MAC Football Championship
The marathon MAC Football Championship (also MAC Championship Game ; MACCG) is the final game for winning the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in college football between the winner of the Eastern Division and the winner of the Western Division .
history
After the Northern Illinois Huskies and the Marshall Thundering Herd returned to the Mid-American Conference in 1997 , the number of teams rose to twelve, which allowed the conference to be split into two divisions and a championship game to be played. At the time, this was a relatively new concept, which had only been used for the first time in the NCAA five years earlier.
Marshall's dominance
The Thundering Herd, who won Division I-AA unbeaten a year earlier , already led the Eastern Division in their first season with 7 wins and one defeat in the Conference and thus qualified for the Championship Game. There they met the Toledo Rockets , who won the Western Division with the same record. The Rockets managed to stop the regular season combo of Chad Pennington and Randy Moss in the first 38 minutes and to achieve a 7-3 lead. In the following quarter of an hour, however, the Thundering Herd dominated the Rockets and came to a 34: 7 lead. The game ended after another touchdown for the Rockets with 34:14, which Marshall won the first championship game. The following year both teams met again in the championship game. Marshall won again, but less clearly with 23:17.
1999 Marshall won all games and qualified again for the championship game. This time they faced the Western Michigan Broncos , which they had defeated only twenty days earlier with 31:17. In the championship game, however, the Broncos dominated first, who were able to build a 23-0 lead. However, Marshall started a comeback and was now in the lead by 27:23. With four seconds to go, the Broncos were ahead at 30:27, but the Thundering Herd were only a yard away from the end zone. Marshall won for the third time in a row after beating 34:30 after a touchdown pass while running out of time.
In 2000 Marshall only just qualified for the championship game through tie-breakers . There they played again against the Broncos, who also just qualified by tie-breakers against the more successful Rockets. Marshall dominated the first half and led 13-0 after the first 30 minutes. The Broncos came back, however, leading 14:13 after two touchdowns. After another touchdown and a missed two-point conversion , Marshall took the lead again at 19:14. The Broncos then had two chances to win, but couldn't complete any successfully. Marshall won the MAC for the fourth time in a row.
Change of circumstances
2001 Marshall again clearly won the Eastern Division. The Western Division, on the other hand, was more balanced and first place was shared by the Rockets, the Ball State Cardinals and the Northern Illinois Huskies . The participant in the Championship Game could only be found with the third tie-breaking rule. The Toledo Rockets were victorious and were later awarded the right to play the game. The game started with 23 points for Marshall. The Rockets were able to shorten the gap to 10:23 before half-time. The Rockets were able to score 31 more points in the second half of the game. Since they only allowed 13 more points, they won their first MAC championship since 1995 with 41:36 and ended Marshall's winning streak.
In 2002 Toledo met Marshall for the fourth time. The Thundering Herd started dominantly and led by 28:10 in the middle of the second quarter. However, Toledo started a comeback and led in the third quarter by 32:28. There were then five changes in leadership, at the end of which Marshall was victorious with 49:45.
2003 saw the first championship game without Marshall's participation, after the Miami RedHawks, led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger , remained unbeaten in the conference games and won the Eastern Division. The Western Division won the Bowling Green Falcons . The first half was largely even, which is why the half-time result was 21:17 for Miami. In the third quarter, however, Miami dominated. The RedHawks could score three touchdowns, while the Falcons could only show one field goal . In the end, Miami won 49:27 and set a record for the MAC Championship Game with 576 yards of space gained , 440 of them by Roethlisberger's arm. The RedHawks also became the first away team to win.
In 2004 the Mid-American Conference decided to let the game take place on neutral ground and under cover, which is why it has been held at Ford Field in Detroit since then . The division winners only narrowly won in both divisions. In the Eastern Division, Miami was able to prevail even without the Roethlisberger, who had left the National Football League , while the Rockets were successful in the Western Division. After the RedHawks were leading 14: 7 after the first quarter, there were no further points before half-time thanks to good defensive work on both sides. In the third quarter Toledo dominated, who scored three touchdowns and were able to block the point after touchdown after Miami's only touchdown. In the last quarter, both teams were able to achieve a touchdown, which Toledo won the game with 35:27.
