MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE Led by dynamic duo, Marshall thumps Akron

Earl Charls and Butchie Wallace paced the ground attack in a 42-24 win.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Earl Charles scored three touchdowns and rushed for 121 yards Saturday to lead Marshall to a 42-24 victory over Akron.
Butchie Wallace had 147 yards rushing and a 36-yard TD as two Thundering Herd players ran for 100 yards apiece for the first time in five years.
Marshall (6-3, 4-1 Mid-American) was well beyond its average of 167 rushing yards per game by halftime, out-gained Akron 573-391 and put the Zips (5-5, 3-3) out of reach with 21 second-quarter points.
Wallace had 103 of Marshall's 236 rushing yards in the first half, and Charles had touchdown runs of 2, 6 and 19 yards.
Graham Gochneaur, starting in place of the injured Stan Hill, completed 15 of 25 passes for 199 yards with two touchdowns. He was intercepted twice by Rickey McKenzie.
Charlie Frye, listed as questionable after injuring his hip last week, replaced Micah Faler after one series at quarterback and immediately passed Akron down-field, throwing a 41-yard catch-and-run touchdown to Nick Sparks.
Frye completed 16 of 32 passes for 210 yards with a touchdown. He was intercepted twice by Coke.
No. 21 N. Illinois 48, Ball State 23
DEKALB, Ill. -- Michael Turner had three touchdowns and rushed for 126 yards and Josh Haldi ran for two scores. Northern Illinois (8-1, 4-1 MAC) forced five Ball State turnovers, including three in a 27-point second quarter. Turner ran for an 18-yard touchdown and caught a 31-yard TD pass.
Turner, who entered the game as the nation's third leading rusher, topped 100 yards for the 18th time in his career and had 104 yards rushing by halftime. He also had 52 yards receiving.
The Huskies shut down Ball State (4-5, 3-2) a week after their worst outing of the year on defense when they allowed 634 yards. Northern Illinois picked off Ball State quarterback Talmadge Hill twice and forced two fumbles.
Hill completed 9 of 18 passes for 78 yards with two interceptions and added 99 yards rushing on eight carries before being replaced in the third quarter by Andy Roesch. The two interceptions matched his total for the season.
Toledo 56, Buffalo 29
TOLEDO -- Bruce Gradkowski threw six touchdown passes, three to Lance Moore, to lead Toledo.
Gradkowski finished 23-of-25 for 435 yards and no interceptions. He also rushed 40 yards for the Rockets (6-3, 4-1 Mid-American Conference), which had 685 yards on offense to 395 for Buffalo. Jared Patterson scored both touchdowns for Buffalo (1-9, 1-5) in the first half, on runs of 6 and 7 yards. Dallas Pelz kicked five field goals for the Bulls.
Cent. Michigan 38, E. Michigan 10
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Jerry Seymour ran for a career-high 207 yards on 36 carries with three touchdowns to lead Central Michigan.
The Eagles (1-8, 0-5 Mid-American) scored the first 10 points as Anthony Sherrell scored on a 1-yard run and Andrew Wellock kicked a 21-yard field goal.
But Central (3-6, 1-5) would score the next 38 points on the way to the victory.
The Chippewas scored their first points of the game in the second quarter when Joe Staley caught a 29-yard pass from Derrick Vickers. Mike Gruzwalski added a 33-yard field goal to tie the game at 10-all and then Seymour took over. He scored from 14, 16 and 15 yards out.
Connecticut 41, W. Michigan 27
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Cornell Brockington ran for four touchdowns and caught a pass for another to lead Connecticut.
Brockington rushed for 186 yards on 29 attempts. The touchdowns were the first collegiate scores for the freshman tailback who helped UConn (7-3) rally from a 17-0 first quarter deficit.