2009 Mid-American Conference football season

LeagueNCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)

DurationSeptember 3, 2009
through January 7, 2010

Teams13

2009 Mid-American Conference football season

League	NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport	football
Duration	September 3, 2009 through January 7, 2010
Teams	13
TV partner	ESPN^[1]
Regular season
Season MVP	Dan LeFevour
MAC Championship Game
Football seasons
2008 2010

2009 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Ohio xy	7	–	1	9	–	5
Temple x	7	–	1	9	–	4
Bowling Green	6	–	2	7	–	6
Kent State	4	–	4	5	–	7
Buffalo	3	–	5	5	–	7
Akron	2	–	6	3	–	9
Miami (OH)	1	–	7	1	–	11
West Division
No. 23 Central Michigan x$	8	–	0	12	–	2
Northern Illinois	5	–	3	7	–	6
Western Michigan	4	–	4	5	–	7
Toledo	3	–	5	5	–	7
Ball State	2	–	6	2	–	10
Eastern Michigan	0	–	8	0	–	12
Championship: Central Michigan 20, Ohio 10
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2009 Mid-American Conference football season is an NCAA football season that was played from September 3, 2009, to January 7, 2010. The Mid-American Conference consists of twelve full-time members, with Temple University holding an affiliate membership for football.

Preseason poll

The 2009 MAC Preseason Poll was announced at the Football Media Preview in Detroit on July 31.^[2] In the East Division, Buffalo was selected to repeat as divisional champions, and Central Michigan selected to top the West. Also, Central Michigan received 18 votes to win the MAC Championship Game.

West Division

Central Michigan – 154 points
Western Michigan – 126 points
Northern Illinois – 103 points
Toledo – 71 points
Ball State – 58 points
Eastern Michigan – 34 points

East Division

Buffalo – 155 points
Temple – 144 points
Akron – 128 points
Ohio – 116 points
Bowling Green – 101 points
Kent State – 51 points
Miami – 33 points

MAC Championship

Central Michigan – 18 votes
Western Michigan – 4 votes
Buffalo – 2 votes
Temple – 2 votes

Award watch lists

Award	School	Player
Bronko Nagurski Trophy^[3]	Temple	Andre Neblett
Bronko Nagurski Trophy^[3]	Toledo	Barry Church
Dave Rimington Trophy^[4]	Bowling Green	Ben Bojicic
	Central Michigan	Colin Miller
	Northern Illinois	Eddie Adamski
Lombardi Award^[5]	Central Michigan	Nick Bellore
	Central Michigan	Frank Zombo
	Western Michigan	Austin Pritchard
Manning Award^[6]	Bowling Green	Tyler Sheehan
	Central Michigan	Dan LeFevour
	Western Michigan	Tim Hiller
Maxwell Award^[7]	Central Michigan	Dan LeFevour
Lou Groza Award^[8]	Northern Illinois	Mike Salerno
Lou Groza Award^[8]	Toledo	Alex Steigerwald
Outland Trophy^[9]	Temple	Andre Neblett
Fred Biletnikoff Award^[10]	Buffalo	Naaman Roosevelt
	Central Michigan	Antonio Brown
	Eastern Michigan	Jacory Stone
	Ohio	Taylor Price
	Toledo	Stephen Williams
Walter Camp Award^[11]	Ball State	MiQuale Lewis
Walter Camp Award^[11]	Western Michigan	Tim Hiller
Jim Thorpe Award^[12]	Toledo	Barry Church
Ted Hendricks Award^[13]	Central Michigan	Frank Zombo
Ray Guy Award^[14]	Western Michigan	Ben Armer
Doak Walker Award^[15]	Ball State	MiQuale Lewis
	Buffalo	James Starks
	Kent State	Eugene Jarvis
	Toledo	DeJuane Collins
	Western Michigan	Brandon West
Davey O'Brien Award^[16]	Central Michigan	Dan LeFevour
Davey O'Brien Award^[16]	Western Michigan	Tim Hiller

