Football

Marathon MAC Football Championship Game Features Miami vs. Central Michigan


2019 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game To Feature
Miami vs. Central Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Noon ET (ESPN2)

Watch LIVE on ESPN2: Anish Shroff, John Congemi, Kris Budden; Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
Tickets Link:

The 2019 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game will feature the East Division Champion Miami RedHawks against the West Division Champion Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Noon ET in front of a national television audience on ESPN2. This contest will mark the 23rd annual championship game for the MAC and will mark the 16th neutral site game at Ford Field in downtown Detroit. Central Michigan as the West Champion is the designated home team.

Central Michigan (8-4, 6-2 MAC) clinched the MAC West Division title with a 49-7 win over Toledo on Nov. 29. Central Michigan will be making its first trip to Detroit since 2009 and the program’s fourth appearance in the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game. Central Michigan has won three previous title games (2007, 2008, 2009) and will be searching its eighth overall MAC championship. Central Michigan enters the game having won three consecutive games and six of its last seven contests. The Chippewas stunning turnaround comes after finishing last season with a 1-11 overall record, 0-8 in league play.

Miami (7-5, 6-2 MAC) clinched the MAC East Division title back on Nov. 14 and had the luxury of having the East crown locked up for the last three weeks. Miami will be making its first visit to Detroit since 2010 and the program’s fifth appearance in the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game. Miami has won the title game twice (2003, 2010) and will be searching the program’s 16th overall MAC football championship. Miami had its five-game winning streak snapped on the final date of the regular season with a 41-27 loss at Ball State on Nov. 29. 

Central Michigan and Miami last faced each other during the 2017 regular season as the RedHawks defeated the Chippewas, 31-14, on Sept. 23, 2017 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

MAC Notes
• Miami (7-5, 6-2 MAC) is making its first appearance in the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game since 2010. This is Miami’s fifth appearance in program history as the RedHawks look to repeat their success from nine years ago when they defeated Northern Illinois, 26-21. Miami is bowl eligible for the third time in the last four years.
• Central Michigan (8-4, 6-2) is making its first appearance in the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game since 2009 and the program’s fourth trip to Detroit. Central Michigan is the most improved football team in FBS this year with a seven-game improvement over last season. In 2018, Central Michigan went 1-11 overall, 0-8 in the MAC, as head coach Jim McElwain was hired and led the Chippewas to an 8-4 overall record, 6-2 in the MAC.
• Central Michigan and Miami have met only one other time in the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game. Central Michigan defeated Miami, 35-10, on Dec. 1, 2007 at Ford Field.
• This year the MAC has set a record with eight teams bowl eligible  -- Central Michigan (8-4), Western Michigan (7-5), Miami (7-5), Buffalo (7-5), Ohio (6-6), Kent State (6-6), Eastern Michigan (6-6) and Toledo (6-6). The 2019 bowl season will be set this Sunday, Dec. 8 as bowl invitations will be extended to eligible teams. The MAC’s previous record was seven bowl eligible teams as the MAC had seven programs accept bowl invitations during both the 2012 and 2015 bowl seasons.
• Over the last four seasons, the MAC will have eight different programs participate in the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game. In 2016 Western Michigan defeated Ohio, 29-23, while 2017 witnessed Toledo with a 45-28 win over Akron. Last year, NIU defeated Buffalo, 30-29.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN MOST IMPROVED FBS TEAM IN 2019
Central Michigan’s dramatic turnaround from a 1-11 record last season to a 8-4 overall record this season is the best FBS win turnaround this 2019 season. The Chippewas seven win turnaround (1-11 in 2018; 8-4 in 2019) tops Navy’s (3-10 in 2018; 9-2 in 2019) five win improvement from the previous season.

