2008 MAC Championship Game

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2008 Marathon MAC Championship Game
Conference Championship
Ball State Cardinals Buffalo Bulls
(12–0)(7–5)
2442
Head coach: 
Brady Hoke 		Head coach: 
Turner Gill
AP Coaches BCS
121312
1234Total
Ball State0107724
Buffalo70211442
DateDecember 5, 2008
Season 2008
Stadium Ford Field
Location Detroit, Michigan
MVP Mike Newton (DB, Buffalo)
Favorite Ball State by 15
Referee Tom McCabe [1]
Attendance12,871 [1]
United States TV coverage
Network ESPN2
Announcers Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, Rob Stone [2]
MAC Championship Game
 < 2007   2009 > 
2008 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
Buffalo x$  5 –3   8 –6  
Bowling Green  4 –4   6 –6  
Temple  4 –4   5 –7  
Ohio  3 –5   4 –8  
Akron  3 –5   5 –7  
Kent State  3 –5   4 –8  
Miami (OH)  1 –7   2 –10  
West Division
Ball State x  8 –0   12 –2  
Central Michigan  6 –2   8 –5  
Western Michigan  6 –2   9 –4  
Northern Illinois  5 –3   6 –7  
Toledo  2 –6   3 –9  
Eastern Michigan  2 –6   3 –9  
Championship: Buffalo 42, Ball State 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

The 2008 MAC Championship Game was played on December 5, 2008 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The game featured the winner of each division of the Mid-American Conference. The game featured the Ball State Cardinals, of the West Division, and the Buffalo Bulls, of the East Division. The Buffalo Bulls upset the #12-ranked Ball State 42–24, ending hopes of an undefeated Cardinals season.

Contents

This was not the first time these two conference rivals have met. They met 5 times previously before this big Championship Game, with Ball State leading the series 5-0. Against the odds Buffalo faced the undefeated Cardinals and came out victorious in this matchup. [3]

Selection process

The MAC Championship Game matches up the winner of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference.

With the Buffalo Bulls having 24 upperclassmen, it made the task of knocking off the undefeated and top of the conference Ball State Cardinals more of a realistic venture. [4]

Scoring summary

QuarterTimeDriveTeamScoring information [1] Score
LengthTimeBall StateBuffalo
11:593 plays, 25 yards1:11Buffalo Naaman Roosevelt 2 yard pass from Drew Willy , A. J. Principe kick good07
27:409 plays, 80 yards4:01Ball State MiQuale Lewis 4 yard run, Ian McGarvey kick good77
0:006 plays, 18 yards1:00Ball StateIan McGarvey 47 yard field goal107
311:247 plays, 80 yards3:36BuffaloNaaman Roosevelt 39 yard pass from Drew Willy, A. J. Principe kick good1014
8:077 plays, 65 yards3:10Ball StateMiQuale Lewis 1 yard run1714
3:52Buffalo Mike Newton 92 yard fumble recovery, A. J. Principe kick good1721
0:19BuffaloSherrod Lott 74 yard fumble recovery, A. J. Principe kick good1728
46:066 plays, 29 yards2:48BuffaloNaaman Roosevelt 8 yard pass from Drew Willy, A. J. Principe kick good1735
4:178 plays, 66 yards1:41Ball StateLouis Johnson 22 yard pass from Nate Davis , Ian McGarvey kick good2435
2:534 plays, 25 yards1:22Buffalo James Starks 1 yard run, A. J. Principe kick good2442
Final score2442

Starting lineups

Source: [5]

Ball StatePositionBuffalo
Offense
Louis JohnsonWR Naaman Roosevelt
Andre Ramsey LTRay Norell
Michael SwitzerLGPeter Bittner
Dan GerberryCChris Lauzze
Kyle CornwellRGJeff Niedermier
Robert Brewster RTAndrew West
Darius Hill TEJesse Rack
Madaris GrantTEKyle Brey
Nate Davis QB Drew Willy
MiQuale Lewis RB James Starks
Briggs OrsbonWR–FBLawrence Rolle
Defense
Brandon CrawfordLEAndrae Smith
Rene PerryLDTMatt Brennan
Drew DuffinRDTAnel Montanez
Robert Eddins REMike Thompson
Kenny MeeksSLBRaphael Akobundu
Davyd JonesMLBAdekun Akingba
Bryant Haines WLBJustin Winters
B.J. HillLCBDomonic Cook
Trey BuiceRCBKendrick Hawkins
Alex KnippSSDavonte Shannon
Sean Baker FSMike Newton

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ball State vs Buffalo". MAC-Sports.com. December 5, 2008. Archived from the original on September 28, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Marathon MAC Football Championship Game" (PDF) (Press release). MAC-Sports.com. December 3, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Football Falls to Buffalo in MAC Championship Game".
  4. ↑ "Ball State vs. Buffalo - Game Recap - December 6, 2008 - ESPN".
  5. ↑ "Ball State vs Buffalo". ubbulls.com. Retrieved May 19, 2015.


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