Week 0/Week 1 Schedule
Saturday, August 29
Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan | 6:30 PM ET |
ESPN+ |
Live Stats
Thursday, September 3
UMass at Rutgers | 6 PM ET |
Big Ten Network |
Live Stats
Akron at Wake Forest | 7 PM ET |
ACC Network |
Live Stats
Albany at Buffalo | 7 PM ET |
ESPN+ | Live Stats
Friday, September 4
San Jose State at Eastern Michigan | 6:30 PM ET |
ESPN+ |
Live Stats
Toledo at Michigan State | 8 PM ET |
FS1 | Live Stats
Saturday, September 5
Ohio at Nebraska | 12 PM ET |
FS1 |
Live Stats
Tarleton State at Bowling Green | 12 PM ET |
ESPN+ |
Live Stats
Ball State at Ohio State |12:30 PM ET |
Big Ten Network |
Live Stats
Miami at Pitt |12:30 PM ET |
The CW | Live Stats
Kent State at South Carolina | 12:45 PM ET |
SEC Network |
Live Stats
Western Michigan at Michigan | 7:30 PM ET |
NBC | Live Stats
Mississippi Valley State at Sacramento State | 10 PM ET |
ESPN+ | Live Stats
Central Michigan at New Mexico | 10 PM ET |
FS1 |
Live Stats
Two Minute Drill
-- The Western Michigan Broncos have been selected as favorites to win both the regular season crown and Mid-American Conference (MAC) Football Championship Game title in the 2026 Football Head Coaches Preseason Poll. Head Coaches were not allowed to vote for themselves in the poll. The Broncos received nine first-place votes to claim the regular-season championship while also notching nine votes to win the 2026 conference title game.
-- Sacramento State will make its Mid-American Conference debut on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 6:30 PM ET against the Eastern Michigan Eagles in a Week 0 conference game. The Hornets officially joined the MAC as a football affiliate member on July 1, beginning a five-year term in the league. The Sacramento State football program has won seven conference titles, including three consecutive Big Sky championships from 2019-22, and is one of just 12 FCS programs to win at least seven games in five of the last six seasons.
-- Five MAC institutions accepted bids for the 2025 bowl season. Western Michigan (Myrtle Beach Bowl), Toledo (Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl of Beans), Ohio (Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl), Central Michigan (GameAbove Sports Bowl) and Miami (Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl) represented the MAC in bowl games last year. This marked the 16th time in MAC history that five or more programs have received bowl invitations in a single season.
-- Four former MAC student-athletes were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft this past April. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (Toledo) was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round (58th pick), followed by Miami’s Jackson Kuwatch, who was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round (227th pick). Toledo’s Andre Fuller (Seattle Seahawks, seventh round, 236th pick) and Buffalo’s Red Murdock (Denver Broncos, seventh round, 257th pick) rounded out the MAC’s draft picks.
-- Western Michigan captured the 2025 MAC Football title as the Broncos defeated Miami, 23-13, on Dec. 6 at Ford Field. Jalen Buckley had touchdown runs of 67 and 64 yards and finished with 193 yards on 19 carries for the Broncos. Broc Lowry had 111 yards passing and 65 yards rushing as Western Michigan gained 397 total yards, highlighted by 286 yards on the ground.
