The MAC released the official football schedule for the 2014 season on Friday. The conference will once again play a good number of games on non-traditional college football days like Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The opportunity to play on national television without other football competition has been embraced by the MAC for a few years now, and that trend will continue in 2014.
If you want to check out the full football schedule, you can do that via FBSchedules.com. If you want to cut right to the highlights, continue reading.
Top conference match-ups
Here is a look at the top in-conference match-ups on the schedule, at least for now. The beautiful thing about the MAC is sometimes the unpredictability from year to year. These teams were on top of the conference last season, but that could easily be flipped this season once the kickoffs begin.
Buffalo at Bowling Green (Saturday, October 4)
Bowling Green is looking to be the first repeat MAC East Division champion since Miami won back-to-back division crowns in 2003 and 2004. Bowling Green won the season finale to advance to the conference championship game last year.
Northern Illinois at Ball State (Wednesday, November 5)
The top two teams in the MAC West could once again be the teams to beat in the division in 2014. Without Jordan Lynch, will the Huskies still be sitting on top at the end of this one?
Ball State at Bowling Green (Friday, November 28)
It could be a preview of the MAC Championship Game. What better way to spend the day after Thanksgiving?
Any early upset alerts?
Maybe. The MAC will once again play some tough games against programs from the traditional power conferences. Here are five of the most intriguing match-ups.
Akron at Penn State (September 6): Akron took Michigan down to the wire last season. Can Terry Bowden’s Zips put another Big Ten team on the edge?
Northern Illinois at Northwestern (September 6): The battle for Chicago rages on.
Baylor at Buffalo (September 12): How often does the defending Big 12 champion make a visit in to MAC territory?
Bowling Green at Wisconsin (September 20): Playing in Camp Randall Stadium will not be easy, but Falcons will not be intimidated.
Northern Illinois at Arkansas (September 20): Let’s see what the Huskies look like in 2014 first, but Razorbacks are a work in progress.