The 2017 MAC Road Trip Guide

Brandon Fitzsimons
Jul 28, 2017 · 10 min read
Photo by Brandon Fitzsimons

There’s something to be said for road trips. They can be fun under the right circumstances, and they allow you to see parts of America you may have not yet been able to. The MAC has a diverse collection of college towns and bustling cities, each location offering its own unique qualities that respective alumni can call “home.”

Here at FoSat, we got to thinking, “What would a 2017 MAC Road Trip look like?” Surely one would want to experience a game at each MAC stadium someday (I’ve been to five), but hitting all in one season is a completely different challenge altogether.

How so? Well, for one, the MAC stretches from West of Chicago all the way to Buffalo, New York as well as from the middle of of the Mitten down to the Southern edges of the Ohio/Kentucky/West Virginia border. In other words, unless you’re set in the smack dab middle of the conference (roughly Detroit), you’re screwed one way or another. An additional challenge in this season? The fact that there are no weekend games in November. With nearly all rivalry games being played on week nights, you can’t pull an all-nighter to try and make it to Ball State vs NIU on a Wednesday if you live in Cleveland. You have to plan carefully.

This is where I come in. I decided to plan a West and East schedule out. This assumes a person living in the East Division (say, Cleveland or Columbus) can visit all of the rivalry games possible for that division. For the West, I assumed close to my hometown as the middle (so around Three Rivers, MI or Elkhart, IN with some room to move the needle closer East). Sitting in Detroit currently, there may be some skewed bias on drive times, but nonetheless, this should help you avoid long drives on week nights while partaking in the best football possible within this checklist.

Here I bring you the FoSat 2017 MAC Road Trip. Let’s start with the East.


East Division Road Trip

Week 1: Boston College vs Northern Illinois (Friday, September 1st) — Sure, this isn’t a great day of the week to travel all the way across the turnpikes for (the Friday before Labor Day), but it’s a doable drive on a day that you probably are taking off anyway. Plus, you get P5 vs G5 action right in the MAC’s Hell in the Cell — The Wind Tunnel of Huskie Stadium.

Week 2: UAB vs Ball State (September 9th) — There is something about Muncie that I cannot shake that makes me want to stay away from there. This game is on both schedules and is early in the year to avoid making a (possibly) regretful trip there later in the year. However, it does offer intrigue as the Blazers are just coming back from their death. That makes this trip worth it alone.

Week 3: Cincinnati vs Miami (September 16th) — Rivalry Game! And a non-conference one at that. Played since 1888(!), the Battle for the Victory Bell is the oldest non-conference rivalry game in football, and Miami actually holds the all-time series lead. That said, the RedHawks haven’t actually beaten the Bearcats since 2005, so it’s been pretty one-sided for over a decade. However, the last three match-ups have all been decided by a score and Miami ended 2016 on a tear. Should be a good one to watch at a pretty aesthetic university.

Week 4: Wagner vs Western Michigan (September 23rd) — Honestly, I wanted to put a trip to Waldo on another date. However, with how things worked out, the trip to Kalamazoo will be to see a FCS foe. Nonetheless, go for the game, stay for the craft beer (Bell’s!), you won’t regret it either way.

Week 5: Buffalo vs Kent State (September 30th) — First weekend of MAC play, and we have to put in a snoozer. Again, trying to check off stadiums, and Dix seems like a pretty lifeless place in recent years. Similar to Muncie, there is something about Kent, Ohio that I am not attracted to for no particular reason. Still, this game could be the decider in who finishes last in the MAC East this season, so you’re getting something out of this trip.

Week 6: Eastern Michigan vs Toledo (October 7th) — Take everything I said about Kent and inverse it. Toledo is the largest city in the MAC, and a trip to Tony Packos after the game is highly recommended. As for the game itself? Should be good. Two of the best QBs in the MAC square off as Brogan Roback takes on Logan Woodside. I have EMU as my sleeper team this year, and a win here would go a long way towards getting to Detroit.

Week 7: Toledo vs Central Michigan (October 14th) — The East schedule is very West heavy in the first 8 weeks, but that’ll happen when you have drives like this one. Going up to Mt. Pleasant for a game is rough. There’s not much to see along the way, and once you’re there, there isn’t much to do. However, you can always go to Soaring Eagle afterwards and gamble, so there’s that!

