2020 Mid-American Conference football season

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.

2020 Mid-American Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	November 4 - December 18
Number of teams	12
Regular season
Season MVP	Jaret Patterson
East Division champions	Buffalo
West Division champions	Ball State
MAC Championship Game
Champions	Ball State
Runners-up	Buffalo
Finals MVP	Drew Plitt & Jimmy Daw, Ball State[1]

2020 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 25 Buffalo xy		5	–	0					6	–	1
Kent State		3	–	1					3	–	1
Ohio		2	–	1					2	–	1
Miami (OH)		2	–	1					2	–	1
Akron		1	–	5					1	–	5
Bowling Green		0	–	5					0	–	5
West Division
No. 23 Ball State xy$		5	–	1					7	–	1
Western Michigan		4	–	2					4	–	2
Toledo		4	–	2					4	–	2
Central Michigan		3	–	3					3	–	3
Eastern Michigan		2	–	4					2	–	4
Northern Illinois		0	–	6					0	–	6
Championship: Ball State 38, Buffalo 28
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Note: Due to COVID-19, the Mid-American suspended the season on August 8, but later decided to begin play on November 4.[2] Rankings from AP Poll.

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.^[3] 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.^[4][5] 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.^[6] On October 7 the MAC released the new 2020 Football schedule.^[7]

Head coaches

Coaches

Team	Head coach	Previous Job	Years at school	Overall record	MAC record	MAC titles
Akron	Tom Arth	Chattanooga	5	49–33 (.598)	0–8 (.000)	0
Ball State	Mike Neu	New Orleans Saints (QB Coach)	5	14–26 (.350)	9–27 (.250)	0
Bowling Green	Scot Loeffler	Virginia Tech Hokies (QB Coach)	2	3–9 (.250)	2–6 (.250)	0
Buffalo	Lance Leipold	Wisconsin–Whitewater	6	31–32 (.492)	20–20 (.500)	0
Central Michigan	Jim McElwain	Florida	2	52–34 (.605)	6–2 (.750)	1
Eastern Michigan	Chris Creighton	Drake	7	28–47 (.373)	16–32 (.333)	0
Kent State	Sean Lewis	Syracuse (Co Off. Coordinator)	2	7–6 (.538)	5–3 (.625)	0
Miami	Chuck Martin	Notre Dame (Off. Coordinator/QB Coach)	6	32–48 (.400)	26–22 (.542)	1
Northern Illinois	Thomas Hammock	Baltimore Ravens running backs coach	2	5–7 (.417)	4–4 (.500)	0
Ohio	Frank Solich	Nebraska	16	113–81 (.582)	71–45 (.612)	0
Toledo	Jason Candle	Toledo (Off. Coordinator)	5	34–20 (.630)	23–11 (.676)	1
Western Michigan	Tim Lester	Purdue (QB Coach)	4	20–18 (.526)	14–9 (.609)	0

Rankings

Main article: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

		Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Final
Akron	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Ball State	AP																RV	23
	C																RV	23
	CFP	Not released
Bowling Green	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Buffalo	AP											RV	RV	RV	24	23	RV	25
	C													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

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 4	6:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Kent State	Dix Stadium • Kent, OH	ESPN+	KSU 27–23
November 4	6:00 p.m.	Western Michigan	Akron	InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH	ESPN3	WMU 58–13	490
November 4	7:00 p.m.	Ball State	Miami	Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH	CBSSN	M-OH 38–31
November 4	7:00 p.m.	Buffalo	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	ESPN2	UB 49–30	449
November 4	7:00 p.m.	Ohio	Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN	CMU 30–27	757
November 4	8:00 p.m.	Bowling Green	Toledo	Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH (rivalry)	ESPNU	TOL 38–3
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 2

