The 2020 Mid-American Conference football season was the 75th season for the Mid-American Conference (MAC), as part of the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
The provisional schedule was released on February 26, 2020, with a regular season between September 3 and November 28, 2020, and the MAC Championship Game on December 5, 2020. On August 8, 2020, the MAC announced that all fall sports had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with plans to attempt play in Spring 2021. Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher stated that "there are simply too many unknowns to put our student-athletes into situations that are not clearly understood." It was reported that the NIU Huskies — the conference's most successful team — were instrumental in pushing for a full cancellation of the season, and had also suggested the possibility of opting out if the MAC did decide to play. Concerns were also raised over the budgetary impacts of health protocols such as testing, especially with the cancellation of all but five games against Power Five conference opponents (which often serve as a major revenue source) due to restrictions to in-conference play only. The MAC became the first FBS conference to cancel the 2020 season entirely due to COVID-19. On September 24, 2020, The MAC voted unanimously to resume the fall football season. the six-game conference-only schedule will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 4 with a full slate of games. The regular season will conclude with the East Division & West Division Champions playing in the MAC Championship Game on Friday, Dec. 18 at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich The Conference will implement a COVID-19 testing program requiring four antigen tests per week with all positive tests needing confirmation with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Any student athlete with a positive test will enter a cardiac screening protocol. The MAC's approved COVID-19 testing protocols, including four tests per week, will begin Monday, October 5. On October 7 the MAC released the new 2020 Football schedule.
Head coaches
Team Head coach Previous Job Years at school Overall record MAC record MAC titlesAkron Tom Arth Chattanooga 5 0Ball State Mike Neu New Orleans Saints (QB Coach) 5 0Bowling Green Scot Loeffler Virginia Tech Hokies (QB Coach) 2 0Buffalo Lance Leipold Wisconsin–Whitewater 6 0Central Michigan Jim McElwain Florida 2 1Eastern Michigan Chris Creighton Drake 7 0Kent State Sean Lewis Syracuse (Co Off. Coordinator) 2 0Miami Chuck Martin Notre Dame (Off. Coordinator/QB Coach) 6 1Northern Illinois Thomas Hammock Baltimore Ravens running backs coach 2 0Ohio Frank Solich Nebraska 16 0Toledo Jason Candle Toledo (Off. Coordinator) 5 1Western Michigan Tim Lester Purdue (QB Coach) 4 0
Rankings
Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 FinalAkron AP C CFP Not released Ball State AP RV 23C RV 23 CFP Not released Bowling Green AP C CFP Not released Buffalo AP RV RV RV 24 23 RV 25C RV RV RV RV 25 CFP Not released Central Michigan AP C CFP Not released Eastern Michigan AP C CFP Not released Kent State AP C CFP Not released Miami AP C CFP Not released Northern Illinois AP C CFP Not released Ohio AP C CFP Not released Toledo AP C CFP Not released Western Michigan AP C CFP Not released + Legend Improvement in ranking Drop in ranking Not ranked previous week No change in ranking from previous week RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
Regular season schedule Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Championship Game
Week 7 (MAC Championship game)
Postseason Bowl games
Legend MAC win MAC loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (EST)MAC teamOpponentScoreAttendance Camellia Bowl December 25 Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL ESPN 2:30 p.m. Buffalo Marshall W 17–10 2,512 Arizona Bowl December 31 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ CBS 2:00 p.m. Ball State San Jose State W 34–13 0
Awards and honors Player of the week honors East Division Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position Week 1 (November 9) AJ MayerJaret Patterson MiamiBuffalo QBRB Ryan McWood Miami LB De'Montre Tuggle Ohio RB/KR Week 2 (November 16) Kyle Vantrease Buffalo QB Keye Thompson Ohio LB Dom Dzioban Miami P Week 3 (November 23) Jaret PattersonDustin Crum BuffaloKent State RBQB James Patterson Buffalo LB Matthew Trickett Kent State K Week 4 (November 30) Jaret Patterson Buffalo RB Kameron Butler Miami DE Julian Ross Ohio RB/KR Week 5 (December 7) Teon Dollard Akron RB Bubba Arslanian Akron LB Gavin Blunt Akron WR Week 6 (December 14) Kevin Marks Buffalo RB Eddie Wilson Buffalo DT Tyrone Hill Buffalo S
