"MACtion" heads to Detroit for the conference's championship game.
Week 13 had no shortage of "MACtion," from upsets to big news regarding one of the conference’s coaches to division champions being crowned and an upset, courtesy of the Bobcats.
The Mid-American Conference’s West Division came right down to final moments of the regular season.
Northern Illinois emerged as the best team in the West and will head to Ford Field in Detroit to take on Bowling Green on Dec. 4. The game will be televised on ESPNU at 8 p.m.
Northern Illinois wins the wild West
Despite being upset at home against Ohio (8-4, 5-3 MAC) 26-21, Northern Illinois (8-4, 6-2) secured its place for the sixth consecutive year in the Marathon MAC Championship with some help from Western Michigan (7-5, 6-2).
The Broncos played spoiler with their 35-30 win against the Rockets (9-2, 6-2). Toledo's loss clinched the division for Northern Illinois.
Northern's loss to Ohio was the first time the Huskies had lost in November since 2009.
Because the Huskies played on Tuesday and were unable to clinch the division themselves, Northern Illinois had to wait until Friday to find out its fate.
“The Thanksgiving turkey didn’t taste as good as it should have on Thursday,” the Huskies' coach Rod Carey said. “On Friday, the leftovers tasted so much better. We’re just excited to be in the big game.”
The defending MAC champs will take on one of the best offenses in the nation Friday in Bowling Green (9-3, 7-1).
“We’re just totally focused on Northern Illinois right now,” Bowling Green coach Dino Babers said. “Coach Carey does a great job. We’re looking forward to going up there and grind out a win.”
Falcons quarterback Matt Johnson leads the nation in passing yards with 4,465. Johnson has the opportunity to pass Ben Roethlisberger for the most passing yards in a season in MAC history. “Big Ben” tallied 4,486 yards in 2003 for the Miami RedHawks.
Matt Campbell heading to Ames
Former Toledo coach Matt Campbell accepted a six-year contract to become the next coach of the Iowa State Cyclones (3-9, 2-7 Big 12). Campbell is set to make $2 million his first season. For perspective, Campbell made $495,000 this year.
Campbell is 35-15 in his career, which spans his four-year career at Toledo, the only place he’s ever coached. One of those wins came against the Cyclones this year. On Sept. 19, Campbell’s Rockets beat the Cyclones, 30-23.
Bowl eligibility
Seven teams in the MAC are eligible to appear in bowls this season. With each of the seven teams having at least seven wins, each of the following teams are essentially locks to appear in the postseason:
Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Ohio, Akron (7-5, 5-3), Central Michigan (7-5, 6-2) and Western Michigan.
