We changed the clocks, and the Halloween decorations are disappearing in favor of cornucopias or hand turkey drawings or whatever you display for Thanksgiving. Anyway, those are signs that Midweek MACtion
is upon us, and the Mid-American Conference prepares to enter the national spotlight this Tuesday and Wednesday.
To properly prepare for Midweek MACtion, teams must receive substantial time off, so Week 10 was essentially a bye week for the conference. The MAC played two matchups — Bowling Green-Buffalo and Western Michigan-Central Michigan, which produced varying results in terms of competitiveness.
And for a quick programming note: As there will be at least one Saturday MAC game each week for the remainder of the season (this is new in 2025), Monday MAC Musings — your home for all stats, takeaways, and thoughts from watching MAC football — will still be released on Mondays. So next Monday, this column will talk about everything that happened in the midweek games Monday and Tuesday.
So without further ado, here are the musings from Saturday’s couplet of games:
Buffalo 28, Bowling Green 3
- Red Murdock is now an FBS record-holder. The Buffalo inside linebacker has the most career forced fumbles in FBS history, shattering the record previously belonging to another Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack. Murdock has six forced fumbles in a six-game stretch, shattering the record in the second quarter Saturday.
- Speaking of Murdock, he is now atop the FBS leaderboard in tackles. Last year Murdock finished No. 2 to teammate Shaun Dolac in the category. Murdock has 105 stops on the season to go along with 12.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and as mentioned above, six forced fumbles. One, this is a clear-cut All-American. Two, how does Buffalo keep producing linebackers like this? I can’t believe Joe Bowen and his staff found and developed Dolac and Murdock and had them playing next to each other on the same team.
- It was great to see Drew Pyne healthy and back in the lineup for Bowling Green. Even with its starter back for the first time since September (clearly not 100 percent with an ankle injury), the Bowling Green offensive struggles continued. Pyne and backup Hunter Najm combined for an 11-of-28 showing for 100 yards and an interception. The run game averaged 2.6 yards per carry. Buffalo produced six sacks. This was just a lifeless performance from the Bowling Green offense which hasn’t scored a touchdown in two-straight home games.
- Bowling Green’s offense needs to invade opposing territory more often to give Jackson Kleather more reps, because he’s an incredible kicker. Kleather drained a 51-yarder with 8:33 remaining to prevent a shutout. He is 15-of-17 on the year and 3-of-4 from 50+ with a long of 56 — excellent numbers for a college kicker.
- Al-Jay Henderson crossed 100 yards for the first time in 2025 with a 119-yard outburst on 18 carries. Henderson broke free for a 41-yard touchdown to launch a 28-0 Buffalo run. It was a long-awaited performance for Henderson who produced 100+ yards in four of his final five contests in 2024. Perhaps he can replicate a similar finish to 2025 as Buffalo will need him down the stretch in order to qualify for the MAC Championship.
Western Michigan 24, Central Michigan 21
- I love this rivalry because of how electric these games always are. Think back to Central Michigan’s rabid comeback in 2017, Kalil Pimpleton’s punt return clinic in 2021, or the ultimate snow game in 2022 — this rivalry delivers on a near-annual basis. Saturday was no exception. This was MAC football at its finest with two physical teams lowering their pads and playing in a tightly-contested, thrilling finish with conference title stakes potentially on the line. This game was a joy to watch for any neutral viewer.
- This game (and the Battle of I-75 from Oct. 11) settle the debate on how to properly schedule MAC football. It is essential to schedule the conference’s rivalry games on fall Saturdays. That’s how you get packed crowds and energetic atmospheres, and Kalamazoo absolutely delivered for the Battle of the Victory Cannon this past weekend. Waldo Stadium enjoyed a packed house of 29,299 for Western Michigan vs. Central Michigan, marking its largest audience since Michigan State paid a visit in 2015 (yes, it even topped the 2016 College GameDay matchup vs. Buffalo). Comparatively, 17,841 showed up at Waldo for the midweek installment of the rivalry back in 2023. Play the biggest rivalry games on Saturdays, like this and the Battle of I-75. Schedule the other stuff for midweek MACtion.
- Western Michigan’s defensive line is a unit. The Broncos are top 10 nationally in sacks per game with 3.2, and they weren’t going to reach their average Saturday considering Central Michigan’s lack of passing. But defensive tackle Marcel Tyler made the play of the game for the unit, deflecting and intercepting a Chippewa pass at the line of scrimmage at the 2-minute mark.
- Broc Lowry keeps getting better and better. Western Michigan doesn’t rely too heavily on him as a passer, but he’s remained efficient at 64.8 percent on the season with seven touchdowns and only one interception, regularly keeping the ball out of harm’s way. As a runner, his vision is tremendous. That’s four-straight 80+ yard games after an 82-yard performance vs. Central Michigan, and he ranks eighth among QBs with 591 rushing yards. It was no surprise he converted that QB draw to seal the game, and he’s run that same play successfully countless times, using it to beat Toledo. Western Michigan’s offense is by no means a finished product, but proper Lowry utilization has taken the team a long way.
- Western Michigan really had North Texas on the ropes back in Week 2. It held the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense to 27 points in regulation. That’s a crazy realization in hindsight but also speaks to the caliber of the defense and the Broncos’ potential as contenders.