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 10	7:00 p.m.	Akron	Ohio	Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	CBSSN	OU 24–10	1,182
November 10	7:00 p.m.	Kent State	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH (Anniversary Award)	ESPNU	KSU 62–24	1,500
November 10	8:00 p.m.	Miami	Buffalo	UB Stadium • Buffalo, NY	ESPN	UB 42–10
November 11	7:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Ball State	Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN	CBSSN	BSU 38–31	1,183
November 11	8:00 p.m.	Central Michigan	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	ESPNU	CMU 40–10	419
November 11	8:00 p.m.	Toledo	Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN2	WMU 41–38
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 3

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 17	7:00 p.m.	Buffalo	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH	CBSSN	UB 42–17	1,500
November 17	8:00 p.m.	Akron	Kent State	Dix Stadium • Kent, OH (Wagon Wheel)	ESPN	KSU 69–45
November 17	8:00 p.m.	Ohio	Miami	Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH (Battle of the Bricks)	N/A	Cancelled	n/a
November 18	7:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Ball State	Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN (Bronze Stalk Trophy)	ESPNN	BSU 31–25	859
November 18	7:00 p.m.	Toledo	Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI	CBSSN	TOL 45–28	300
November 18	7:00 p.m.	Western Michigan	Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy, rivalry)	ESPN2	WMU 52–44
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 4

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 27	4:00 p.m.	Central Michigan	Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)	CBSSN	CMU 31–23
November 28	12:00 p.m.	Ball State	Toledo	Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH	ESPN3	BSU 27–24
November 28	12:00 p.m.	Bowling Green	Ohio	Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	ESPNU	OU 52–10	1,182
November 28	12:00 p.m.	Kent State	Buffalo	UB Stadium • Buffalo, NY	CBSSN	UB 70–41
November 28	12:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN+	WMU 30–27
November 28	1:00 p.m.	Miami	Akron	InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH	ESPN3	M-OH 38–7
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 5	12:00 p.m.	Toledo	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	ESPN3	TOL 41–24
December 5	12:00 p.m.	Kent State	Miami	Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH		cancelled	n/a
December 5	2:00 p.m.	Ball State	Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPNU	BSU 45–20
December 5	2:00 p.m.	Bowling Green	Akron	InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH	ESPN3	AKR 31–3
December 5	2:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)	ESPN+	EMU 53–42
December 5	3:30 p.m.	Buffalo	Ohio	Peden Stadium • Athens, OH		cancelled	n/a
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 12	12:00 p.m.	Western Michigan	Ball State	Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN	ESPN+	BSU 30–27	823
December 12	12:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN3	EMU 41–33	300
December 12	12:00 p.m.	Miami	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH	n/a	cancelled	n/a
December 12	12:00 p.m.	Ohio	Kent State	Dix Stadium • Kent, OH	n/a	cancelled	n/a
December 12	2:30 p.m.	Akron	No. 24 Buffalo	UB Stadium • Buffalo, NY	CBSSN	UB 56–7	0
December 12	3:00 p.m.	Central Michigan	Toledo	Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH	ESPN3	TOL 24–23	0
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Championship Game

Week 7 (MAC Championship game)

See also: 2020 MAC Championship Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 18	7:30 p.m.	Ball State	No. 23 Buffalo	Ford Field • Detroit, MI	ESPN	BSU 38–28
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time Zone.

Postseason

Bowl Games

See also: 2020–21 NCAA football bowl games

Legend
	MAC win
	MAC loss

Bowl game	Date	Site	Television	Time (EST)	MAC team	Opponent	Score	Attendance
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 Mayer Jaret Patterson	Miami Buffalo	QB RB		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 Patterson Dustin Crum	Buffalo Kent State	RB QB		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 Plitt Preston Hutchinson	Ball State Eastern Michigan	QB QB		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

Award	Player	School
Offensive Player of the Year	Jaret Patterson	Buffalo
Defensive Player of the Year	Troy Hairston Brandon Martin	Central Michigan Ball State
Special Teams Player of the Year	D'Wayne Eskridge	Western Michigan
Freshman Player of the Year	Lew Nichols III	Central Michigan
Vern Smith Leadership Award	Jaret Patterson	Buffalo
Coach of the Year	Lance Leipold	Buffalo

