• Mac Conference Football Bowl Games

Both teams come into the game at 6-6, each needing wins in the final weeks to become bowl eligible. The match up doesn’t scream excitement, but sometimes these games turn out to be the best ones. The Cure Bowl is one of two new Bowl match-ups for the 2015 season and the first of three games played at the Citrus Bowl. San Jose come in at 5-7 without any good wins against FBS opponents this. Live college football scores and postgame recaps.

The theory that then-offensive coordinator Matt Campbell was the biggest key to Tim Beckman's success at Toledo is supported by the numbers: Toledo scored a school-record 549 points in 2012, Beckman's final season before moving to Illinois, and has gone 26-13 since promoting Campbell to the top spot at the tail end of that season.

The idea that on-field success can be tied directly to recruiting success is supported by Western Michigan's rebound under third-year coach P.J. Fleck, who rode a pair of sterling signing classes to a seven-win leap in his second season with the Broncos.

The asinine suggestion that great coaches don't exist off the Power Five landscape is disproved by Campbell, Fleck, Ball State's Pete Lembo and Buffalo's Lance Leipold — the initial threesome seemingly committed to their current stops for the long term, and the latter fresh to the Football Bowl Subdivision ranks after an historic run of success at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater.

When it comes to the Mid-American Conference, these three indisputable truths about are joined by a fourth: When it comes to pure dominance of an FBS league, no program can match Northern Illinois' active five-year run in the MAC.

The Huskies bring into this fall a 15-game road winning streak in league play, not counting appearances in the conference championship game. The program's last league road loss during the regular season came in a 48-41 loss to Central Michigan on Oct. 1, 2011.

NIU has also won 57 games during the last five seasons, which doesn't merely dwarf the rest of the MAC — and the rest of its Illinois-state brethren, by the way — but ranks fourth in the FBS, trailing Oregon (60 wins), Alabama (58) and Florida State (58).

But only NIU and the Ducks have won at least 11 games in each of these five years.

Consider another two details of note. For starters, the Huskies have been this dominant despite playing under three different coaches: Jerry Kill in 2010, Dave Doeren in 2011 and 2012, and Rod Carey since 2013.

Then there's this: NIU is 57-13 overall but a whopping 41-4 against league foes — a ridiculous 91.1% winning percentage. That's not just insane; in this era of college football, that's unprecedented.

Thanks for playing, everyone. NIU runs the MAC with an iron fist, leaving a very talented and well-coached group — Toledo, Ball State, Western Michigan and others — battling for second place. This shouldn't change in 2015.

EAST

1. Bowling Green (No. 62)
2. Ohio (No. 83)
3. Akron (No. 86)
4. Buffalo (93)
5. Massachusetts (No. 109)
6. Kent State (No. 122)
7. Miami (Ohio) (No. 113)

WEST

1. Northern Illinois (No. 39)
2. Toledo (No. 53)
3. Western Michigan (No. 55)
4. Ball State (No. 75)
5. Central Michigan (No. 111)
6. Eastern Michigan (No. 123)

By reading this sentence, you have agreed to a strict no-Googling rule in finding your answer.

Three MAC coaches have reached the College Football Hall of Fame based solely on their work inside the conference: Bowling Green's Doyt Perry, Central Michigan's Herb Deromedi and Sid Gillman of both Miami (Ohio) and Cincinnati — all but one Gillman's seasons at Cincinnati came with the Bearcats in the conference — are in the Hall of Fame for coaching accomplishments as part of the MAC.

On the other hand, seven members of the Hall of Fame at one point in their careers coached for a MAC program but earned their stripes elsewhere. Can you name those seven individuals who also served as a head coach at a non-MAC school on their way to the Hall of Fame?

1.
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5.
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7. American Athletic Conference
8. Conference USA
9. Mid-American Conference
10.

Bowling Green

Mac Conference Football Bowl Games

Best case: Splitting its four non-conference games sets a great tone for the rest of the way, as Bowling Green goes 7-1 in conference play to defend its East Division championship.

Worst case: The Falcons go 0-4 in non-conference play and lose to Ohio, Western Michigan, Toledo and Ball State to finish well outside of bowl play.

Ohio

Best case: Beating Bowling Green on Nov. 4 hands Ohio the tiebreaker it needs to win the division.

Worst case: Ohio stands at 5-3 entering November, but four losses in a row — including one ugly home loss to Kent State — prevent the Bobcats from reaching bowl eligibility.

Akron

Best case: After a sluggish start, topping Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 26 propels Akron into six wins in its final eight games — which lifts the Zips to the top of the division and into the postseason.

Worst case: Once again, injuries stymie Akron's quest toward notching six-plus wins and making a bowl game. That's painful, in more ways than one.

Massachusetts

Best case: Eight wins and the East title, making UMass the surprise of the MAC and one of the best stories nationally.

Worst case: Not yet, Minutemen. UMass makes clear strides but still tops out at four wins.

Buffalo

Best case: Everything clicks in Lance Leipold's debut season, as Buffalo's underrated talent level works in tandem with the new staff's philosophies to carry the Bulls to eight wins.

Worst case: No one doubts the program's long-range potential, but Buffalo is a disappointment at 3-9.

Kent State

Best case: No one is expecting any miracles, but six wins and a top-three finish in the East Division could potentially be described as miraculous.

Worst case: Three wins, with two coming against Delaware State and Miami (Ohio).

Miami (Ohio)

Best case: The long road back toward respectability continues, but getting to five wins in Chuck Martin's second season is a nice omen for the near future.

Worst case: The RedHawks need a last-second field goal to beat Presbyterian in the opener, so it comes as no surprise when they lose every game from that point forward.

