Week 3 MACtion Power Rankings & Chris Creighton vs. Rich Rodriguez was finally a real game

EMU was 1 for 3 on trick plays, and nine field goal attempts were kicked between the two schools.

This time, Chris Creighton vs. Rich Rodriguez was a real game.

Saturday night’s double-overtime victory over Jacksonville State was an exciting finish, and way, way more entertaining than last year’s game. EMU’s offense had an awful season in 2023, and no game was played as badly on offense quite like the JSU trip.

This year, EMU got its act together on offense and made the game into a real duel.

Risky coaching gambles were on full display early and often. Big plays were made on both sides. The two kickers attempted nine combined field goals, and the overtime periods were decided by their legs. EMU + Jax State combined for 870 total yards of offense! There were three trick plays ran, and two of them were on special teams!

Creighton (193) and Rodriguez (181) each rank sixth and seventh all-time for coaching wins (across all divisions) among active FBS coaches. With as much success as they’ve each had over the years, it’s no question that EMU vs. Jax State was going to be a well-coached game. The issue is that last year’s contest just didn’t have the execution to provide any sort of excitement for the green and white.

Thankfully, yesterday delivered.

But unfortunately, yesterday was still a painful time for some.

Some notes, good and bad, from yesterday’s get-back game:

• GOOD: Cole Snyder had 273 yards through the air with two touchdowns on 26/37 passing.

• BAD: Snyder was sacked five times; Jax State finished with 12 tackles for loss.

• GOOD: Elijah Jackson-Anderson led the game with 87 rushing yards on 24 handoffs.

• BAD: Dontae McMillan is already sidelined with a right leg injury, and Delbert Mimms III (56 rush yards, 1 TD) came out with injury.

• GOOD: Max Reese caught two touchdown passes — the first two of his career. Jackson-Anderson also had a touchdown catch in this game (second of his career).

• BAD: JSU QB Tyler Huff had the best rushing performance for his team, mostly on scramble opportunities. He finished with 80 yards, 5.7 per rush.

• GOOD: LB Zach Mowchan led the day with 15 total tackles for EMU’s defense

• BAD: He, and five other Eagles, exited the game with injuries.

• RISKY: EMU got gambling after each side scored for a 7-7 start. An onside kick attempt came back after a player touched the ball early. Mitch Tomasek’s fake-punt pass attempt was unsuccessful. But the wide receiver pass from Terry Lockett to Max Reese was good for six, and gave EMU a 28-17 lead.

• HALF GOOD AND HALF BAD: EMU scored touchdowns on four of its first five drives of the game, but could only rely on field goals the rest of the way.

FINAL SCORE: Eastern Michigan 37, Jax State 34

Never, Ever Gamble on the MAC: Could the MAC have multiple P4 victories this week?

GAME PICKS: WEEK 3

MAC Football Power Rankings through Week 3

1. Northern Illinois (2-0 | Last week’s rank: 1) — Soak in whatever's left of this bye week Huskies, because it's back to working on its already-impressive start to the year.

2. Toledo (3-0 | LW: 2) — I’m 0% surprised Toledo beat Mississippi State handily and equally shocked to see a 24-point scoring margin either.

3. Bowling Green (1-1 | LW: 3) — No movement here with BG taking the week off.

4. Western Michigan (1-2 | LW: 5) — I'm not moving WMU up on this as much as I'm bumping Miami down. WMU finally showed a pulse on the scoreboard, but it still allowed 31 points to an FCS squad that 1. didn’t score a touchdown until it played WMU and 2. went 3/15 on third downs.

5. Miami OH (0-2 | LW: 5) — Miami clearly lost a step offensively. This team's not establishing drives to give itself many scoring opportunities. For a team expected to repeat as MAC champions, they certainly don't look the part.

6. Eastern Michigan (2-1 | LW: 7) — Moving EMU up a spot for figuring out how to get 30+ points on the board and 400+ yards of offense completed. Sure, there are some blemishes, but it’s at least playing up to a level that was missed all last year.

7. Ohio (2-1 | LW: 6) — The Syracuse loss still had its impressive feats and I think Anthony Tyus will continue to be a problem the rest of the way. At this point in the season though, a 21-6 win over Morgan State isn’t impressing anybody.

8. Buffalo (2-1 | LW: 9) — Buffalo handled Lafayette and UMass, which is good to see. Zero points at Missouri won’t help them here at this point in the season, but no reason to think Buffalo can’t rise above this spot throughout the year.

9. Central Michigan (1-2 | LW: 8) — CMU didn’t cook enough offensively at Illinois, which I guess is to be expected.

10. Akron (1-2 | LW: 10) — You wouldn’t know it just by looking at the final score, but Akron trailed their game against Colgate 17-0 at one point.

11. Ball State (1-1 | LW: 11) — Lost 62-0 to Miami FL. Really there’s nothing good to talk about here.

12. Kent State (0-3 | LW: 12) — Kent State can’t survive scheduling this way. A 71-0 blowout to Tennessee is both unsurprising and incredibly disgusting.

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