New faces
In 2005, Marshall and the UCF Golden Knights , who only joined the MAC in 2002, left the Conference for Conference USA , reducing the number of teams to twelve. That year the Akron Zips won the Eastern Division under tie-breaking rules in front of Miami and Bowling Green, while the NIU won the Western Division in front of Toledo. Akron took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Huskies dominated the next two quarters, scoring 24 points in a row. Akron came back in the fourth quarter. They ran two touchdowns, which were always answered with a field goal by the NIU. Ten seconds before the end, Zip's quarterback Luke Getsy managed a touchdown pass to Domenik Hixon , which they won the game with 31:30.
In 2006 the best offense (Central Michigan) met the best defense (Ohio) in the championship game . The Chippewas dominated the game consistently and won in the end with 31:10.
In 2007 the Temple Owls joined the MAC, which led to an unbalanced schedule due to the now uneven number of teams. Miami won the Eastern Division with a 5-2 record before Bowling Green, which had a 6-2 record. The Western Division was won again by the CMU. They defended their title with a 35:10 victory.
In 2008 the Chippewas started the season as the clear favorite. They performed well and had a 6-2 record, but Ball State won the Western Division as they remained undefeated. In the Eastern Division, in which six of the seven teams were only separated by two games at the end of the season, the Buffalo Bulls prevailed. The first half was very even and the half-time score was 10-7 for Ball State. After the lead was given up once at the beginning of the third quarter, Buffalo began to dominate. Buffalo forced two fumble and carried them back over 92 and 74 yards to the touchdown. In the last quarter Buffalo got two and Ball State another touchdown, which Buffalo won the title with 42:24.
In 2009 the Chippewas were able to win all MAC games and thus won the division in the West Division by three wins. In the East Division there was a neck and neck race between Ohio, Bowling Green and Temple. Ohio won the tie breaker and got into the championship game. CMU quickly took a 10-0 lead, but Ohio were able to cut back to 10: 7 before the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, CMU increased to 17: 7. In the second half, both teams could only achieve one field goal, which is why the game ended with 20:10.
The huskies as permanent guests
In 2010 the Huskies won the West Division, while the East could be won by Miami. After NIU had to punt in the first drive, they exchanged touchdowns in the following four drives. Due to a blocked extra point from Miami, the huskies led at 14:13 at the end of the first quarter. No points were scored on either side in the second quarter as Miami's Trevor Cook missed the only chance for a field goal. In the third quarter, Miami was able to take the lead again after a touchdown in the first drive of the second half, which they held until the first move of the last quarter. The Huskies took the lead again that very move, as they also scored a touchdown and were in the lead with the extra point 21:20. The huskies controlled most of the remaining time before they had to punt from their own 3-yard line at 2:48 remaining time. Miami took their last chance and scored the touchdown to the title 33 seconds before the end. NIU tried to score, but they were running out of time.
In 2011 the Huskies again took part in the Championship Game, as they won the tie-breaker against Toledo thanks to their 63:60 victory over Toledo. For a long time in the East Division it looked as if Temple would play their first MACCG, but they were overtaken by Ohio on the final day of the game. Ohio dominated the first half and was able to score 10 points in both quarters without allowing any. In the third quarter, the Huskies made their first scoreboard after Nathan Palmer caught a 39-yard touchdown pass. Ohio missed the opportunity to expand their lead again after they awarded a field goal and produced a turnover in the following drive. In the fourth quarter, NIU scored two consecutive touchdowns. Since the extra point was missed at the first touchdown, the game was now in a 20:20 tie. NIU was able to score a field goal in the last second of the game and win the game. The comeback was the biggest in the MACCG since 1999.
