mack, and the offense is right back on schedule.
Kim gets a 10-yard pass to Kozy Issac and a 21-yard pass to Joey Mattord, and this is more what they wanted to see.
Raheim Sexil thought he had a pass break-up, but he gets flagged for DPI, placing the ball at the UMass three-yard line.
Touchdown, Eastern! Kim finds Joshua Long to cap the drive and put the Eagles up 21-7 10:10 3Q.
Oof, a bad throw by Pop Watson III on the first play of the new drive results in a pick by Caleb Dobbs, who manages to return the ball to the UMass nine-yard line. It might be about to get out of hand for the Minutemen.
Touchdown, Eastern! Amareon Blue cashes in the turnover for a nine-yard rushing touchdown, and EMU goes up 28-7 9:46 3Q. UMass has really started falling apart here but there is still plenty of time to mount comeback effort.
A long, steady drive is on for UMass here, down 21. A couple nice conversions on second and third down get them set up inise EMU territory.
EMU's defense gets the best of UMass on second-and-three, as Ronn Hardin gets behind the line to drag down Pop Watson. The next play is a no-gain run, forcing a fourth-and-four at the EMU 39.
Derek Morris missed his last field goal try and a punt is no good down three scores, so they go. Watson's pass towards Jabari Lewis– one of his favorite targets today– gets broken up by Caleb Dobbs. Turnover-on-downs for Eastern, who is now in the driver's seat.
Sure feels like UMass has been exhausted of whatever energy they may have had earlier after back-to-back fallow possessions. EMU easily driving down on offense without a care with a lot of short passes and runs.
Touchdown, Eastern! Halfback Joey Mattord bursts up the middle for a 25-yard score with 14_13 remaining, and the Eagles are in command at 35-7.
UMass goes three-and-out, and any chance of a comeback is likely gone after that. A disappointing showing after building so much momentum over the last month-plus.
EMU adds a field goal from Rudy Kessinger to the tally, this one from 28 yards out, to put the score at 38-7.
This has been a truly humbling game for the Minutemen, who have availed themselves well to this point. The plays have been there for most of the game, but EMU's experience in these situations allowed them to control the margins in a way UMass is not familiar with yet. This will be one of those losses you can learn a lot from. A few plays here and there go the other way, and we're talking a very different contest.
Touchdown, UMass! Curtis Kimmons IV sets up his own three-yard score with a 21-yard run the previous play, and that'll put the score at 38-14 with 1:02 remaining.
That's your final score in Amherst, as UMass loses 38-14 in front of a sold-out crowd. Taking a result like that sucks in the short-term, but there's still a lot for UMass to be proud of.
For EMU, this was a nice return to form, as they finally played a game where they felt in control from wire-to-wire against a peer program.

2026 MAC Football Week 5 Late Gameday Feed and Analysis

Akron Zips vs. Central Michigan Chippewas

Bowling Green Falcons vs. Miami RedHawks

Ohio Bobcats vs. Kent State Golden Flashes

Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. UMass Minutemen

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