Regular season

Index to colors and formatting
Mid-American Conference member won
Mid-American Conference member lost
Mid-American Conference teams in bold

Week one

Opening weekend for the Mid-American Conference consisted of six home games and six away games. Also, Miami faced Kentucky in a battle contested at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bowling Green, Kent State, and Buffalo were the only teams to win the opening weekend. Buffalo was also the only team to win an away game as their season opener.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7 p.m.	Troy	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH		W 31–14	14,514^[17]
September 3	7 p.m.	Coastal Carolina	Kent State	Dix Stadium • Kent, OH		W 18–0	16,481^[18]
September 3	7 p.m.	Villanova	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA		L 24–27	27,759^[19]
September 3	7:30 p.m.	North Texas	Ball State	Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN	ESPNU	L 10–20	16,054^[20]
September 5	12 p.m.	Toledo	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	Big Ten Network	L 31–51	47,551^[21]
September 5	12 p.m.	Akron	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	Big Ten Network	L 7–31	104,968^[22]
September 5	12 p.m.	Kentucky	Miami	Paul Brown Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ESPNU	L 0–42	41,037^[23]
September 5	3:30 p.m.	Western Michigan	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	ABC/ESPN2	L 7–31	109,019^[24]
September 5	7 p.m.	Army	Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI		L 14–27	14,499^[25]
September 5	7 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	Big Ten Network	L 20–28	80,532^[26]
September 5	7 p.m.	Connecticut	Ohio	Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	ESPN360	L 16–23	24,617^[27]
September 5	9 p.m.	Central Michigan	Arizona	Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ		L 6–19	51,683^[28]
September 5	9 p.m.	Buffalo	UTEP	Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, TX		W 23–17	35,213^[29]

Week two

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 11	9 p.m.	Colorado	Toledo	Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH	ESPN	W 54–38	20,082^[30]
September 12	12 p.m.	Pittsburgh	Buffalo	UB Stadium • Amherst, NY	ESPN Plus	L 27–57	21,870^[31]
September 12	12 p.m.	Western Michigan	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	Big Ten Network	L 19–23	35,162^[32]
September 12	12 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	Big Ten Network	L 24–27	19,239^[33]
September 12	12 p.m.	Central Michigan	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN/ESPN2	W 29–27	76,221^[34]
September 12	2 p.m.	Morgan State	Akron	InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field • Akron, OH		W 41–0	27,881^[35]
September 12	2 p.m.	Kent State	Boston College	Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN360	L 7–34	25,165^[36]
September 12	7 p.m.	Bowling Green	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO		L 20–27	65,401^[37]
September 12	7 p.m.	Ohio	North Texas	Fouts Field • Denton, TX		W 31–30^2OT	16,674^[38]
September 12	7 p.m.	New Hampshire	Ball State	Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN		L 16–23	11,884^[39]
September 12	7:30 p.m.	Western Illinois	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL		W 41–7	21,427^[40]
September 12	8 p.m.	Miami	#12 Boise State	Bronco Stadium • Boise, ID		L 0–48	32,228

Week three

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 19	12 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	Big Ten Network	W 28–21	53,240^[41]
September 19	12 p.m.	Temple	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	Big Ten Network	L 6–31	105,514^[42]
September 19	12 p.m.	Ball State	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY		L 17–24	25,646^[43]
September 19	12 p.m.	Ohio State	Toledo	Cleveland Browns Stadium • Cleveland, OH	ESPN Plus	L 0–38	71,727^[44]
September 19	12 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	Big Ten Network	L 17–45	107,903^[45]
September 19	3:30 p.m.	Alcorn State	Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI		W 48–0	18,323^[46]
September 19	3:30 p.m.	Indiana	Akron	InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field • Akron, OH	ESPNU	L 38–21	18,340^[47]
September 19	7 p.m.	Iowa State	Kent State	Dix Stadium • Kent, OH	ESPN360	L 34–14	15,808^[48]
September 19	7 p.m.	Cal Poly	Ohio	Peden Stadium • Athens, OH		W 28–10	16,018^[49]
September 19	7 p.m.	Bowling Green	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV		L 17–10	23,029^[50]
September 19	7:30 p.m.	Buffalo	Central Florida	Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL		L 23–17	33,689^[51]