Northern Illinois

Best case: Sixth verse, same as the first, second, third, fourth and fifth. NIU wins the MAC West, beats Bowling Green in the conference title game and contends for an access-bowl bid.

Worst case: The Huskies lose to Toledo and Western Michigan, not only failing to defend their conference crown but finishing tied for third in the division.

Toledo

Best case: Toledo goes 3-1 in non-conference play and sweeps through the MAC, finally defeating Northern Illinois and entering the postseason holding a national ranking.

Worst case: Northern Illinois 49, Toledo 17.

Western Michigan

Best case: Riding a ridiculously talented roster, the Broncos go undefeated in MAC play and top Bowling Green in the title game.

Worst case: As expected, drawing both Toledo and NIU away from home eliminates WMU's chances of taking another step forward. Additional losses to Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan makes this a disappointing season.

Ball State

Best case: As he's done many times in the past, Pete Lembo pushes all the right buttons in piloting Ball State to double-digit wins.

Worst case: Another round of inconsistent quarterback play dooms Ball State's offense, which in turn places undue strain on a defense lacking in one standout unit.

Central Michigan

Best case: Beating Kent State and Eastern Michigan to end the year lifts CMU to six wins and maintains the program's three-year streak of reaching bowl eligibility.

Worst case: Two wins: Monmouth and Buffalo.

Eastern Michigan

Best case: EMU takes a nice step forward to four wins despite taking on what appears to be the most difficult schedule in the MAC.

Worst case: Winless, though the Eagles come close to knocking off Army on Sept. 26.

Offense

QB: Drew Hare, Northern Illinois
RB: Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan
RB: Kareem Hunt, Toledo
WR: Corey Davis, Western Michigan
WR: Tajee Sharpe, UMass
TE: Rodney Mills, UMass
OL: Willie Beavers, Western Michigan
OL: Andrew Ness, Northern Illinois
OL: Nick Beamish, Central Michigan
OL: Alex Huettel, Bowling Green
OL: Mike McQueen, Ohio

Defense

DL: Pat O'Connor, Eastern Michigan
DL: Orion Jones, Toledo
DL: Tarell Basham, Ohio
DL: Trent Voss, Toledo
LB: Jovan Santos-Knox, UMass
LB: Great Ibe, Eastern Michigan
LB: Jartavis Brown, Akron
CB: Paris Logan, Northern Illinois
CB: Cheatham Norrils, Toledo
S: Nate Holley, Kent State
S: Marlon Moore, Northern Illinois

Specialists

K: Tyler Tate, Bowling Green
P: Anthony Melchiori, Kent State
RET: Devin Campbell, Buffalo

Quarterback: Northern Illinois. There may be better individual quarterbacks in the conference, or at least quarterbacks set to put forth stronger passer numbers, but NIU's overall excellence at the position — going back several years — moves the Huskies to the front of the pack.

Running back: Western Michigan and Toledo (tie). After such an outstanding rookie campaign, there's really only one question: What can Jarvion Franklin do for an encore? But the Rockets have the MAC's best backfield depth.

Wide receiver and tight end: Toledo. The MAC's most prolific receivers play elsewhere, but the Rockets house the league's deepest unit.

Offensive line: Ball State. If you're looking for a reason why Ball State will be a sneaky contender in the West Division, look no further than an offensive line that returns all five starters, including a two-time all-conference pick in center Jacob Richard.

Defensive line: Toledo. With two likely all-conference picks anchoring the unit, Toledo may be able to control the point of attack against the run — but we'll see if the Rockets can finally stop NIU.

Linebacker: Northern Illinois. The Huskies might be down one returning starter without Rasheen Lemon, who is suspended indefinitely, but there's still enough returning experience to trot out a very qualified two-deep.

Secondary: Northern Illinois. NIU always seems to have aggressive, ball-hawking defensive backfields; this year should be no different.

Special teams: Bowling Green. The Falcons have the MAC's best kicker in Tyler Tate and perhaps its most effective punter in Joe Davidson, though I gave Kent State's Anthony Melchiori first-team honors above.

Let's get a few Northern Illinois-related items out of the way to start, beginning with this: NIU brings into this fall a 15-game road winning streak in league play, not counting appearances in the conference championship game. The Huskies' last conference road loss during the regular season came in a 48-41 loss to Central Michigan on Oct. 1, 2011.

The Huskies have also won 57 games during the last five seasons, which ranks fourth in the FBS behind Oregon (60 wins), Alabama (58) and Florida State (58). But only NIU and the Ducks have won at least 11 games in each of these five years.

To put this five-year run in perspective, consider two details of note. For starters, the Huskies have been this dominant despite playing under three different coaches: Jerry Kill in 2010, Dave Doeren in 2011 and 2012, and Rod Carey since 2013. In addition, NIU is 57-13 overall but a whopping 41-4 against league foes — a ridiculous 91.1% winning percentage. That's not just insane; in this era of college football, that's unprecedented.

The only thing sillier than NIU's run of MAC dominance may be first-year Buffalo coach Lance Leipold's eight-year run at Wisconsin-Whitewater. There was a 7-3 finish in 2012, when the Warhawks tied for second place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Otherwise, Leipold compiled a 99-3 record with five Division III national championships and six appearances in the Division III championship game. As an aside, Leipold's best hire is wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Rob Ianello, who quite easily ranks as one of the premier recruiters in all of college football.

Massachusetts played its first football game in 1879, making it the oldest program in the Mid-American Conference and, along with Michigan, the fourth-oldest program in the entire FBS. Last year's 3-9 finish dropped the Minutemen's all-time record to 561-557-51, meaning any season with more than eight losses would drop the program's career winning percentage below 50% for the first time in many, many years.

