Sept. 13 at Bowling Green 45, Indiana 42 
And You Care Because … In a fantastic back-and-forth shootout, James Knapke found Roger Lewis for a two-yard touchdown pass with just nine seconds to play to give Bowling Green the wild win. Indiana took a 14-3 lead in the second quarter on a 22-yard touchdown catch from J-Shun Harris, but Bowling Green stayed alive on four Tyler Tate field goals before Knapke went to work in the second half, starting with a 40-yard Ronnie Moore touchdown catch. Tevin Coleman and the running game did the work for IU, with touchdown runs from 28, 36 and 31 yards out, but the Falcon offense always had an answer in the second half. Nate Sudfeld gave IU a 42-39 lead with just over two minutes to play on a one-yard run, but Bowling Green went on an 11-play, 88-yard drive leading to the game-winning score. 
What Else? Bowling Green QB James Knapke completed 46-of-73 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns with a pick, and Roger Lewis caught 16 passes for 149 yards and a game-winning score. 
– Indiana RB Tevin Coleman ran 24 times for 190 yards and three scores. 
– Bowling Green WR Roger Lewis caught 16 passes for 149 yards and a score. 
– Total yard: Indiana 582 – Bowling Green 571, but IU committed 11 penalties for 143 yards. Bowling Green just four for 42.
Game Rating: A 

Sept. 13 Indiana State 27, at Ball State 20 
And You Care Because … Mike Perish threw three touchdown passes including a 28-yarder to Kyani Harris with under four minutes to play to give Indiana State a stunning win. Ball State rallied back in the third quarter with two Scott Secor field goals, but the Sycamores were able to hang on in the fourth with the Cardinals’ final drive stalling on the ISU eight as time ran out. Each team gained 361 yards. 
Game Rating: A 

Sept. 13 Northern Illinois 48, at UNLV 34 
And You Care Because … Drew Hare threw three touchdown passes on the day and ran for a score, and Cameron Stingily ran for the first of his two scores as Northern Illinois rolled out to a 31-12 lead midway through the third quarter. UNLV wouldn’t go away as Devante Davis caught a 53-yard touchdown pass and Shaquille Murray-Lawrence ran for scores from two and nine yards out to help tie the game up at 34 midway through the fourth. NIU scored 14 unanswered points as Da’Ron Brown caught a 54-yard touchdown pass and Stingily put it away on a two-yard scoring run. 
What Else? NIU QB Drew Hare completed 18-of-28 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns, and ran 14 times for 74 yards and a score.
– UNLV QB Blake Decker completed 24-of-42 passes for 397 yards and two scores with a pick.
– NIU RB Cameron Stingily ran 17 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns. 
– UNLV WR Devante Davis finally broke out, catching six passes for 150 yards and two scores.
Game Rating: A- 

Sept. 13 at Vanderbilt 34, Massachusetts 31 
And You Care Because … Vanderbilt avoided total disaster with 14 unanswered points getting a three-play drive helped by two C.J. Duncan catches, leading four-yard touchdown run from Ralph Webb with just over a minute to play for the win. UMass had a shot, marching back quickly into field goal range, but Blake Lucas missed a 22-yard field goal in the final seconds. In the comeback, the Vandy special teams got into the act with a blocked punt for a score to pull within five with under nine minutes to play, but the two-point conversion failed to force the late touchdown drive. UMass got out to a 14-0 lead on Rodney Mills touchdown catches from 13 and 53 yards away, and got two Lorenzo Woodley touchdown runs. 
What Else? UMass came really, really close to getting two program-changing wins, barely losing to Colorado last week and losing a heartbreaker to Vandy this week. Mark Whipple is doing a brilliant job of making the team more than just competitive. 
– Vanderbilt gave ANOTHER quarterback a shot. Wade Freebeck completed one of two passes for three yards with a pick. He was the fourth quarterback the team tried this year. 
– Vanderbilt QB Patton Robinette completed 15-of-21 passes for 147 yards and a score, and ran six times for 35 yards and a touchdown. 
– UMass outgained Vanderbilt 346 yards to 310. 
Game Rating: A- 

