Week 7 Belts Require Cloning Technology

The "Hustle Belt" Belt is without a doubt the most distinguished clip art-based award given to Mid-American Conference athletes. Every week such an award will be given to the top offensive, defensive, and special teams player. These athletes can then print off the graphic, if they so choose, and hang it up in their trophy case. Or they can take a regular belt and just paint it gold. They can pretty much do whatever they want.

One of the keen advantage of the Hustle Belt Belt award is its scalability. Just tug on it from both sides, and — MAGIC! — you have additional Belts. Do not try this at home; you could rupture some tendons in your arms. It should only be done by a trained sports blogger. And I'll do this for such an occasion, because there were some monster days by quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers. Hence, we'll dole out a belt for each position.

QUARTERBACKS

When an 18-game losing streak is on the line, you go with the one who — despite being a huge part of that — breaks that trend. Alex Gillett earned an ESPN helmet sticker for his: 225 yards passing and 189 yards on the ground, accounting for four total touchdowns and one interception. And 35 carries. My word.

Keith Wenning Ball State: 16-for-29, 145 yards, 3 TD; 6 rush, 10 yards, TD
Zac Dysert, Miami: 29-for-47, 399 yards, 3 TD
Mike Gerardi, Temple: 9-for-15, 163 yards, 2 TD
Austin Dantin Toledo: 30-for-47, 229 yards, TD; 11 rush, 72 yards, TD
Boo Jackson, OHIO: 14-for-21, 161 yards, TD, INT; 6 rush, 10 yards, 2 TD
Phil Bates, OHIO: 1-for-1, 42 yards; 9 rush, 84 yards, TD
BOO BATES: 15-for-22, 203 yards, TD; 15 rush, 94 yards, 3 TD

RUNNING BACKS

Welcome back, Bernard Pierce. Hopefully you didn't miss the action, although Temple sort of did. Your 106 yards on 15 carries, plus a touchdown and 11-yard reception, helped get past Bowling Green 28-27. Others scored more, but you had more all-purpose yards with fewer attempts.

Jacquise Terry , Kent State: 23 rush, 92 yards, 3 TD; 2 rec, 23 yards
Adonis Thomas: 9 rush, 47 yards, TD: 5 rec, 54 yards, TD
Chad Spann, NIU: 31 rush, 111 yards, 2 TD

RECEIVERS

Take away Andy Cruse's 71-yard game-winning touchdown, and he's still a contender. But getting by the unsuspecting mall security defensive backs of Central Michigan puts his final numbers at 8 catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Those were his first two scores of the year, and he more than doubled his yardage in 2010.

Kamar Jorden , BGSU: 12 rec, 143 yards
Juan Nunez, WMU: 11 rec, 103 yards
Eric Page, Toledo: 14 rec, 109 yards
Terrence McCrae, OHIO: 6 rec, 107 ayrds, 2 TD

DEFENSE

The offensive plays got all the attention for Miami, but when they weren't movin' the ball around, linebacker Evan Harris led his team on the day with tackles (11), tackles for loss (2½), and interceptions (2). Throw in a pass breakup for good sport.

Jerrell Wedge, Miami: 8 tackles, 1.5 TFL, FF, FR
Gordon DuBois, Buffalo: 2 tackles, TFL, 27-yard INT TD
Jovan Leacock, BGSU: 6 tackles, 49-yard INT TD
Jamail Berry, WMU: 11 tackles, 1.5 TFL, INT, FF
Isaiah Ballard, Toledo: 3 tackles, 2 breakups, FR, INT
Nick Bellore, CMU: 8 tackles, TFL, FR

SPECIAL TEAMS

So many tempting choices. But kickoff returns always pop out, so Eric Williams, for his 92-yard kickoff touchdown, takes the belt made for neither offense nor defense.

Antwan Reed, EMU: blocked punt
Bryan Wright, BGSU: 6 punts, 43.0 punt average, long of 66
Austin Brown, Miami: blocked PAT
Adrian Robinson, Temple: blocked PAT
Manley Waller, Akron: blocked FG

Honorable mention: Paul Hershey, OHIO: 24-yard fake punt rush for a first down, 1 badass hurdle.