Click here to read the 2016 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Weekly Release – Week 10 – November 1-5 (PDF)
PASSPORT STAMPED (BOWL-ELIGIBLE TEAMS): AAC: Houston (7-2), Temple (6-3), Tulsa (6-2), USF (7-2); C-USA: Louisiana Tech (6-3), Middle Tennessee (6-2), WKU (6-3); MAC: Western Michigan (9-0), Ohio (6-3), Toledo (7-2). AT CUSTOMS (ONE VICTORY SHY): AAC: Navy (5-2), Memphis (5-3); C-USA: Old Dominion (5-3), Southern Miss (5-3); MAC: Akron (5-5), Central Michigan (5-4), Eastern Michigan (5-4).
THIS WEEK: Week 10 began with #MACtion in full swing as Western Michigan ran its record to 9-0 (5-0) with a 52-20 victory over Ball State (4-5, 1-4), while Northern Illinois (3-6, 3-2) beat Bowling Green (1-8, 0-5) 45-20. Wednesday night, Toledo (7-2, 4-1) stayed one game behind WMU in the MAC West standings with a 48-17 victory over Akron (5-5, 3-3). Thursday night, Buffalo (2-6, 1-3) visits MAC East leader Ohio (6-3, 4-1). Friday in the American, East co-leader Temple (6-3, 4-1) is at UConn (3-6, 1-5). Saturday in the American, Memphis (5-3, 2-2) can reach bowl eligibility with a victory at SMU (4-4, 2-2), and Navy (5-2, 4-1) can do the same with a victory over Notre Dame. In C-USA, Old Dominion (5-3, 3-1) can be bowl eligible with a victory at home over Marshall (2-6, 1-3), and Southern Miss (5-3, 3-1) can also gain eligibility with a home victory over Charlotte (3-5, 2-2).
POLLING PLACE: Western Michigan (MAC) is No. 17 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 18 in the Amway Coaches’ Poll after Week 9. WMU is also No. 23 in the first College Football Playoff Rankings (Nov. 1). Houston (AAC), SMU (AAC) and USF (AAC) are receiving votes in the AP poll. Receiving votes in the Coaches’ Poll are Houston, USF, Navy (AAC), Middle Tennessee (C-USA) and Tulsa (AAC).
WEEK 10 SCHEDULE
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Friday, Nov. 4
* Temple at UConn (ESPN2)
Saturday, Nov. 5
* Tulane at UCF (ESPN3)
BYU at Cincinnati (CBSSN)
* East Carolina at Tulsa (ESPNews)
* Memphis at SMU (ESPNews)
Navy vs. Notre Dame (CBS)
CONFERENCE USA
Saturday, Nov. 5
* UTSA at Middle Tennessee (ESPN3)
* Charlotte at Southern Miss (ASN)
* Florida Atlantic at Rice (ESPN3)
* FIU at WKU (beIN)
* Louisiana Tech at North Texas (ESPN3)
* Marshall at Old Dominion (ASN)
Houston Baptist at UTEP (CUSATV)
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Tuesday, Nov. 1
* Western Michigan 52, Ball State 20
* Northern Illinois 45, Bowling Greeen 20
Wednesday, Nov. 2
* Toledo 48, Akron 17
Thursday, Nov. 3
* Buffalo at Ohio (CBSSN)
Friday, Nov. 4
* Central Michigan at Miami (CBSSN)
* – conference games
WEEK 9 RESULTS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Friday, Oct. 28
* USF 52, Navy 45
Saturday, Oct. 29
* Houston 31, UCF 24
* East Carolina 41, UConn 3
* Temple 34, Cincinnati 13
* SMU 35, Tulane 31
* Tulsa 59, Memphis 30
CONFERENCE USA
Saturday, Oct. 29
* WKU 52, Florida Atlantic 3
* Middle Tennessee 42, FIU 35
* Louisiana Tech 61, Rice 16
* Southern Miss 24, Marshall 14
* UTSA 31, North Texas 17
* Old Dominion 31, UTEP 21
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Thursday, Oct. 27
* Buffalo 41, Akron 20
* Ohio 31, Toledo 26
Saturday, Oct. 29
* Kent State 27, Central Michigan 24
* Miami 28, Eastern Michigan 15
* – conference games
WEEK 9 INDIVIDUAL HONORS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Offensive Player of the Week
Tulsa RB James Flanders: The senior rrushed for 249 yards and tied an AAC record with five touchdowns in a 59-30 victory at Memphis.