Before the 2012 season, Temple left the MAC and were replaced by Massachusetts. NIU and Kent State won all of their MAC games and their respective divisions. It was the first championship game in which both teams went into the game without a MAC defeat. Both teams started their game with two punts in the first two drives. At the second punt of the Flashes, however, the returner fumbled, whereby Kent State continued their attack on NIU's 22-yard line. The Flashes could also score a touchdown. NIU had to punt again, but the punt only went for 18 yards, from which Kent State scored a field goal. NIU managed a field goal before the end of the first quarter and scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to make it 17:10. In the third quarter, the Huskies extended their lead by scoring ten points and allowing only one field goal. Early in the fourth quarter, the Flashes missed a chance when they failed to convert a fourth try at NIU's 6-yard line. NIU managed to achieve 58 yards, but still had to punt. Kent State managed a touchdown on the following drive and thus shortened it to 20:27. After the kickoff, a NIU player fumbled the ball and Kent States Zack Hitchens carried it back over 22 yards for the touchdown. Both teams later scored a touchdown, which meant that the game went into overtime when the score was 34:34. In the first overtime, both teams scored only one field goal, which is why the game went into the second overtime when the score was 37:37. The Huskies were able to score seven points here, which put Kent State in a tight spot. On a fourth attempt, Kent States quarterback Spencer Keith threw an interception in the end zone, which NIU secured the title. Despite the tight final score, the Huskies had been much more productive offensively, reaching 524 yards, but Kent State only 260.
In 2013 NIU won the West Division again and was listed as the 14th best team in the country before the game. The East Division was won by Bowling Green. The Falcons dominated the game and led by Matt Johnson they eventually won 47:27. Johnson threw five touchdowns, which was a new record for the MAC Championship Game. The game marked the end of a 25-game winning streak in NIU conference games. NIU started the game with seven points before the Falcons finished the first quarter with two touchdowns and a field foal. The Huskies scored two field goals at the beginning of the second quarter, before Bowling Green extended the lead to 31:13 at halftime with two touchdowns. In the third quarter, NIU was able to score the only points when their quarterback Jordan Lynch put down an 8-yard touchdown run. Bowling Green missed a field goal, but also blocked one of the opponent's. In the last quarter Bowling Green was able to secure their victory with ten points. 14 seconds before the end of the game, Lynch was able to run another touchdown, which set the final score at 47:27.
In 2014 both teams met again. Bowling Green was able to win despite a coach change thanks to a weak MAC East, against which they had a 5-0 record, with a 5-3 MAC record their division. Northern Illinois was nevertheless able to win the West Division with the departure of Lynch with a 7-1 MAC record. While the Falcons struggled in the first quarter and already caused two turnovers, the Huskies were able to build a solid lead after a touchdown and a field goal. In the second quarter, both teams delivered ten points and went into halftime with 20:10. In the second half, NIU dominated, scoring 31 offensively and holding the Falcons defensively for only one touchdown. The Huskies ended up winning the game 51:17, their third title in four years.
Television broadcast
The championship game gave the MAC much-needed airtime on national television. The 1999 game was the second most viewer broadcast in ESPN2's five-year history . The following year the game was even streamed on a major network with ABC . In 2001, ESPN again broadcast the MAC Football Championship Game. In 2002, ESPN secured the broadcast rights for ESPN2. In 2003 ESPN secured long-term TV rights to MAC games, which also included the championship game. In 2009, a new contract was signed until the 2016/17 season, which was extended early in 2014 to 2026/27.
Stadion
For the first seven years, the championship game took place on the campus of one of the participants. The first four games were all held at Marshall Stadium at Marshall University. 2001 the other MAC members had enough of Huntington, also because Marshall refused to implement contractually agreed demands, which is why the championship game was given to the winner of the West Division. The game then took place in the Glass Bowl before it took place again in 2002 at Marshall Stadium. In 2003, the last MAC Football Championship Game on a campus took place at Doyt Perry Stadium on Bowling Green . Since 2004 the game has been played at Ford Field in Detroit , Michigan . The contract with the stadium operator was last extended in 2017 to the 2021 season.
Sponsorship
Marathon Petroleum has been the name sponsor of the Championship Games since 2003 . Most recently, a contract extension took place in 2016, due to which the final will be played under the name Marathon MAC Football Championship until at least 2018 .