After making just seven sacks in 2013, P.J. Fleck's first year with the program, Western Michigan finished third in the MAC with 28 sacks a season ago. That 21-sack leap was the largest year-to-year leap in the FBS in 2014.

Much should be made of Western Michigan's back-to-back road trips to Northern Illinois and Toledo to end the season. For a young team — yes, the roster is still young — still learning how to put together a complete season, those road matchups will knock the Broncos into third in the West Division, in my opinion. Nor has history been kind in such seasons: WMU hasn't defeated the Rockets and Huskies on the road in the same season since 2007, has won at Toledo just twice since 1989, and has just one win at NIU since 2000.

Ohio is the only program in the FBS to have had the same head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator in each of the last 10 seasons. Led by Frank Solich, offensive coordinator Tim Albin and defensive coordinator Jimmy Burrow, the Bobcats have won 71 games, posted six winning seasons and reached six bowl games during this decade-long span. In the 40 years prior to the staff's arrival, Ohio went 119-228 with seven winning seasons and zero bowl appearances.

On Jan. 22, mere weeks before national signing day, Dan Enos elected to resign his spot as Central Michigan's head coach to become Bret Bielema's offensive coordinator at Arkansas. On Feb. 9, CMU hired longtime NFL assistant John Bonamego as his replacement. If we use very basic criteria — that a coach was in the NFL when he was hired — Bonamego is one of six active FBS head coaches to be picked off the professional ranks, joining Temple's Matt Rhule, Tulane's Curtis Johnson, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and Florida International's Ron Turner.

Doak Walker Award (best running back): Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan and Kareem Hunt, Toledo (tie). Franklin took home the conference accolades last fall, but let's remember that Hunt led the MAC in rushing despite missing several games in midseason. Both will have the numbers to perhaps advance as Doak Walker semifinalists.

Biletnikoff Award (best wide receiver): Corey Davis, Western Michigan. As much as any national award, the Biletnikoff embraces overall production instead of focusing entirely on quality of competition. That's good news for Davis. If healthy, he'll lead the MAC in every major statistical category.

Wedding dash game for mac. Lou Groza Award (best kicker): Tyler Tate, Bowling Green. The best kicker in the MAC is clearly in the race for the Groza. It might be nice if Tate could make all of his extra-point tries as a senior.

Butkus Award (best linebacker): Jovan Santos-Knox, UMass. There's no shortage of MAC linebackers with great numbers — see EMU's Great Ibe or Akron's Jatavis Brown — but let's give Santos-Knox a slight edge heading into fall camp.

Have 1,000 yards receiving: Corey Davis, Western Michigan. Barring injury, Davis is a lock for the 1,000-yard mark. If he continues to develop, there may be some All-American consideration in his future.

Throw for 3,500 yards: Zach Terrell, Western Michigan. He might not be the only quarterback to crack this mark — Blake Frohnapfel at UMass, Central Michigan's Cooper Rush and Bowling Green's Matt Johnson may do so as well — but Terrell should eventually lead the MAC in passing yards.

Lose his job: Paul Haynes, Kent State. No one expected Haynes to continue the pace set by his predecessor, Darrell Hazell, but the Golden Flashes are now 6-17 during his two seasons at the helm.

Be coaching in a Power Five conference in 2016: Pete Lembo, Ball State and P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan (tie). Lembo's been close before, meaning it's just a matter of time before he finds the right opportunity. Fleck's rising fast, so a power program in the area — say, Illinois — may see him as the solution.

Have 1,500 yards rushing: Kareem Hunt, Toledo. The last time Hunt didn't gain at least 91 yards rushing in a single game was on Oct. 5, 2013. When healthy, Hunt is even more productive than Western Michigan's Jarvion Franklin. He needs to stay healthy, however.

Be a first round pick in 2016: Davis, Western Michigan. There may be an Eric Fisher-like offensive lineman hiding in the MAC, known only to a select few NFL scouts and personnel folks, but we won't know for sure until September or October. A safer pick — though still a long shot — is Davis, who has the size and numbers but would need to show NFL-caliber speed in testing.

Beat a Power Five team in non-conference play: Bowling Green and Toledo (tie). Toledo draws Iowa State at home on Sept. 19, while the Falcons travel to Purdue on Sept. 26.

Lead the conference in scoring offense: Northern Illinois and Western Michigan (tie). After struggling at times in league play last fall, I expect NIU to put together a more well-rounded offense — not just running but through the air — in 2015. The Broncos, meanwhile, return the lion's share of production from last year's top attack.

Lead the conference in scoring defense: Toledo. I love the front four and have high hopes for the secondary, especially if cornerback Cheatham Norrils returns from injury and regains his all-conference form. Linebacker play is a potential weak link, but the Rockets have enough talent surrounding the position to thrive.

Exceed expectations: Ball State. Losing seasons don't often happen for Lembo, so it's only safe to project the Cardinals to move back into bowl eligibility behind a more experienced starting cast. That's at a minimum; the Cardinals may do what they've done in the recent past and challenge NIU and Toledo for West Division supremacy.

Disappoint: Western Michigan and Bowling Green (tie). Expectations have been steadily climbing at WMU since Fleck's arrival prior to the 2013 season. With road games at NIU and Toledo on the docket, the Broncos may not be ready to take home the division. The Falcons are the favorite in the East Division, but last year's team held similar preseason billing and was largely underwhelming throughout.

Not every program in the conference has a clear-cut starter in advance of fall camp. Bonus points for those schools without a major competition, let alone those with an accomplished and trustworthy returning starter.

1. Drew Hare, Northern Illinois. It doesn't matter who's taking the snaps: the Huskies' quarterback almost always is going to top this list. Hare will be even better in his second season as the starter.

