Quick MAC Notes
• The MAC has announced a multi-year partnership with Rocket Mortgage, making them the title sponsor of the annual MAC Football Championship Game at Ford Field.  The 2020 Rocket Mortgage MAC Football Championship Game will take place Friday, December 18 at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). The event marks the 17th consecutive year the game will be played in the heart of Detroit at Ford Field, making it the second longest-running championship game at the same venue in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

• Buffalo has officially clinched the MAC East Division title and will play in the Rocket Mortgage Football Championship Game. The Bulls are ranked 24th in the latest AP Poll, marking the first time in program history UB is nationally ranked.

• UB’s Jaret Patterson was named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. He is the first UB player to be named a semifinalist for the prestigious award given annually to the nation’s best running back. Through four games, Patterson has rushed for 920 yards and 16 touchdowns.

• The winner of Saturday’s game between Ball State & Western Michigan will claim the MAC West Division Championship and a spot in the Dec. 18 Rocket Mortgage MAC Championship Game against Buffalo.

Western Michigan at Ball State | Noon ET (ESPN+)
Western Michigan Notes | Ball State Notes | WMU Press Conference | BSU Press Conference
WATCH LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats
WMU: Western Michigan has won five of the last six meetings between the teams, including two of the last three contests in Muncie...Redshirt sophomore QB Kaleb Eleby has thrown at least three TD passes in each of the last three games and four of five on the season. His 16 TD passes on the year lead the MAC... Earlier this week, WMU senior OL Mike Caliendo was named a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy, college football’s top award for community service combined with academic and athletic excellence.

BSU: The Cardinals are riding a four-game winning streak for the first time since 2013 and are the only MAC West Division team undefeated (4-0) against divisional foes this fall... Redshirt senior QB Drew Plitt, back-to-back MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week recipient, has thrown for 670 yards and accounted for eight total touchdowns over the past two weeks. The MAC’s second-leading passer with 1,425 yards, Plitt threw for a seasonhigh 366 yards last week at Central Michigan to go with four TDs passing and one rushing.

Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan | Noon ET (ESPN3)
Northern Illinois Notes | Eastern Michigan Notes | NIU Press Conference | EMU Press Conference
WATCH LIVE on ESPN3 | Live Stats
NIU: NIU has won nine straight games over Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti dating back to 2000, with the 2016 and 2018 games both decided in overtime... Tyrice Richie became just the eighth player in NIU history to record four 100-yard receiving games in a season and is the first Huskie since 2000 with three consecutive 100-yard days. Richie ranks second in the country in catches per game.

EMU: Eastern’s offense was high-flying in its 53-point performance at Western, Dec. 5. The team set season-highs in scoring, touchdowns (6), field goals (4), total yards (533), plays (75), third-down conversions (9), time of possession (35:13), average rush yards (4.74 yards per carry), average pass yards (10.5 yards per pass), and yards per play (7.62)... EMU has been incredibly effective in the red zone on both sides of the ball this season. Offensively, EMU ranks No. 1 in the nation with a 100 percent red zone scoring clip (eight teams tied). The Eagles have produced points in 23-of-23 trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line this season, a 22.5 percent improvement over last season’s efficiency.

Akron at No. 24 Buffalo | 2:30 pm ET (CBSSN)
Akron Notes | Buffalo Notes | Akron Press Conference | UB Press Conference
WATCH LIVE on CBS Sports Network | Live Stats
Akron: Three defensive takeaways along with 185 yards rushing from junior RB Teon Dollard propelled Akron to a 31-3 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday, Dec. 5...The triumph represented the 50th career coaching win for Zips’ head coach Tom Arth and first at Akron.

UB: Buffalo is ranked 24th in the latest AP Poll, marking the first time in program history UB is nationally ranked...The Bulls are averaging 50.8 points on the season to lead the nation in scoring average. They have scored 40+ points in eight of their last nine conference games dating back to last season...Jaret Patterson is 80 yards shy of 1,000 on the season. If he does it against Akron, he would tie the NCAA record for earliest game reaching 1,000 yards (5 games), joining the likes of Marcus Allen, Barry Sanders and Ricky Williams. He would be the 12th player in FBS history to accomplish the feat.

Central Michigan at Toledo | 3 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
Central Michigan Notes | Toledo Notes | CMU Press Conference | UT Press Conference
WATCH LIVE on ESPN3 | Live Stats
CMU: Defensive ends Mohamed Diallo and Troy Hairston combine for one of the top defensive line pairs in the nation. Diallo leads the MAC in tackles-for-loss with 9.5 and is sixth nationally with 1.9 TFLs per game. The senior had 3.5 TFLs and a pair of sacks in CMU’s win at Eastern Michigan...Hairston has 9.0 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks. He is second in the MAC in TFLs and is ninth in the nation in TFLs per game (1.8). Hairston is also third in the MAC and 51st in the nation in sacks.

UT: Sophomore quarterback Carter Bradley set career highs in completions (29), attempts (44), passing yards (432), and touchdowns (three) vs. Northern Illinois. His 432 passing yards are the seventh-most in a single game by a Rocket quarterback and the most since Logan Woodside threw for 458 yards vs. Tulsa on Sept. 16, 2017.