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Oh, #MACtion: Ref tells Central Michigan cheerleaders not to distract Toledo

Sam Cooper
College football writer

The beauty of #MACtion is that you’ll probably see something you’ve never seen on a football field before. Take Tuesday night’s Toledo-Central Michigan game for example.

Leading 21-17 in the second half, Toledo drove deep into CMU territory looking to add on to its lead. And with the Rockets inside the 10-yard line, the head referee briefly halted play and made a rather strange announcement.

Take a listen:

Yes, he asked for Central Michigan’s cheerleaders, who were standing behind the end zone, not to make noise in their own stadium so they didn’t disrupt the opposing team’s snap count.

Isn’t it part of a cheerleader’s job to encourage the crowd to get loud? That’s a weird one for sure.

Even with its cheerleaders muzzled by the ref, CMU managed to escape without allowing any points on that drive when Toledo kicker Jameson Vest missed a 21-yard attempt.

Toledo was able to add to its lead in the fourth quarter, but the Chippewas didn’t go away quietly. CMU cut the lead to 28-23 with 3:26 to go and then attempted an onside kick to try to get the ball back. It didn’t go well.

Toledo gained possession after the failed onside attempt and was able to run out the clock for a 28-23 victory. The Rockets improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in MAC play with the win.

The MAC’s West division is crowded, so it was an important win for Toledo – especially after it dropped out of the College Football Playoff rankings following its first loss of the season to Northern Illinois last week. Western Michigan (6-3, 5-0 MAC) and NIU (6-3, 4-1 MAC) are also both firmly in contention in the division.

CMU (now 5-5, 4-2 MAC) was also in the mix headed into Tuesday night’s game, but fell behind those three with the loss.

For more Toledo news, visit TheRocketNation.com.

For more Central Michigan news, visit ChippewaCountry.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!