Week 8 MACtion Power Rankings & Clutch moments from Delbert Mimms III
No scores to his name, but RB Delbert Mimms III wasn't without his big moments in yesterday's comeback win against CMU.
Clutch, to me, doesn’t always mean having the thundering touchdowns to turn things around on the scoreboard. Sometimes, being clutch is about the moments before the moments.
While Eastern Michigan had a lot of big receptions to help push the offense downfield and create big, swinging scores, Delbert Mimms III wasn’t without his clutch moments against Central Michigan.
The graduate transfer running back had a busy day even if he didn’t get in the end zone. He came close, but his one carry that was initially ruled a touchdown on the field was overturned after video review. Still, Mimms carried the ball 21 times, his third-straight game with 20+ carries, for 90 yards, and had two catches for 32 yards.
Mimms finished with 122 all-purpose yards, second-most on the team.
On his team’s third possession in the first quarter, Mimms got back-to-back carries on third and fourth downs inside the red zone and converted on the 4th & 1 carry. EMU drove to the 4-yard line and settled for a field goal to take a 10-0 lead. In the next drive, Mimms converted on a 3rd & 5 run from the CMU 35-yard line that’d turn into another field goal (and a 13-0 lead) seven plays later.
Once CMU made a 14-point swing to take the lead before halftime, Mimms responded with a pair of 16-yard receptions to set up Gomez’s third field goal kick and re-take the lead at 16-14.
CMU had its third-quarter fun and ran all over EMU’s defense, but Mimms and the Eagles responded in the fourth. He had another fourth-down carry that he was able to move the chains on (EMU finished 2/2 on fourth downs). Two plays later, Snyder rolled right and threw deep to receiver Markus Allen who (accidentally) tipped the ball to Terry Lockett for the surprise, 49-yard touchdown strike and brought CMU’s lead down to 10 after EMU’s 2-point conversion.
Down by 3 points with under 4 minutes to play, Mimms took a 2nd & 6 carry 38 yards to Central’s 20-yard line, then got a near-score on his 1st & goal carry from the 8-yard line. He was stopped short of the goal line, lost two yards on second down, gained those two back on third down, and was right behind QB Cole Snyder as he got the go-ahead score.
“Del joined us in January, and just, I don't say it immediately, but really quickly, we just knew that he was a great fit in our program,” Chris Creighton said after the game. “We want the whole package, and I think it's hard to do, but like he and Cole [Snyder], and it's not just those two are leading our team. I mean, he's got, he's got belief, he's got fire, he is all-in, and he's been a difference-maker.”
Mimms has been on a mission to prove that he’s an every-down back ever since he showed up at EMU, something that he wasn’t able to showcase with NC State. As Dontae McMillan suffered a broken leg in the second week of the season, Mimms has been the steady go-to hand out of the backfield to lead Eastern’s running back room.
For the year, Mimms has 482 rushing yards on 110 carries (4.4 avg.) with six TD (second in MAC), and has 84 receiving yards on 8 catches too. Mimms is currently ninth in the MAC in total (566) and average (80.9 per game) all-purpose yards.
MAC Football Power Rankings through Week 8
After eight weeks of football, we have our fourth MAC team appear at the top of this week’s ranking. Toledo, Northern Illinois, and Buffalo have all had their chances, but now it’s Western Michigan — who was at #7 not too long ago — to wear the target.
Plenty of movement in this week’s rankings, especially through the top seven spots. The bottom five teams didn’t have too much movement, though I am pleased to see Ball State not get back-handed too hard by a tough Vanderbilt squad.
This week’s MAC power rankings:
Western Michigan (4-3, 3-0 MAC | Last week’s rankings: 3) — I haven’t gotten my eyes on this one yet, but judging by the box score, this is the kind of game I was expecting to see from WMU when Lance Taylor was hired. This game had over 1,000 yards of offense between the two, and WMU just made more plays in a pretty clean and even game.
Buffalo (4-3, 2-1 MAC | LW: 1) — Can’t knock Buffalo too much. This group is off to a better start than many might’ve expected. Not me though. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a repeat of this game in Detroit.
Toledo (5-2, 2-1 MAC | LW: 2) — Lost to Buffalo last week and barely escaped NIU. No reason to really dog on Toledo too much, but they are certainly a group that’s wanting more of themselves right now.
Miami OH (3-4, 2-1 MAC | LW: 6) — If Miami would’ve played a better first half against Toledo, maybe this unit would be tied for first place in today’s conference standings. Who’s to say? Speaking of, Miami’s defense held Ohio to a scoreless first half, and that might’ve been the difference as Ohio attempted (and fell short of) a late rally with two touchdowns scored in the final six minutes of the game.
Eastern Michigan (5-2, 2-1 MAC | LW: 7) — Came back to beat CMU after being down 18 points early in the fourth quarter. EMU’s loss to Miami hurts them in this list, but four of its next five opponents are listed at #1, #2, #3, and #6 of this week’s rankings.
Ohio (4-3, 2-1 MAC | LW: 4) — Fun fact: Ohio is one of 26 teams in the country with more yards rushed (1,338) than thrown for (1,214) this season.
Northern Illinois (4-3, 1-2 MAC | LW: 5) — It’s not just Ohio who has more rushing yards than passing this year, but NIU (1,505-1,298) isn’t much of a surprise in that category as well. Is the Notre Dame win growing funnier or more sad with each home MAC loss NIU takes this year?
Bowling Green (3-4, 2-1 MAC | LW: 8) — Beat Kent State handily, but nothing worth sliding the Falcons much in any direction.
Ball State (2-5, 1-2 MAC | LW: 10) — Ball State showed some life against Vanderbilt and has been in more ball games than not this year. All three MAC games were 1-score finishes, and losing by 10 at this year’s Vanderbilt isn’t an embarrassment by any means.
Central Michigan (3-4, 1-2 MAC | LW: 9) — Two weeks in a row a QB gets hurt. Joey Labas is now out for the year, who knows if Bert Emanuel Jr.’s exit is going to be a long-term thing or not? CMU has some fight in them, but certainly not a top-half MAC team.
Akron (1-6, 0-3 MAC | LW: 11) — No action last week.
Kent State (0-7, 0-3 MAC | LW: 12) — Suffered a nation’s-worst 16th straight loss to Bowling Green. I just feel bad for Kent State at this point.