Week four

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 26	3:30 p.m.	Idaho	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	CSN Chicago^[52]	L 34–31	16,320^[53]
September 26	7 p.m.	Hofstra	Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI	College Sports Direct^[52]	W 24–10	16,116^[54]
September 26	7 p.m.	Boise State	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH	KTVB, ESPN360^[52]	L 49–14	22,396^[55]
September 26	7 p.m.	Toledo	Florida International	FIU Stadium • Miami, FL	College Sports Direct^[52]	W 41–31	11,047^[56]
September 26	7 p.m.	Ohio	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	ESPN360^[52]	L 34–23	95,535^[57]
September 26	7 p.m.	Ball State	Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	Fox Sports Net^[52]	L 54–30	83,118^[58]

Week five

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 3	1 p.m.	Cincinnati	Miami	Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH		L 37–13	23,493^[59]
October 3	7 p.m.	Kent State	Baylor	Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX	Fox Sports Net	L 31–15	27,047^[60]

Week six

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 10	12 p.m.	Miami	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	ESPN	L 6–16	23,085^[61]
October 10	3:30 p.m.	Gardner-Webb	Buffalo	UB Stadium • Amherst, NY		W 40–3	15,812^[62]

Week seven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 17	1 p.m.	Army	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA		W 27–13	14,275^[63]

Week eight

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 24	3:30 p.m.	Akron	Syracuse	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY		L 28–14	36,991^[64]

Week nine

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 31	3:30 p.m.	Temple	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBS College Sports	W 27–24	28,305
October 31	3:30 p.m.	Central Michigan	Boston College	Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPNU	L 31–10	34,128
October 31	7:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	ESPNU	L 63–27	62,501

Week ten

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 7	12 p.m.	Western Michigan	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	Big Ten Network	L 49–14	73,910

Homecoming games

Players of the Week

East Division

Week	Offensive		Defensive		Special teams
Week	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
1^[65]	Freddie Barnes	Bowling Green	Cobrani Mixon	Kent State	Matt Weller	Ohio
2^[66]	Zach Maynard	Buffalo	Brian Wagner	Akron	Jerry Phillips	Bowling Green
3^[67]	Tyler Sheehan	Bowling Green	Brian Lainhart	Kent State	Brandon McManus	Temple
4^[68]	Theo Scott	Ohio	Elijah Joseph	Temple	Freddy Cortez	Kent State
5^[69]	Bernard Pierce	Temple	Dak Notestine	Ohio	Jerry Phillips	Bowling Green
6^[70]	Freddie Barnes	Bowling Green	Jaiquawn Jarret	Temple	Melvin Payne	Ohio
7^[71]	Tyler Sheehan	Bowling Green	Mike Newton	Buffalo	Chad Clemens	Ohio
8^[72]	Bernard Pierce	Temple	Kevin Hogan	Kent State	Dashan Miller	Akron
9^[73]	Bernard Pierce	Temple	Monte Simmons	Kent State	Matt Weller	Ohio
10^[74]	Tyler Sheehan	Bowling Green	Miguel Graham	Akron	Brandon McManus	Temple
11^[75]	Naaman Roosevelt	Buffalo	Jerett Sanderson	Bowling Green	Matt Weller	Ohio

