Well folks, here we are - The last Thursday night game of the year. What started on August 31st when South Carolina visited Mississippi State is now wrapping up with the MAC Championship in Detroit.

I know, the MAC Championship doesn’t sound like a particularly sexy way to end the Thursday night slate but don’t look past this one, it has the makings of a very competitive tilt.

It’s certainly a surprise to find Central Michigan and Ohio in the final as both were predicted in the MAC News Media Association preseason poll to finish fourth in their respective divisions. And neither was tabbed by any of the 50 voters to win the MAC Championship game.

Advertisement

Most media outlets were in agreement that Northern Illinois and Akron had the best chance to play for all the marbles but over the course of the season the Chippewas and Bobcats proved themselves to be the most consistent teams in the league.

Both schools have wrapped up their postseason destinations as CMU will return to Ford Field on December 26th to play in the Motor City Bowl while Ohio will have to wait until January 7 to play against a Conference USA opponent in the GMAC Bowl.

The experts might not have been so surprised at Central Michigan’s season if they had known Coach Brian Kelly was going to get so much production from his quarterback.

The QB position was really the big question mark coming into the season for CMU and things certainly didn’t get off on the right foot when sophomore Brian Brunner was knocked out of the game on the first play of the season opener against Boston College.

Kelly probably now considers that a sign from the football gods that he should have been starting Dan LeFevour all along because once the redshirt freshman stepped into the huddle the offense never looked back.

Behind LeFevour (209-332, 63.0 pct., 2,555 yards, 22 TDs, 9 int.) the Central Michigan offense tops the MAC in scoring, averaging just shy of 30 points per game. While the Chippewas look to move the ball primarily through the air they do have a very capable ground attack as well with RB Ontario Sneed.

Ohio and second year head coach Frank Solich have been equally as impressive as CMU but in a completely different fashion. The Bobcats lead the MAC in scoring defense, allowing just 16.2 points per game. Solich’s defense, reminiscent of some of great “Blackshirt” units he coached at Nebraska, has held three opponents to just 7 points (Buffalo, at Kent State, Akron) and one foe to 3 points (UT-Martin).

With that in mind, it’s probably no surprise that Solich’s offense is also very similar to those great Cornhusker teams: a major rushing attack. RB Kalvin McRae (228 att., 1,139 yards, 14 TDs, 5.0 ypc) has been the definition of a workhorse and is the heart and soul of the Ohio offense. McRae is also the leading receiver for the Bobcats and QB Austen Everson.

By making it to Detroit, Solich has made a little history by becoming the first coach ever to take a team from different schools to a conference championship game. You may remember he also guided the 1999 Nebraska squad to the Big 12 title game.

How much are these teams’ mirror images of each other? Consider that while CMU has the #1 scoring offense in the MAC, Ohio has the #1 scoring defense in the conference. And it doesn’t stop there as Ohio has the #6 scoring offense in the MAC while Central Michigan has the #6 scoring defense in the league. As I said at the top, it really should be one of the most competitive games of this last week of the regular season.

Central Michigan has been a cash machine this season with a 10-2 ATS record while Ohio hasn’t been too far behind with a 7-3-1 ATS mark.

MAC Championship Game Factoids | History