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August 30th, 2018 | BAHAMAS BOWL

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Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl Weekly Preview – 2018 Week 1 (August 30-September 1)

Click here to read the 2018 Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl Weekly Release – Week 1 – August 30-September 1 (PDF)

SINCE WE LAST VISITED: The fifth-annual Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl begins the road to its’ 2018 game this weekend. As with the first four editions of the bowl, this year’s game will feature teams from Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference on Friday, Dec. 21 at 12:30 p.m. ET in Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. The game will be televised for the fifth straight year on ESPN. Ohio won the 2017 game, 41-6 over UAB.

WELCOME MAKERS WANTED: Elk Grove Village, Illinois, using its business slogan – Makers Wanted – was announced July 31 as the title sponsor of the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl. The tagline Makers Wanted is Elk Grove Village’s slogan and serves a call-to-action for a thriving community and the thousands of businesses based there. It is home to the largest contiguous industrial park in the United States, featuring six square miles and 62 million square feet of inventory. Over 5,614 businesses, including 300 manufacturers specializing in metal, plastic, rubber and food manufacturing, call Elk Grove Village their home. It is also a top national destination for data centers in the U.S. with two million square feet. For more information, visit www.makerswanted.org.

C-USA NOTES: In a vote of the conference’s media, Florida Atlantic (East) and North Texas (West) were selected to win their respective divisions. Florida Atlanti received votes in both the preseason Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls. Florida Atlantic RB Devin Singletary was selected as the C-USA preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Florida Atlantic LB Azeez Al-Shaair the preseason Defensive Player of the Year by the media. There are two new head coaches in C-USA: Mike Bloomgren (Rice) and Dana Dimel (UTEP).

MAC NOTES: Ohio (East) and Northern Illinois (West) were selected to win their divisions by both the media and the league’s head coaches. Western Michigan and Toledo received votes in the preseason Coaches Poll. The MAC has one new head coach at Kent State (Sean Lewis) – the youngest head coach in FBS at age 31. In 2017, the MAC had four ‘Power Five’ victories — two each against the Big Ten and the Big 12. Former Marshall WR Randy Moss was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this August. Moss is the third MAC alum to be inducted into pro football’s highest honor. Marshall was a MAC member until after the 2004 season.

WEEK 1 SCHEDULE

CONFERENCE USA

Saturday, Aug. 25
Rice 31, Prairie View A&M 28

Thursday, Aug. 30
Savannah State at UAB (ESPN+)
Friday, Aug. 31
WKU at Wisconsin (ESPN)
Saturday, Sept. 1
Florida Atlantic at (5) Oklahoma (FOX)
Houston at Rice (CBSSN)
Marshall at Miami (Ohio) (ESPN+)
Fordham at Charlotte (ESPN+)
Old Dominion at Liberty (LFSN)
Indiana at FIU (CBSSN)
LA Tech at South Alabama (ESPN+)
Jackson State at Southern Miss (ESPN+)
Middle Tenn. at Vanderbilt (SECNA)
SMU at North Texas (STAD)
Northern Arizona at UTEP (ESPN3)
UTSA at Arizona State (FS1)

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

Thursday, Aug. 30
Central Conn. State at Ball State (ESPN+)
Friday, Aug. 31
Syracuse at Western Michigan (CBSSN)
Monmouth at Eastern Michigan (ESPN+)
Saturday, Sept. 1
Kent State at Illinois (BTN)
Howard at Ohio (ESPN+)
Central Michigan at Kentucky (ESPNU)
Marshall at Miami (ESPN+)
NIU at Iowa (BTN)
Delaware State at Buffalo (ESPN3)
VMI at Toledo (ESPN3)
Akron at Nebraska (FOX)
Bowling Green at Oregon (P12N)

* – conference games

MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL MEDIA PROJECTIONS

Media Organization (Reporter) – Date: Predicted Matchup
ESPN.com (Kyle Bonagura) – Aug. 28: Southern Miss vs. Western Michigan
ESPN.com (Mitch Sherman) – Aug. 28: Florida Atlantic vs. Miami (Ohio)
USA Today (Erick Smith) – Aug. 28: Florida Atlantic vs. Toledo
CollegeFootballNews.com (Pete Fiutak) – Aug. 27: North Texas vs. MAC*
The Sporting News (Bill Bender) – Aug. 25: Marshall vs. MAC*
Bleacher Report (Kerry Miller) – Aug. 24: Louisiana Tech vs. Miami (Ohio)
SB Nation (Jason Kirk) – Aug. 22: Marshall vs. Toledo
CBSSports.com (Jerry Palm) – Aug. 9: Middle Tennessee vs. Northern Illinois
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan) – July 9: Marshall vs. Toledo
Phil Steele Magazine (Phil Steele) – Magazine: Louisiana Tech vs. Western Michigan
* – some predictions made with incorrect conference matchup

ESPN EVENTS

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 32 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 14 college bowl games, 12 college basketball events, a college softball event and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 300-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football
Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl (Houston); AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Fla.); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff (Orlando, Fla.); Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Frisco Bowl (Texas); Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff (Montgomery, Ala.); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Atlanta); Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta)

Collegiate Basketball
AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Armed Forces Classic (Fort Bliss, Texas); Charleston Classic (South Carolina); College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s (Los Angeles); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s Classic presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women’s Classic Presented by Corona (South Bend, Ind.); Myrtle Beach Invitational (Conway, S.C.); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off; State Farm Champions Classic (Indianapolis) and Wooden Legacy (Fullerton, Calif.)

Collegiate Softball
St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational (Clearwater, Fla.)

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