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September 20th, 2018 | BAHAMAS BOWL

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Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl Weekly Preview – 2018 Week 4 (September 21-22)

Click here to read the 2018 Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl Weekly Release – Week 4 – September 21-22 (PDF)

WEEK 4 PREVIEW: The MAC plays eight different FBS conferences in Week 4, with the exception of the Pac-12 as conference schools take on ACC (Florida State), Big Ten (Rutgers), Big 12 (Iowa State), SEC (Ole Miss), American Athletic (Cincinnati), Conference USA (WKU), Mountain West (Nevada) and Sun Belt (Georgia State). The MAC has one conference game as Miami goes to Eastern Michigan in a East Division contest. In C-USA, Florida Atlantic plays in-state rival UCF on Friday night in a matchup of defending conference champions. Saturday, C-USA plays three ACC schools as Old Dominion hosts Virginia Tech, Marshall hosts NC State and FIU travels to Miami. One conference game is also on the schedule as Rice visits Southern Miss in a West Division contest.

C-USA VS. MAC: The second and last regular-season game in 2018 between Conference USA and the MAC will be Saturday as WKU travels to Ball State. Earlier this season, Marshall (C-USA) beat Miami in the other C-USA vs. MAC matchup.

BIG WINS OVER POWER 5: Both Conference USA and the MAC posted victories over Power 5 opponents last week. North Texas (C-USA) went on the road to Arkansas and beat the Razorbacks 44-17 behind one of the most unique plays in college football this season. North Texas’ Keegan Brewer stood still at his own 10-yard line after fielding a punt. Arkansas defenders thought he had made a fair catch, but Brewer suddenly took off and raced 90 yards for a touchdown. Akron (MAC) beat Big Ten opponent Northwestern 39-34. The Zips trailed 21-3 at halftime and scoredthree second-half touchdowns on defense in the victory. It was the second MAC victory over the Big Ten this season.

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.

WEEK 4 SCHEDULE

CONFERENCE USA

Friday, Sept. 21
Florida Atlantic at UCF (ESPN)
Saturday, Sept. 22
WKU at Ball State (ESPN3)
Charlotte at UMass (Eleven Sports)
FIU at (20) Miami (ESPN2)
Virginia Tech at Old Dominion (CBSSN)
North Texas at Liberty (ESPN3)
Louisiana Tech at (12) LSU (ESPNU)
NC State at Marshall (CBSSN)
Rice at Southern Miss (ESPN+)
Texas State at UTSA (ESPN+)
New Mexico State at UTEP (ESPN3)

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

Saturday, Sept. 22
Akron at Iowa State (FSN)
Buffalo at Rutgers (BTN)
Kent State at Ole Miss (SECN)
Nevada at Toledo (CBSSN)
Ohio at Cincinnati (ESPNU)
Western Michigan at Georgia St. (ESPN+)
Maine at Central Michigan (ESPN+)
* Miami at Bowling Green (ESPN+)
WKU at Ball State (ESPN3)
Northern Illinois at Florida State (ESPNU)
Eastern Michigan at San Diego State (CBSSN)

* – conference games

WEEK 3 RESULTS

CONFERENCE USA

Thursday, Sept. 13
* Charlotte 28, Old Dominion 25
Saturday, Sept. 15
North Texas 44, Arkansas 17
UAB 31, Tulane 24
Florida Atlantic 49, Bethune-Cookman 28
FIU 63, Massachusetts 24
Louisville 20, WKU 17
Georgia 49, Middle Tennessee 7
Tennessee 24, UTEP 0
Kansas State 41, UTSA 17
Marshall at South Carolina (cancelled)
Southern Miss at Appalachian St. (cancelled)

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

Saturday, Sept. 15
Indiana 38, Ball State 10
Penn State 63, Kent State 10
Miami (Fla.) 49, Toledo 24
Virginia 45, Ohio 31
* Northern Illinois 24, Central Michigan 16
Minnesota 26, Miami 3
Bowling Green 42, Eastern Kentucky 35
* Buffalo 35, Eastern Michigan 28
Western Michigan 68, Delaware State 0
Akron 39, Northwestern 34

* – conference games

WEEK 3 INDIVIDUAL HONORS

CONFERENCE USA

Offensive Player of the Week
North Texas QB Mason Fine: The junior completed 24 of 45 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown in a 44-17 victory over Arkansas,

Defensive Player of the Week
North Texas CB Nate Brooks: The senior had a pair of interceptions and six tackles in a 44-17 victory over Arkansas.

Special Teams Player of the Week
North Texas PR Keegan Brewer: The sophomore executed a fake fair catch to start a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown in a 44-17 victory over Arkansas.

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

East Division Offensive Player of the Week
Buffalo WR K.J. Osborn: The junior had seven receptions for 188 yards and 3 TDs in a 35-28 victory over Eastern Michigan.

East Division Defensive Player of the Week
Akron DB Alvin Davis: The junior returned two interceptions for touchdowns and 10 tackles in a 39-34 victory at Northwestern.

East Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Ohio K/P Michael Farkas: The junior had six punts for a 47.0 average in a loss to Virginia.

West Division Offensive Player of the Week
Toledo WR Diontae Johnson: The junior caught six passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Miami (Fla.).

West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Central Michigan LB Malik Fountain: The senior had 18 tackles (eight solo) and a sack in a loss to Northern Illinois.

West Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Eastern Michigan P Jake Julien: The sophomore had five punts for a 49.0 average, including two over 50 yards in a loss to Buffalo.

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

“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

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

Eight former student-athletes who played in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl saw action for NFL clubs on 2018 Kickoff Weekend.

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)
G Taylor Moton – Carolina (Western Michigan)
T Chukwuma Okorafor – Pittsburgh (Western Michigan)
CB Darius Phillips – Cincinnati (Western Michigan)
WR Taywan Taylor – Tennessee (WKU)

MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL MEDIA PROJECTIONS

Media Organization (Reporter) – Date: Predicted Matchup
10th Year Seniors (John Marc Nutt) – Sept. 18: FIU vs. Buffalo
USA Today (Erick Smith) – Sept. 18: Florida Atlantic vs. Toledo
CBSSports.com (Jerry Palm) – Sept. 18: Middle Tennessee vs. Northern Illinois
Sports Illustrated (Eric Single) – Sept. 18: Florida Atlantic vs. Buffalo
The Sporting News (Bill Bender) – Sept. 18: Marshall vs. Buffalo
ESPN.com (Kyle Bonagura) – Sept. 17: UAB vs, Ohio
ESPN.com (Mitch Sherman) – Sept. 17: Marshall vs. BYU#
Orlando Sentinel (Brant Parsons) – Sept. 17: Middle Tennessee vs. Akron
CollegeFootballNews.com (Pete Fiutak) – Sept. 16: North Texas vs. MAC*
SB Nation (Jason Kirk) – Sept. 16: Southern Miss vs. Buffalo
Bleacher Report (Kerry Miller) – Aug. 24: Louisiana Tech vs. Miami (Ohio)
The Athletic (Stuart Mandel) – Aug. 23: Southern Miss vs. Buffalo
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan) – July 9: Marshall vs. Toledo
Phil Steele Magazine (Phil Steele) – Magazine: Louisiana Tech vs. Western Michigan
* – prediction made with incorrect conference matchup
# – prediction made that BYU would replace MAC school

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.)

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