2019 is the 150th season college football and the 73rd for the Mid-American
Conference.
As the new season dawns, every team has that dream. The dream of playing
in Early December at the 2019 Marathon MAC Football Championship
Game.
At this point, Detroit is far far away. The teams went through fall camp three new head coaches get their starts. At media day, Ohio was the clear
cut favorite not only to win the East but the overall MAC title as well
There are contenders like Toledo, Miami, Western Michigan, and Eastern
Michigan who can derail the Bobcats chances.
Here is a look at the 12 teams as they begin week one.
EASTERN DIVISION:
AKRON:
The Zips opening game was canceled due to thunderstorms at Nebraska. Which should have been an omen for the rest of the season. UA then won at
Northwestern the first-ever win over a Big Ten School They added a win over rival
Kent State in overtime and over Central Michigan however they lost their last five games finishing with a record of 4-8 (2-6 in the MAC). On the plane coming home
after the season-ending loss at South Carolina, it was announced that Head Coach
Terry Bowden was being relieved of his duties after seven seasons
To replace Bowden, UA went young hiring 38-year-old Tom Arth as the 28th head coach in school history and the sixth since the Zips moved into the Football Bowl subdivision.
A native of Northeast Ohio, Arth played High School Football at Cleveland St.
Ignatius High School for the legendary head coach Chuck Kyle. Then spent four
seasons at Division III John Carroll where he was a numerous Division III
All-American in both his junior and senior seasons. He set 1 school records and in
2002 he led the Blue Streaks to a 12-2 record and a berth in Division III
semi-finals
He began his coaching career in 2010 at JCU as an assistant coach then took the head job in 2013 and went 40- in four seasons. In 2017 he moved to Chattanooga and was 9-13 with the Mocs with a 6-5 record in 2018.
At the controls is junior quarterback Kato Nelson. The Florida native will begin his third season as the starting quarterback. A season ago he completed 52 percent of his passes (178-of-342) for 2,329 yards with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
He added 303 yards and a score on the ground and comes into the season as the
Zips leading returning rusher. The main thing for Nelson and the Zips offense is that he must stay healthy. He was injured late in the third quarter in the home loss
to Northern Illinois and missed two games in which the offense was ineffective
One thing UA must work on is an effective running game. Fifth-year senior Deltron
Sands and sophomore Keyondre White showed flashes of what they are capable of a season ago. For Sands, he still has not recovered fully from an injury he suffered late in the 2017 season. Look for sophomore Brandon Lee and redshirt freshman Devanie Floyd to see some time in the early going.
The receivers are led by Junior Andre Williams who led the team with 46 catches in 2018 for 649 yards and six touchdowns and is a big-play threat. They
also, have depth at that position in junior Jonah Morris (26 receptions for 381
yards and a touchdown), junior Nate Stewart (22 catches for 280 yards and a
score) and sophomore Jeremiah Knight (nine catches for 12 yards). Add to that
senior Brandon Junk and sophomore Maverick Wolfley at the tight end position
The offensive line allowed 34 sacks last season and re led by senior Trevor Brown,
Bryce Petersen, sophomores Hunter Corne and Shawn Muldowney a the starters
The strength of the defense is senior LB John Lako who led UA in total tackles last
season with 126 (73 solos) with a fumble recovery and three pass breakups
Along with senior DB Alvin Davis and senior Shawn Featherstone. Davis finished
fourth on the team in tackles with 75 (43 solos) with four interceptions including a
pair of touchdowns in the win over Northwestern while Featherstone is coming
back from a season-ending injury
UA opens the Tom Arth era on Saturday at Illinois.
BOWLING GREEN:
In 2018 the Falcons suffered through a 3-9 season and midway through dismissed head coach Mike Jenks. Just a couple of weeks after the season they hired Scot Loeffler to be the new head man after spending the past few seasons under Steve Addazio both at Temple and a Boston College.
The Falcons return seven offensive starters led by RB Andrew Clair who
rushed for 720 yards a season ago as well as WR Quinton Morris who had 42
catches for 5 16 yards and seven touchdowns. The offensive line will have
four starters returning including Matt tanner, Jack Kramer, Caleb Bryant and
Nate Needham.
