WEEK 2 PREVIEW
Saturday, September 11
VMI (1-0) at Kent State (1-0) | 11:30 am (ESPN3)
The Golden Flashes welcome in the Keydets from the Virignia Military Institute. Kick-off is set for 11:30 a.m. from Dix Stadium. Kent State forced six turnovers for the first time in nine years in a 41-10 setback against the sixth-ranked Texas A and M Aggies at Kyle Field on Saturday night. The Flashes recorded four interceptions and added a muffed punt fumble and a turnover on downs on Saturday night. You’d have to go back to October 2015 against Western Michigan to find the last time the Flashes had four picks. Elvis Hines had two of the picks and was his first game with multiple interceptions.
Miami (0-1) at Minnesota (0-1) | Noon (ESPNU)
After squaring off with No. 8 Cincinnati to open the season, the RedHawks travel to face Minnesota on Saturday, Sept. 11. The contest is scheduled to begin at noon. The RedHawks dropped a 49-14 decision to the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday afternoon inside Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. Freshman running back Keyon Mozee led the RedHawks with 80 yards rushing on 15 carries last week at Cincinnati. Kenny Tracy, who saw limited action in 2020, had 37 yards on the ground and Miami’s lone offensive touchdown. Reid Holskey and Sam Vaughan also both made their first career starts at both offensive tackle positions.
Wyoming (1-0) at Northern Illinois (1-0) | 1:30 pm (ESPN+)
After a thrilling, last-minute win over Georgia Tech to claim a #FlyTheFlag victory, NIU welcomes the Wyoming Cowboys to Huskie Stadium to open its 57th season in the facility. Tyrice Richie made a diving catch of Rocky Lombardi’s two-point conversion pass in the back of the end zone with 38 seconds to play, giving the Huskies a 22-21 win in the season opener. Richie’s catch came after Lombardi hit Clint Ratkovich with a three-yard touchdown pass after engineering a near-perfect two-minute drive. Huskies Harrison Waylee (144 yards on 27 carries), Lance Deveaux Jr. (13 tackles) and Matt Ference (41.0 avg. on 7 punts) collected MAC West Division Player of the Week honors Monday as NIU swept the weekly awards.
Duquesne (0-1) at Ohio (0-1) | 2:00 pm (ESPN3)
The Ohio football team returns to Athens on Saturday (Sept. 11) as it entertains Duquesne inside Peden Stadium. The Bobcats lost to the Syracuse in Week 1, 29-9. Jerome Buckner led the offensive effort for the Bobcats en route to setting a career high in both receptions (7) and receiving yards (102) while on the defensive side of the ball, Ohio was led by safeties Alvin Floyd and Jarren Hampton who each recorded 10 total and four solo tackles… Redshirt fifth year wide receiver Cameron Odom is 14 yards away from reaching 1,000 career receiving yards. Odom has played in 43 games at Ohio, collecting 73 receptions for 986 yards and five touchdowns…Redshirt junior running back O’Shaan Allison has gained 993 rushing yards in 167games at Ohio, putting him seven away from 1,000 for his career.
Toledo (1-0) at No. 8 Notre Dame (1-0) | 2:30 pm (Peacock)
Toledo travels to South Bend, Ind. on Saturday, Sept. 11 to take on the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Rockets are coming off a convincing 49-10 victory over Norfolk State in the Glass Bowl on Sept. 4. Toledo used all three phases of the game to win its season opener. The Rockets’ special teams set the tone with two touchdowns off blocked punts, while the defense held the Spartans in check all night. Norfolk State managed just 272 yards of total offense and was held to 5-of-15 on third down plays. Toledo’s offense was balanced and efficient, racking up 205 rushing yards and 236 passing yards. Sophomore quarterback Carter Bradley was 8-of-11 for 184 yards and one TD. Freshman Maxen Hook made a big impact on special teams, scooping up a blocked punt for a 25-yard score and then blocking a punt that was returned for a TD by Jacquez Stuart.
Robert Morris (0-0) at Central Michigan (0-1) | 3:00 pm (ESPN3)
Central Michigan opens play at Kelly/Shorts Stadium against Robert Morris on Saturday, Sept. 4. This will be CMU’s latest regular-scheduled home opener since a game against Alcorn State on Sept. 19, 2009. CMU stood toe-to-toe with the Tigers, getting a strong performance from quarterback Jacob Sirmon in his first collegiate start. But in the end, Missouri managed to stay a step ahead in handing CMU a 34-24 loss. Sirmon, a transfer from Washington in his first game as a Chippewa, completed 23 of his 45 pass attempts for 295 yards and one touchdown against two interceptions. CMU finished with 475 yards including 174 on the ground. Lew Nichols carried 19 times for 135 yards and a touchdown.
