2017 Mid-American Conference football season

2017 Mid American Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	August 31, 2017 – December 2017
Number of teams	12
Regular Season
Season champions	Toledo Rockets
Runners-up	Akron Zips
Season MVP	Logan Woodside
MAC Championship Game
Football seasons
← 2016 2018 →

2017 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Akron xy		6	–	2					7	–	7
Ohio		5	–	3					9	–	4
Miami (OH)		4	–	4					5	–	7
Buffalo		4	–	4					6	–	6
Bowling Green		2	–	6					2	–	10
Kent State		1	–	7					2	–	10
West Division
Toledo xy$		7	–	1					11	–	3
Central Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	5
Northern Illinois		6	–	2					8	–	5
Western Michigan		4	–	4					6	–	6
Eastern Michigan		3	–	5					5	–	7
Ball State		0	–	8					2	–	10
Championship: Toledo 45, Akron 28
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

The 2017 Mid-American Conference football season was the 72nd season for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and part of the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on August 31 and ended on November 25. The entire schedule was released on March 1.^[1] The Toledo Rockets won the conference championship game over the Akron Zips.

Previous season

Preseason

Preseason Poll

The Preseason poll was released at the MAC Media Day in Canton, Ohio.^[2]

East Division

1. Ohio Bobcats (11), 131
2. Miami RedHawks (12), 129
3. Bowling Green Falcons (1), 88
4. Akron Zips, 79
5. Buffalo Bulls, 41
6. Kent State Golden Flashes, 36

West Division

1. Toledo Rockets (22), 142
2. Western Michigan Broncos (1), 107
3. Northern Illinois Huskies (1), 89
4. Eastern Michigan Eagles, 74
5. Central Michigan Chippewas, 62
6. Ball State Cardinals, 30

MAC Championship

The Toledo Rockets were selected as favorites to win the Mid-American Conference by receiving 21 of 24 votes. Others receiving one vote a piece were defending champions, Western Michigan Broncos, Bowling Green Falcons and Miami RedHawks.^[3]

Head coaches

Pre-season coaching changes

Schedule

Regular season

Week 1

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Buffalo	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	BTN	L 7-17	43,224
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Elon	Toledo	Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH	ESPN3	W 47-13	22,104
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Rhode Island	Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN3	W 30-27 3OT	16,311
September 1	6:30 p.m.	Charlotte	Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN3	W 24-7	12,823
September 1	8:30 p.m.	Boston College	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	CBSSN	L 20-23	16,421
September 2	12:00 p.m.	Akron	No. 6 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ABC	L 0-52	101,684
September 2	12:00 p.m.	Bowling Green	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPNU	L 10-35	71,202
September 2	12:00 p.m.	Ball State	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	L 21-24	42,505
September 2	12:00 p.m.	Kent State	No. 5 Clemson	Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC	ESPN	L 3-56	80,121
September 2	5:15 p.m.	Western Michigan	No. 4 USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA	P12N	L 31-49	61,125
September 2	6:30 p.m.	Miami	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV	STADIUM	L 26-31	22,463
September 2	7:00 p.m.	Hampton	Ohio	Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	ESPN3	W 59-0	17,501
#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
September 8	8:00 p.m.	Ohio	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	FS1	L 21-44	45,633
September 9	12:00 p.m.	Buffalo	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	CBSSN	L 17-21	24,017
September 9	2:30 pm	Eastern Illinois	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	ESPN3	W 38-10	16,722
September 9	3:00 p.m.	Central Michigan	Kansas	Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS	FSN	W 45-27	28,531
September 9	3:05 p.m.	UAB	Ball State	Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN	ESPN3	W 51-31	11,555
September 9	3:30 p.m.	Howard	Kent State	Dix Stadium • Kent, OH	ESPN3	W 38-31	20,312
September 9	3:30 p.m.	Austin Peay	Miami	Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH	ESPN3	W 31-10	15,960
September 9	3:30 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Rutgers	High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 16-13	37,661
September 9	3:30 p.m.	Western Michigan	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	BTN	L 14-28	72,910
September 9	6:00 p.m.	South Dakota	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH	ESPN3	L 27-35	19,912
September 9	6:30 p.m.	Arkansas–Pine Bluff	Akron	InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH	ESPN3	W 52-3	17,464
September 9	7:00 p.m.	Toledo	Nevada	Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV	ESPN3	W 37-24	18,617
#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
September 16	12:00 p.m.	Kansas	Ohio	Peden Stadium • Athens,OH	ESPNU	W 42-30	24,000
September 16	12:00 p.m.	Iowa State	Akron	InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH	CBSSN	L 14-41	22,811
September 16	12:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	FS1	W 21-17	89,664
September 16	3:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech	Ball State	Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN	ESPN3	W 28-13	14,265
September 16	3:30 p.m.	Central Michigan	Syracuse	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY	ACCN	L 17-41	33,004
September 16	6:00 p.m.	Colgate	Buffalo	UB Stadium • Buffalo, NY	ESPN3	W 33-10	11,546
September 16	6:30 p.m.	Kent State	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV		L 0-21	24,044
September 16	7:00 p.m.	Tulsa	Toledo	Glass Bowl • Toledo	ESPN3	W 54-51	24,239
September 16	7:00 p.m.	Idaho	Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN3	W 37-28	25,732
September 16	7:30 p.m.	Bowling Green	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evantson, IL	BTN	L 27-49	33,706
September 16	8:00 p.m.	Cincinnati	Miami	Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH	ESPN3	L 17-21	21,811
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Championship game