2. Zach Terrell, Western Michigan. The numbers speak for themselves: 3,443 yards, 26 touchdowns, 67.9% completion percentage and 9.4 yards per attempt. Terrell will be the guy for the Broncos, but P.J. Fleck may try to get redshirt freshman Chance Stewart involved.

3. Joe Licata, Buffalo. He has quietly put together one of the finest careers by a quarterback in school history. Licata is set for a breakout season as a senior.

4. Matt Johnson, Bowling Green. After his breakthrough in 2013, it will be very interesting to see how Johnson bounces back from the injury that cost him all but the first game of last season.

5. Blake Frohnapfel, UMass. The former Marshall transfer might have been the most pleasant quarterbacking surprise in last year's MAC. Let's how he fares with another season of experience in Mark Whipple's system.

6. Cooper Rush, Central Michigan. His statistical leap between his freshman and sophomore seasons — 12 more touchdowns, two fewer interceptions, nearly an additional yard per attempt — bodes well for Rush's final two seasons with the Chippewas.

7. Kyle Pohl, Akron. Injuries slowed Pohl down a year ago, but the Zips' staff has full confidence that he can put together an all-conference senior season. Terry Bowden thinks his team would have reached bowl eligibility had Pohl remained healthy in 2014.

8. Reggie Bell, Eastern Michigan. Bell certainly brings some excitement to the position, even if his dual-threat production didn't translate into victories in Chris Creighton's debut season. But the sophomore has serious potential.

9. Phillip Ely, Toledo. The former Alabama transfer won a tight quarterback battle heading into last fall but was lost for the season after two games. I still think the job is his to lose, but Ely's lack of overall game experience remains his biggest question mark.

10. Jack Milas, Ball State. The Cardinals will need to be patient with Milas as he continues to learn under Pete Lembo's careful tutelage.

11. Derrius Vick, Ohio. Vick gives Frank Solich more reliability than J.D. Sprague, judging by what we saw a year ago, as well as more athleticism.

12. Colin Reardon, Kent State. Reardon was more ineffective as a junior than a sophomore, which is cause for concern. The staff would be wise to get him more involved in the running game.

13. Drew Kummer, Miami (Ohio). I'd give Kummer the edge over redshirt freshman Gus Ragland due to Ragland's limited on-field experience — Kummer, a senior, has thrown for more than 300 during the past two seasons. But Ragland's time is coming, perhaps as soon as September and October.

Northern Illinois WR Kenny Golladay. The Huskies do return Tommylee Lewis, an undersized return specialist and receiver who missed last season with a foot injury. But NIU coaches hope to team Lewis with Golladay, a 6-foot-4 former transfer who came in from North Dakota and sat out last season.

UMass OT Tyrell Smith. He moved out to left tackle last fall after spending the first two years of his career inside at guard. That led to a few growing pains, but Smith's play down the stretch paints the junior as the strongest piece along the Minutemen's offensive line and a potential all-conference selection in 2015.

Eastern Michigan WR Lemar Harris. Do you remember the last EMU had a receiver who tested MAC defensive backs? Yeah, me neither. Maybe Harris, a redshirt freshman who moved from quarterback, can give the Eagles a boost at a position long lacking in anything of consequence.

Toledo OT Mike Ebert. The former tight end will be asked to handle right tackle as one of five new starters along the Rockets' offensive front. Ebert's not a 325-pound mauler, but his quickness should come in handy.

Akron CB Larry Hope. The Zips have been welcoming to major-program transfers throughout Terry Bowden's tenure. Hope, a cornerback over from Miami (Fla.), is just the latest example. Though Hope didn't play much with the Hurricanes — mostly in a reserve role in 2013 — he'll be expected to grab a starting role.

Western Michigan OT Chukwuma Okorafor. The starting lineup awaits for Okorafor, a Big Ten-caliber prospect who should anchor the Broncos' offensive line for the next three seasons. And keep an eye on a newcomer, freshman tackle Wesley French, who arrives with Okorafor-like hype.

Ball State DE Joshua Posley. Ball State's had great success with local transfers in the past. Posley, who comes over from Cincinnati, will help beef up last year's mediocre pass rush.

Toledo offensive line coach Tom Manning. Last year's group wasn't quite as strong as expected, but Manning can make a name for himself by rounding this season's inexperienced cast into form before the calendar turns to MAC play.

Bowling Green defensive coordinator Brian Ward. Bowling Green's Dino Babers dipped into the Football Championship Subdivision well to grab Ward, who most recently spent three very successful seasons in the same capacity at Western Illinois.

Akron offensive coordinator A.J. Milwee. One of the youngest coordinators in the country, Milwee has been learning on the job while showing the talent and intelligence to eventually land on the major-conference radar.

Western Michigan special teams coordinator Rob Wegner. While he also leads the Broncos' defensive ends, Wegner's greatest work has come on special teams. Last year's group made enormous strides after ranking among the nation's worst in 2013, so it's safe to assume another step forward this fall.

Eastern Michigan defensive coordinator Brad McCaslin. EMU's entire staff remain unknowns, largely thanks to their FCS, NAIA and Division III backgrounds. But McCaslin proved while the coordinator at Drake University that he knows how to put together a stout defense.

Ball State defensive coordinator Kevin Kelley. Though the early returns weren't overly positive for Kelley, who joined the Cardinals prior to last season, the former Georgetown head coach will get things turned around in 2015.

Michigan State at Western Michigan, Sept. 4. Getting the Spartans at home is a nice bonus for the Broncos, even if beating Mark Dantonio's gang is a different story altogether. Maybe — just maybe — WMU can catch Michigan State napping in advance of its matchup with Oregon a week later.

Toledo at Arkansas (in Little Rock), Sept. 12. Toledo won't win this game, but the rest of the MAC — particularly the West Division — will be paying attention. If the Rockets can run the ball effectively on Arkansas, doing the same in conference play shouldn't be a problem.