Sept. 12 at Cincinnati 58, Toledo 34 
And You Care Because … Welcome to the Gunner Kiel era. The new Cincinnati quarterback threw six touchdown passes with three of them on the way to a 34-0 first half lead, but Toledo made this really, really interesting. Logan Woodside threw three touchdown passes and found Alonzo Russell twice to help get the Rockets within 41-34 in the fourth, but Kiel and the Bearcats took control again in the fourth on the way to 17 unanswered points, putting the game away with a 22-yard scoring play to Shaq Washington. 
What Else? That’s exactly what you wanted to see out of the new quarterback – Cincinnati might really be that good if Gunner Kiel can keep doing this. He was fantastic, completing 25-of-37 passes for 418 yards and six touchdowns, but he had some help. The entire offense worked – Hosey Williams ran well, taking off for 103 yards on 14 carries. 
– It took a little while for Toledo to wake up, but that offense is going to be terrific as the season keeps rolling. Logan Woodside completed 27-of-40 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns with Alonzo Russell catching five passes for 114 yards and two scores. 
– It didn’t take much time for Cincinnati to come up with the explosion, cranking out 584 yards in 24:48. Toledo held the ball for 35:12.
– The Toledo running game was excellent, with Kareem Hunt running 12 times for 101 yards and a score and Marc Remy averaging 7.3 yards per carry with 80 yards on 11 carries. The line did a great job. 
Game Rating: B 

Sept. 13 Western Michigan 45, at Idaho 33 
And You Care Because … Western Michigan opened up a tight game with a 57-yard Daniel Braverman touchdown run and a 39-yard Jarvion Franklin scoring dash late in the first half, and Idaho couldn’t recover. Franklin ran for 211 yards and three scores on 33 carries for the Broncos, and Braverman caught five passes for 122 yards and two scores. Corey Davis was the only other WMU player to catch a pass, making five grabs for 119 yards and a touchdown. Idaho got 362 yards and three scores from QB Matt Linehan, but eight penalties and the WMU big plays were too much to overcome. The Broncos committed ten penalties. 
Game Rating: C 

Sept. 13 at Michigan 34, Miami University 10 
And You Care Because … It wasn’t a dominant bounceback performance, but the Wolverines pulled away from a 10-10 tie with 24 unanswered points. Devin Gardner threw two touchdown passes including a 29-yarder to Jake Butt, and Derrick Green ran for two short scores. 
What Else? Michigan turned the ball over three times, but outgained Miami 460 yards to 198. 
– Michigan RB Derrick Green ran 22 times for 37 yards and two touchdowns. 
– Miami ran 24 times for 33 yards. QB Andrew Hendrix completed 12-of-26 passes for 165 yards and a score with a pick
– Michigan QB Devin Gardner completed 13-of-20 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns with a pick 
Game Rating: C- 

Sept. 13 at Old Dominion 17, Eastern Michigan 3 
And You Care Because … Old Dominion’s defense held Eastern Michigan to just 215 yards of total offense and a lone 43-yard Dylan Mulder field goal in the fourth quarter, while the offense got all it needed in the first on a 55-yard Ray Lawry touchdown dash. Ricky Segers added a 26-yard field goal for the Monarchs, but it was Antonio Vaughan who put the game away on a 46-yard punt return for a score in the fourth. EMU was held to 12-of-24 passes for 72 yards.
Game Rating: C- 