Defensive Player of the Week
UCF LB Shaquem Griffin: The junior had 14 tackles, 2.5 sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery in a loss to Houston.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Temple K Aaron Boumerhi: The freshman made two field goals and four PATs in the 34-13 victory over Cincinnati.
CONFERENCE USA
Offensive Player of the Week
Middle Tennessee QB Brent Stockstill: The sophomore was 21-of-34 passing for 318 yards and four TDs in a 42-35 victory over FIU.
Defensive Player of the Week
Middle Tennessee LB D.J. Sanders: The junior scored the game-winning TD on an interception return in the 42-35 victory over FIU.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Marshall P Kaare Vedvik: The junior averaged 46.9 yards per punt, including six inside the 20-yard line in a loss to Southern Miss.
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East Division Offensive Player of the Week
Buffalo RB Jordan Johnson: The senior rushed 24 times for a school-record 282 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-20 victory over Akron.
East Division Defensive Player of the Week
Miami DE JT Jones: The senior had five tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss in Miami’s 28-15 victory over Eastern Michigan.
East Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Kent State K Shane Hynes: The sophomore made a 35-yard game-winning field goal for a 27-24 victory at Central Michigan.
West Division Offensive Player of the Week
Toledo QB Logan Woodside: The Junior completed 32-of-46 passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Ohio.
West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Toledo LB Ja’Wuan Woodley: The junior had nine tackles (three for loss), a sack and a forced fumble in a loss to Ohio
West Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Eastern Michigan P Austin Barnes: The junior averaged 48.5 yards on six punts, including two over 60 yards, in a loss to Miami.
“POWER FIVE” VICTORIES
A list of American, C-USA and MAC victories over “Power Five” opponents (teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC)
Team (Conference) – Opponent/Score
Sept. 3
Houston (AAC) – Oklahoma (Big 12)/33-23
Southern Miss (C-USA) – Kentucky (SEC)/44-35
Western Michigan (MAC) – Northwestern (Big Ten)/22-21
Sept. 10
Cincinnati (AAC) – Purdue (Big Ten)/38-10
Central Michigan (MAC) –Oklahoma State (Big 12)/30-27
East Carolina (AAC) – N.C. State (ACC)/33-30
Ohio (MAC) – Kansas (Big 12)/37-21
Sept. 17
Memphis (AAC) – Kansas (Big 12)/43-7
UConn (AAC) – Virginia (ACC)/13-10
USF (AAC) – Syracuse (ACC)/45-20
Western Michigan (MAC) – Illinois (Big Ten)/34-10
Oct. 22
Middle Tennessee (C-USA) – Missouri (SEC)/51-45
SATURDAYS TO SUNDAYS
Three players who saw action in the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl are currently on active 53-man NFL rosters in 2016.
S Kevin Byard – Tennessee (Middle Tennessee)
TE Tyler Higbee – Los Angeles (WKU)
DE Leterrius Watson – Pittsburgh (Central Michigan)
AROUND THE CONFERENCES
In the American, Tulsa QB Dane Evans is fourth among active players in career passing yards (10,302) and is fifth in career total offense (10,337).
In Conference USA, Last Saturday, four different Conference USA players went over the 1,000-yard mark for receiving yards on the season before the end of October (Louisiana Tech senior WR Trent Taylor – 1,274, WKU senior WR Taywan Taylor – 1,077, Louisiana Tech junior WR Carlos Henderson – 1,035 and Middle Tennessee sophomore WR Richie James – 1,032).
In the MAC, Western Michigan QB Zach Terrell has the best TD to interception ratio in FBS with 20 TD passes and only one interception.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Each week in 2016, the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl will spotlight an alumni player from each of our partner conferences: the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference.