The biggest question mark of the offense is who will be at quarterback. After two seasons with Jarret Doege look for junior Gant Loy to be behind center for the season opener.
The defense returns five starters led by senior LB David Kowalski and three in the secondary in Jerry McBride, Matt Naranjo, and Caleb Biggers.
BGSU opened its 100th season of intercollegiate football on Thursday night at home against Morgan State out of the MEAC.
BUFFALO:
In 2018, The Bulls had one of those magical seasons winning the Eastern
Division with a 10-3 record before squandering a second-half lead to
Northern Illinois in the Championship Game then falling to Troy in the Dollar
General Bowl.
As 2019 begins, head coach Lane Leipold will have only five returning
starters however to of them was the best running back tandem in the MACin
Jarrett Patterson and Kevin Marks who combined for over 2000 rushing
yards. The biggest holes are at quarterback and wide receiver where Tyree
Jackson and Anthony Johnson have both graduated, Look for freshman
Trevor Wilson and Antonio Nunn at wife out while sophomore Matt Myers will be behind center. The offensive line has four returning starters led by seniors Tomas Jack-Kuroyla and Paul Nosworthy.
The defense has to replace one of the best linebackers in school history that are Khalil Hodge. They have only three returning starters led by sophomore LB
James Patterson along with DB Joey Banks and Evan Finegan.
UB begins defense of their Eastern Division title against FCS member Robert
Morris on Thursday night.
KENT STATE:
When you look back at Kent State in 2018. One thing was different than the past few seasons and that is a competitive football team. Starting with the opener at
Illinois where they held a lead deep into the third quarter before falling to the
Fighting Illini, the Flashes showed they came to play every time out.
Yes they took their lumps especially at Penn State and Ole Miss, however, they also
showed they were not that far away from being a factor in the Eastern Division as
they lost late in the fourth quarter to Ohio, lost by three points the next week at
Miami, and one point in overtime to Akron at home on a misplayed extra point
attempt that could have sent the game into a second overtime.
In fact, in the second half of the season, the only game KSU was not competitive in was the 48-20 loss at Buffalo. Otherwise, they held their own in the snow against
Toledo and against bowl-bound Eastern Michigan.
Year two of the Sean Smith era is upon us and most people look for improvement
from two victories a season ago and they should
The man at the helm of the offense is Woody Barrett. The redshirt Junior had a
solid season both with his arm and with his feet. He completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 2339 yards with nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also ran for 503 yards with seven additional scores.
After Barrett, the running game is in the capable hands of senior Jo-El Shaw who had 657 yards on the ground, second on the team with seven touchdowns he also had nine catches for 84 yards and a pair of scores. Look for senior Will Matthews to
spell Shaw doing the game.
The receivers are led by senior Mike Carrigan who had 45 receptions for 597 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Antwon Dixon led the receiving corps with 52
catches for 532 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore Isiah McKoy Isiah
McKoy had 42 catches for423 yards and three touchdowns.
The offensive line all five starters returning led by senior C Nate Warnock and
Jamil Vlad.
brings back six starters led by senior LB Matt Bahr who had 91 total tackles a
season ago (50 solos) with three sacks and an interception along with junior CB
Keith Sherald Jr who also had 91 total stops (29 solos) with three sacks, a
forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. The fifth-year senior LB Nick Faulkner will also be a key I on the defense as he had 36 total tackles a season ago with an interception. The defensive second ay is led by Sherald Jr, senior CB Jamal Parker who had 83 tackles in 2018 along with two forced fumbles and junior S Elvin Hines who had 41 tackles and an interception.
The flashes travel to Arizona State on Thursday night against the Sun Devils
in KSU’s first-ever game against a PAC-12 school
MIAMI:
The Redhawks finished the 2018 campaign strong with wins over Ohio and
Northern Illinois as well as Ball State, however, their 6-6 record did not secure them a bowl game.
Head Coach Chuck Martin beginning his seventh season in Oxford believes he has a team that can challenge the Eastern Division title. MU is solid at running back with junior Jack Sorenson and senior Maurice Thomas as well as at WR in Luke Mayock. The offensive line has four starts led by senior
Jarrett LaRubbio.
