Saturday wasn't just a great day for Ball State football, it was a great day for the Mid-American Conference as well.
Along with Ball State's win over South Florida, three other MAC teams notched victories against BCS-level opponents. Western Michigan defeated Connecticut 30-24, Northern Illinois rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Kansas and Central Michigan went on the road and beat Iowa 32-31.
Akron, which has not beaten an FBS team since 2010, was tied midway through the third quarter on the road against Tennessee.
The most notable win for the conference Saturday was Central Michigan's road win over Iowa. The Chippewas took a 23-14 lead into halftime before Iowa scored 17 consecutive points in the second half to take a 31-23 lead. Central Michigan quarterback Ryan Radcliff threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Titus Davis with 45 seconds left, but after a missed two-point conversion, Iowa held a two-point lead.
The Chippewas recovered the ensuing onside kick at its own 42-yard line, which helped set up the game-winning field goal with three seconds left in the game. Before the last 45 seconds of the game, the visitors had been held scoreless for the entire second half.
The win marked the third time this season that a team from the MAC has beaten a Big Ten team. Ball State beat Indiana on Sept. 15 and Ohio went on the road and beat Penn State on Sept. 1. The last time the MAC won three games in a season against Big Ten schools was in 2003.
Northern Illinois beat the Big 12's Kansas after a fourth-quarter rally after being down by 10 points in the final quarter. The Huskies managed to score the game's final 17 points, which was capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by Leighton Settle to give his team the 30-23 win.
The MAC has had close games throughout the young season with teams from BCS conferences, which hints the conference could have a high-scoring season once the thick of conference games begin. Schools from the MAC are averaging 25.5 points per game after Week 4 of this season.
The bulk of the MAC schedule begins Saturday, with Ball State traveling to play Kent State. But the headline game of the weekend might be the game between the two teams that scored impressive wins against BCS schools in Week 4 as Northern Illinois hosts Central Michigan.
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