PASSPORT STAMPED (BOWL-ELIGIBLE TEAMS): C-USA (4): FIU (6-2) Louisiana Tech (6-2), North Texas (7-2), UAB (7-1); MAC (2): Buffalo (8-1), Western Michigan (6-2). AT CUSTOMS (ONE VICTORY SHY): C-USA (2): Marshall (5-2), Middle Tennessee (5-3); MAC (3): Ohio (5-3), Northern Illinois (5-3), Toledo (5-4).
WEEK 10 PREVIEW: In Conference USA, WKU and Middle Tennessee will be meeting for the 68th time Friday night. Saturday has Marshall at Southern Miss, UTEP visits Rice, the 18th annual Shula Bowl sees Florida Atlantic make the 40 mile drive south to battle East Division leader FIU. West Division leader UAB hosts UTSA. There are a pair of non-conference games, both against SEC foes as Charlotte visits Tennessee and Louisiana Tech travels to Mississippi State.
MACtion saw three early games this week as Kent State beat Bowling Green 35-28 on Tuesday, and East Division leader Buffalo defeated Miami 51-42. Wednesday, Toledo got within one victory of bowl eligibility with a 45-13 victory over Ball State. Thursday, a pair of teams will try to reach bowl eligibility with victories as West Division leader Northern Illinois makes the trip to Akron and Ohio is at Western Michigan. There is only one game Saturday as Central Michigan visits in-state rival Eastern Michigan.
IN THE POLLS: UAB (7-1 overall, 5-0 C-USA) is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and the Amway Coaches Polls. FIU (6-2 overall, 4-0 C-USA) is getting votes in the Coaches Poll. Buffalo (8-1, 5-0 MAC) is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and the Amway Coaches Polls.
CONFERENCE USA NOTES: Louisiana Tech senior DE Jaylon Ferguson became C-USA’s all-time leader in sacks in a victory at Florida Atlantic. His second quarter sack and forced fumble was the 38th sack of his career.
MAC NOTES: The Mid-American Conference concluded its non-conference schedule as Northern Illinois defeated BYU 7-6. The MAC completed the regular season with eight FBS non-conference wins in 2018. Western Michigan RB Jamauri Bogan is tied for eighth in FBS with 10 rushing TDs.
WEEK 10 SCHEDULE
CONFERENCE USA
Friday, Nov. 2
* WKU at Middle Tennessee (CBSSN)
Saturday, Nov. 3
* Marshall at Southern Miss (STAD/FB)
* UTEP at Rice (ESPN3)
Charlotte at Tennessee (SECN Alt)
* Florida Atlantic at FIU (STAD)
* UTSA at UAB (beIN)
Louisiana Tech at Mississippi State (SECN)
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Tuesday, Oct. 30
* Kent State 35, Bowling Green 28
* Buffalo 51, Miami 42
Wednesday, Oct. 31
* Toledo 45, Ball State 13
Thursday, Nov. 1
* Northern Illinois at Akron (CBSSN)
* Ohio at Western Michigan (ESPNU)
Saturday, Nov. 3
* Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan (ESPN3)
* – conference games
WEEK 9 RESULTS
CONFERENCE USA
Friday, Oct. 26
* Louisiana Tech 21, Florida Atlantic 13
Saturday, Oct. 27
* Charlotte 20, Southern Miss 17
* Middle Tennessee 51, Old Dominion 17
* North Texas 41, Rice 17
* FIU 38, WKU 17
* UAB 19, UTEP 0
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Thursday, Oct. 25
* Ohio 52, Ball State 14
* Toledo 51, Western Michigan 24
Saturday, Oct. 27
Army 37, Eastern Michigan 22
* Akron 17, Central Michigan 10
Northern Illinois 7, BYU 6
* – conference games
WEEK 9 INDIVIDUAL HONORS
CONFERENCE USA
Offensive Player of the Week
UAB RB Spencer Brown: The sophomore rushed 25 times for 100 yards and three TDs in a 29-21 victory over North Texas.
Defensive Player of the Week
Marshall DL Malik Thompson: The senior had nine tackles and forced two turnovers in a 31-7 win over Florida Atlantic.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Old Dominion KR Isaiah Harper: The senior returned a missed FG 83 yards to set up the game-winning FG in a 37-34 victory at WKU.
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East Division Offensive Player of the Week
Ohio RB A.J. Ouellette: The senior rushed for 135 yards and two TDs in a 52-14 victory over Ball State.
East Division Defensive Player of the Week
Akron LB John Lako: The junior had 23 total tackles (two for loss) and a fumble recovery in a 17-10 victory over Eastern Michigan.
East Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Ohio K Louie Zervos: The junior made all seven PAT attempts and a field goal in a 52-14 victory over Ball State.
West Division Offensive Player of the Week
Toledo WR Cody Thompson: The senior caught six passes for 63 yards and three TDs in a 52-24 victory over Western Michigan.
West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Northern Illinois S Mykelti Williams: The junior made a critical fourth-quarter interception to seal a 7-6 victory over BYU.
West Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Northern Illinois P Matt Ference: The sophomore punted nine times for a 46.8-yard average in a 7-6 victory over BYU.
