Click here to read the 2018 Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl Weekly Release – Week 2 – September 8 (PDF)
WEEK 2 PREVIEW: MAC programs face three Power 5 conference opponents Saturday as Kansas (Big 12) will travel to Central Michigan, Maryland (Big Ten) will head to Bowling Green and Utah (Pac-12) will visit Northern Illinois as part of a 10-game slate. In Conference USA, 13 games are scheduled with 10 C-USA squads playing at home. The first conference game sees FIU travel to Old Dominion in a East Division matchup. C-USA has one game vs. a Power 5 opponent as Baylor (Big 12) visits UTSA.
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 WEEK 1 NOTES: North Texas opened the season with a dominating 46-23 win over rival SMU. The Mean Green allowed the Mustangs just two fIrst downs and 46 yards total offense through the first three periods. North Texas forced six three-and-outs in the game. Charlotte used 21 unanswered points in the second half to beat Fordham 34-10. UAB senior WR Collin Lisa had a career-high 10 catches for 93 yards and a TD in a 52-0 victory over Savannah State in the 2017 bowl participant’s season opener. FIU redshirt junior LB Sage Lewis posted 18 total tackles against Indiana, tied for fifth-most in FIU single-game history.
MAC WEEK 1 NOTES: MAC teams went 5-6 in 11 contests. Ohio senior WR Papi White had a career-high 154 receiving yards on a career-high eight receptions with a TD as 2017 bowl champion Ohio held off Howard 38-32 in the Bobcats season opener. Eastern Michigan won its opener, 51-17 over Monmouth behind 473 yards of offense. Toledo junior Mitchell Guadagni completed 11-of-16 passes for 265 yards and three TDs in his debut as the Rockets beat VMI 66-3. Ball State had a school-record 652 yards in a 42-6 victory over Central Connecticut State.
WEEK 2 SCHEDULE
CONFERENCE USA
Saturday, Sept. 8
Air Force at Florida Atlantic (CBSSN/FB)
Appalachian State at Charlotte (ESPN+)
Eastern Kentucky at Marshall (ESPN+)
Southern at Louisiana Tech (ESPN+)
UT-Martin at Middle Tennessee (ESPN+)
Louisiana-Monroe at Southern Miss (ESPN3)
UAB at Coastal Carolina (ESPN+)
Baylor at UTSA (CBSSN/FB)
* FIU at Old Dominion (beIN)
Incarnate Word at North Texas (ESPN+)
Maine at WKU (ESPN+)
UTEP at UNLV (ATTSNRM)
Rice at Hawai’i (SPECT)
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Saturday, Sept. 8
Eastern Michigan at Purdue (BTN)
Western Michigan at Michigan (FS1)
Kansas at Central Michigan (ESPN+)
Ball State at Notre Dame (NBC)
Buffalo at Temple (ESPN3)
Howard at Kent State (ESPN+)
Morgan State at Akron (ESPN+)
Maryland at Bowling Green (ESPN+)
Utah at Northern Illinois (ESPNews)
Cincinnati at Miami (RAY/ESPN3)
WEEK 1 RESULTS
CONFERENCE USA
Thursday, Aug. 30
UAB 52, Savannah State 0
Friday, Aug. 31
Wisconsin 34, WKU 3
Saturday, Sept. 1
North Texas 46, SMU 23
Marshall 35, Miami (Ohio) 28
Louisiana Tech 30, South Alabama 26
Southern Miss 55, Jackson State 7
Charlotte 34, Fordham 10
Oklahoma 63, Florida Atlantic 14
Houston 45, Rice 27
Indiana 38, FIU 28
Vanderbilt 35, Middle Tennessee 7
Arizona State 49, UTSA 7
Liberty 52, Old Dominion 10
Northern Arizona 30, UTEP 10
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Thursday, Aug. 30
Ball State 42, Central Connecticut State 6
Friday, Aug. 31
Syracuse 55, Western Michigan 42
Eastern Michigan 51, Monmouth 17
Saturday, Sept. 1
Illinois 31, Kent State 24
Ohio 38, Howard 32
Kentucky 35, Central Michigan 20
Marshall 35, Miami 28
Iowa 33, Northern Illinois 7
Buffalo 48, Delaware State 10
Toledo 66, VMI 3
Oregon 58, Bowling Green 24
Akron at Nebraska (cancelled, weather)
* – conference games
WEEK 1 INDIVIDUAL HONORS
CONFERENCE USA
Offensive Player of the Week
North Texas QB Mason Fine: The junior completed 40-of-50 passes for a career-high 444 yards and 3 TD in a 46-23 victory over SMU.