The big question is at quarterback. Look for sophomore Jackson Williamson to get the start.
The defensive has five starters led by senior DT Doug Costin and junior DB
Mike Brown.
The Hawks begin the season on Saturday night at Iowa against the Hawkeyes out of the Big Ten.
OHIO:
Oh, what might have been for the Bobcats. They were on their way to the
MAC Championship game after defeating Buffalo but a three-point loss at
rival Miami ended any hopes of the Green and White taking the Eastern
Division title.
As head coach Frank Solich begins his 15th season in Athens. He again has a
strong team.
Offensively, it begins and ends with Nathan Rourke. The senior from Canada leads one of the most prolific offenses a year ago he completed 60 percent of his passes for 2434 yards and also rushed for 860 yards. He is a run and pas quarterback the ones Solich had at Nebraska. The running game did
suffer graduation losses as well as the receivers but look for O’Shann
Allison at RB and Cameron Odom at wide receiver to be a key. The offensive line is led by senior Austin Pleasants.
The defense has six returning starters led by senior Javon Hagan. Also, they have one of the best PKs in the conference in Luis Zervos.
The Cats are heavy favorites to win the title., If they di, not this season, it may be a long time that they do.
Ohio begins the season on Saturday at Peden Stadium against Rhode Island
WESTERN DIVISION:
BALL STATE:
The Cardinals have shown fits and starts under head coach Mike Neu. They had a respectable showing at Notre Dame but finished with a 4-8 record.
As Neu begins his fifth season in Muncie, he returns eight starters on offense including RB Caleb Huntley. The receivers are one of the best in the
mAC in Riley Miller, Malik Dunner, Kyle chrank, and Justin Hall. The offensive line has two returners in Andrew Poetnisch and Kaleb Slaven.
As many teams in the MAC a big question I at Quarterback. Junior Drew Pitt will get the start for the season opener.
The defense is led by seniors Brandon Martin, Jacob White, and Bryce
Crosby.
The Cards open the season on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis against Indiana.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN:
CMU suffered its worst season in its proud history going 1-11. Changes had
to be made first was the dismissal of John Bonameego and in his place was
Jim McIlwain who spent one season on Jim Harbaugh’s staff at Michigan but was a head coach at Colorado State and Florida.
The cupboard is not bare for the Chips they return eight starters including senior QB Quintin Dormedy. The running game will be a key with returners
Romello Ross and Jonathan Ward. The receivers are led by TE Tony Poljan and Brandon Childress. The offensive line is led by senior Clay Walderzak.
The defense returns only three starters and the strength is in the secondary with de’ Quad Johnson and Devonn Meeks.
CMU open their 2019 season Thursday night against FCS Member Albany comes to Kelly Shorts Stadium.
EASTERN MICHIGAN:
2018 started so promising for the Eagles ass they had wins over FCS opponent
Monmouth and then defeated Purdue on the last kick of the game to go 2-0. Then
came a stretch of four consecutive losses at Buffalo, at San Diego State, vs
Northern Illinois and Western Michigan with the games against the Aztecs and
Huskies going into overtime.
Head coach Chris Creighton begins his sixth season in Ypsilanti and has a
team that can break through reach the top three in the Western Division.
QB Mike Glenn III who came in during the season when Tyler Weigers was hurt or was ineffective and gave the offense a spark. I might game last season, Glenn completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 1024 yards with nine touchdowns and only one interception (that against SDSU) and also ran for 412 yard and six scores.
The running game is in the hands of senior RB Shaq Vann who rushed for 590
yards and five touchdowns and junior Willie Parker who had 252 yards and a
score.
Amongst the receivers, who do you have to replace the graduated Blake Banham?
The Eagles will use three starting with senior Arthur Jackson III whop had 46
catches for 592 yards and five touchdowns. Michael Sexton who had 27 catches for 419 yards and three scores and throw in sophomore Dylan Drummond who had 25 catches for 245 yards.
. As 2019 begins the defense has two big holes to fill. One being Maxx Crosby and the other LB Kyle Rachwal who was a major part of the Eagles defense.