Ball State (1-0) at No. 11 Penn State (1-0) | 3:30 pm (FS1)
The Cardinals will invade Happy Valley to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in a 3:30 p.m. tilt on Saturday, Sept. 11. The game will be televised live nationally on FS1. Strong defensive play and a second-half offensive surge helped the Ball State football team open the 2021 season with a 31-21 victory over Western Illinois Thursday night under the lights at Scheumann Stadium. In picking up its eighth straight victory, the Cardinals (1-0) rebounded from a slow start to score 24 second-half points. WR Justin Hall, who has caught a pass in every game of his career, extended his FBS-leading receptions streak to 44 straight games and finished the night with 137 yards on 11 receptions. Even more impressive, his 79 total yards after the catch.
Temple (0-1) at Akron (0-1) | 3:30 pm (ESPN+)
Akron is coming off a 60-10 setback to Southeastern Conference powerhouse Auburn. Redshirt sophomore QB DJ Irons sparked Akron to a pair of second-half scoring drives going a perfect 13- for-13 for 129 yards, including a four-yard touchdown to freshman RB Jonzell Norrils in the fourth quarter. Senior QB Kato Nelson, who earned the start for the Zips, concluded the contest hitting on 9-of-14 attempts. Redshirt junior LB Bubba Arslanian and redshirt sophomore LB Jeslord Boateng anchored the Zips defense collecting 15 of tackles.
Buffalo (1-0) at Nebraska (1-1) | 3:30 pm (BTN)
This will not only be Buffalo’s first game vs. Nebraska, but it will be the first time the Bulls will play a game in the state of Nebraska. It was an impressive debut for head coach Maurice Linguist last Thursday night as the Bulls easily disposed of Wagner, 69-7. UB scored on each of its first 11 possessions of the game. The Bulls were in victory formation on their 12th possession. It was the third most points ever scored by a UB team and the most ever in a season opener. The Bulls rolled up 569 yards of offense – 320 yards rushing and 257 yards passing. It was first time since 2014 against Akron that the Bulls rushed for 300 yards and passed for 200 yards in the same game. Defensively, UB only allowed 97 yards of total offense, its fewest allowed since giving up only 84 yards against Hofstra on Oct. 24, 1992.
South Alabama (1-0) at Bowling Green (0-1) | 4:00 pm (ESPN+)
Bowling Green State University welcomes the South Alabama Jaguars in the Falcons’ 2021 home opener on Saturday. Kick is set for 4 p.m… WR Austin Osborne made eight catches in his Bowling Green debut at Tennessee. Osborne, a transfer from Washington, entered the 2021 season with one career reception. He was high school teammates with Bowling Green quarterback Matt McDonald at Mission Viejo High School in Southern California…LB Darren Anders was the only player in the nation the first week of the season to notch at least 10+ tackles (14), force a fumble (1), recover a fumble (1) and record at least one sack (1) when he did so at Tennessee. He is No. 1 in the MAC and No. 4 in the nation with 14 tackles. He was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
Illinois State (1-0) at Western Michigan (0-1) | 5:00 pm (ESPN3)
Western Michigan dropped its season-opener at the University of Michigan, 47-14, in front of 109,295 fans at Michigan Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Kaleb Eleby finished with 191 yards through the air on 20-fo-37 passing and one touchdown. Sophomore Sean Tyler led the Broncos (0-1) with 55 yards on the ground on 10 carries. La’Darius Jefferson rushed for 38 yards on 10 carries for one touchdown. Senior transfer Bryce Nunnelly had a game-high seven catches for 52 yards. Sophomore Corey Crooms led the Broncos with 58 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. Senior safety A.J. Thomas had a team-best 10 tackles, while linebacker Ryan Selig finished with a career-high eight.
Eastern Michigan (1-0) at No. 18 Wisconsin (0-1) | 7:00 pm (FS1)
The Eastern Michigan University football team will look to take down yet another college football “Blue Blood” when it travels to Madison, Wis. for a game with the No. 12/15 University of Wisconsin Badgers Saturday, Sept. 11. The Eagles began its 130th season of play with an impressive, 35-15 win over Saint Francis (Pa.). The Eastern Michigan offense was able to produce 27 first downs in its week one game vs. the Red Flash. That number is the most in a single game by EMU since it put up the same against Pittsburgh in the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl, Dec. 26. The Green and White was 5-for-5 when reaching the opposition’s 20-yard line, all of which were touchdowns. Eastern’s current 33-for-33 scoring mark in the red zone, which dates back to 2020, is the longest active streak on any team in the nation.