Defensive Player of the Week
Louisiana Tech S James Jackson: The junior posted six tackles, one-half sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in a 30-26 victory over South Alabama.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Southern Miss PR Quez Watkins: The sophomore returned a punt 81 yards for a TD in a 55-7 victory over Jackson State.
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East Division Offensive Player of the Week
Buffalo QB Tyree Jackson: The junior was 17-27 passing for 189 yards and 6 TD in a 48-10 victory over Delaware State.
East Division Defensive Player of the Week
Kent State LB Jim Jones: The senior had 11 tackles and a sack in a loss at Illinois.
East Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Ohio KR DL Knock: The junior returned the second-half kickoff 99 yards for a TD in a 38-32 victory over Howard.
West Division Offensive Player of the Week
Western Michigan WR D’Wayne Eskridge: The junior had eight receptions for 240 yards and two TDs in a loss against Syracuse.
West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Central Michigan DB Devonni Reed: The redshirt freshman had 14 tackles, one pass defensed and one recovered fumble for a TD in a defeat at Kentucky..
West Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Toledo WR Cody Thompson: The senior blocked a punt off the punter’s foot and returned three yards for a TD in a 66-3 victory over VMI.
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 leads the 2018 season series 1-0 with one game to play.
Sept. 1
Marshall (C-USA) 35, Miami (MAC) 28
Sept. 22
WKU (C-USA) at Ball State (MAC)
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
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.
DRAFTED TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Four student-athletes who participated in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl were selected in the 2018 NFL Draft in April.
Round 3, No. 92 overall: Western Michigan T Chukwuma Okorafor (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Round 5, No. 170 overall: Western Michigan CB Darius Phillips (Cincinnati Bengals)
Round 7, No. 227 overall: Ohio LB Quentin Poling (Miami Dolphins)
Round 7, No. 240 overall: Middle Tennessee WR Richie James (San Francisco 49ers)
Also, Western Michigan CB Sam Beal was selected by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2018 NFL Supplemental Draft.
MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL MEDIA PROJECTIONS
Media Organization (Reporter) – Date: Predicted Matchup
USA Today (Erick Smith) – Sept. 5: Florida Atlantic vs. Toledo
ESPN.com (Kyle Bonagura) – Sept. 4: Southern Miss vs. Buffalo
ESPN.com (Mitch Sherman) – Sept. 4: Florida Atlantic vs. Miami (Ohio)
CBSSports.com (Jerry Palm) – Sept. 4: Middle Tennessee vs. Northern Illinois
Sports Illustrated (Eric Single) – Sept. 4: Florida Atlantic vs. Northern Illinois
CollegeFootballNews.com (Pete Fiutak) – Sept. 2: North Texas vs. MAC*
Orlando Sentinel (Brant Parsons) – Sept. 2: C-USA* vs. Eastern Michigan
The Sporting News (Bill Bender) – Aug. 25: Marshall vs. MAC*
Bleacher Report (Kerry Miller) – Aug. 24: Louisiana Tech vs. Miami (Ohio)
The Athletic (Stuart Mandel) – Aug. 23: Southern Miss vs. Buffalo
SB Nation (Jason Kirk) – Aug. 22: Marshall vs. Toledo
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan) – July 9: Marshall vs. Toledo
Phil Steele Magazine (Phil Steele) – Magazine: Louisiana Tech vs. Western Michigan
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.)
