MAC Championship Game Set for Friday Night
Nov. 27, 2001
Eye On the MAC...
MAC Countdown: The fifth MAC Championship game has been set with four-time defending champion Marshall playing at Toledo on Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. (EST). ESPN will televise the game live with Mark Jones (play-by-play), Chris Spielman (commentary) and Holly Rowe (sideline).
West Division Recap: With Ball State's 35-31 win over Western Michigan, the Cardinals earned a share of the West Division championship, along with Toledo and Northern Illinois. Toledo won the tiebreaker by virtue of its 5-2 overall MAC record, as opposed to the 4-3 overall MAC records of BSU and NIU. This is the first time in the five years of divisional play that three teams have tied for a championship. Toledo won or shared its fourth title in five years. The Rockets won the West Division outright in 1997 and 1998 and have a co-championship in 2000 and 2001. For the Huskies, this is their first MAC championship since winning the league title in 1983. Ball State last won a MAC championship in 1996.
East Division Quick Look: Marshall's 42-18 triumph over Ohio on Nov. 17 concluded the Thundering Herd's regular season in MAC play with a perfect 8-0 overall and 6-0 MAC East record. It marked the Herd's second perfect MAC season the last three years as they were also 8-0 in 1999. In five years since joining the MAC, Marshall has won or shared the East Division title each year. Marshall won the division outright in 1997, 1999 and 2001. The Herd claimed co-championships in 1998 (Miami) and 2000 (Akron) but won the head-to-head tiebreaker for the right to play in the league's championship game.
Championship Game Capsule: This year's MAC Championship game features the same schools that met in the first two title bouts - Marshall and Toledo. Marshall head coach Bob Pruett is 4-0 in championship games while Toledo's Tom Amstutz has taken the Rockets to the championship game in his first year as a head coach. This will also mark the first league championship game played outside of Marshall Stadium in Huntington, W.Va. The Thundering Herd's unprecedented four-year run of MAC championships includes playoff triumphs over Toledo in 1997 (34-13) and 1998 (23-17) and Western Michigan in 1999 (34-30) and 2000 (19-14).
Bowl Bound Twice Over: For the first time in 56 years of MAC football, two league teams will be playing in post season bowl games. Marshall has been invited to the Dec. 19 GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., and Toledo will play in the Dec. 29 Motor City Bowl in Pontiac, Mich. Both teams will face an opponent from Conference USA. Marshall has played in the last four Motor City Bowls and has won the last three in a row. Toledo has played in 10 bowls in school history, most recently winning the Las Vegas Bowl, 40-37 in overtime in 1995 against Nevada.
Making MAC History: When Bowling Green beat Big Ten member Northwestern 43-42 on Saturday, the Falcons became the first team in MAC history to win three regular season games against opponents that represent the six BCS conferences. Earlier this year, BGSU beat Missouri (20-13) of the Big Twelve and Temple (42-23) from the Big East. In 1973, MAC member Miami beat Purdue (Big Ten) and South Carolina (then an Independent, now in the SEC) in the regular season and earned a win over Florida (SEC) in the Tangerine Bowl as the only other MAC school to have three wins in a season over teams from the BCS league.
This Week's Championship Matchup - Friday, November 30, 2001 - 7:30 p.m. (EST) ESPN
Marshall Thundering Herd (10-1, 8-0 MAC, 6-0 MAC East)
at
Toledo Rockets (8-2, 5-2 MAC 4-1 MAC West)
Glass Bowl (26,248/Astro Turf) Toledo, Ohio.
The head coaches: MAR - Bob Pruett (Marshall 1965) 68-10/sixth season, UT - Tom Amstutz (Toledo 1977) 8-2/first season.
The series: Toledo leads 20-17-1 ... the Rockets won the most recent meeting, 42-0 last year in the Glass Bowl ... Marshall has won both championship game meetings between the schools ... the series started in 1938 with a 13-7 Rocket win in Toledo.
Quick Notes: This game features Marshall's highly potent offense versus Toledo's stubborn defense ... Marshall's offense leads the league in scoring offense (37.5 ppg) and total offense (501.7 ypg) ... UT's defense is allowing a league low of 299.9 ypg ... the Rockets offense is solid also, averaging 34.3 points and 442.4 yards per game, both second in the MAC ... Marshall has won 10 games in a row since a season opening loss to Florida ... Toledo was beaten 56-21 in its season ending game at Bowling Green but played without then-injured QB Tavares Bolden ... in 1997 and 1998, Toledo ended the regular season with a loss before dropping the title game to Marshall ... in 1997 Central Florida dropped UT 34-17 prior to Marshall's 34-14 win ... in 1998, Eastern Michigan knocked off UT 10-7 before the Herd's 23-17 triumph.
