2018 Football Schedule Overview

The Mid-American Conference has announced the 2018 MAC football schedule. Highlighting the schedule are 16 games available nationally during the last month of the regular season, slated for ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and CBS Sports Network as the conference race unfolds in both the East and West divisions. 
 
The regular season will conclude with the 22nd Marathon MAC Football Championship game at a date to be determined from Ford Field in Detroit.  This will mark the 15th Marathon MAC Football Championship game at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, Super Bowl XL, and the 2009 NCAA Men’s Final Four.

 For the 11th year in a row, league schools will . . . 

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  . . .  face a formidable non-conference slate of opponents from the following Football Bowl Subdivision conferences – ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC, Notre Dame and BYU. In addition, the Conference will also face opponents from the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mountain West Conference, Sun Belt Conference and Independents Army and UMass. 

MAC programs will face five non-conference foes that finished in the final AP Top 25 poll: Penn State (9), Notre Dame (11), Miami-Fla. (13), Michigan State (15) and Northwestern (17).

A total of 12 non-conference games will feature a Big Ten opponent (Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Maryland; Michigan; Michigan State; Minnesota; Nebraska; Northwestern; Penn State; Purdue; Rutgers). The MAC will face foes from the ACC (5—Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.), Syracuse, Virginia), SEC (2—Kentucky, Ole Miss), Pac-12 (2-Oregon, Utah), Big 12 (2—Iowa State; Kansas); and Independent Notre Dame, BYU, Army (3 games) and UMass.
 
The MAC will also face opponents from the American Athletic Conference (3— Cincinnati (2), Temple), Mountain West (3—Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State), Conference USA (2—Marshall, Western Kentucky) and Sun Belt Conference (1—Georgia State).

This season the MAC will host 10 games against FBS non-conference opponents.

MAC Home Games vs. FBS Non-Conference opponents:
-Syracuse (ACC) at Western Michigan, on Aug. 31 (CBS Sports Network);
-Cincinnati (American) at Miami on Sept. 8 (at Paul Brown Stadium);
-Kansas (Big-12) at Central Michigan on Sept. 8;
-Maryland (Big Ten) at Bowling Green on Sept. 8;
-Utah (Pac-12) at NIU on Sept. 8;
-Miami (Fla.) (ACC) at Toledo on Sept. 15;
-Western Kentucky (C-USA) at Ball State on Sept. 22;
-Army (Independent) at Buffalo on Sept. 29;
-UMass (Independent) at Ohio on Sept. 29;
-Army (Independent) at Eastern Michigan on Oct. 27.