Those looking forward to another Wednesday night double dose of MAC football will have to cut back tonight. The MAC has postponed tonight’s scheduled game between Buffalo and Kent State due to extreme weather conditions.
Sure, football can be played in the snow, and for a conference located where it is the weather can often add something to the game itself. But even the MAC knows when enough is enough, and it is not going to put anybody at risk of heading out to a football game when a snow storm has dumped five feet of snow in the Buffalo region. The snow in the area has led to massive traffic problems and is preventing much of anything from happening.
Buffalo was going to make the most of it if the game did go on as scheduled, offering free hot chocolate to anyone who came out to the game, but in this case the public safety and the safety of the two teams trumps any offers for free concessions.Game on! “@UBFootball: GAMEDAY at UB Stadium! Bundle up & get your free hot coco at the game tonight! #HornsUp pic.twitter.com/5Z3VlaY954”
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 19, 2014
While not the same stadium, you can get a sense of what a football stadium looks like in this shot...
A decision on when this game might be replayed will likely come tomorrow after officials meet to assess the situation. The game might be played on Thursday or it might have to be rescheduled for a later date. The importance of playing the game cannot be overlooked for Buffalo or the MAC. Although Kent State has long been ineligible for postseason play, the Bulls sit two wins shy of bowl eligibility with two games left on the schedule. If Buffalo wins its final two games, it can go to a bowl game and fill a bowl spot for the MAC. If Buffalo falls one win shy, it would be prevented from playing in the postseason, which also hurts the MAC. Count on this game being played at some point, be it tomorrow or the week after the regular season is scheduled to wrap up.
(NOTE: Buffalo has two wins over FCS teams, so the normal protocol would be for Buffalo to win seven games to become bowl eligible. However, at six wins Buffalo could apply for a waiver and hope it is approved to play in a bowl game)
If the game cannot be played this week, the next best option might be to push it back to the week of the various conference championship games. By then, both Buffalo and Kent State will have played their final regular season game on the schedule, and neither team would have a scheduling conflict with championship games. It also would get the game in before bowl spots are determined, or at least made official.
Bowling Green’s game at Toledo is still on as scheduled.