Marshall - Led by QB Byron Leftwich, Marshall is out to become the first team in league history to average 500 yards of total offense per game ... currently the Herd is at 501.7 yards per game ... the Herd's 37.5 points per game is the third most in league history - behind Marshall's 37.8 in 1997 and Ohio's 37.6 in 1968 ... Leftwich's 166.0 passing efficiency ranks third nationally and includes 283-of-418 passing for 3,701 yards, 34 touchdowns and six interceptions ... Leftwich's targets include the MAC's top receiver in Darius Watts (82 rec., 1,316 yards, 18 TDs), as well as freshman Josh Davis (74, 887, 5) and Denero Marriott (46, 621, 5) ... the Leftwich-Watts combo with 18 TDs is more than nine other MAC teams have produced this season ... Franklin Wallace leads the ground game with 697 yards and eight TDs ... Herd LB Max Yates leads the MAC in tackles with 145 with 83 of those solos ... don't be deceived by Marshall's No. 10 ranking in total defense (allowing 412.2 yards per game), they are fourth in takeaways (22) and third in scoring defense (24.3) ... in addition, Marshall is second among MAC teams in net punting (38.7) and pass efficiency defense (114.3) ... DB Michael Owens (89 tackles) and Chris Crocker (81 stops) also rank among the league's top defenders.
Toledo - The Rockets spread offense highlights the talents of tailback Chester Taylor and quarterback Tavares Bolden ... Taylor is averaging 124.2 yards per game and is the MAC's second all-time leader in rushing yards (4,471), points (348), touchdowns (58) and rushing touchdowns (53) ...Bolden, who missed the season ending contest at Bowling Green with an injury, has the MAC's best completion percentage at 69.2% while completing 184-of-266 attempts for 2,156 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions ... Bolden is challenging the MAC's single season record completion percentage of 67.9% set in 1999 by Marshall's Chad Pennington (275-of-405) ... Donta Greene (55, 585, 0) and Carl Ford (43, 603, 5) are Bolden's top receivers ... the Rockets also have the MAC's all-time leader in kick scoring in Todd France (311 points) ... the Rockets allowed 56 points last week - the most since a 61-20 loss to Louisiana Tech in 1996 ... DL David Bockmore is third in the MAC with eight sacks and also third in tackles for a loss with 18 for minus 70 yards.
MAC Championship Game Tidbits:
When the league expanded from 10 teams to 12 beginning in the 1997 season, two divisions of six teams each were created with the divisional winners meeting for the MAC Championship. Buffalo's admission to the league pushed the total to 13 (7 East Division, 6 West Division) in 1998. Central Florida's entrance will create two seven-team divisions in 2002.
The first four games were hosted by Marshall University at Marshall University Stadium/James F. Edwards Field in Huntington, W.Va. The 2001 game was determined to be at the site of the West Division representative. The Thundering Herd has won all four previous MAC Championship games.
Year Site Result Television
1997 Huntington, W.Va. Marshall 34, Toledo 14 ESPN
1998 Huntington, W.Va. Marshall 23, Toledo 17 ESPN2
1999 Huntington, W.Va. Marshall 34, Western Michigan 30 ESPN2
2000 Huntington, W.Va. Marshall 19, Western Michigan 14 ABC
2001 Toledo, Ohio ESPN
Marshall trailed at the half in the first three games it won ... in 1997 Toledo led 7-3, in 1998 Toledo led 7-6, in 1999 WMU was up 23-0 at the half, before Marshall stormed back for respective wins of 34-14, 23-17 and 34-30 ... Marshall won the 1999 game on a touchdown pass with four seconds left ... Toledo will be making its third appearance and will be the first school outside of Marshall to host the title game
Notes on Mid-American Conference Football
Big Numbers on Nov. 17: Miami QB Ben Roethlisberger set a school record with 452 passing yards in the RedHawks' 52-51 loss at Hawaii. Marshall QB Byron Leftwich tied a school mark with six passing TDs in a 42-18 win over Ohio. BG QB Josh Harris passed for 402 yards, had a school record 498 yards of total offense, passed for three TDs, rushed for two and added another on a pass reception in a 43-42 win at Northwestern.