Bowling Green at Purdue, Sept. 26. For Bowling Green, moving beyond eight wins and reaching its full potential demands a non-conference win against an eminently beatable opponent. In addition to Purdue, the Falcons take on Tennessee, Maryland and Memphis in September.

Ohio at Akron, Oct. 3. The Zips close with UMass, Miami (Ohio), Buffalo and Kent State in November, so a 3-1 or 4-0 final month is very much a possibility. Beating Ohio in October would move this team even closer to securing just the second bowl bid in program history.

Northern Illinois at Toledo, Nov. 3. The Rockets are still looking for their first win against the Huskies this decade. At least last year's defeat never got out of hand. Again, don't sleep on NIU's long road winning streak in conference play.

Bowling Green at Ohio, Nov. 4. The Bobcats have two positives in their corner: one, they get the Falcons at home, and two, they're coming off a bye week. Those factors may be enough to get Ohio into the win column, which could in turn decide the East Division.

Western Michigan at Northern Illinois, Nov. 18. WMU emulates Northern Illinois' unparalleled run of success in this conference, even if the Broncos have gone about setting a foundation in a wholly different manner — with a level of recruiting never before seen in the MAC, not a foolproof system of offensive ingenuity and player development.

Western Michigan at Toledo, Nov. 27. Though Toledo gets both NIU and Western Michigan at home, the Broncos take on the Rockets and Huskies on the road. That's a bad thing. Yet there's still reason to think WMU will be within striking distance of Toledo heading into the final Saturday of November.

For the efforts of this exercise, let's play under the following rules:

Though the MAC was formed in 1947, only a handful of teams have membership dating back to the league's early days. Several, such as Akron and Buffalo, joined within the last 25 years; another, Northern Illinois, was a MAC member from 1973-85 and again since 1997. This list doesn't include players from Akron and Buffalo from before joining the MAC, nor any NIU players from before 1973 or from 1986-96. Make sense?

To cite an example below, former Cincinnati offensive lineman Bill Shalosky is listed on this team because he played for the Bearcats from 1950-52, when they were part of the MAC. Punter Kevin Huber is not, since he played from 2005-8, when the Bearcats played in the Big East Conference.

In addition, if any conference shift occurred during a player's career — as in the case of Marshall, for example, which was a member twice, most recently from 1997-2004 — he will be considered for the league in which he had his greatest or most memorable success. So the all-time MAC team doesn't include former Marshall center John Wade, who spent the 1997 season in the MAC but played most of his career in the Southern Conference.

The question, in shortened form: Can you name the seven members of the College Football Hall of Fame who served as a head coach at both a MAC school and at least one other FBS program?

It's not an easy question, I know. But they're not supposed to be easy. If you thought that a few had to work at Miami (Ohio), you're on the right track. They are …

Don Nehlen, who went from Bowling Green to West Virginia. Don James, from Kent State to Washington. John Heisman, who sandwiched a stint at Akron — then known as Buchtel College — around stays at Oberlin, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Pennsylvania, Washington & Jefferson, and Rice. There's three.

And then there's the RedHawks' contingent. Woody Hayes went from Denison to Miami (Ohio) to Ohio State. George Little, from Cincinnati to Miami (Ohio) to Michigan to Wisconsin. Ara Parseghian, who started at Miami (Ohio), went to Northwestern and capped his career at Notre Dame. And then Bo Schembechler, who started with the RedHawks before heading to Michigan.

Before you ignore the MAC's shot at putting its champion in an access bowl, remember: Northern Illinois reached the Bowl Championship Series three years ago, and two seasons ago stood one win away — a loss to Bowling Green in conference title game — from repeating as the non-BCS conference participant in the antiquated postseason format. It's not such a stretch to consider that the Huskies could do so again, basically.

And that same team is the league's best hope of a spot in one of the New Year's Six bowls: NIU, boom or bust, because the Huskies remain the class of the league despite the annual hope in other MAC-area circles that the window for this particular dynasty has closed. No such luck. As noted earlier, this run by NIU isn't merely jaw-on-the-floor impressive; it's unprecedented in the recent era of college football.

I'm high on Toledo, as are most, and the Rockets do have opportunities to make noise in September — against Arkansas, most notably. It's also easy to fall in love with Western Michigan, thanks to the accumulation of talent P.J. Fleck has corralled during his short stint in Kalamazoo. At the same time, however, let's not forget that the Broncos must take on Toledo and NIU on the road; so long, divisional title.

Don't put any national stock into the East, even as Bowling Green eyes a leap forward in Dino Babers' second season, Frank Solich continues to do yeoman's work at Ohio, Akron prepares for a bowl game, Lance Leipold puts juice into Buffalo, and UMass puts scares into teams across both divisions. It's a solid, well-contested league, but there's no team with the potential to crack double-digit wins in the regular season.

This is Northern Illinois' league — has been, five years and counting, and will be again. But can NIU make another major-bowl run? It'll demand a perfect record in league play, complete with a win at Ford Field in December, but that wouldn't be new for the Huskies. Here's the biggest game: Boston College. Civ 6 crashing late game.

NIU won't — and can't — sniff Ohio State, and no one is expecting anything more than a lopsided loss. But Boston College, on the other hand … While a loss in that game dooms the Huskies' fate, what with Boise State potentially making a run at perfection, a loss to Ohio State can be offset by defeating the Eagles and running the table in the MAC. Then we're looking at a scenario where one-loss NIU might challenge for an access bowl.

