Nick's 2007 MAC Football Championship Game Pick

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Nick’s Pick: Central Michigan 35 – Miami 30

Line: Central by 3.5

Quick Comment: Central has a knack of winning close conference games this season.

MARATHON MAC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Miami University RedHawks (designated visiting team) vs. Central Michigan University Chippewas (designated home team)

GAME DAY
Saturday, December 1, 11 a.m. (ET); Ford Field (65,000/Field Turf) Detroit, Michigan - ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD (Pam Ward, Ray Bentley, Rob Simmelkjaer)

Miami University RedHawks - Oxford, Ohio

Record: 6-6 Overall; 5-2 MAC Overall; 4-2 MAC East

Previous MAC Championship game results:

2003 - Miami 49, Bowling Green 27 (at Bowling Green, Ohio)
2004 - Toledo 35, Miami 27 (at Detroit, Mich.)

HEAD COACH: Shane Montgomery (North Carolina State 1990) 15-20, third season.

Miami Notes
With injuries to the starting quarterback and top two running backs from the beginning of the season, the RedHawks relied on a steady defense in its march to the MAC Championship game. In conference-only games, Miami topped the MAC in total defense (295.1 ypg allowed), scoring defense (18.6 ppg allowed), pass defense (186.3 ypg allowed), rushing defense (108.9 ypg allowed), opponent first downs (115), sacks (27) and sack yards (216). MAC Defensive Player of the Year, LB Clayton Mullins, anchored the RedHawk defense. Mullins tied (with CMU’s Red Keith) as the league leader in tackles with 129 (64 solo, 65 assisted). Mullins also had 13.5 tackles for a loss and was supported via DL Joe Coniglio’s 6.5 sacks. Jeff Thompson led the team in interceptions (3), Craig Mester with fumbles recovered (3) and Martin Channels with fumbles forced (2), all ranking among the MAC’s top 10 leaders in those categories.

Offensively, Dan Raudabaugh stepped in following an injury to Mike Kokal and finished the year fifth in the MAC in passing yards per game (217.7). Raudabaugh, who made his first career start in 2006 vs. eventual International Bowl Champion Cincinnati, stepped in again during 2007 to complete 180-of-332 attempts for 2,177 yards, 11 TDs and 10 interceptions. The running game saw the loss of Brandon Murphy and Andre Bratton during the season. Two fifth-year seniors, Cory Jones (464 yards) and Austin Sykes (460 yards) combined to average 4.6 yards per carry on 200 attempts.

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Central Michigan University Chippewas - Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Record: 7-5 Overall; 6-1 MAC Overall; 4-1 MAC West

Previous MAC Championship game results:

2006 - Central Michigan 31, Ohio 10

HEAD COACH: Butch Jones (Ferris State, 1990) 7-5, first season as a head coach.

Central Michigan Notes
Central Michigan is a tale of two teams - an offense that ranks first in the MAC in scoring offense (33.7 ppg) and 12th in scoring defense (38.0 pgg allowed). The Chippewas went 6-2 in their last eight games after a 1-3 start with three of their losses during the season to bowl-bounds teams (Kansas, Purdue, and Clemson) with a combined 27-9 record. MAC Offensive Player of the Year QB Dan LeFevour drives the Chippewa scoring machine with his passing and running skills. Through the air he has completed 66.1 percent (314-of-475) of his attempts for 3,175 yards, 22 TDs and 11 interceptions. Equally as impressive are his rushing stats, which have him ranked eighth in the league in rushing yards per game (69.8) and second in rushing TDs (15).

A surprise to the Chippewas, and to MAC defensive coordinators, this season was the quick emergence of walk-on freshman Antonio Brown. In capping MAC Freshman of the Year honors, Brown grabbed a school-record 92 passes for 879 yards and five TDs. Brown also ranked third in the league in kickoff returns with a 27.7 average. Sophomore WR Bryan Anderson added 78 catches for 969 yards and seven TDs. Defensively, injury riddled the Chippewas throughout the season. LB Red Keith tied (with Miami’s Clayton Mullins) for the league lead in tackles with 129 (68 solo, 61 assisted). DL Frank Zombo was third in the MAC in sacks with 7.5. CMU did allow a MAC-high 462.2 yards per game but had 25 takeaways (11 fumbles, 14 interceptions) to help CMU finish at +3 in turnovers on the season.

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SERIES NOTES
Miami leads the all-time series 11-9-1. The last meeting came in Oxford in 2005 with the Chippewas claiming a 38-37 victory as CMU deflected a potential game-tying field goal on the RedHawks final possession. Miami’s last win over CMU was in 1999 in Mount Pleasant, 24-16.