Week 14 (MAC Championship game)

Records against FBS conferences

2017 records against FBS conferences

Conference	Record
The American	1–1
ACC	0–6
Big Ten	2–7
Big 12	2–1
C-USA	3–4
Independents	2–2
Mountain West	1–1
Pac-12	0–1
SEC	0–1
Sun Belt	1–1
Total	12–25

Power–Five conferences and independents

Power 5 Conferences	Record
ACC	0–6
Big Ten	2–7
Big 12	2–1
Pac-12	0–1
SEC	0–1
Notre Dame	0–1
Power 5 Total	4–17

Group of Five conferences

Group of 5 Conferences	Record
American	1–1
C-USA	3–4
Mountain West	1–1
Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)	2–1
Sun Belt	1–1
FBS Total	8–8

FCS Subdivision

FCS Opponents	Record
Football Championship Subdivision	10–1
Total FCS Record	10–1

Postseason

Power 5 Conferences	Record
ACC	0–0
Big Ten	0–0
Big 12	0–0
Pac-12	0–0
SEC	0–0
Power 5 Total	0–0
Other FBS Conferences	Record
American	0–0
C–USA	0–0
Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)	0–0
Mountain West	0–0
Sun Belt	0-0
Other FBS Total	0–0
Total Bowl Record	0–0

Postseason

Bowl games

Legend
	MAC win
	MAC loss

(Rankings from final CFP Poll; All times EST)

Date	Time	Bowl Game	Site	TV	MAC Team	Opponent	Result
December 19, 2017	7:00 p.m.	Boca Raton Bowl	FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL	ESPN	Akron	Florida Atlantic	L 3–50
December 22, 2017	12:30 p.m.	Bahamas Bowl	Thomas Robinson Stadium • Nassau, Bahamas	ESPN	Ohio	UAB	W 41–6
December 22, 2017	4:00 p.m.	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID	ESPN	Central Michigan	Wyoming	L 14–37
December 23, 2017	7:00 p.m.	Dollar General Bowl	Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN	Toledo	Appalachian State	L 0–34
December 26, 2017	5:15 p.m.	Quick Lane Bowl	Ford Field • Detroit, MI	ESPN	Northern Illinois	Duke	L 14–36

Home game attendance

References