Sept. 12 Baylor 63, at Buffalo 21 
And You Care Because … Bryce Petty looked healthy and in perfect form on the way to a 35-0 first half lead. Petty threw four touchdown passes and Shock Linwood ran for two scores in the breather. Buffalo kept pressing and got three touchdowns in the second half, with Anthone Taylor turning into a 41-yard score and Joe Licata hitting Devon Hughes for a 41-yars score, but it was never close. 
What Else? Bryce Petty was terrific, completing 23-of-34 passes for 416 yards and four scores, and he even ran a little bit with 11 yards on two carries. 
– The Baylor running game didn’t rumble like normal, but it was fine on the way to 189 yards. There weren’t any big plays, but Shock Linwood ran for 97 yards on 20 carries with two scores. KD Cannon continues to impress, catching six passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, and Jay Lee and Lynx Hawthorne each went over 100 yards with two scores.
– Buffalo had the ball for over 35 minutes and moved the chains on third downs, but it couldn’t move enough in the first half.
– Baylor did exactly what it was supposed to do in a game like this. It got in, put up 669 yards, never let it get interesting, and moved on. 
Game Rating: D+ 

Sept. 13 Marshall 44, Ohio 14 
And You Care Because … Marshall delivered its most complete game of the season so far, never getting threatened by Ohio. The Thundering Herd opened up a 41-0 lead, only giving up points after the game was well out of reach. It amassed more than 700 yards of total offense, which created an opportunity for the backups to earn valuable reps in the second half. 
What Else? Marshall QB Rakeem Cato was on target, as usual, completing 17-of-29 passes for 425 yards, four touchdowns and a pick. Tommy Shuler is his preferred target, but he got nine combined catches for 295 yards and three touchdowns from Angelo Jean-Louis and Davonte Allen on Saturday. 
– While Ohio had 22 first downs, penalties and turnovers prevented the team from turning sustained drives into points on the board. 
– Cato alone makes the Herd dangerous. When Steward Butler and Devon Johnson are combining for than 200 yards on the ground, as they did today, Marshall is next to impossible to stop. 
– Ohio can win games with Derrius Vick taking snaps, but not when the other team jumps out to an insurmountable lead. Vick accounted for 251 yards and a score, while displaying the ability to make defenders miss in the open field. 
Game Rating: D 

Sept. 13 at Ohio State 66, Kent State 0 
And You Care Because … J.T. Barrett threw six touchdown passes with two to Michael Thomas, and Curtis Samuel ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns as Ohio State took out its Virginia Tech frustrations on Kent State. The Golden Flash offense only managed 79 passing yards and 47 on the ground, turning it over three times. 
What Else? It wasn’t a perfect performance for Ohio State, but there’s no problem with 628 yards and 66 points. There were three turnovers, but they didn’t matter. 
– Kent State didn’t have any room to move – the offense was warmed under. Colin Reardon completed 14-of-27 passes for 76 yards and three picks, and Nathan Strock completed one of seven throws for three yards. 
– Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett completed 23-of-30 passes for 312 yards and six touchdowns with a pick, and best of all, he only ran eight times for six yards. He doesn’t need to run – the running backs have to keep getting the ball. 
– Third down conversions: Ohio State 8-of-12 – Kent State 2-of-14
Game Rating: D- 

Sept. 13 Syracuse 40, at Central Michigan 3 
And You Care Because … It was a very impressive win for the Orange, which came out of its bye week refreshed and sharp. Syracuse thoroughly dominated a Central Michigan team that beat Purdue—in West Lafayette—just a week earlier. The Orange and coach Scott Shafer corrected the problems it had with Villanova in the opener, and now looks like a team that can nab one of the ACC’s automatic bowl berths in December. 
What Else? The Orange controlled the line of scrimmage throughout, outgaining the Chippewas on the ground, 289-34. Adonis Ameen-Moore rushed for 106 yards, and QB Terrel Hunt scored three times on the ground. 
– While it probably wouldn’t have impacted the outcome, Central Michigan was without two of its best weapons, RB Thomas Rawls and WR Titus Davis. Davis is injured, while Rawls was mysteriously scratched on Friday. 
– Hunt didn’t stretch the Central Michigan defense in this one, but he didn’t have to either. He went 20-of-30 for 175 yards, a touchdown to Brisly Estime and no interceptions. 
– While the loss doesn’t rest on the shoulders of Cooper Rush, it’s clear the young quarterback can lead the offense without the help of Rawls. Rush had just one completion beyond 20 yards, and the Chips were 1-of-10 on third downs.
Game Rating: D-