MAC BOWL UPDATE
The Mid-American Conference announced Tuesday that official bowl invitations to MAC institutions will occur this weekend, coming after the completion of the Marathon MAC Football Championship game and, potentially, the final release of the BCS standings on Sunday, December 2.

OTHER COOL DATA
Central Michigan enters the game with a 7-5 overall record and a 4-1 West Division record. The Chippewas guaranteed one of the MAC’s three bowl invitations, and shared the West Division title with Ball State, but won the tiebreaker via their 58-38 victory over the Cardinals on Oct. 6 in Muncie. The Miami RedHawks are in the championship game for the third time in school history (2003 and 2004) with an overall record of 6-6. The RedHawks advanced to the title game with a 4-2 East Division record, winning the tiebreaker via head-to-head wins over Bowling Green and Buffalo; each finished 4-2 in the East. To be guaranteed one of the three MAC bowl berths, Miami would need a victory in Saturday’s championship game to finish 7-6. The NCAA ruled this week it would allow a bowl invitation to be extended to a 6-7 championship game runner-up provided there were no other seven-win MAC teams available. A total of three MAC teams are in the seven-win bowl pool – CMU at 7-5, Bowling Green at 8-4 and Ball State at 7-5.

MAC Football Championship Game: All-Star Players and All-Star Moments

6 of 10 games have been decided by 6 points or less
7 of 10 games have been decided by 8 points or less
5 of 9 teams trailing at the half (1 game was tied) came back to win the game.
3 of 10 teams trailing entering the fourth quarter came back to win the game.
4 seconds on the clock in 1999 when Marshall’s Chad Pennington hits tight end Eric Pinkerton with a 1-yard scoring pass for a 34-30 win over Western Michigan. It was Pinkerton’s first TD reception of the season.
10 seconds on the clock in 2005 when Akron’s Luke Getsy connected on a 36-yard scoring strike with Domenik Hixon for a 31-30 win over Northern Illinois.
16 yards up the middle for a touchdown on a fake field goal by Toledo PK Todd France in 2001 as the Rockets took their first lead of the game, 32-29 en route to a 41-36 win.

BIG MAC Championship Comebacks

1999 – Marshall, down 23-0 in the third quarter, beats Western Michigan 34-30.
2001 – Toledo, down 23-0 in the second quarter, beats four-time defending MAC Champion Marshall.
2005 – Akron, down 24-10 in the fourth quarter, defeats Northern Illinois 31-30.

COACHES CALL FROM PREVIOUS MAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

Gary Pinkel, Toledo (1997 and 1998) now head coach at No. 1 Missouri.
Gary Darnell, Western Michigan (1999 and 2000) interim head coach at Texas A&M.
Terry Hoeppner, Miami (2003 and 2004) rebuilt Indiana program before passing away in 2007. This year’s IU team is bowl eligible with seven wins.
Joe Novak, Northern Illinois (2005) played at Miami University for head coach Bo Schembechler. Novak retired this week after 12 seasons as head coach for the Huskies.
Brian Kelly, Central Michigan (2006) has his Cincinnati program in Top 20.
Frank Solich, Ohio (2006) former Nebraska head coach has Bobcats competitive again.
Bob Pruett, Marshall (1992-2002) 5-1 in MAC Championship games, retired after 2004 season.

PRO FORMANCE – FORMER MAC CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYERS IN NFL

Chester Taylor (Toledo) – Minnesota
Ben Roethlisberger (Miami) – Pittsburgh
Randy Moss (Marshall) – New England
Ryan Diem (Northern Illinois) - Indianapolis
Chad Pennington (Marshall) – N.Y. Jets
Byron Leftwich (Marshall) – Atlanta
Bruce Gradkowski (Toledo) – Tampa Bay
Shaun Suisham (Bowling Green) – Washington
Sam Hurd (Northern Illinois) – Dallas
Nick Kaczur (Toledo) – New England
Garrett Wolfe (Northern Illinois) – Chicago
John Wade (Marshall) – Tampa Bay
Jacob Bell (Miami) - Tennessee
Joe Staley (Central Michigan) - San Francisco

NOVAK RETIRES:
Joe Novak, a former MAC student-athlete at Miami University for then head coach Bo Schembechler and head coach at Northern Illinois since 1997, announced his retirement this week (Monday). Novak guided the Huskies to a 63-75 record during his tenure that included two bowls games, a share of four West Division Championships and an appearance in the 2005 MAC Championship game. Novak’s 2004 squad won the Silicon Valley Classic against Troy, and his 2006 team played in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl vs. TCU. Novak was the 2002 MAC Coach of the Year. His program produced two Vern Smith Leadership Award winners, Garrett Wolfe in 2006 and Larry English in 2007. Inheriting a program that had a losing record in its previous four seasons, Novak built the Huskies and produced a winning record in seven consecutive seasons from 2000-06.

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