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Hustle Belt

https://www.hustlebelt.com/ | 123 entries published

MAC Football, MAC Basketball, MAC Recruiting, MAC Baseball and all of the other #MACtion hijinks in between - [email protected]

Latest Entries

Ranking the four most bizarre fumbles in Akron vs. UMass on Midweek MACtion

Midweek MACtion kicked off at InfoCision Stadium on Tuesday night, pitting the Akron Zips against the MAC’s newcomer, the UMass Minutemen. Akron (4-6, 3-3 MAC) dominated the winless Minutemen (0-9, 0-5 MAC) in a 44-10 affair. The 34-point victory marked Akron’s largest over an FBS opponent since defeating Kent State by 38 in the 2002 […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

UMass hires Thorr Bjorn as senior deputy athletic director; retains Ryan Bamford

In a shocking turn of events, Rhode Island athletic director Thorr Bjorn, who had recently signed a five-year extension in June, has reportedly been hired to join the UMass athletic department as a “senior deputy athletic director” and “chief of business administration.” ESPN’s Pete Thamel was first to report, with UMass confirming the hire on […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

2025 Week 11 Midweek MACtion Preview: Northern Illinois Huskies @ Toledo Rockets

Game notes Setting the scene Northern Illinois vs. Toledo was a defining matchup for years, often having significant influence on the MAC title race. No teams have more MAC Championship Game appearances than the Huskies and Rockets, which qualified nine and eight times, respectively. However, this annual matchup is no more after Wednesday night. Toledo […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

2025 MAC Football Week 11 Game Recap: Ohio Bobcats 24, Miami RedHawks, 20

Whew, exhilarating! This is MACtion at its very best. In a matchup with major MAC title implications to kick off weeknight #MACtion, the Ohio Bobcats (6-3, 4-1 MAC), behind a raucous home crowd shadowed in black clothing, bested the Miami RedHawks (5-4, 4-1) by a final score of 24-20 in a tough, physical rivalry battle. […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

2025 MAC Football Week 11 Game Preview: UMass Minutemen at Akron Zips

The 2025 campaign has not been pretty for either side entering this contest, which is set to kick off the conference’s weeknight slate. Both the Akron Zips (3-6, 2-3 MAC) and the UMass Minutemen (0-8, 0-4 MAC) have shown flashes of brilliance amidst a sea of inconsistent play; what it will look like when the […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

10 things you need to know before watching Midweek MACtion

The Mid-American Conference takes center stage in the college football world Tuesday night, commencing a month-long series of weeknight games known as Midweek MACtion. The conference recognizes 1999 as the origin date of Midweek MACtion, but the annual spectacle started receiving increased popularity in the early 2010s with some thrilling 2011 shootouts, Jordan Lynch’s 2013 […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

2025 MAC Football Week 11 Game Preview: Miami RedHawks @ Ohio Bobcats

The weeknight part of the Mid-American Conference schedule starts in grand style on Tuesday, as rivals and perennial title contenders battle for supremacy when the Ohio Bocbats (5-3, 3-1 MAC) host the Miami RedHawks (5-3, 4-0 MAC). Last year, the teams faced off twice in the same season for the first time, owing to a […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

Bowling Green dismisses OC Travis Partridge

The first in-season MAC coaching change was implemented Monday. The Bowling Green Falcons parted ways with offensive coordinator Travis Partridge. “Unfortunately, our offensive performance is not achieving expectations,” Bowling Green head coach Eddie George said in a statement published by Bowling Green. “We want to thank Travis for his contributions to the Bowling Green program.” […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

Monday MAC Musings: 2025 Week 10

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 […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

Buffalo ILB Red Murdock sets all-time FBS forced fumbles record

Buffalo Bulls inside linebacker Red Murdock can now be claimed the best ever in a certain category. Murdock set the FBS record for forced fumbles at 17 during Buffalo’s 28-3 defensive domination at Bowling Green on Saturday, claiming the feat by jarring the ball loose in the second quarter for a Bulls recovery. Murdock, whose […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

2025 Hustle Belt MAC Football Power Rankings: Week 10

Hello everyone and welcome back! Before we begin, a programming note: the upcoming week has only two games on it before we get to the crux of Midweek MACtion, so starting this next, we’ll be shifting our Power Rankings to Sunday morning or afternoon. Thank you for your continued interest in our rankings. Without further […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

Central Michigan, NCAA agree to negotiated resolution in Stalions sign-stealing case

The regional nightmare which ensnared three of Michigan’s FBS programs together in infamy seems to be reaching its conclusion. On Thursday afternoon, the NCAA Committee of Infractions released their report on Central Michigan’s involvement in the ever-evolving Connor Stalions case, finding four of CMU’s former football staffers responsible in part for obstructing the investigation and […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

Kent State promotes Mark Carney from interim to head coach

The first head coaching hire since the dawn of the 2025 season is complete. Kent State didn’t have to conduct a national search in order to find its 24th head coach in program history. The Golden Flashes promoted interim head coach Mark Carney to an official head coaching role Thursday. “Since taking over as interim […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads

Monday MAC Musings: 2025 Week 9

That was an interesting Week 9 of MAC football. We had our final non-conference matchup of the year as Toledo flew west to Washington State. There were three upsets based on the Vegas spread. And four of seven games were decided by single-digits. It was also a week of clarity. Nobody is bowl eligible, but […]

about 1 month ago | 1 read

Northern Illinois captures last Bronze Stalk in 21-7 win over Ball State

For one last time, a stalk of corn served as the coveted prize between a regional Midwest rivalry. The Northern Illinois Huskies and Ball State Cardinals competed 52 times prior to Saturday, unable to determine superiority. Northern Illinois won 25. Ball State won 25. They tied twice. As Northern Illinois prepares its move from the […]

about 2 months ago | 1 read

Miami (OH) alone at top of MAC standings after 26-17 win over Western Michigan

Saturday afternoon in Oxford, OH set up a matchup between the MAC’s best. Miami (OH) and Western Michigan saw similar season trajectories, both overcoming 0-3 starts with four-game win streaks, entering a critical showdown sporting identical 3-0 MAC records. Only one would remain perfect though, and as recent history would suggest, that team would be […]

about 2 months ago | 0 reads

2025 MAC Football Week 9 Game Recap: Akron Zips 24, Buffalo Bulls 16

It is hard to win in the game of football if you don’t maintain possession of said football. Games are often won and lost on the turnover margin, as they present the opportunity— or strip an opportunity— for those all-important points on the scoreboard. That is a lesson the Buffalo Bulls (4-4, 3-1 MAC) learned […]

about 2 months ago | 0 reads