The 2020 Rocket Mortgage MAC Football Championship Game will feature the East Division Champion Buffalo Bulls against the West Division Champion Ball State Cardinals on Friday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN2. This contest will mark the 24th annual championship game for the MAC and will mark the 17th neutral site game at Ford Field in downtown Detroit.
MAC Notes
• This is a rematch of the 2008 MAC Championship game. The Bulls defeated Ball State, 42-24, that year to win their lone MAC title.
• Buffalo and Ball State will represent the MAC in the postseason as the league was approved to play in two bowl games by the Conference’s Council of Presidents in October. The approved games are the Arizona Bowl (Thursday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. EST) and a to-be-determined ESPN Events Bowl Game. The Arizona Bowl will be televised nationally on CBS.
• Buffalo junior running back Jaret Patterson was tabbed the winner of the 39th Vern Smith Leadership Award as the top player in the MAC and was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year.
Buffalo Notes
•Buffalo is ranked 23rd in the latest AP Poll - the second week they are nationally ranked.
•The Bulls are playing in the MAC Championship game for the third time in school history. Buffalo defeated Ball State, who was ranked 14th at the time, 42-24, to win the title in 2008. Safety Mike Newton was named the game’s MVP after scoring one of the Bulls’ two defensive touchdowns. In 2018, Northern Illinois rallied to beat the Bulls, 30-29. Current starters Jacob Gall (OL), Kayode Awosika (OL), Jaret Patterson (RB), Eddie Wilson (DT) and James Patterson (LB) also started in 2018 title game.
•UB leads the nation in rushing, averaging 344.6 yards per game. Their current average is by far the best in school history, besting their previous high of 250.5 set last season. The Bulls have scored 27 rushing touchdowns in five games which is tied for third in school history for a season. UB also scored 27 rushing touchdowns over 14 games in 2008.
•The Bulls rushed for a school-record 515 yards in their win over Kent State. UB also set a school and MAC record with 10 rushing touchdowns, breaking the previous record of seven and nine, respectively. Jaret Patterson ranks second in the nation in yards per carry (8.33) and Kevin Marks is sixth in the nation in yards per carry (7.50).
•Jaret Patterson is 163 yards shy of 4,000 for his career. He would become just the second player in school history to rush for 4,000 yards. Branden Oliver holds the school record with 4,049, 212 yards more than Patterson’s current total.
Ball State Notes
•Ball State, the champion of the MAC West Division for the first time since 2008, is seeking its first MAC title since 1996. BSU head coach Mike Neu, the MAC’s offensive player of the year in 1993, was part of league championship teams for the Cardinals in 1989 and 1993. The Cardinals are making their second appearance in the MAC Championship Game and first since 2008 (the championship game originated in 1997). BSU also faced Buffalo in that 2008 game, with the Bulls prevailing 42-24 over the previously undefeated Cardinals.
•Ball State won its final five games of the regular season, sweeping its West Division opponents for the first time since 2008. The Cardinals mounted a fourth-quarter comeback from 14 points down last week to beat Western Michigan in a de facto MAC West Division title game to book their ticket to Detroit.
•Ball State placed 12 players on the 2020 All-MAC teams, led by ILB Brandon Martin as the league’s co-defensive player of the year. Martin was one of four first-team selections for BSU, joined on the first team by WR/KR Justin Hall, SAF Bryce Cosby and OLB Anthony Ekpe.
•BSU head coach Mike Neu, the MAC’s offensive player of the year in 1993, was part of league championship teams for the Cardinals in 1989 and 1993. The Cardinals are making their second appearance in the MAC Championship Game and first since 2008 (the championship game originated in 1997). BSU also faced Buffalo in that 2008 game, with the Bulls prevailing 42-24 over the previously undefeated Cardinals.
