by ***Provided by the MAC***
The 2019 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game will feature the East Division Champion Miami RedHawks against the West Division Champion Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Noon ET in front of a national television audience on ESPN2.
This contest will mark the 23rd annual championship game for the MAC and will mark the 16th neutral site game at Ford Field in downtown Detroit. Central Michigan as the West Champion is the designated home team.
Central Michigan (8-4, 6-2 MAC) clinched the MAC West Division title with a 49-7 win over Toledo on Nov. 29. Central Michigan will be making its first trip to Detroit since 2009 and the program’s fourth appearance in the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game. Central Michigan has won three previous title games (2007, 2008, 2009) and will be searching its eighth overall MAC championship.
Central Michigan enters the game having won three consecutive games and six of its last seven contests. The Chippewas stunning turnaround comes after finishing last season with a 1-11 overall record, 0-8 in league play.
Miami (7-5, 6-2 MAC) clinched the MAC East Division title back on Nov. 14 and had the luxury of having the East crown locked up for the last three weeks.
Miami will be making its first visit to Detroit since 2010 and the program’s fifth appearance in the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game.
Miami has won the title game twice (2003, 2010) and will be searching the program’s 16th overall MAC football championship. Miami had its five-game winning streak snapped on the final date of the regular season with a 41-27 loss at Ball State on Nov. 29.
Central Michigan and Miami last faced each other during the 2017 regular season as the RedHawks defeated the Chippewas, 31-14, on Sept. 23, 2017 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