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 VS. MAC
The 2018 Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl will be contested between Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference for the fifth-straight year. C-USA won the 2018 season series over the MAC 2-0.
Sept. 1
Marshall (C-USA) 35, Miami (MAC) 28
Sept. 22
WKU (C-USA) 28, Ball State (MAC) 20
The Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl is tied 2-2 all time between C-USA and the MAC.
2014
WKU (C-USA) 49, Central Michigan (MAC) 48
2015
Western Michigan (MAC) 45, Middle Tennessee (C-USA) 31
2016
Old Dominion (C-USA) 24, Eastern Michigan (MAC) 20
2017
Ohio (MAC) 41, UAB (C-USA) 6
“POWER FIVE” VICTORIES
A list of C-USA and MAC victories over “Power Five” opponents (teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC).
Team (Conference) – Opponent: Score
Sept. 8
Eastern Michigan (MAC) – Purdue (Big Ten): 20-19
Sept. 15
Akron (MAC) – Northwestern (Big Ten): 39-34
North Texas (C-USA) – Arkansas (SEC): 44-17
Sept. 22
Buffalo (MAC) – Rutgers (Big Ten): 42-13
Old Dominion (C-USA) – Virginia Tech (ACC): 49-35
MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL PARTICIPANT SELECTION
The highest-ranked conference champion by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee from the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West or Sun Belt will play annually in one of the College Football Playoff bowls (PlayStation Fiesta Bowl or Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl for the 2018 season) if it is not selected for the Playoff Semifinals.
Conference USA has secured guaranteed commitments with six bowl partners for the 2018 season, as well as two secondary agreements: The Makers Wanted Bahamas, Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton, Gildan New Mexico, Hawai’i, R+L Carriers New Orleans and either the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla or the SERVPRO First Responder Bowls are primary agreements. The Walk-On’s Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., is a secondary agreement (should the ACC or SEC not be able to provide a bowl-eligible team), as is the DXL Frisco Bowl. There is no set selection order among C-USA’s bowl partners.
The MAC has 2018 primary bowl tie-ins with Makers Wanted Bahamas, Dollar General, DXL Frisco, Famous Idaho Potato, and Raycom Media Camellia Bowls. The MAC has secondary 2018 bowl agreements with the Quick Lane Bowl (should the ACC or Big Ten not be able to provide a bowl-eligible team) and other ESPN owned-and-operated bowl games.
The 2018 Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl participants – selected from among bowl-eligible teams in Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference – will be announced by the bowl, ESPN Events and conference partners once finalized.
SATURDAYS TO SUNDAYS
A total of 14 former student-athletes who played in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl have played for NFL clubs in 2018.
S Kevin Byard – Tennessee (Middle Tennessee)
WR Corey Davis – Tennessee (Western Michigan)
S Kavon Frazier – Dallas (Central Michigan)
TE Tyler Higbee – Los Angeles Rams (WKU)
WR Richie James – San Francisco (Middle Tennessee)
G Forrest Lamp – Los Angeles Chargers (WKU)*
G Taylor Moton – Carolina (Western Michigan)
T Chukwuma Okorafor – Pittsburgh (Western Michigan)*
CB Darius Phillips – Cincinnati (Western Michigan)*
QB Cooper Rush – Dallas (Central Michigan)
WR Taywan Taylor – Tennessee (WKU)
DE Leterrius Walton – Pittsburgh (Central Michigan)
CB Darious Williams – Baltimore (UAB)*
T Andrew Wylie – Kansas City (Eastern Michigan)*
* – made NFL debut in 2018
MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL MEDIA PROJECTIONS
Media Organization (Reporter) – Date: Predicted Matchup
Nassau Tribune (Renaldo Dorsett) – Nov. 1: Florida Atlantic vs. Akron
10th Year Seniors (John Marc Nutt) – Nov. 1: Marshall vs. Northern Illinois
Bleacher Report (Joe Tansey) – Nov. 1: FIU vs. Ohio
Phil Steele Magazine (Phil Steele) – Oct. 31: North Texas vs. Buffalo
USA Today (Erick Smith) – Oct. 30: Charlotte vs. Northern Illinois
The Sporting News (Bill Bender) – Oct. 27: Marshall vs. Western Michigan
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan) – Oct. 29: FIU vs. Buffalo
Sports Illustrated (Eric Single) – Oct. 28: FIU vs. Buffalo
CBSSports.com (Jerry Palm) – Oct. 28: Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan
ESPN.com (Kyle Bonagura) – Oct. 28: FIU vs. Ohio
ESPN.com (Mitch Sherman) – Oct. 28: Marshall vs. Toledo
Orlando Sentinel (Brant Parsons) – Oct. 28: Marshall vs. Ohio
CollegeFootballNews.com (Staff) – Oct. 28: Marshall vs. Buffalo
The Athletic (Stuart Mandel) – Oct. 18: Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo
ESPN EVENTS
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 31 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 14 college bowl games, 10 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); DXL Frisco Bowl (Texas); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff (Montgomery, Ala.); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); 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.); SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); 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.); State Farm Champions Classic (Indianapolis) and Wooden Legacy (Fullerton, Calif.)
Collegiate Softball
St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational (Clearwater, Fla.)