Previous MAC Football Championship Games
Participation
| Participation | college | S. | N | SQ | Year of participation | Year of victories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8th | Northern Illinois | 4th | 4th | .500 | 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 | 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018 |
| 6th | Marshall | 5 | 1 | .833 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 |
| 6th | Toledo | 3 | 3 | .500 | 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2017 | 2001, 2004, 2017 |
| 5 | Miami | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2019 | 2003, 2010, 2019 |
| 4th | Bowling green | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2003, 2013, 2014, 2015 | 2013, 2015 |
| 4th | Ohio | 0 | 4th | .000 | 2006, 2009, 2011, 2016 | - |
| 4th | Central Michigan | 3 | 1 | .750 | 2006, 2007, 2009, 2019 | 2006, 2007, 2009 |
| 3 | Western Michigan | 1 | 2 | .333 | 1999, 2000, 2016 | 2016 |
| 2 | Akron | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2005, 2017 | 2005 |
| 2 | Buffalo | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 2008, 2018 | 2008 |
| 1 | Kent State | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2012 | - |
| 1 | Ball State | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2008 | - |
| 0 | Eastern Michigan | 0 | 0 | - | - | - |
| 0 | Temple | 0 | 0 | - | - | - |
| 0 | UCF | 0 | 0 | - | - | - |
| 0 | UMass | 0 | 0 | - | - | - |
MVPs
The MAC Football Championships Most Valuable Player (MVP) was selected for each team from 1997 to 2015. Since 2016 one each has been selected for the offense, the defense and the special teams .
| year | East | west | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surname | team | position | Surname | team | position | ||||
| 1997 | Randy Moss | Marshall | Wide receiver | Dwayne Harris | Toledo | Running back | |||
| 1998 | Chad Pennington | Marshall | Quarterback | Gregg King | Toledo | Defensive lineman | |||
| 1999 | Chad Pennington | Marshall | Quarterback | Tim Lester | Western Michigan | Quarterback | |||
| 2000 | Byron Leftwich | Marshall | Quarterback | Steve Neal | Western Michigan | Wide receiver | |||
| 2001 | Denero Marriott | Marshall | Wide receiver | Chester Taylor | Toledo | Running back | |||
| 2002 | Byron Leftwich | Marshall | Quarterback | Trinity Dawson | Toledo | Running back | |||
| 2003 | Ben Roethlisberger | Miami | Quarterback | Josh Harris | Bowling green | Quarterback | |||
| 2004 | Michael Larkin | Miami | Wide receiver | Bruce Gradkowski | Toledo | Quarterback | |||
| 2005 | Luke Getsy | Akron | Quarterback | Garrett Wolfe | Northern Illinois | Tailback | |||
| 2006 | Jameson Hartke | Ohio | Defensive lineman | Damien Linson | Central Michigan | Wide receiver | |||
| 2007 | Clayton Mullins | Miami | Linebacker | Dan LeFevour | Central Michigan | Quarterback | |||
| 2008 | Mike Newton | Buffalo | Defensive back | Nate Davis | Ball State | Quarterback | |||
| 2009 | Noah Keller | Ohio | Linebacker | Dan LeFevour | Central Michigan | Quarterback | |||
| 2010 | Thomas Merriweather | Miami | Running back | Chandler Harnish | Northern Illinois | Quarterback | |||
| 2011 | Noah Keller | Ohio | Linebacker | Nathan Palmer | Northern Illinois | Wide receiver | |||
| 2012 | Darius Polk | Kent State | Defensive back | Jordan Lynch | Northern Illinois | Quarterback | |||
| 2013 | Matt Johnson | Bowling green | Quarterback | Jordan Lynch | Northern Illinois | Quarterback | |||
| 2014 | Gehrig Dieter | Bowling green | Wide receiver | Drew Hare | Northern Illinois | Quarterback | |||
| 2015 | Travis Greene | Bowling green | Running back | Shawun Lurry | Northern Illinois | Defensive back | |||
| year | Offense | Defense | Special teams | ||||||
| Surname | team | position | Surname | team | position | Surname | team | position | |
| 2016 | Corey Davis | Western Michigan | Wide receiver | Bradd Ellis | Ohio | Cornerback | Butch Hampton | Western Michigan | Kicker |
| 2017 | Logan Woodside | Toledo | Quarterback | Ulysees Gilbert | Akron | Linebacker | Danzel McKinley-Lewis | Toledo | Returners |
| 2018 | Marcus Childers | NIU | Quarterback | Sutton Smith | NIU | Defensive end | Matt Ference | NIU | Punter |
| 2019 | Jack Sorenson | Miami | Wide receiver | Emmanuel Rugamba | Miami | Defensive back | Sam Sloman | Miami | Kicker |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Playing in MAC championship game is routine for Northern Illinois. Retrieved May 3, 2016 .