The teams that participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division IFootball Bowl Subdivision earn the right to compete in a series of post-season games called bowl games. As of 2017, there are 40 bowl games (not counting the College Football Playoff National Championship), and all are contractually obligated to offer bids to specific conferences, a situation known as a 'tie-in'. The 'top' six bowl games ('New Year's Six') in the nation select their teams as part of the College Football Playoff (CFP), which was put into place for a minimum of 12 years, beginning with the 2014 season. Prior to 2014, the top five games in the country were chosen under the system known as the Bowl Championship Series. The bowls outside of the CFP, have individual contracts with the conferences to offer preferential bids to teams from those conferences. As long as teams are bowl eligible, they may be selected by these bowls to meet these contracts.

College Football Playoff[edit]

The College Football Playoff consists of seven bowls: the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, and the College Football Playoff National Championship. For the 2019–20 season, the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl will serve as national semifinals for the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship in New Orleans, Louisiana, meaning that the teams ranked #1 through #4 in the final College Football playoff rankings will play in those two bowls, with the winners advancing to the CFP National Championship.

Twelve schools are selected for the major bowls. These include the champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference and Southeastern Conference. The highest-ranked champion from the 'Group of Five' conferences (American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt) is guaranteed a berth if the group's top team is not in the playoff.

The following tie-ins exist for bowls in the years they are not hosting the national semifinals:

• Rose Bowl — Big Ten #1 vs. Pac-12 #1
• Sugar Bowl — SEC #1 vs. Big 12 #1
• Orange Bowl — ACC #1 vs. SEC #2, Big Ten #2, or Notre Dame
• Cotton Bowl — at-large or 'Group of Five' (committee selection)
• Fiesta Bowl — at-large or 'Group of Five' (committee selection)
• Peach Bowl — at-large or 'Group of Five' (committee selection)

2019-20 'New Year's Six' bowl games[edit]

*The top Group of Five champion will be placed into one of the At-Large spots, when they are not selected to be in the CFP.

Bowl Championship Series[edit]

From 1998 to 2013, the national champion was determined on the field by the Bowl Championship Series. The Bowl Championship Series consisted of five games, the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl, as well as the BCS Championship Game. A composite system of computer rankings and human polls was used to rank the teams in the Division I–Football Bowl Subdivision. As with the College Football Playoff, the BCS consisted the champions of major conferences, at-large teams, and occasionally Notre Dame or teams from mid-major conferences. Consideration was given to historic associations between the conferences and the bowl games themselves. Tie-ins still apply, unless a team obligated to a certain bowl game is selected for the BCS Championship Game.

Other Bowl Games in 2019[edit]

The bowls that are not part of the CFP have contractual ties to specific conferences. For the 2019–20 bowl season, all bowls have at least two tie-ins, meaning that there are no at-large spots open in these bowls, assuming that all conferences produce enough bowl eligible teams. Many bowls also have contingency contracts to offer spots to other specific conferences should their first choice not be eligible. If any slot cannot be filled by a contracted conference at all, then the spot becomes open, and the bowl can offer the slot to any eligible team.

To be eligible, a team must have at least as many wins against FBS opponents as it has total losses in the regular season (excluding the conference championship game), except that a team may count one win against an FCS team that has given out at least 90% of its allowed scholarships over the past two years (as some FCS teams have defeated FBS teams, most notably in the major FCS conferences that typically are in the NCAA championship final). There is one exception to this, as is the case with other sports that use a conference tournament; a conference champion is always eligible to play in a bowl game where the conference has a contract that requires its champion to play in that game. The exclusion of conference championship games was added after UCLA, which was the Pac-12 South representative in 2011, was 6–6 and lost the conference championship game that they participated only because of USC, which won the division that year, was on NCAA probation. The NCAA granted UCLA a waiver, and the exception appeared the following year, where the rule was used by Georgia Tech, the only eligible team among the three tied teams in the Coastal Division that was eligible for postseason because of NCAA probation, was also 6–6 and lost the conference championship game .^[1])

If, as happened in 2015, there are more bowl game openings than eligible teams, then additional teams can become eligible. They are divided up into four groups; all of the teams from a group must be chosen (or decline a bowl bid) before teams from the next group can be chosen. The groups are:

1. A team that does not have a 'counted' win against an FCS team, but beat an FCS team that did not meet the 90% scholarship requirement, and would have been bowl eligible had that game counted.
2. A team that plays 13 games in its regular season (excluding conference championship games, as that was previously referenced; a 13th game is possible if a team plays at Hawaii) and has a 6–7 record, since six wins is normally bowl eligible.
3. A team in the second year of an FCS to FBS transfer 'probationary period' that would have been eligible had it been a full FBS member.
4. If there are still bowl openings remaining, they are given to teams with a 5–7 record in order of their four-year football Academic Progress Rate (APR).

Note that, in groups 1–3, the teams can be chosen in any order, and the bowl games choose the teams; however, in group 4, they must be chosen in APR order, and each team chooses the bowl game in which it will play.^[2]

A rule change for 2010 allows bowls to tender a bid to any team with a 6–6 record before teams with more than six wins.^{[citation needed]} Previously, a bowl with an at-large bid to fill was required to select the remaining team with the best record over a 6–6 team that would have been more financially attractive in terms of bringing more fans to the respective bowl.

Records vs. selection order[edit]

The contracts specify that the respective bowl committees receive a certain choice of teams. The selection order lists show below (#1, #2, #3, etc.) indicate only the order in which the respective bowl committees make their selections. The choices are typically not predicated on end-of-season rankings or actually final regular season records/standings. For example, a bowl with the '# 3 pick' from a particular conference does not mean necessarily it has to select the 'third place team' from that conference. When it becomes that committee's turn to pick, it may pick any of the remaining teams from that conference (with respect to the aforementioned eligibility rules detailed above).