Thundering Into the Spotlight: In 1999, Marshall compiled a perfect 13-0 record, vaulting the Thundering Herd from nowhere in the polls to a final ranking of No. 10 in both major polls. This year the Herd has put together a nine-game winning streak to get into the No. 18 position in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the Associated Press poll. Marshall's lone defeat was in its season opener at Florida. This year's preseason poll had the Herd receiving 12 points in the Associated Press poll and 23 points in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches poll. Marshall received 460 and 425 points, respectively, in those most recent polls.
MAC Among Nation's Leaders: Of the four teams with the nation's longest current winning streak, one is a MAC member. Here are the longest current winning streaks in the nation.
Wins School Remaining Games
13 BYU at Mississippi State (12/1), Hawaii (12/8)
10 Marshall at Toledo (11/30), GMAC Bowl
10 Miami (Fla.) at Virginia Tech (12/1), Bowl tba
Darnell A Finalist: Western Michigan head coach Gary Darnell is one of four finalists for the State Farm Eddie Robinson Coach of Distinction Award. Joining Darnell as finalists are Fisher DeBerry of Air Force, Steve Spurrier of Florida and Lou Holtz of South Carolina. The winner will be announced Nov. 24 in New Orleans.
Leftwich Challenges Record: Earlier this year, Marshall QB Byron Leftwich became the first player in league history to pass for 400-plus yards in three consecutive games. Leftwich added 218 yards last week versus Youngstown State to push his 2001 total to 3,711 yards - just 88 yards shy of the MAC single season record of 3,799 held by former Herd star Chad Pennington set in 1999. Leftwich is on track to become the first player in MAC history to pass for 4,000 yards in a season.
Roethlisberger Sets New Standard: Miami freshman QB Ben Roethlisberger set new standards for MAC freshmen passing marks. Roethlisberger's 3,105 passing yards and 25 passing TDs are the most in league history for a freshman.
Overlooked Eagles: Eastern Michigan relied on a number of freshmen this year and two of them - QB Kainoa Akina and RB Chris R. Roberson - quietly had productive campaigns. Akina stepped in as a starter and completed 52.4% (140-of-267) of his passes for 1,504 yards, 14 TDs and 11 interceptions. Nov. 24 at Akron, Akina threw for a school record six TD passes in a 65-62 triple overtime loss, completing 27-of-50 passes for 392 yards. Nov. 10 versus Central Michigan, when the Eagles' offense produced a then season-high 30 points, Akina threw for three touchdowns and no interceptions, completing 22-of-49 passes for 288 yards. Roberson rushed for 755 rushing yards, the 16th highest single season total by a freshman in MAC history. In the loss at Akron, Roberson returned seven kickoffs for 200 yards, the second highest single game total in MAC history.
Pruett Makes the Grade: In Marshall's 42-18 against Ohio, Thundering Herd head coach Bob Pruett gained his 35th career conference win in the MAC. The win vaulted Pruett, now in 12th place in league history, within one win of tying Trevor Rees (Kent State 1951-63) for 11th place. Pruett is 53-10 overall for an .841 winning percentage since joining the MAC, third highest in league history. Ahead of him are Ara Parseghian at .886 (39-6-1 at Miami 1951-55) and Doyt Perry at .855 (49-9-5 at BGSU 1955-64).
Falcons Take Flight: With a 8-3 record, Bowling Green secured its first winning season since 1994. The Falcons went 9-2 in 1994 and have not won more than five games in a season since then. BG's six more wins this year tie the team with Colorado as the most improved in Division IA.
Legging It Out: Four MAC players rushed for over 190 yards on Oct. 27. Marshall's Franklin Wallace rushed for 196 yards versus Akron while the Zips' Bob Hendry gained 192 against the Herd. Toledo's Chester Taylor busted loose for 195 yards against Navy and Northern Illinois' Thomas Hammock piled up 195 yards at Central Michigan. On Nov. 10, two MAC players gained 200-plus yards - Central Michigan's Terrence Jackson with 207 and Toledo's Chester Taylor with 203.
Rewriting the Recordbook: Marshall and Akron combined to set the following MAC records during Marshall's 50-33 triumph Oct. 27 - (1) Most yards total offense, two teams, with 1,249 (Marshall 726, UA 532), (2) Most yards total offense, Marshall, 726.
