Wednesday, November 4
* Western Michigan at Akron, 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
* Eastern Michigan at Kent State, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
* Buffalo at Northern Illinois, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
* Ball State at Miami, 7 p.m. (CBBSN)
* Ohio at Central Michigan, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
* Bowling Green at Toledo, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
 
*All Times ET and subject to change


Western Michigan at Akron | 6 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
Akron Game Notes | WMU Game Notes | Akron Press Conference | WMU Press Conference
WATCH LIVE ON ESPN3
Akron: The Zips return 57 letterwinners, including 10 starters, to their pro style offense and multiple defensive schemes... Akron has 56 student-athletes on its roster from the state of Ohio; 32 of those live within a 30-mile radius to campus... The Zips own a 59-55-5 mark all-time in season openers, including a 41-24-4 mark when opening the season at home.

WMU: The Broncos enter the 2020 campaign on the heels of a 7-6 record, including a 5-3 mark in MAC play. WMU earned a berth in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, where the Broncos were edged by Western Kentucky, 23-20... 2019 MAC Defensive Player of the Year Treshaun Hayward returns to WMU after racking up 142 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss  and 5.0 sacks. Hayward is one of two returning players in 2020 who recorded 130 or more tackles and 10.0 or more TFL.

Eastern Michigan at Kent State | 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
EMU Game Notes | Kent State Game Notes | EMU Press Conference | Kent State Press Conference
WATCH LIVE ON ESPN+
EMU: The Eagles were just one of just five FB teams to play in at least eight one-score games last season. EMU tied for the second-most single possession contests, as only North Carolina (9), and Pittsburgh (9) played in more games that went to the wire.... EMU is 10-4 in the month of November the last four years... The Eagles will boast the 19th youngest roster in all of the FBS ranks with 62.2 percent of the squad made up of underclassmen in 2020.

Kent State: Third year head coach Sean Lewis welcomes back 40 letterwinners (13 starters) from a team that posted a 7-6 record, including a win in the Frisco Bowl last season...Among those returning is rising senior quarterback Dustin Crum. Crum completed nearly 70 percent of his passes last year and had a 20:2 touchdown to interception ratio.Crum was named the MVP of the Frisco Bowl after piling up over 400 yards of offense and three touchdowns.

Buffalo at Northern Illinois | 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
UB Game Notes | NIU Game Notes | UB Press Conference | NIU Press Conference
WATCH LIVE ON ESPN2 
UB: The Bulls are looking for their first win against NIU since joining the MAC in 1999 (0-11). NIU is the only MAC opponent the Bulls have not defeated since joining the conference... UB’s Jaret Patterson is coming off the finest season by a running back in school history and looks to build on it in his third year with the program. Patterson rushed for a school-record 1,799 yards in 2019, breaking the previous record of 1,535 yards set by Branden Oliver in 2013. In addition, Patterson’s 19 rushing TD’s were also a single-season school record, breaking the record of 16 held by James Starks (2008) and Lee Jones (1966)

NIU: The Huskies’ 2020 roster includes 57 newcomers and 66 underclassmen... Returning QB Ross Bowers will have a brand new pack of running backs behind him this season. The only returning tailback RS Rondarius Gregory - carried just nine times for 43 yards in three games of action last season. He is joined by JUCO transfer Erin Collins and true freshman Harrison Waylee on the depth chart at tailback...Among the five returning starters on defense for NIU are a pair of seniors who missed the majority of the 2019 season in Lance Deveaux Jr. and Kyle Pugh. Together, they bring more than 34 starts and 250 tackles to the 2020 defense.

Ball State at Miami | 7 p.m. ET (CBSSN)
Ball State Game Notes | Miami Game Notes | Ball State Press Conference | Miami Press Conference
Ball State: The Cardinals return 45 letterwinners and 15 position starters from a team that finished 5-7 (4-4 MAC). Of its 10 All-MAC selections (the most since 2013), BSU returns six -- OL Curtis Blackwell, WR Justin Hall, RB Caleb Huntley, CB Antonio Phillips, ILB Jaylin Thomas and CB Amechi Uzodinma II... Ball State’s offense led the MAC in both scoring (34.8 ppg) and total offense (463 ypg) last fall. In 2020, the Cardinals’ roster features the nation’s active career receptions leader in Justin Hall (208), the MAC’s second-leading active rusher Caleb Huntley (2,465 yards) and the league’s top returning passer in Drew Plitt (243.2 ypg in 2019).

Miami: Miami football ranks first all-time in the Mid-American Conference in wins (698), MAC Championships (16) and bowl wins (7). The RedHawks also captured the 2019 MAC Championship with a 26-21 win over Central Michigan... Although Miami was 4-26 in Coach Martin’s first 30 MAC games, the RedHawks are 23-8 in the last 31 games versus schools from the MAC, the best record in the conference during that span... Miami was 5-0 last season in one-score games and has won seven-straight one-score games dating back to the 2018 campaign.

Ohio at Central Michigan | 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Ohio Game Notes | CMU Game Notes | Ohio Press Conference | CMU Press Conference
WATCH LIVE ON ESPN
Ohio: In 2019, the Bobcats won all four of their MAC road games in 2019, marking the first time Ohio has won all of its conference road contests since going 4-0 in 2009... Last season, Ohio ranked fourth in the country and first among MAC teams with a 51.6 percent third-down conversion rate (81 of 157).. In addition, Ohio’s red zone offense was second in the MAC and 21st in the country last season, converting 90.6% (48 of 53) of its trips into points.

CMU: In his first season at Central Michigan, Jim McElwain led the Chippewas to a remarkable turnaround as CMU won the MAC West Division championship and earned a berth in the New Mexico Bowl... McElwain inherited a program that won one game in 2018 and transformed it immediately into a winner, leading CMU to an 8-6 record in 2019...The seven-win improvement was the best among Football Bowl Subdivision programs in 2019

Bowling Green at Toledo | 8 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
BGSU Game Notes | UT Game Notes | BGSU Press Conference | UT Press Conference
WATCH LIVE ON ESPNU
BGSU: Quintin Morris enters 2020 with 105 career receptions and 1,281 yards. Among tight ends, he led the MAC in both receptions and receiving yards in 2019..A win over Toledo would give the Falcons consecutive wins over UT for the first time since winning three straight games in the series from 2007-09.. Of the 106 total players on BGSU’s roster, 69 of them – or 65.1 percent – have at least four years of eligibility.

Toledo: The all-time series between Toledo and BGSU is tied, 40-40-4. Toledo had won nine straight times vs. its rival until a 20-7 loss at Bowling Green last season...Head Coach Jason Candle welcomes back 18 starters to his squad, including five All-MAC players: seniors Bryce Harris (OL) and Bryce Mitchell (WR), juniors Bryant Koback (RB) and Jamal Hines (DE), and sophomore Nick Rosi (OL).