The strength lies in the defensive secondary in senior DB Vince Calhoun who had
84 tackles and three interceptions in 2018 and senior Brady Hoying who had 69
total stops with 11 of them for losses
EMU begin their 2019 season on Saturday at Coastal Carolina
NORTHERN ILLINOIS:
The Huskies came back from a 1-3 start to win their 11th MAC Western Division
title then in Detroit at the MAC Championship game came back from a 19-point
third-quarter deficit to defeat Buffalo to win the title.
NIU rattled off six straight ins including a win at BYU to grab the Western Title when they defeated Toledo at Home 32-15.
After the loss in Boca Raton, head coach Ron Carey left to head to Temple after six successful seasons.
Coming to DeKalb was an old face to the school and the program in Thomas
Hammock who played and coached for the Huskies and came back to his alma
mater after five seasons in the NFL as the running backs coach with the NFL
Baltimore Ravens under head coach John Harbaugh.
QB Marcus Childers will open behind center and the big question for Hammock and Eidness is will they keep Childress as he is both a runner and passer or will they change his mechanics. Childress completed 58.9 percent of his passes for
2176 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also ran for 531 yards and six scores.
The game is in the capable hands of Tre Harbison who rushed for 1034 yards
becoming the first Huskie to reach that plateau since 2015 and had five 100-yard
rushing games and five touchdowns.
The receivers are led by senior WR Spencer Tears who had 40 catches for 429
yards and four touchdowns.
offense how do you replace a two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year in Sutton
Smith now with the Pittsburgh steelers.
The adage the sum of its parts can be equal to the whole as returning is senior
LB Antonio Jones-Davis who led NIU in tackles with 130 (76 solos) with four sacks
and two forced fumbles. Another senior LB Kyle Pugh returns with 106 total stops
(63 solo) and senior S Mykleti Williams who had 75 tackles and two interceptions
and five pass breakups and also had that big play for a touchdown two years ago
when they stunned Nebraska in Lincoln
NIU opens their season on Saturday at home against FCS member Illinois State
TOLEDO:
Every year it seems, the Rockets are picked to win the Western Division and they fall short except in 2017. Last season UT finished with a 7-5 record and lost to Florida International in the Bahamas Bowl.
Head Coach Jason candle begins his third season again as the favorites in the
West with six returning starters on offense led by QB Mitchell Guardagni.
2018 qs a season of injuries an in and out of the lineup. He did complete 57
percent of his passes for 1063 yards with 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
The running game will be in good hands with sophomore Bryan Kobak who gainrd 917 yards with 14 touchdowns a season ago. The receivers will be led by WR Denzel McKinley-Lewis as well as a TE Reggie Gilliam. The offensive line will have all five starters led by seniors Cameron Bell and Luke Doerger.
The defense will have five returning starters led by sophomore Jamal Hines as well as seniors Bailey Flint and Khalil Robinson.
Midnight Blue and Gold open the season Saturday night at Kentucky
WESTERN MICHIGAN:
The Broncos were on their way to another solid season in 2018. That is until starting QB Jon Wassink went down with a season-ending injury.
Nevertheless, WMU finished with a 7-6 record defeating eventual MAC
Champion Northern Illinois before losing to BYU in the Famous Idaho Potato
Bowl.
As head coach, Tim Lester begins his third season in charge in Kalamazoo.
The Broncos will again be one of the contenders in the Western Division.
The offense will be led by Wassink who before the injury passed for 1994
yards completing almost 62 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
The running game is in good hands with Levante Bellamy who rushed for
1226 yards a season ago and six touchdowns. The receivers are led by Jaylen
Hall who had just 11 catches for 170 yards but will be counted on heavily this season. The offensive line will have five returning starters led by C Luke
Juriga.
The defense has 10 returning starters they are led by senior LB Drake Spears
and Alex Grace and in the secondary by Justin Tranquill and D’Wayne
Eskridge.
The Broncos open their 2019 season Thursday night when FCS member
Monmouth comes to Waldo Stadium
Ther you have it. Inside MAC FOOTBALL for the opening week of the 2019 season.
Kent State travels to Arizona State. Two of the three new head coaches have home
games while Ohio and Toledo are the preseason favorites in this 73rd season
SEE YOU AT THE STADIUM
E.