This week’s Mid-American Conference East Division matchup between Miami University and Bowling Green includes an unbeaten team, at least in one man’s view.

The RedHawks and Falcons have 3-3 marks heading into Saturday’s contest at Doyt Perry Stadium, yet BGSU coach Dave Clawson said he views MU as an unbeaten squad because it’s 2-0 in the MAC and has lost to three national powers (Ohio State, Boise State and Cincinnati).

“You can’t just look at the numbers,” Clawson said Monday during the weekly MAC coaches call. “They have played one of the toughest schedules in the conference and even the country. If you take away those three games, they’re averaging almost 500 yards a game on offense and almost 40 points. It’s Year 2 in their systems, and it looks like it.”

Miami got pounded 52-14 at UC last weekend and ranks 116th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total defense, allowing 502.5 yards per contest.

MU coach Don Treadwell’s view of Bowling Green is similar to Clawson’s opinion of the RedHawks. The Falcons’ three defeats have come against Florida (27-14), Toledo (27-15) and Virginia Tech (37-0).

“Anytime you’re going to try to compete at that level, there’s no margin for error,” Treadwell said.

Bowling Green rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit to win 24-10 at Akron last weekend. Clawson said it was quite literally two different games.

“In the first half, they really got after us. We were losing the field position game,” he said. “In the second half, we got the running game going a little bit, and our defense really stepped up and played well. I was certainly very proud of our guys’ resiliency.

“That locker room at halftime was a very good locker room. Sometimes when you get into a game like that at halftime, the guys’ heads are down and they’re dead. It was a locker room that was alive. They responded the way we wanted them to.”

The Falcons topped Miami 37-23 last year, but Clawson said the RedHawks are much improved offensively in 2012. That includes quarterback Zac Dysert.

“He looks a lot more comfortable in the offense than he did a year ago,” Clawson said. “I don’t know if you stop him. You’ve just got to find ways to get stops and keep points off the board. He makes the NFL throw. He makes the throw from the boundary hash to the field numbers. When a quarterback can make that throw, you’ve got to defend the whole field.”

Mr. Excitement: Kent State’s Dri Archer, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound redshirt junior from Laurel, Fla., leads the FBS in all-purpose yards, averaging 230.6 per game.

The running back/wide receiver has 46 carries for 403 yards and five touchdowns, 14 receptions for 225 yards and three TDs, and 11 kickoff returns for 525 yards (47.7 average) and three scores.

Archer blistered Eastern Michigan with three touchdowns, including a 98-yard kickoff return, in a 41-14 rout last weekend.

“We knew he was a time bomb ticking,” EMU coach Ron English said. “You really should not kick to him.”

The Golden Flashes are 4-1 and off to their best start since 1977.

The pace is hot: Coming off another yardage-filled weekend, Toledo coach Matt Campbell said he believes tempo is the biggest factor in college football’s offensive explosion.

“I do think defenses have caught up to the spread offense,” Campbell said. “It’s not the spread anymore. It’s the tempo that’s really changed the game over the last two to three years. I think the common trend right now is that people are playing 80, 90, 100 snaps on offense. It’s hard on defenses to play 100 snaps in a game.”

Facts and figures: Northern Illinois (5-1) is off to its best start since 2003. The Huskies have rallied three times in the fourth quarter to win. “There’s just no flinch in this team,” NIU coach Dave Doeren said.

Ohio (6-0) was the first team in the nation to become bowl eligible with Saturday’s 38-31 victory over Buffalo. It’s the Bobcats’ best start since 1968.

Ball State (3-3) set a school record by running 100 plays from scrimmage in Saturday’s 35-23 loss to Northern Illinois. The Cardinals totaled 563 yards.

Honor roll: The MAC announced its six Players of the Week on Monday.

In the East Division, the honorees were Kent State running back Trayion Durham (offense), Bowling Green defensive back Ryland Ward (defense) and Ohio kick returner Daz Patterson (special teams). The West Division selections were NIU quarterback Jordan Lynch (offense), Western Michigan end Freddie Bishop (defense) and Toledo kick returner Bernard Reedy (special teams).