MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE Bowling Green succumbs, 26-17; Kent, Akron lose

The nation's second-leading rusher had 192 yards in Northern Illinois' win over previously unbeaten BGSU.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DEKALB, Ill. -- Michael Turner ran for 192 yards and Josh Haldi threw two touchdown passes Saturday as Northern Illinois handed No. 20 Bowling Green its first defeat of the season, 26-17.
The Falcons (8-1, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) had won 11 in a row dating to last season and entered the day one of just four Division I-A teams without a loss this season.
Northern Illinois (7-3, 6-0) beat a ranked team for just the second time in 22 games.
Bowling Green had been averaging 47 points a game, but the Falcons were forced to throw play after play in the second half after falling behind 20-3.
Turner, the nation's second-leading rusher, carried 40 times and showed no effects from an ankle injury that forced him to leave the Huskies' previous game.
The Falcons cut the lead to 23-17 with 7:12 left when Josh Harris threw a TD pass to Robert Redd on fourth-and-7. After struggling in the first half, Harris went 7-of-10 for 64 yards on the 14-play, 80-yard drive.
Bowling Green got the ball right back when Haldi was hit as threw the ball and Janssen Patton intercepted. However, the Falcons failed to move the ball past midfield, and Northern Illinois took over on downs when Harris' run fell short on fourth-and-2.
Harris completed 27 of 52 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Bowling green running back Joe Alls, who entered the game averaging 111 yards a game and 7.6 per carry, was held to 31 on 18 carries.
Connecticut 63, Kent St. 21
STORRS, Conn. -- Terry Caulley scored four touchdowns and ran for 174 yards, all in the first half, to help Connecticut close Memorial Stadium with a record win over Kent State.
The Huskies (4-6) move into the new 40,000-seat Rentshler Field in East Hartford next season. UConn is in its third year of Division I-A and had to leave the much smaller 16,200-seat stadium as part of the upgrade.
The Huskies closed the 50-year-old stadium with a 131-104-4 record. The Huskies broke the stadium scoring record set last week in a 61-14 win over Florida Atlantic.
Caulley ran for scores of 19, 30 and 60 yards and caught a TD pass of 35 yards. The 5-foot-7 tailback has scored 13 TDs this season, setting a freshman school record.
Kent State (3-7) was without Joshua Cribbs, its quarterback and leading rusher, for most of the game. Cribbs was shaken early in the second quarter and replaced by Darryl Polk. Cribbs, averaging 130 yards a game, managed just 31 yards before he left.
Ohio 27, Akron 10
ATHENS -- Akron's second-half turnovers allowed Fred Ray and Joe Sellers to score.
One week after knocking off Marshall, the Zips (2-8, 1-5 MAC) took a 10-0 lead in the first on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Frye to Morris Ellington and a 19-yard field goal by Billy Sullivan.
With Akron trying to take a 13-0 lead, Chip Cox blocked a field goal. Ohio (4-6, 4-2 MAC) finally scored on a 27-yard field goal by Kevin Kerr with six seconds to play in the first half.
Akron turned it over four times in the second half. Sellers returned a fumble 28 yards for a touchdown with 13:24 to play in the third quarter. After Akron fumbled on its own 22, the Bobcats scored four plays later on a 2-yard run by Ray.
Ray also scored on a 14-yard run in the third and Kerr kicked his second field goal in the fourth.
Bob Hendry rushed for 91 yards for Akron. Chad Brinker led Ohio with 157 yards on 35 carries and Ray rushed for 79 yards.
W. Michigan 33, E. Michigan 31
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Robert Menchinger kicked a career-long 39-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining to give Western Michigan the win.
The win broke a four-game losing streak for Western Michigan (3-7, 2-4 Mid-American), which had lost three straight home games for the first time since Gary Darnell took over as head coach in 1997.
The Eagles (3-7, 1-5), who dropped their fourth straight, erased a 24-point deficit to take a 31-30 lead on a 7-yard touchdown run by Ime Akpan with 3:09 left.
On third down, a 56-yard pass from Chad Munson to Tyrone Walker gave the Broncos a first down at the Eastern 17. Two plays later, Menchinger kicked his third field goal of the game.