2008 MAC Championship Game

2008 Marathon MAC Championship Game
2008 Marathon MAC Championship Game
Conference Championship
Ball State Cardinals	Buffalo Bulls
(12–0)	(7–5)
24	42
Head coach: ; Brady Hoke	Head coach: ; Turner Gill
Date	December 5, 2008
Season	2008
Stadium	Ford Field
Location	Detroit, Michigan
MVP	Mike Newton (DB, Buffalo)
Favorite	Ball State by 15
Referee	Tom McCabe
Attendance	12,871
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN2
Announcers	Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, Rob Stone
MAC Championship Game
< 2007	2009 >

2008 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Buffalo x$	5	–	3	8	–	6
Bowling Green	4	–	4	6	–	6
Temple	4	–	4	5	–	7
Ohio	3	–	5	4	–	8
Akron	3	–	5	5	–	7
Kent State	3	–	5	4	–	8
Miami (OH)	1	–	7	2	–	10
West Division
Ball State x	8	–	0	12	–	2
Central Michigan	6	–	2	8	–	5
Western Michigan	6	–	2	9	–	4
Northern Illinois	5	–	3	6	–	7
Toledo	2	–	6	3	–	9
Eastern Michigan	2	–	6	3	–	9
Championship: Buffalo 42, Ball State 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

The 2008 MAC Championship Game was played on December 5, 2008 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The game featured the winner of each division of the Mid-American Conference. The game featured the Ball State Cardinals, of the West Division, and the Buffalo Bulls, of the East Division. The Buffalo Bulls upset the #12-ranked Ball State 42–24, ending hopes of an undefeated Cardinals season.

This was not the first time these two conference rivals have met. They met 5 times previously before this big Championship Game, with Ball State leading the series 5-0. Against the odds Buffalo faced the undefeated Cardinals and came out victorious in this matchup.^[3]

Selection process

The MAC Championship Game matches up the winner of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference.

With the Buffalo Bulls having 24 upperclassmen, it made the task of knocking off the undefeated and top of the conference Ball State Cardinals more of a realistic venture.^[4]

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive		Team	Scoring information^[1]	Score
Quarter	Time	Length	Time	Team	Scoring information^[1]	Ball State	Buffalo
1	1:59	3 plays, 25 yards	1:11	Buffalo	Naaman Roosevelt 2 yard pass from Drew Willy, A. J. Principe kick good	0	7
2	7:40	9 plays, 80 yards	4:01	Ball State	MiQuale Lewis 4 yard run, Ian McGarvey kick good	7	7
2	0:00	6 plays, 18 yards	1:00	Ball State	Ian McGarvey 47 yard field goal	10	7
3	11:24	7 plays, 80 yards	3:36	Buffalo	Naaman Roosevelt 39 yard pass from Drew Willy, A. J. Principe kick good	10	14
	8:07	7 plays, 65 yards	3:10	Ball State	MiQuale Lewis 1 yard run	17	14
	3:52			Buffalo	Mike Newton 92 yard fumble recovery, A. J. Principe kick good	17	21
	0:19			Buffalo	Sherrod Lott 74 yard fumble recovery, A. J. Principe kick good	17	28
4	6:06	6 plays, 29 yards	2:48	Buffalo	Naaman Roosevelt 8 yard pass from Drew Willy, A. J. Principe kick good	17	35
	4:17	8 plays, 66 yards	1:41	Ball State	Louis Johnson 22 yard pass from Nate Davis, Ian McGarvey kick good	24	35
	2:53	4 plays, 25 yards	1:22	Buffalo	James Starks 1 yard run, A. J. Principe kick good	24	42
Final score						24	42

Starting lineups

Source:^[5]

Ball State	Position	Buffalo
Offense
Louis Johnson	WR	Naaman Roosevelt
Andre Ramsey	LT	Ray Norell
Michael Switzer	LG	Peter Bittner
Dan Gerberry	C	Chris Lauzze
Kyle Cornwell	RG	Jeff Niedermier
Robert Brewster	RT	Andrew West
Darius Hill	TE	Jesse Rack
Madaris Grant	TE	Kyle Brey
Nate Davis	QB	Drew Willy
MiQuale Lewis	RB	James Starks
Briggs Orsbon	WR–FB	Lawrence Rolle
Defense
Brandon Crawford	LE	Andrae Smith
Rene Perry	LDT	Matt Brennan
Drew Duffin	RDT	Anel Montanez
Robert Eddins	RE	Mike Thompson
Kenny Meeks	SLB	Raphael Akobundu
Davyd Jones	MLB	Adekun Akingba
Bryant Haines	WLB	Justin Winters
B.J. Hill	LCB	Domonic Cook
Trey Buice	RCB	Kendrick Hawkins
Alex Knipp	SS	Davonte Shannon
Sean Baker	FS	Mike Newton

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Ball State vs Buffalo". MAC-Sports.com. December 5, 2008. Archived from the original on September 28, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
^ "Marathon MAC Football Championship Game" (PDF) (Press release). MAC-Sports.com. December 3, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
^ "Football Falls to Buffalo in MAC Championship Game".
^ "Ball State vs. Buffalo - Game Recap - December 6, 2008 - ESPN".
^ "Ball State vs Buffalo". ubbulls.com. Retrieved May 19, 2015.

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[boxscore-1] "Ball State vs Buffalo". MAC-Sports.com. December 5, 2008. Archived from the original on September 28, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.

[announcement-2] "Marathon MAC Football Championship Game" (PDF) (Press release). MAC-Sports.com. December 3, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.

[3] "Football Falls to Buffalo in MAC Championship Game".

[4] "Ball State vs. Buffalo - Game Recap - December 6, 2008 - ESPN".

[lineup-5] "Ball State vs Buffalo". ubbulls.com. Retrieved May 19, 2015.

[1]

v t e 2008 NCAA football conference championship games
Division I FBS	ACC Big 12 Conference USA MAC SEC
Division I FCS	SWAC

v t e MAC Football Championship Game
Years	1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Venues	Marshall University Stadium (1997–2000, 2002) Glass Bowl (2001) Doyt Perry Stadium (2003) Ford Field (2004–present)

v t e Ball State Cardinals football
Venues	Ball State Field (1924–1967) Scheumann Stadium (1967–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana State (Blue Key Victory Bell) Northern Illinois (Bronze Stalk Trophy)
Culture & lore	Charlie Cardinal The Pride of Mid-America Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Buffalo Bulls football
Venues	Olympic Park (1894–1919) International Park (1915–1917, 1919) Rotary Field (1920–1942, 1955–1984) War Memorial Stadium (1946–1954, 1958, 1960, 1968–1969) Kunz Stadium (1985–1992) University at Buffalo Stadium (1993–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games
Culture & lore	Victor E. Bull "Victory March" Thunder of the East Marching Band
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904–1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971–1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024