CHAD PENNINGTON (MARSHALL)
Marshall QB Chad Pennington (Photo Credit: Marshall Athletics)
Chad Pennington, a 1999 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, played his college career at Marshall from 1995-99.
Pennington went from fourth-string quarterback to starter during the Thundering Herd’s 1995 run to the NCAA Division I- AA title game.
After a redshirt season in 1996, Pennington returned to his starting role in 1997 as Marshall moved up to I-A and won the MAC title. In 1998, he led the Herd to another conference title and their first bowl victory over Louisville in the 1998 Motor City Bowl.
As a senior, Pennington and the Thundering Herd went 13-0, Marshall captured its third straight MAC title and the Herd won the Motor City Bowl over BYU. He was fifth in 1999 Heisman Trophy voting and won the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the top collegiate passer.
He finished his Marshall career with 1,026 completions for 13,143 yards and 115 TDs.
Off the field, Pennington was selected as the 1999 William V. Campbell Trophy winner, considered the Academic Heisman, and a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship.
He was selected No. 18 overall by the New York Jets in the 2000 NFL Draft.
He played seven seasons (2000-07) with the Jets, where he helped New York qualify for the playoffs three times. He moved to the Miami Dolphins (2008-10), where he helped Miami to a 11-5 record in his first season in 2008 and the club’s first playoff appearance since 2001.
A two-time NFL Comeback Player of the Year award winner (2006, 2008), Pennington was a six-time AFC Offensive Player of the Week honoree by the NFL.
POPEYES BAHAMAS BOWL MEDIA PROJECTIONS
Media Organization (Reporter) – Date: Predicted Matchup
10thYearSeniors.com (John Marc Nutt) – Nov. 2: Tulsa vs. Eastern Michigan
Nassau Tribune (Renaldo Dorsett) – Nov. 2: Cincinnati vs. Louisiana Tech
USA Today (Erick Smith) – Nov. 2: Middle Tennessee vs. Ohio
SI.com (Colin Becht) – Nov. 1: Cincinnati vs. Akron
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan) – Nov. 1: Eastern MIchigan vs. Old Dominion
Gridiron Now (Mike Huguenin) – Nov. 1: SMU vs. Toledo
Bleacher Report (Kerry Miller) – Nov. 1: Central Michigan vs. SMU
CBSSports.com (Jerry Palm) – Nov. 1: Louisiana Tech vs. Ohio
ESPN.com (Brett McMurphy) – Nov. 1: North Texas vs. Tulsa
ESPN.com (Mark Schlabach) – Nov. 1: WKU vs. Tulsa
SB Nation (Jason Kirk) – Nov. 1: Tulsa vs. Eastern Michigan
FOXSports.com (Stuart Mandel) – Nov. 1: Memphis vs. Ball State
The Sporting News (Bill Bender) – Oct. 31: UCF vs. Southern Miss
CollegeFootballNews.com (Pete Fiutak) – Oct. 31: Memphis vs. Akron
Campus Insiders (Dave Miller) – Oct. 30: USF vs. Toledo
Phil Steele Magazine (Phil Steele) – Oct. 28: Tulsa vs. Ohio
Orlando Sentinel (Brant Parsons) – Oct. 23: Temple vs. Central Michigan
Sports on Earth (Matt Brown) – Aug. 22: Memphis vs. Northern Illinois
ESPN EVENTS
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 13 college bowl games, 11 college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 250-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.
Collegiate Football
AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl (Houston); Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff (Orlando, Fla.); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Orlando, Fla.); Montgomery Kickoff Classic (Montgomery, Ala.); Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); St. Petersburg Bowl (Florida); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta) and Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Collegiate Basketball
AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s (Los Angeles); Gildan Charleston Classic (South Carolina); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s Classic presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women’s Classic presented by Corona (Uncasville, Conn.); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); PK80 (Portland, Ore.); State Farm Armed Forces Classic (Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu); State Farm Champions Classic (New York City); Tire Pros Invitational (Orlando, Fla.) and Wooden Legacy (Orange County, Calif.)
