UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Saturday, September 14
Cincinnati at Miami
12 pm ET (ESPNU)
Central Michigan at Illinois
12 pm ET (Peacock)
UMass at Buffalo
1 pm ET (CBSSN)
Morgan State at Ohio
3:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
Ball State at Miami (FL)
3:30 pm ET (ACC Network)
Colgate at Akron
6 pm ET (ESPN+)
Bethune-Cookman at Western Michigan
6:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
Jacksonville State at Eastern Michigan
7 pm ET (ESPN+)
Toledo at Mississippi State
7:30 pm ET (ESPNU)
Kent State at Tennessee
7:45 pm ET (SEC Network)
2 MINUTE DRILL
• Kanon Woodill connected on a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds remaining to lift Northern Illinois to a 16-14 Fly the Flag victory over No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend. Antario Brown gained 225 total yards (126 receiving and 99 rushing) with a touchdown and Ethan Hampton was 10-of-19 passing for 198 yards and a touchdown to earn the MAC its first win over a Top Five opponent ever. Thanks to the historic victory, the Huskies are ranked No. 25 in the latest AP Poll, their first top-25 ranking since 2013, and earned Cheez-It National Team of the Week honors by the FWAA.
• Ohio defeated South Alabama, 27-20, at Frank Solich Field, marking the program’s 600th win. Parker Navarro tallied a touchdown on the ground and through the air, while Anthony Tyus III notched 77 yards and a rushing touchdown to lead the Ohio offense.
• Ball State opened its 100th season of football with a 42-34 victory against Missouri State at Scheumann Stadium. Kadin Semonza threw for four touchdown and ran for another, while Braedon Sloan added two rushing touchdowns and 103 yards in his Ball State debut to help the Cardinals score the most points in a season opener since 2018.
• Toledo moved to 2-0 with a 38-23 victory against UMass at the Glass Bowl. Jerjuan Newton caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Tucker Gleason and Jacquez Stuart returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. The Toldeo defense held UMass to just 4.4 yards per play, broke up six passes and tallied five sacks.
• The Mid-American Conference is well represented across NFL rosters as 60 former MAC student-athletes earned a spot on team’s initial rosters. For the second straight year, the Buffalo Bills lead the league with six MAC representatives while 18 other franchises have multiple players from MAC institutions. The most represented school on the initial rosters is Toledo, who has 12 former student-athletes in the league. Western Michigan is right behind the Rockets with 11 representatives.
• The MAC has established a new football scheduling model that will go into effect starting this season. The new scheduling model will eliminate the MAC East and West Divisions. The top two teams based on conference winning percentage will compete in the MAC Football Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.
MAC NOTES
• Fly The Flag: No. 25 NIU Makes History in South Bend Northern Illinois knocked off No. 5 Notre Dame by a final score of 16-14 on Saturday, Sept. 7 for the first win over a top five opponent in MAC history as well as the MAC’s first Fly the Flag victory of the 2024 campaign.
Thanks to the historic victory, the Huskies are ranked No. 25 in the latest AP Poll, its first top-25 ranking since 2013, and earned Cheez-It National Team of the Week honors by the FWAA.
NIU’s win over Notre Dame was the Huskies’ seventh win over a Top 25 opponent. Previously, the highest ranked opponent the Huskies defeated was No. 15 Maryland on August 28, 2003 at Huskie Stadium, a 20-13 win in overtime.
NIU’s last Fly the Flag Win was last season over Boston College in the season opener. Since 2021, NIU has three Fly the Flag victories under head coach Thomas Hammock.
Prior to NIU’s historic win, all of the MAC’s previous wins against top10 opponents happened on September 20th:
