Central Michigan and the Miami RedHawks met at Ford Field in Detroit to determine the MAC champ. What’d we learn from the MAC Championship?
Among the conference championship games, the MAC title tilt at Ford Field between Central Michigan and Miami of Ohio flew largely under the radar. Entering the contest, the Chippewas sat atop the MAC West at 8-4 and the RedHawks won a mediocre MAC East at 7-5 in the standings. Vegas had Central Michigan as a 6.5-point favorite to claim the conference crown.
But the MAC championship game has a history of upsets, going back to its fifth edition in 2001 when Toledo toppled No. 20 Marshall to keep the Thundering Herd from winning the league for the fifth straight year. Ball State and Northern Illinois have also suffered the curse while a ranked favorite, the Huskies on several occasions.
Central Michigan wasn’t ranked in this contest, but they were favored against the RedHawks. The Chippewas found themselves behind throughout most of the first half despite holding Miami to 61 total yards in the first two quarters, as Maurice Thomas flipped the field on special teams with a long return on the opening kickoff that set up a RedHawks touchdown.
Chipping away, Jim McElwain’s team pulled themselves back into the contest and took the lead right before halftime on Quinten Dormady’s 11-yard scoring strike to Tyrone Scott. The two teams kept trading punches into the second half, as Miami snatched back the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter.
Ultimately the RedHawks held on to pull off the 26-21 upset at the final whistle. Another disappointment for the favorite goes down in the annals of MAC championship lore. What else did we learn about Miami and Central Michigan at Ford Field on the first Saturday of December?