A committee may select one team over another due to geographical proximity, travel ability for the fanbase, or other factors. Bowls may choose to 'skip' teams in order to avoid regular season rematches, or perhaps bowl rematches from the previous season. In various cases, bowls have embraced a particular team(s) participating in same bowl in two consecutive seasons, but may shy away from inviting them for a third consecutive season. However, in most cases, the order loosely follows the general order of the regular season records/rankings.

Some conferences have special selection parameters written into their contracts with specific bowls — for example, the Citrus Bowl is contractually obligated to select the winningest Big Ten and SEC teams that do not make a CFP game (semifinal or New Year's Six Bowl), or a team within one win of the winningest in its conference. The MAC's bowl contracts require that both division champions, if eligible, receive bids to one of its five contracted bowls.

2019 Order of selection[edit]

Teams must be bowl-eligible to be selected for a bowl game. Should a conference not have enough eligible teams to meet their obligations, the bowls at the end of the selection process are free to choose a replacement team from among any remaining bowl-eligible teams that are not already committed to a bowl game.If a conference has multiple teams chosen for the CFP/New Year's Six games, the remaining bowls still select in the same order. For example, if two Pac-12 teams are in the CFP, the Alamo Bowl would then have the third (and not second) selection from the Pac-12, and all remaining bowls would also shift accordingly. This increases the likelihood that the conference will not be able to provide enough teams to meet its tie-in obligations.

American Athletic Conference[edit]

2019:

• The Birmingham Bowl versus SEC
• The Gasparilla Bowl versus Conference USA
• The Frisco Bowl versus an At-Large (BYU, CUSA, MAC, or MWC)
• The Military Bowl versus ACC
• The Hawaii Bowl versus BYU or Mountain West
• The Boca Raton Bowl versus MAC
• The Cure Bowl versus Sun Belt
• The Servpro First Responder Bowl versus Big 12 #7

Atlantic Coast Conference[edit]

2019:^[3]

NOTE:

• #1 College Football Playoff. ACC Champion (if not selected for the playoff) goes to Orange Bowl
• #2 The Camping World Bowl versus Big 12

Tier #1 (selections made with schools, bowls, and conference office)

• The Music City Bowl or the Gator Bowl versus SEC. From 2014–19, the Music City and Gator will each get ACC team three times. Music City has ACC priority this year, if both bowls desire ACC team, after Music City used ACC in 2014 and 2015.
• The Belk Bowl versus SEC
• The Hyundai Sun versus Pac-12 #5
• The New Era Pinstripe Bowl versus Big Ten

Tier #2 (in selection order)

• #7 The Military Bowl versus the American Athletic
• #8 The Independence Bowl versus SEC #9
• #9 The Quick Lane Bowl versus Big Ten

Big 12 Conference[edit]

2019:^[4]

• #1 College Football Playoff. Champion goes to Sugar Bowl if not selected for playoffs. The Sugar Bowl gets filled by a Big 12 team if champion is in the playoffs
• #2 The Alamo Bowl versus Pac-12 #2.
• #3 The Camping World Bowl versus ACC #2.
• #4 The Texas Bowl versus SEC.
• #5 The Liberty Bowl versus SEC.
• #6 The Cheez-It Bowl versus Pac-12 #7.
• #7 The Servpro First Responder Bowl versus the American Athletic

Big Ten Conference[edit]

2019^[5]:

NOTE: Bowls submit preferences to conference, and conference actually assigns schools to bowls. Other than the Rose Bowl, all Big Ten bowls have agreed to have at least five different schools in their bowl over the 2014–19 contract cycle. Also, no school will appear in same bowl back-to-back years.^[6]

• #1 College Football Playoff. Champion goes to Rose Bowl if not selected for playoffs. The Rose Bowl gets filled by a Big Ten team if champion is in the playoffs
• The Citrus Bowl versus SEC
• The Outback Bowl versus SEC
• The Holiday Bowl versus Pac-12
• The Music City Bowl or the Gator Bowl versus SEC. From 2014–19, the Music City and Gator will each get Big Ten team three times. No Big Ten will appear in either bowl more than once each.
• The Pinstripe Bowl versus ACC
• The Redbox Bowl versus Pac-12
• The Quick Lane Bowl versus ACC
• The First Responder Bowl versus Conference USA
• The Armed Forces Bowl versus Mountain West

Conference USA[edit]

2019^[7]:

Conference Champion picks bowl game to attend. If the conference champion is the Group of Five team, the second-place team will have the right to choose the game.

• The Bahamas Bowl versus MAC
• The Frisco Bowl as an At-Large among BYU, Mountain West, or MAC versus the American Athletic
• The New Mexico Bowl versus Mountain West
• The New Orleans Bowl versus Sun Belt
• The Gasparilla Bowl versus the American Athletic
• The Hawaii Bowl versus Mountain West/BYU
• The First Responder Bowl versus Big Ten

As secondary if the listed conferences cannot provide a bowl-eligible team

• The Boca Raton Bowl versus the American Athletic or MAC
• The Independence Bowl versus ACC or SEC

Mid-American Conference[edit]

The division winners, assuming they are bowl-eligible, are guaranteed a bowl berth.