West Division

Week	Offensive		Defensive		Special teams
Week	Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
1^[65]	Aaron Opelt	Toledo	Cory Hanson	Northern Illinois	Mike Salerno	Northern Illinois
2^[66]	Aaron Opelt	Toledo	Austin Pritchard	Western Michigan	Andrew Aguila	Central Michigan
3^[67]	Me'co Brown	Northern Illinois	Jamail Berry	Western Michigan	Antonio Brown	Central Michigan
4^[68]	Dan LeFevour	Central Michigan	Austin Pritchard	Western Michigan	Alex Steigerwald	Toledo
5^[69]	Stephen Williams	Toledo	Jake Coffman	Northern Illinois	Brett Hartmann	Central Michigan
6^[70]	Brandon West	Western Michigan	Nick Bellore	Central Michigan	Antonio Brown	Central Michigan
7^[71]	Dan LeFevour	Central Michigan	Brandon Bice	Northern Illinois	Barry Church	Toledo
8^[72]	MiQuale Lewis	Ball State	Larry Knight	Central Michigan	Brandon West	Western Michigan
9^[73]	Chad Spann	Northern Illinois	Justin Braska	Western Michigan	Mike Salerno	Northern Illinois
10^[74]	Chad Spann	Northern Illinois	Cory Hanson	Northern Illinois	Brandon West	Western Michigan
11^[75]	Dan LeFevour	Central Michigan	Jamail Berry	Western Michigan	Brandon West	Western Michigan

Bowl games

Bowl Game	Date	Stadium	City	Television	Matchup/Results	Payout (US$)	Attendance
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl	December 26, 2009	Ford Field	Detroit, Michigan	ESPN	Marshall 21, Ohio 17	$750,000	30,311
EagleBank Bowl	December 29, 2009	RFK Stadium	Washington, D.C.	ESPN	UCLA 30, Temple 21	$1,000,000	23,072
Roady's Humanitarian Bowl	December 30, 2009	Bronco Stadium	Boise, Idaho	ESPN	Idaho 43, Bowling Green 42	$750,000	26,726
International Bowl	January 2, 2010	Rogers Centre	Toronto, Ontario	ESPN2	South Florida 27, Northern Illinois 3	$750,000	22,185
GMAC Bowl	January 6, 2010	Ladd–Peebles Stadium	Mobile, Alabama	ESPN	Central Michigan 44, Troy 41 (2OT)	$750,000	34,486

2009 MAC Specialty Award Winners

All Conference Teams

2009 All-MAC First Team Offense
Quarterback – Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan
Center – Eddie Adamski, Northern Illinois
Offensive Lineman – Allen Ollenburger, Central Michigan
Offensive Linemen – Jason Onyebuagu, Northern Illinois
Offensive Linemen – Darius Morris, Temple
Offensive Lineman – Colin Madison, Temple
Tight End – Jesse Rack, Buffalo
Wide Receiver – Freddie Barnes, Bowling Green
Wide Receiver – Antonio Brown, Central Michigan
Wide Receiver – Naaman Roosevelt, Buffalo
Wide Receiver – Stephen Williams, Toledo
Running Back – Bernard Pierce, Temple
Running Back – Chad Spann, Northern Illinois
Placekicker – Matt Weller, Ohio

2009 All-MAC First Team Defense
Outside Linebacker – Lee Renfro, Ohio
Outside Linebacker – Elijah Joseph, Temple
Inside Linebacker – Nick Bellore, Central Michigan
Inside Linebacker – Cobrani Mixon, Kent State
Down Lineman – Andre Neblett, Temple
Down Lineman – Adrian Robinson, Temple
Down Lineman – Muhammad Wilkerson, Temple
Down Lineman – Frank Zombo, Central Michigan
Defensive Back – Barry Church, Toledo
Defensive Back – Davonte Shannon, Buffalo
Defensive Back – Jaiquawn Jarrett, Temple
Defensive Back – Brian Lainhart, Kent State
Punter – Matt Rinehart, Kent State

2009 All-MAC First Team Specialists
Kickoff Return Specialist – Chris Garrett, Ohio
Punt Return Specialist – Antonio Brown, Central Michigan

2009 All-MAC Second Team Offense
Quarterback – Tim Hiller, Western Michigan
Center – Colin Miller, Central Michigan
Offensive Lineman – Peter Bittner, Buffalo
Offensive Lineman – Brandon Brooks, Miami
Offensive Lineman – Anthony Parker, Western Michigan
Offensive Lineman – Devin Tyler, Temple
Tight End – Jimmy Scheidler, Bowling Green
Wide Receiver – Eric Page, Toledo
Wide Receiver – Bryan Anderson, Central Michigan
Wide Receiver – Taylor Price, Ohio
Wide Receiver – LaVon Brazill, Ohio
Running Back – Brandon West, Western Michigan
Running Back – MiQuale Lewis, Ball State
Placekicker – Mike Salerno, Northern Illinois