Miami Notes:
• Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (697), MAC Championships (15) and bowl wins (7).
• Miami was 4-26 in Coach Martin’s first 30 Mid-American Conference games. Miami is 22-8 in the last 30 conference games, the best record in the MAC in that span.
• The RedHawks clinched the MAC East Championship with a 6-2 record. This is the third time in four years the RedHawks finished the regular season with a 6-2 conference record.
• After graduating 25 seniors a year ago, Miami’s depth chart is much younger in 2019. On the two-deep alone, Miami features 17 players classified as sophomores or younger.
• Martin, in his sixth year, has had many of the same coordinators in all six seasons. Eric Koehler and George Barnett, both in their sixth years with Miami, handle the offense and Spence Nowinsky (second year) and John Hauser (sixth year) manage the defense.
• The loss to Ball State snapped a five-game win streak, but the RedHawks still come into Saturday’s game having won six of its last eight games, after opening the season 1-3 with losses to Ohio State, Iowa and Cincinnati.
• The RedHawks have had a lead in every game this year. In games they lost, they led Iowa (7-3), Cincinnati (10-0), Ohio State (5-0), Western Michigan (6-0) and Ball State (24-7).
• Miami is bowl eligible for the third time in four years. From 2006-15, Miami was bowl eligible just twice.
• Miami arguably has one of the top special teams units in the nation. Place kicker Sam Sloman ranks sixth in the nation with 21 made field goals and Kyle Kramer is 31st in the nation with a 43.5 punt average. Maurice Thomas ranks ninth in the country in punt returns (12.3) and 58th in kick returns (20.1). Last week, Miami also blocked two punts versus Ball State.
• In conference-only games, Miami’s defense ranks near the top in almost every category. The RedHawks rank second in scoring defense (22.5), third in total defense (352.9), first in pass defense (175.9), sixth in rush defense (177.0), second in sacks (27), fourth in interceptions (7) and first in opponent’s fourth down conversion rate (28.6%).

Central Michigan Notes:
• Central Michigan captured its fifth MAC West Division title this season. CMU’s previous titles came in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2015. This is the first outright title since the 2009 season.
• Central Michigan has the biggest turnaround in the nation, both overall and in conference action. Last season, CMU went 1-11 overall, 0-8 MAC.
• CMU is plus-seven in the win column overall, a mark that is one better than Navy’s mark of six.
• The Chippewas also finished the MAC schedule plus-six, which is one better in terms of conference improvement then Navy (American) and Louisville (ACC).
• This also matches the biggest turnaround in program history. The 1909 team went 7-1, a seven-game improvement from the previous year.
• This is the fourth time that CMU will be playing in the MAC Championship Game, winning its first three appearances:
    • 2006 - CMU 30, Ohio 10
    • 2007 - CMU 35, Miami 10
    • 2009 - CMU 20, Ohio 10
• The Chippewas have won seven MAC titles (1979, 1980, 1990, 1994, 2006, 2007 and 2009) since joining the conference in 1975. That is the most conference titles by any MAC program in that time span.
• Miami leads the all-time series with CMU, 14-13-1.
• Central Michigan has won five of the last eight in the series with Miami taking the last two including a 31-14 RedHawk victory at CMU in 2017.
• The Chippewas’ last victory in the series came at home in 2014, 34-27.
• CMU’s lone neutral site game with Miami was in 2007 in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field. Central Michigan’s 35-10 victory in that game stands among the greatest games in program history, as the Chippewas scored 21 fourth-quarter points, led by quarterback Dan LeFevour, to secure their second-straight MAC Championship.
• Running Back Jonathan Ward is the 27th player in CMU history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season. He produced the 38th 1,000-yard season in program history when he rushed for 88 against Toledo, giving him 1,056 yards for the season. Ward, who rushed for 1,019 yards in 2017, is the ninth player in program history to have put together multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons. With 953 rushing yards, sophomore Kobe Lewis need 47 to reach 1,000, giving the Chippewas two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season for the first time in program history. Ward also ranks on both CMU’s single-season and career rushing touchdown lists. The senior ranks eighth on the career list with 28 and needs three TDs to move into a tie for seventh with Brian Pruitt (1992-94). Ward is tied with Curtis Adams (1983) for sixth on the single season list with 15 scores. He needs one more to tie Silas Massey (1996) and Eric Flowers (1998) for fourth.
• Wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton broke into CMU’s single season top 10 for receptions at Ball State. Pimpleton has 73 grabs, which is tied for seventh with Bryan Anderson in 2006. He needs one more to tie Cody Wilson (2012) for sixth. Pimpleton leads the MAC in receptions and has 12 more catches than the next closest player.