Click here to read the 2016 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Weekly Release – Week 6 – October 6-8 (PDF)
HURRICANE MATTHEW: The staff of the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl and ESPN Events send their thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by Hurricane Matthew this week in the Bahamas and the rest of the Caribbean.
STORM POSTPONEMENTS: The advance of Matthew to the Florida coast Thursday forced postponement of a pair of games involving conference partners: Friday’s Tulane at UCF (AAC) game was moved to Saturday, Nov. 5 while Charlotte at Florida Atlantic (C-USA) was tentatively moved from Saturday to Sunday, Oct. 9, with a final decision on date/time still to be determined.
THIS WEEKEND: Week 6 begins in the American and Conference USA on Thursday as Temple is at Memphis in the AAC, and WKU visits Louisiana Tech in C-USA. Friday night, a pair of American West Division teams meet as SMU visits Tulsa. Saturday, there are two key American games as East Carolina visits East leader USF and unbeaten Houston travels to Navy in a meeting of the top two teams in the West. There are three league games in C-USA as West leader Southern Miss is at UTSA, Marshall visits North Texas and FIU is at UTEP. The MAC plays its entire weekend schedule on Saturday with six conference games, including Northern Illinois at unbeaten Western Michigan, a matchup of two of three West leaders, and a key West game as Toledo visits tri-leader Eastern Michigan.
WEEK 5 REVIEW: Amercian East tri-leaders USF, UCF and Temple each won its first league game with victories over East Carolina, Cincinnati and SMU, respectively, while Houston’s victory over UConn moved UH to 2-0 in AAC play. In C-USA, Middle Tennesse went to 2-0 in the league after a victory over North Texas, and Southern Miss went to 2-0 in C-USA after a win over Rice. In the MAC, Eastern Michigan defeated Bowling Green as the Eagles are 4-1 for the first time since 1995. Western Michigan beat Central Michigan as the 5-0 Broncos have their best start since 1994.
POLLING PLACE: Houston (AAC) is No. 5 in the Amway Coaches’ Poll and No. 6 in the Associated Press after Week 5, while Western Michigan (MAC) entered the Coaches’ Poll at No. 25. Those receiving votes in the AP poll (in order of votes received) are Western MIchigan and South Florida (AAC). Those receiving votes in the Coaches’ Poll (in order of votes received) are South Florida, Southern Miss (C-USA), Eastern Michigan (MAC) and Middle Tennessee (C-USA).
WEEK 6 SCHEDULE
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Thursday, Oct. 6
* Temple at Memphis (ESPN)
Friday, Oct. 7
* SMU at Tulsa (ESPN2)
Saturday, Oct. 8
* Cincinnati at UConn (CBSSN)
* East Carolina at USF (ESPNews)
* Houston at Navy (CBSSN)
CONFERENCE USA
Thursday, Oct. 6
* WKU at Louisiana Tech (CBSSN)
Saturday, Oct. 8
* Southern Miss at UTSA (ASN)
UMass at Old Dominion (CUSATV)
* Marshall at North Texas (ASN)
* FIU at UTEP (CUSATV)
Sunday, Oct. 9
* Charlotte at Florida Atlantic (CUSATV)
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Saturday, Oct. 8
* Bowling Green at Ohio (ESPN3)
* Ball State at Central Michigan (ASN/ESPN3)
* Miami at Akron (ESPN3)
* Toledo at Eastern Michigan (BCSN/ESPN3)
* Kent State at Buffalo (ESPN3)
* Northern Illinois at Western Michigan (CBSSN)
* – conference games
WEEK 5 RESULTS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Thursday, Sept. 29
* Houston 42, UConn 14
Saturday, Oct. 1
* UCF 47, East Carolina 29
* Temple 45, SMU 20
Air Force 28, Navy 14
Tulane 31, UMass 24
Mississippi 48, Memphis 28
* USF 45, Cincinnati 20
CONFERENCE USA
Saturday, Oct. 1
* Old Dominion 52, Charlotte 17
* FIU 33, Florida Atlantic 31
* Louisiana Tech 28, UTEP 7
* Middle Tennessee 30, North Texas 13
* Southern Miss 44, Rice 28
WKU 50, Houston Baptist 3
Pittsburgh 43, Marshall 27
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Friday, Sept. 30
BYU 55, Toledo 53
Saturday, Oct. 1
Boston College 35, Buffalo 3
* Ohio 17, Miami 7
* Northern Illinois 31, Ball State 24
* Eastern Michigan 28, Bowling Green 25
* Akron 31, Kent State 27
* Western Michigan 49, Central Michigan 10
* – conference games
WEEK 5 INDIVIDUAL HONORS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Offensive Player of the Week
Houston QB Greg Ward Jr.: The senior accounted for 454 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in a 42-14 victory over UConn.
Defensive Player of the Week
Temple DE Haason Reddick: The senior had four tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and recovered one in a 45-20 victory over SMU.
Special Teams Player of the Week
UCF RB Adrian Killins: The freshman had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 47-29 victory over East Carolina.