2009 All-MAC Second Team Defense
Outside Linebacker – Austin Pritchard, Western Michigan
Outside Linebacker – Robert Eddins, Ball State
Inside Linebacker – Brian Wagner, Akron
Inside Linebacker – Noah Keller, Ohio
Down Lineman – Brandon Crawford, Ball State
Down Lineman – Jake Coffman, Northern Illinois
Down Lineman – Monte Simmons, Kent State
Down Lineman – Brandon Bice, Northern Illinois
Defensive Back – Mike Newton, Buffalo
Defensive Back – Thad Turner, Ohio
Defensive Back – Josh Gordy, Central Michigan
Defensive Back – Miguel Graham, Akron
Punter – Zach Johnson, Eastern Michigan

2009 All-MAC Second Team Specialists
Kickoff Return Specialist – James Nixon, Temple
Punt Return Specialist – LaVon Brazill, Ohio

2009 All-MAC Third Team Offense
Quarterback – Tyler Sheehan, Bowling Green
Center – John Palumbo, Temple
Offensive Lineman – Joe Flading, Ohio
Offensive Lineman – Shane Steffy, Bowling Green
Offensive Lineman – Chris Rodgers, Ohio
Offensive Lineman – Corey Woods, Akron
Tight End – Steve Maneri, Temple
Wide Receiver – Robert Arnheim, Western Michigan
Wide Receiver – Juan Nunez, Western Michigan
Wide Receiver – Armand Robinson, Miami
Wide Receiver – Brett Hamlin, Buffalo
Running Back – DaJuane Collins, Toledo
Running Back – Me'co Brown, Northern Illinois
Placekicker – Alex Steigerwald, Toledo

2009 All-MAC Third Team Defense
Outside Linebacker – Andre Hatchett, Eastern Michigan
Outside Linebacker – Amara Kamara, Temple
Inside Linebacker – Alex Joseph, Temple
Inside Linebacker – Archie Donald, Toledo
Down Lineman – Almondo Sewell, Akron
Down Lineman – Ernie Hodge, Ohio
Down Lineman – Larry Knight, Central Michigan
Down Lineman – Sean Murnane, Central Michigan
Defensive Back – Gerald Moore, Ohio
Defensive Back – Dominique Harris, Temple
Defensive Back – Anthony Kokal, Miami
Defensive Back – Jalil Carter, Akron
Punter – Ben Armer, Western Michigan

2009 All-MAC Third Team Specialists
Kickoff Return Specialist – Dashan Miller, Akron
Punt Return Specialist – Tommy Davis, Northern Illinois

v t e Mid-American Conference football
Current teams	Akron Zips Ball State Cardinals Bowling Green Falcons Buffalo Bulls Central Michigan Chippewas Eastern Michigan Eagles Kent State Golden Flashes Miami RedHawks Northern Illinois Huskies (leaving in 2026) Ohio Bobcats Toledo Rockets UMass Minutemen Western Michigan Broncos
Championships and awards	Conference champions All-time standings Championship Game Individual awards
Seasons	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 2025 2026

v t e 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season
Conference seasons	ACC Big 12 Big East Big Ten Conference USA Mid-American Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt WAC
Inter-conference	Bowl games Rankings
All-Americans	2009 College Football All-America Team

2009 Mid-American Conference football season

Preseason poll

West Division

East Division

MAC Championship

Award watch lists

Regular season

Week one

Week two

Week three

Week four

Week five

Week six

Week seven

Week eight

Week nine

Week ten

Homecoming games

Players of the Week

East Division

West Division

Bowl games

2009 MAC Specialty Award Winners

All Conference Teams

References

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