2019^[8]:

• The LendingTree Bowl (traditionally conference champion versus Sun Belt)
• The Camellia Bowl versus Sun Belt
• The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl versus Mountain West
• The Frisco Bowl as an At-Large among BYU, Mountain West, or Conference USA versus the American Athletic
• The Bahamas Bowl versus Conference USA

Mountain West Conference[edit]

2019^[9]:

• #1 The Las Vegas Bowl versus Pac-12

Tier 1: (Next 3 bowls selected based on matchup, geography and history)

• The New Mexico Bowl versus Conference USA
• The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl versus MAC
• The Hawaii Bowl versus BYU

Tier 2:

• #4 The Arizona Bowl versus Sun Belt
• #5 The Frisco Bowl as an At-Large among BYU, Conference USA, or MAC versus the American Athletic

As secondary if the listed conferences cannot provide a bowl-eligible team

• The Cheez-It Bowl versus Big 12 or Pac-12
• The Redbox Bowl versus Big Ten or Pac-12

Pac-12 Conference[edit]

2019^[10]:

• #1 College Football Playoff. Champion goes to Rose Bowl unless they are selected for playoffs. The Rose Bowl gets filled by a Pac-12 team if champion is in the playoffs
• #2 The Alamo Bowl versus Big 12 #2
• #3 The Holiday Bowl versus Big Ten.
• #4 The Redbox Bowl versus Big Ten.
• #5 The Sun Bowl versus ACC.
• #6 The Las Vegas Bowl versus Mountain West.
• #7 The Cheez-It Bowl versus Big 12 #6

Southeastern Conference[edit]

2019^[11]:

• #1 College Football Playoff. Automatic berth to one of the New Year's Six bowl games. If the champion is already going to the playoffs, the number two team will play in the Sugar Bowl.
• #2 The Citrus Bowl versus Big Ten

Tier #1:Conference, in consultation with bowls and schools, assign teams to the following six bowls:

• The Outback Bowl versus Big Ten
• The Gator Bowl versus ACC or Big Ten
• The Music City Bowl versus ACC or Big Ten
• The Texas Bowl versus Big 12
• The Belk Bowl versus ACC
• The Liberty Bowl versus Big 12

Tier #2

• #9 The Birmingham Bowl versus the American Athletic
• #10 The Independence Bowl versus ACC

Sun Belt Conference[edit]

2019^[12]:

• #1 The New Orleans Bowl versus Conference USA
• #2 The LendingTree Bowl versus MAC
• #3 The Camellia Bowl versus MAC
• #4 The Cure Bowl versus the American Athletic
• #5 The Arizona Bowl versus Mountain West

Division I FBS Independents[edit]

Of the independent Football Bowl Subdivision teams, there are contractual agreements to play in certain bowl games should they become bowl eligible. All of these teams are eligible to be selected for a New Year's Six bowl game before accepting any other contractual bids.

For 2019, the contractual obligations are the following:

• BYU – BYU has a deal with the Hawaii Bowl
• Notre Dame – eligible for ACC-contracted bowls. However, Notre Dame cannot be selected by an ACC bowl if there is an eligible ACC team with two or more wins than Notre Dame. For example, a 9–3 Duke team must be chosen over a 7–5 Notre Dame team. Notre Dame was selected to the 2019 Camping World Bowl in lieu of the 3rd-place ACC team, the third time since 2014 they have taken an ACC slot. Notre Dame can also be selected to play against ACC teams in the Orange Bowl twice in the span from 2014-2025, and has no limit in playing in any other New Year's Six bowls if selected (Notre Dame has yet to make an Orange Bowl in that time; its most recent New Year's Six Bowl was the December 2018 Cotton Bowl Classic).
• Liberty, New Mexico State and UMass - eligible for a bowl game with 6 wins. Liberty and UMass have no tie-ins to any particular bowl game, while NMSU may be selected to the Arizona Bowl in lieu of a Sun Belt team. In 2019, the only one of those teams to be bowl-eligible was Liberty, who was selected to the 2019 Cure Bowl.

Division I FCS[edit]

For the only bowl game in the Football Championship Subdivision, the Celebration Bowl, the Southwestern Athletic Conference and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference both have tie-ins. Each conference must send their champion to the game.

Division II[edit]

Lone Star Conference[edit]

The Lone Star Conference has tie-ins to two bowls: a mandatory tie-in with the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl and optional slots in the Live United Bowl and Corsicana Bowl.

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association[edit]

The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has tie-ins to three bowls:

1. Mineral Water Bowl: The MIAA must send its highest-ranked team not in the Division II tournament.
2. Live United Bowl: The MIAA is one of two conferences (the other being the LSC) from which the bowl can draw its at-large team.
3. Corsicana Bowl: The MIAA is one of three conferences from which the bowl can draw its teams.

Great American Conference[edit]

The Great American Conference has two tie-ins:

1. Live United Bowl: The GAC must send its highest-ranked team not in the Division II tournament.
2. Corsicana Bowl: The GAC is one of three conferences (the others being the MIAA and LSC) from which the bowl can draw its teams.

Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference[edit]

The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has a tie-in with the Mineral Water Bowl and sends the highest-ranking team not in the tournament.

References[edit]

Notes

1. ^'NCAA approves UCLA's request for bowl waiver'. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
2. ^'NCAA 2016–17 Division I Bylaws, bylaw 18.7.2.1.4'(PDF).
3. ^'2019=20 ACC Bowl Selection Process'. ACC. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
4. ^'2018 Big 12 Bowl Selection Process'. Big 12. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
5. ^'Big Ten Bowl Determination Procedures'(PDF). Big Ten. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
6. ^http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/big10/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2016-17/misc_non_event/Bowl_Determination_Procedures.pdf
7. ^'C-USA Bowl Partners'. C-USA. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
8. ^'ESPN SECURES DATES & TIMES FOR 2018 BOWL SCHEDULE'. Mid-American Conference. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
9. ^'Mountain West Bowl Synopsis'. Mountain West Conference. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
10. ^'Pac-12 Football Release 9–12–17'(PDF). Pac-12. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
11. ^'SEC Weekly Release Week 3'(PDF). ESPN. Southeastern Conference Communications Office. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
12. ^'Sun Belt 2018 Football Media Guide'(PDF). p. 17. Retrieved 15 November 2018.