All-conference teams

Position Player Team First Team Offense WR Justin Hall Ball State WR Isaiah McKoy Kent State WR Tyrice Richie Northern Illinois WR D'Wayne Eskridge Western Michigan OL Kayode Awosika Buffalo OL Mike Novitsky Buffalo OL Tommy Doyle Miami OL Bryce Harris Toledo OL Mike Caliendo Western Michigan TE Quintin Morris Bowling Green QB Dustin Crum Kent State RB Teon Dollard Akron RB Jaret Patterson Buffalo PK Marshall Meeder Central Michigan First Team Defense DL Malcolm Koonce Buffalo DL Ralph Holley Western Michigan DL Troy Hairston Central Michigan DL Mohamed Diallo Central Michigan OLB Anthony Ekpe Ball State OLB Troy Brown Central Michigan ILB Brandon Martin Ball State ILB James Patterson Buffalo DB Bryce Cosby Ball State DB Willie Reid Central Michigan DB Noski LaFleur Eastern Michigan DB Bricen Garner Western Michigan P Luke Elzinga Central Michigan First Team Specialists KRS D'Wayne Eskridge Western Michigan KRS Justin Hall Ball State

Position Player Team Second Team Offense WR Antonio Nunn Buffalo WR Kalil Pimpleton Central Michigan WR Jack Sorenson Miami WR Skyy Moore Western Michigan OL Curtis Blackwell Ball State OL Jake Fuzak Buffalo OL Derek Smith Central Michigan OL Bill Kuduk Kent State OL Jaylon Moore Western Michigan TE Daniel Crawford Northern Illinois QB Drew Plitt Ball State RB De'Montre Tuggle Ohio RB La'Darius Jefferson Western Michigan PK Chad Ryland Eastern Michigan Second Team Defense DL Turan Rush Eastern Michigan DL Weston Kramer Northern Illinois DL Desjuan Johnson Toledo DL Austin Conrad Ohio OLB Christian Albright Ball State OLB Jamal Hines Toledo ILB Bubba Arslanian Akron ILB Terry Myrick Eastern Michigan DB Antonio Phillips Ball State DB Jordan Gandy Northern Illinois DB Tycen Anderson Toledo DB Nate Bauer Toledo P Nathan Snyder Ball State Second Team Specialists KRS Trayvon Rudolph Northern Illinois KRS De'Montre Tuggle Ohio

Position Player Team Third Team Offense WR Yo'Heinz Tyler Ball State WR Hassan Beydoun Eastern Michigan WR Isaiah Winstead Toledo WR Jaylen Hall Western Michigan OL Sidy Sow Eastern Michigan OL Nathan Monnin Kent State OL Danny Godlevske Miami OL Brayden Patton Northern Illinois OL Brett Kitrell Ohio TE Zac Lefebvre Buffalo QB Kaleb Eleby Western Michigan RB Caleb Huntley Ball State RB Kevin Marks Buffalo PK Alex McNulty Buffalo Third Team Defense DL Eddie Wilson Buffalo DL Jose Ramirez Eastern Michigan DL Kam Butler Miami DL Lonnie Phelps Miami OLB Kholbe Coleman Bowling Green ILB Jaylin Thomas Ball State ILB Kyle Pugh Northern Illinois ILB Treshaun Hayward Western Michigan DB A. J. Watts Akron DB Devonni Reed Central Michigan DB Emmanuel Rugamba Miami DB Devin Lafayette Northern Illinois P Nick Mihalic Western Michigan Third Team Specialists KRS Bryson Denley Bowling Green KRS Ron Cook Buffalo

Ref:^[8]

All-Americans

For the complete All-America selections, see 2020 College Football All-America Team.

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 Patterson	Buffalo	Athletic, USAT

Position	Player	School	Selector	Unanimous	Consensus
Second Team All-Americans
RB	Jaret Patterson	Buffalo	AFCA, AP, CBS, FWAA, TSN
OL	Kayode Awosika	Buffalo	FWAA
AP	D'Wayne Eskridge	Western 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)