West Division Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position Week 1 (November 9) Eli Peters Toledo QB Troy Hairston Central Michigan DL Luke Elzinga Central Michigan P Week 2 (November 16) Caleb Huntley Ball State RB Brandon Martin Ball State LB Marshall Meeder Central Michigan K Week 3 (November 23) D'Wayne Eskridge Western Michigan WR Jamal Hines Toledo DE Thiago Kapps Western Michigan K Week 4 (November 30) Drew Plitt Ball State QB Christian Albright Ball State LB D'Wayne Eskridge Western Michigan WR/KR Week 5 (December 7) Drew PlittPreston Hutchinson Ball StateEastern Michigan QBQB Jose Ramirez Eastern Michigan DE Chad Ryland Eastern Michigan K Week 6 (December 14) Justin Hall Ball State WR Jaylin Thomas Ball State LB Chad Ryland Eastern Michigan K
MAC individual awards The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the Mid-American Conference football coaches at the end of the season AwardPlayerSchoolOffensive Player of the Year Jaret Patterson BuffaloDefensive Player of the Year Troy HairstonBrandon Martin Central MichiganBall StateSpecial Teams Player of the Year D'Wayne Eskridge Western MichiganFreshman Player of the Year Lew Nichols III Central MichiganVern Smith Leadership Award Jaret Patterson BuffaloCoach of the Year Lance Leipold Buffalo
All-conference teams
Position Player Team First Team Offense WR Justin Hall Ball StateWR Isaiah McKoy Kent StateWR Tyrice Richie Northern IllinoisWR D'Wayne Eskridge Western MichiganOL Kayode Awosika BuffaloOL Mike Novitsky BuffaloOL Tommy Doyle MiamiOL Bryce Harris ToledoOL Mike Caliendo Western MichiganTE Quintin Morris Bowling GreenQB Dustin Crum Kent StateRB Teon Dollard AkronRB Jaret Patterson BuffaloPK Marshall Meeder Central Michigan First Team DefenseDL Malcolm Koonce BuffaloDL Ralph Holley Western MichiganDL Troy Hairston Central MichiganDL Mohamed Diallo Central MichiganOLB Anthony Ekpe Ball StateOLB Troy Brown Central MichiganILB Brandon Martin Ball StateILB James Patterson BuffaloDB Bryce Cosby Ball StateDB Willie Reid Central MichiganDB Noski LaFleur Eastern MichiganDB Bricen Garner Western MichiganP Luke Elzinga Central Michigan First Team SpecialistsKRS D'Wayne Eskridge Western MichiganKRS Justin Hall Ball State
Position Player Team Second Team OffenseWR Antonio Nunn BuffaloWR Kalil Pimpleton Central MichiganWR Jack Sorenson MiamiWR Skyy Moore Western MichiganOL Curtis Blackwell Ball StateOL Jake Fuzak BuffaloOL Derek Smith Central MichiganOL Bill Kuduk Kent StateOL Jaylon Moore Western MichiganTE Daniel Crawford Northern IllinoisQB Drew Plitt Ball StateRB De'Montre Tuggle OhioRB La'Darius Jefferson Western MichiganPK Chad Ryland Eastern Michigan Second Team DefenseDL Turan Rush Eastern MichiganDL Weston Kramer Northern IllinoisDL Desjuan Johnson ToledoDL Austin Conrad OhioOLB Christian Albright Ball StateOLB Jamal Hines ToledoILB Bubba Arslanian AkronILB Terry Myrick Eastern MichiganDB Antonio Phillips Ball StateDB Jordan Gandy Northern IllinoisDB Tycen Anderson ToledoDB Nate Bauer ToledoP Nathan Snyder Ball State Second Team SpecialistsKRS Trayvon Rudolph Northern IllinoisKRS De'Montre Tuggle Ohio
Position Player Team Third Team OffenseWR Yo'Heinz Tyler Ball StateWR Hassan Beydoun Eastern MichiganWR Isaiah Winstead ToledoWR Jaylen Hall Western MichiganOL Sidy Sow Eastern MichiganOL Nathan Monnin Kent StateOL Danny Godlevske MiamiOL Brayden Patton Northern IllinoisOL Brett Kitrell OhioTE Zac Lefebvre BuffaloQB Kaleb Eleby Western MichiganRB Caleb Huntley Ball StateRB Kevin Marks BuffaloPK Alex McNulty Buffalo Third Team DefenseDL Eddie Wilson BuffaloDL Jose Ramirez Eastern MichiganDL Kam Butler MiamiDL Lonnie Phelps MiamiOLB Kholbe Coleman Bowling GreenILB Jaylin Thomas Ball StateILB Kyle Pugh Northern IllinoisILB Treshaun Hayward Western MichiganDB A. J. Watts AkronDB Devonni Reed Central MichiganDB Emmanuel Rugamba MiamiDB Devin Lafayette Northern IllinoisP Nick Mihalic Western Michigan Third Team SpecialistsKRS Bryson Denley Bowling GreenKRS Ron Cook Buffalo
Ref:
All-Americans
The 2020 College Football All-America Teams are composed of the following College Football All-American first teams chosen by the following selector organizations: Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Walter Camp Foundation (WCFF), The Sporting News (TSN), Sports Illustrated (SI), USA Today (USAT) ESPN, CBS Sports (CBS), FOX Sports (FOX) College Football News (CFN), Bleacher Report (BR), Scout.com, Phil Steele (PS), SB Nation (SB), Athlon Sports, Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Yahoo! Sports (Yahoo!).
Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. Football consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.
Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus First Team All-Americans RB Jaret PattersonBuffalo Athletic, USAT
Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus Second Team All-Americans RB Jaret PattersonBuffalo AFCA, AP, CBS, FWAA, TSN OL Kayode AwosikaBuffalo FWAA AP D'Wayne EskridgeWestern Michigan FWAA
NFL draft The following list includes all MAC players drafted in the 2021 NFL draft
Round # Pick # NFL team Player Position College 2 56 Seattle Seahawks D'Wayne Eskridge WR Western Michigan 3 79 Las Vegas Raiders Malcolm Koonce DE Buffalo 5 155 San Francisco 49ers Jaylon Moore OG Western Michigan 5 161 Buffalo Bills Tommy Doyle OT Miami (OH)
References