It will be an angry group of Ohio University Bobcats who head to InfoCision Stadium in Akron for their 3:30 kickoff against Akron Saturday.

Ohio opened the season on a tear, winning its first three games and even making an appearance in the "Others receiving votes" section at the bottom of the Associated Press rankings. OU out-scored its opponents 118-34 in the first three weeks and was a trendy pick to upset Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. during Week Four of the NCAA season.

The Bobcats were playing well behind a first-year starter at quarterback, sophomore Tyler Tettleton, who proved worthy of Ohio coach Frank Solich's decision to start the season with a sophomore under center by combining to complete 52 of 83 passes for 585 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception in those first three contests.

The Bobcats could not pull off the upset of the Scarlet Knights, losing 38-26. They have been a different football team ever since.

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In 2001 and 2002 Kent State won four games in the NCAA Tournament, beating opponents from the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Big East. As a Golden Flash fan I love all of those games in different ways. But I don’t love all of them equally. The first time is always special in a way the others are not. For Kent State the first time came in the opening round of the 2001 Tournament, when the Flashes headed west to San Diego to take on the Indiana Hoosiers.

What’s a bit strange is that the breakthrough came courtesy of perhaps the third-best of the four teams that, between 1998 and 2002, put Kent on the map as a mid-major power. The 2000-01 Golden Flashes were a nice team- the guard troika of Andrew Mitchell, Trevor Huffman and Demetric Shaw was a strong one and jumping-jack forward Kyrem Massey provided an athletic element- but they were a year between the inside power of center John Whorton (who had used up his eligibility the previous season) and the dynamic presence of Antonio Gates (who wouldn’t be along until the following season.) Like many mid-majors Kent lacked strength in the paint and inside-outside balance.

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The Toledo Rockets were in position to do something they had done many times before...beat one of the "big-name" college football programs. The Rockets were in the Carrier Dome in New York, giving Syracuse all it could handle. The Rockets led late, but Syracuse drove for a go-ahead touchdown with 2:07 remaining in regulation. Alec Lemon caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Nassib to make the score 29-27 in favor of the Orangemen, with the extra point still to come.

But Ross Krautman pulled it. He flat-out missed.

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It was a difficult weekend for Mid-American Conference football.

Temple, hosting Penn State, let one get away and failed to defeat the Nittany Lions for the first time in 70 years as Penn State scored a late touchdown to snatch away the victory. Akron, looking to become a respected program in the Mid-American Conference, was overwhelmed by Cincinnati in a game that was never close. Kent State fell to Kansas State as the Golden Flashes' offense continues to sputter. Toledo, hosting Boise State in what could have been a signature win for the program, was humbled in front of a sellout crowd.

Bowling Green fell by a point in Wyoming, Northern Illinois was blown out by Wisconsin and Minnesota topped Northern Illinois. The MAC posted a 3-10 won-loss record over the weekend, and two of those wins came in conference games against MAC opponents. Only Ohio, who drilled Marshall 44-7, posted a win in a non-conference game.

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