Flashing the Gold: Kent State's 24-20 win over Miami on Nov. 24 gave the Golden Flashes its first winning season since going 7-4 in 1987. Kent State's three game winning streak in October was the school's longest since the 1988 squad won four in a row. It took Kent State 38 games, prior to this season, to win five games. All the more impressive this year is that KSU started the season with just one win in its first five games.
The Miami 600: Miami's 31-14 win over Buffalo on Oct. 6 marked the 600th victory in school history. Miami became the first MAC team and 22nd team in Division I-A to amass 600 career wins on the football field.
Top RBs Out for Season: Injuries have claimed two of the league's top running backs for the remainder of the season. Akron's Brandon Payne, the third leading rusher in the MAC at the time of his injury with 498 yards (99.6 per game) and Ohio's Chad Brinker, fourth with 98.2 ypg (393 total) will watch the action from the sideline. Payne, the second leading active career MAC rushing leader prior to his injury with 2,406 yards, suffered a season-ending knee injury Oct. 6 in the game at Western Michigan. Brinker, the league's fourth-leading active career rusher at the time of his injury with 1,727 yards, had an arachnoid cyst discovered during a medical examination on Oct. 8. Brinker will undergo surgery in the near future. The arachnoid disk is the space between the inside of the skull and the brain. The cyst causes no immediate danger and is not football-related. Brinker also had a MAC high 7.4 yards per carry.
UCF Joins the MAC: On Nov. 1 it was made official - the University of Central Florida will join the MAC for football only in 2002. The Golden Knights will compete in the East Division with Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, Marshall, Miami and Ohio. Bowling Green, formerly in the East, moves to the West with Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Western Michigan. The MAC has competed in divisions since Marshall and Northern Illinois were admitted for the 1997 season and Buffalo began play in 1999. UCF has been a Division I-A member since 1996 when Duante Culpepper led them onto the national scene.
King of the MAC: Central Michigan redshirt freshman James King had an unbelievable afternoon Sept. 8 in the Chippewas' 35-21 loss at Michigan State. As a special teams member, King tied an NCAA record by blocking four Spartan punts with two of them returned for touchdowns. He equalled the standard set in 1992 by Ken Irvin of Memphis. King also was credited with seven tackles and four pass break ups from his defensive back position. King was honored as the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week by a FWAA panel of voters. King also has blocked punts this year versus Eastern Michigan and Toledo, giving him six. The NCAA single season record is eight. King finished the season with a blocked PAT and his seventh blocked punt Nov. 24 at Boise State.
The Freshman Factor: Three of the top 10 rated passers in the MAC are freshmen. Miami's Ben Roethlisberger, Kent State's Joshua Cribbs and Akron's Charlie Frye rank, respectively, third, fifth and sixth. Roethlisberger has posted an efficiency rating of 146.5 (241-of-381, 63.3%, 3,105 yards, 25 TD, 13 int.), Frye 124.6 (170-of-289, 58.8%, 2,053 yards, 9 TD, 6 int.) and Cribbs 118.2 (131-of-238, 55.0%, 1,516 yards, 10 TD, 5 int.).
Harris Pulls Double Duty: Bowling Green sophomore Josh Harris set a school record for rushing yards by a QB with 148 and also passed for 156 in BG's Nov. 10, 17-0 win at Ohio. Harris became the first BG signalcaller since 1978 (Michael Wright 131 versus Toledo) to rush for 100-plus yards in a game. Harris handled the ball 49 times (28 rushing, 21 passing) and averaged 5.3 yards per rush and 12.0 yards per completion. His father, Michael, played 10 years in the NFL, including six with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Harris Leads Historic Win: As if setting a school record wasn't good enough (see above note) BG QB Josh Harris led the Falcons to their historic win Nov. 17 at Northwestern - providing the Falcons a third win this season over an opponent from a BCS league (also Minnesota and Temple). Harris, with 402 passing yards, became the second QB in school history to pass for over 400 yards. Harris was responsible for six touchdowns - three by passing, two via the rush and one on a pass reception. Harris added 96 rushing yards for 498 yards of total offense, the second most in MAC history.
Harris Does It Again: Bowling Green QB Josh Harris, for the second game in a row, was responsible for six touchdowns, this time in a 56-21 win against Toledo on Nov. 24. Harris threw four TD passes and rushed for two more in the Falcons' eighth win of the season.