- ^ A b c d Matt Daley: MAC Championship Game History, Part I: The Marshall Years. In: hustlebelt.com. Hustle Belt, December 3, 2013, accessed February 26, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d Matt Daley: MAC Championship Game History, Part II: Hello, Detroit! In: hustlebelt.com. Hustle Belt, December 4, 2013, accessed February 26, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d Matt Daley: MAC Championship Game History, Part III: Who Are These Guys? In: hustlebelt.com. Hustle Belt, December 5, 2013, accessed March 12, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d MAC Championship Game History, Part IV: Huskies Dominate. In: hustlebelt.com. Hustle Belt, December 6, 2013, accessed January 21, 2018 .
- ^ Bowling Green Spoils # 14 Northern Illinois' Dreams. In: hustlebelt.com. Hustle Belt, December 7, 2013, accessed January 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Falcons stun Huskies 47-27 in MAC championship game. The Blade, December 7, 2013, accessed January 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Bowling Green Falcons vs. Northern Illinois Huskies Football: 2014 MAC Championship Preview. In: hustlebelt.com. Hustle Belt, December 6, 2014, accessed January 23, 2018 .
- ↑ Bowling Green Falcons vs Northern Illinois Huskies Recap: Huskies Maul Falcons To Win 3rd MAC Title In 4 Years. In: hustlebelt.com. Hustle Belt, December 6, 2014, accessed January 23, 2018 .
- ↑ 2014 MAC Championship final score: NIU blows out Bowling Green, 51-17. SB Nation, accessed January 23, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Glass Bowl could host title game. The Blade, March 11, 2001, accessed March 15, 2017 .
- ^ MAC notebook: Leftwich has numbers, Bolden has crown. The Blade, December 1, 2001, accessed November 26, 2017 .
- ↑ Television schedule for Bronco football announced. Western Michigan Broncos, August 2, 2002, accessed November 26, 2017 .
- ^ The New MAC - ESPN TV Deal Explained. SB Nation, August 19, 2014, accessed November 26, 2017 .
- ^ MAC and ESPN Announce Rights Agreement Through 2016-17. Kent State Flashes, January 28, 2009, accessed November 26, 2017 .
- ↑ MAC and ESPN Announce Historic 13-Year Rights Extension Deal Through 2026-27 Season. Buffalo Bulls, August 19, 2014, accessed November 26, 2017 .
- ↑ MAC football title game will remain at Ford Field through 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2017 .
- ↑ FOOTBALL Marshall 5-0 at home, 5-2 all-time in conference championship games. Herd Insider, accessed November 27, 2017 .
- ^ Bowling Green Falcons MAC Championship Game History: Short & Semi-Sweet. SB Nation, accessed November 27, 2017 .
- ↑ MAC title game to stay at Ford Field through 2019. Detroit Free Press, December 4, 2014, accessed November 26, 2017 .
- ↑ MAC ANNOUNCES TWO-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH FORD FIELD. Mid-American Conference, December 1, 2017, accessed December 1, 2017 .
- ↑ MAC ANNOUNCES MULTI-YEAR EXTENSION WITH MARATHON PETROLEUM 2016 marks 14th year as title sponsor for the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game. Mid-American Conference, September 6, 2016, accessed November 26, 2017 .
- ↑ WESTERN MICHIGAN WINS THE 2016 MARATHON MAC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP. Retrieved March 12, 2017 .
- ↑ Toledo Rockets overwhelm Akron Zips early in MAC Football Championship game, 45-28 (photos). Retrieved December 3, 2017 .
- ↑ MARATHON MAC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. Accessed December 1, 2018 .
- ↑ James H. Jimenez: How To Watch, Stream and Listen: Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Miami RedHawks. In: hustlebelt.com. Hustle Belt, 2019, accessed July 19, 2020 .
- ^ Miami wins the Mid-American Conference Championship. In: miamistudent.net. The Miami Student, accessed July 19, 2020 .
- ↑ 2019 MAC Football Record Book . S. 104 ( online [PDF; accessed July 19, 2020]).
- ↑ Miami Wins 2019 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game. In: getsomemaction.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020 .