CONFERENCE USA
Offensive Player of the Week
Southern Miss WR Allenzae Staggers: The junior had six catches for 292 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-28 victory over Rice.
Defensive Player of the Week
FIU LB Anthony Wint: The senior had 12 total tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble in a 33-31 victory over Florida Atlantic.
Special Teams Player of the Week
WKU KR/PR Nacarius Fant: The junior had a 50-yard punt return for a score in a 50-3 victory over Houston Baptist.
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East Division Offensive Player of the Week
Kent State QB Nick Holley: The junior passed for 285 yards and two TDs and rushed for 117 yards and another score against Akron.
East Division Defensive Player of the Week
Akron LB Ulysees Gilbert III: The sophomore had 10 tackles, including three for loss in a 31-27 victory over Kent State.
East Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Ohio P Michael Farkas: The redshirt freshman had six punts for a 38.7-yard average and three inside the 20 in a 17-7 victory over Miami.
West Division Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Western Michigan WR Corey Davis: The senior had six receptions for 72 yards and two TDs in a 49-10 victory over Central Michigan.
West Division Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Toledo QB Logan Woodside: The senior was 30-for-38 passing for a school-record 505 yards and five TDs at BYU.
West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Northern Illinois LB Sean Folliard: The senior had 17 tackles (11 solo) and a sack in a 31-24 victory at Ball State.
West Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Eastern Michigan P Austin Barnes: The junior punted five times for a 50-yard average in a 28-25 victory over Bowling Green.
“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
INDIVIDUAL ACCLAIM
Western Michigan WR Corey Davis set the MAC all-time career receiving yards record with 4,252, 11th all-time in FBS history.
East Carolina WR Zay Jones leads all active NCAA FBS players in career receptions (307).
Temple DE Praise Martin-Oguike is the active career leader in forced fumbles (nine).
Southern Miss junior WR Allenzae Staggers caught six passes for a school-record 292 receiving yards in a 44-28 win over Rice.
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.
BEN ROETHLISBERGER (MIAMI)
Miami QB Ben Roethlisberger (Photo Credit: Miami Athletics)
Ben Roethlisberger, the 2003 MAC Offensive Player of the Year and the 2001 MAC Freshman of the Year, played his college career at Miami from 2001-03.
Roethlisberger threw for 10,829 yards and 84 touchdowns in only three seasons from 2001-03. His junior campaign was one for the ages, throwing for 4,486 yards and 37 touchdowns, leading Miami to 12 consecutive victories, including a MAC Championship and GMAC Bowl victory.
Roethlisberger was a third-team Associated Press All-American in 2003 and Freshman All-American in 2001,
He was a three-time All-MAC selection, earning first-team honors in 2003 and second-team recognition twice.
He still ranks first in Miami history in completion percentage and touchdowns, and is second in pass attempts, completions, yards and total offense (11,075).
Roethlisberger gave up his final season of eligibility to enter the 2004 NFL Draft. He was the 11th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the highest draft pick in Miami history.
He guided the Steelers to two Super Bowl titles (Super Bowls XL and XLIII), and he became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl during the 2005 season. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Roethlisberger was selected as the 2004 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the AP.
Roethlisberger has thrown for over 40,000 yards and 250 touchdowns in his NFL career. A 12-time AFC Offensive Player of the Week, he was inducted into the MAC Hall of Fame in 2015.
POPEYES BAHAMAS BOWL MEDIA PROJECTIONS
Media Organization (Reporter) – Date: Matchup
USA Today (Erick Smith) – Oct. 5: Marshall vs. Toledo
The Sporting News (Bill Bender) – Oct. 4: UCF vs. Louisiana Tech
Bleacher Report (Kerry Miller) – Oct. 4: Southern Miss vs. Central Michigan
Campus Insiders (Dave Miller) – Oct. 4: UCF vs. Toledo
SI.com (Colin Becht) – Oct. 4: Tulsa vs. Central Michigan
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan) – Oct. 4: Ohio vs. Old Dominion
CBSSports.com (Jerry Palm) – Oct. 3: Marshall vs. Ohio
ESPN.com (Brett McMurphy) – Oct. 2: Marshall vs. UCF
ESPN.com (Mark Schlabach) – Oct. 2: Louisiana Tech vs. Tulsa
SB Nation (Jason Kirk) – Oct. 2: Tulsa vs. Akron
Phil Steele Magazine (Phil Steele) – Sept. 30: Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan
10thYearSeniors.com (John Marc Nutt) – Sept. 28: East Carolina vs. Marshall
Nassau Tribune (Renaldo Dorsett) – Sept. 28: Cincinnati vs. Southern Miss
CollegeFootballNews.com (Pete Fiutak) – Sept. 25: Temple vs. Akron
Orlando Sentinel (Brant Parsons) – Sept. 18: Army vs. Central Michigan
FOXSports.com (Stuart Mandel) – Aug. 30: Tulsa vs. Akron
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; 13 college bowl games, 10 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.); 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.); Armed Forces Classic (Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu); DIRECTV Wooden Legacy (Orange County, Calif.); 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.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan) and State Farm Champions Classic (New York City)