Clutch Catches: With Marshall's leading receiver, Darius Watts, double teamed against Miami, the Herd turned to Denero Marriott for seven receptions for 132 yards in a 27-21 win on Nov. 10. Of Marriott's receptions one was for a touchdown and the other six resulted in first downs. Three of those first downs came on third down plays and one on a fourth down situation.
Cribbs Notes: Kent State freshman QB Joshua Cribbs continued to play at an impressive level once he broke into the staring lineup Sept. 22 at West Virginia with an 82-yard TD run against the Mountaineers. Cribbs led the Golden Flashes to six wins this year, five more than the team's 2000 win total, and is ranked among the top rushers and passers in the MAC. His 118.2 pass efficiency rating is sixth and his 92.6 yards per game rushing is fifth. He is the only player in the MAC ranked in the top 10 in both rushing and passing. In the Oct. 13, 44-34 win over Northern Illinois, the Cribbs-led offense produced that many points (44) for only the fourth time in the last 138 games for a KSU team.
D.C. Connection: Two of the MAC's top quarterbacks hail from the Washington, D.C., area. In addition to Kent State's Joshua Cribbs (see above note) the league's top rated QB, Marshall's Byron Leftwich, is from the D.C. area. Cribbs is a graduate of Dunbar High School while Leftwich, a junior, is from H.D. Woodson HS. Leftwich has a MAC leading 166.0 pass efficiency rating, including 34 TDs and just six interceptions.
Chicago Pipeline: In addition to Washington, D.C. (see above note) the Chicago area also can lay claim to producing its share of MAC QBs. Western Michigan's Jeff Welsh and Ball State's Talmadge Hill list Oak Forest, Ill., as their hometown. Next door to Oak Forest is the town of Harvey, hometown of Ohio's starting signal caller Dontrell Jackson. Hill was last year's MAC Freshman of the Year, Welsh led the Broncos to the 2000 West Division title and Jackson directed the Bobcats' 2000 wins against bowl teams Marshall and Minnesota. Welsh is a graduate of Chicago Mount Carmel while Hill is from Oak Park River Forest HS and Jackson from Thornton HS.
Crowd Shots - Three MAC Teams Have Set Attendance Records: For the second time this year, the Glass Bowl in Toledo was the scene of a MAC single-game record crowd Oct. 27 when 36,852 attended the Rockets' 21-20 win over Navy. The Glass Bowl also held the previous standard of 36,502 on Sept. 29 for the Rockets 41-20 win over Northern Illinois. Prior to the Glass Bowl crowds, the MAC record was 36,361 at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich., last year for Western Michigan's game with Indiana State. Ohio's first game at expanded Peden Stadium (Sept. 22 versus Iowa State) resulted in a record crowd of 24,000 for the Bobcat's 2001 home opener. A record crowd at UB Stadium highlighted the first weekend of MAC football. The Bulls' 22,658 for the Rutgers contest bettered the old mark of 20,835 set in 1999 versus Akron.
Parseghian Returns to Miami: Ara Parseghian coached at Miami University from 1951-55 before leaving to go to Northwestern (1956-63) and the Notre Dame (1964-74). On Sept. 8, Jared Parseghian, the grand nephew of Ara, and a walk-on placekicker for the RedHawks, kicked his first career extra point in a 31-13 loss at Michigan. He followed up with a PAT at Iowa and booted four PATs in the RedHawks 28-20 win at Ball State on Sept. 29. On the season, Parseghian has been accurate on 6-of-10 FG attempts and 28-of-30 PATs for 46 points. The younger Parseghian is a redshirt freshman from Sylvania, Ohio (St. John's HS).
Cardinals Coup: Ball State's 24-20 win over No. 25 (AP)/No. 23 (USA TODAY/ESPN) ranked Toledo Rockets on Oct. 20 marked the Cardinals' second win over a Top 25 team in the last five years. The Cardinals also registered a 35-3 win on Nov. 8, 1997, over Toledo, which was ranked 18th (AP) and 29th (USA TODAY/ESPN). Toledo's 12-game winning streak, second longest in the nation, came to an end with the loss to Ball State.
Making MAC History: Toledo's Tom Amstutz joined Miami's Terry Hoeppner (28-3 at Northwestern in 1999) as the only MAC head coaches in league history to make their debut versus a Big Ten opponent and win. Amstutz's win, 38-7 over Minnesota on Aug. 30, also came on his 46th birthday.
