MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE Akron spills error-prone Marshall
The Thundering Herd committed seven turnovers, and their star quarterback was injured.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AKRON -- Charlie Frye threw for one touchdown and ran for another Saturday, leading Akron to a 34-20 upset victory over a Marshall team that played part of the game without injured star quarterback Byron Leftwich.
Leftwich, one of nation's the top quarterbacks, was hit on the left shin by Ryan Myers with about seven minutes to play in the first quarter. He left for one play and came back to lead a touchdown drive for the Thundering Herd (6-2, 4-1 Mid-American Conference).
He then left the game and didn't return until there was 7:06 left in the third quarter. Leftwich was taken to a hospital for X-rays, which were negative.
Marshall fumbled nine times, losing five, and Leftwich and Stan Hill each threw an interception. Ricky McKenzie returned a fumble 98 yards for Akron's first score and intercepted a late pass by Leftwich.
Frye finished 11-for-22, threw for 132 yards and rushed for a 25-yard touchdown for the Zips (2-7, 1-4 MAC). Bob Hendry rushed for 120 yards for Akron, which forced seven turnovers.
Leftwich led Marshall to a touchdown and a field goal after coming back. He finished 26-for-38 for 307 yards, but did not throw a touchdown pass for the first time since Nov. 10 of last year. Josh Davis caught eight passes for 144 yards.
Miami, Ohio 38, Ohio 20
OXFORD -- Luke Clemens rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns for Miami. Michael Larkin also scored twice as the RedHawks (7-3, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) blew the game open with 28 straight points in the first half.
After Stafford Owens scored on a 20-yard run to give the Bobcats (3-6, 3-2) a 7-0 lead, Larkin caught a pair of touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger and Clemens scored on two short runs to make it 28-7 at halftime.
Bowling Green 45, Kent State 14
KENT -- Joe Alls, Josh Harris and the Bowling Green offense were right on their game -- which meant trouble for Kent State.
Alls rushed for a career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns as the No. 21 Falcons remained unbeaten.
The Falcons (8-0, 5-0 MAC) extended their winning streak to 11 games, scoring 24 points off four turnovers by Kent State (3-6, 1-5). The streak is the second-longest in the nation behind No. 1 Miami's 30 straight victories.
Cent. Michigan 47, E. Michigan 21
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Robbie Mixon ran for 377 yards to set a MAC record and scored four touchdowns for Central Michigan.
Mixon, who had 43 carries, surpassed the conference mark of 376 yards, set by Miami of Ohio's Travis Prentice in 1999 against Akron. The school record was 356 yards, set by Brian Pruitt in 1994.
Mixon's big day began just 16 seconds into the game, when he ran 65 yards for a touchdown to give the Chippewas (4-5, 2-3 MAC) a 7-0 lead.
Ball St. 17, W. Michigan 7
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Marcus Merriweather rushed for 214 yards and the go-ahead touchdown as Ball State defeated Western Michigan.
The Cardinals (4-5, 2-3 Mid-American) won despite the Broncos' 352-260 advantage in total yardage.
Western Michigan (2-7, 1-4) took an early 7-0 lead on Chad Munson's 15-yard scoring pass to Kendrick Mosley with 4 minutes left in the first quarter. But the Broncos then gave up two straight touchdowns in the second quarter on Steve Monson's 35-yard interception return and Merriweather's 2-yard run.
Merriweather's touchdown came after Douglas Owusu intercepted a pass by Munson at Western Michigan's 35 and returned it to the 6.
Merriweather finished with 214 yards on 37 carries, and Ball State quarterback Andy Roesch was 7-of-18 passing for 45 yards and no interceptions.
Western Michigan quarterback Jon Drach, who replaced Munson late in the second quarter, was 14-of-27 for 160 yards with no interceptions. Munson finished 5-for-13 with two interceptions.
The Broncos led 225-45 in yards passing, but were out-gained 215-127 on the ground.
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