Week 8:Western Michigan vs Eastern Michigan (October 21st) — The last trip to the West, and it’s a rare Saturday rivalry game. Albeit, the most tame leg of the Michigan MAC Rivalry, Western-Eastern could very well be the trophy’s championship game (again). However, it’s the first leg of the trivalry (see what I did there?), so there will be no awards given out to the winning team. Still, taking in Rynearson on Homecoming should improve your view of the stadium.

Week 9: Buffalo vs Akron (October 28th) — Obvious choice here due to it being the only game this week to be played on Saturday. Additionally, it’s the last MAC game to be played on a Saturday in 2017(barring a team playing its bowl game on said day). InfoCision is a pretty nice place, and it’s worth the trip, even if you’re seeing two sub-par teams.

Week 10: Miami vs Ohio (Tuesday, October 31st) — Now we head into the mid-week portion of the Road Trip. These games you might need to take a day off of work or come in late for. The Battle of the Bricks? Worth it. These two teams are expected to be the two contenders for the MAC East title, and for good reason. Last year’s game ended up 17–7, but it was 10–7 late before a pick-six sealed it for the Bobcats. It ended up being the East tie-breaker, and Ohio went to Detroit instead of the red-hot RedHawks. Expect lots of Tricks and Treats on Halloween in this one.

Week 11: Bowling Green vs Buffalo (Tuesday, November 7th) — Not the best planning on my part, but with 3 hours between Cleveland and Buffalo, it’s technically doable. Dress warm, because Buffalo in November tends to be chilly and/or covered in snow.

I’m not going to lie, this is my least favorite game on the entire East schedule because of the fact you’re traveling to Buffalo on a Tuesday night for a game against BG, who should be good, but not that good. But when going through other options, sacrificing this one week for a bad trip saves many good trips throughout the schedule, and it’s a trade-off I’m fine with in the end.

Week 12: Toledo vs Bowling Green (Wednesday, November 15th) — This is one of the best rivalries in the MAC in all sports, if not THE best. WMU-CMU, Akron-Kent, and Miami-Ohio fans will beg to differ, but with the proximity of these two schools, it has a certain level of fervor that is hard to match. Not sure that Doyt Perry is the best stadium to view this game at, but it’s one to catch if you can.

Week 13: BONUS TRIP — Kent State vs Akron (Tuesday, November 21st) — Yeah buddy! If you want to skip the trip to Infocision in Week 9, you can make it on a Tuesday night to see a leg of the Battle for the Wagon Wheel. Yes, leg. While the two teams might battle for a Wheel, the actual trophy itself is a competition between the two schools in ALL sports. Win the season series? Get a point. Split? Half. In football, there is only one meeting, so this full point could be the difference between hoisting the Wagon Wheel with your classmates, or having to watch your rival do it. Good way to end your season.


West Division Road Trip

Week 1: Hampton vs Ohio (September 2nd) — Early trip to Peden to kick off this schedule, and it’s against a FCS foe. Seeing the East favorites open up is fun, partying after is more fun (or so I’ve been told). Athens, Ohio is consistently regarded as the party capital of the MAC, so make sure you plan for a hangover day if you do this.

Week 2: UAB vs Ball State (September 9th) — Again, something about Muncie makes me want to get this out of the way early. On the plus side, ZOMBIE BLAZERS.

Week 3: Cincinnati vs Miami (September 16th) — Did you know that Cincy-Miami has been played more times than Army-Navy? Seriously. The only FBS rivalry played more often is Minnesota-Wisconsin, and that rivalry started two years AFTER this one! This game makes my inner college football nut get all giddy.

Week 4: Florida Atlantic vs Buffalo (September 23rd) — Gotta get that trip out to Buffalo done early. Depending on where you are, this trip can be done quickly through Canada if you have a passport or enhanced license. If you do go through the land of our friends up North, make sure you have some authentic poutine.

Week 5: Buffalo vs Kent State (September 30th) — See above about Muncie and Dix/Kent. Just get this one out of the way and kick off MAC play with the Cellar Battle of the Year.

Week 6: Kent State vs Northern Illinois (October 7th) — The drive to Dekalb has to go through Chicago, so a Saturday is best for this. Seeing a rematch of the 2012 MAC Championship is a bonus, although no players of note are on either squad by now. Visit the Wind Tunnel and enjoy a nice October game in Illinois.

Week 7: Akron vs Western Michigan (October 14th) — Technically, this is my “BONUS GAME” as it was the last one I filled in. Kalamazoo sits pretty close to the middle of the West, so it’s not a far drive. Additionally, it’s Homecoming so the party at WMU should be solid. It’s also the last Saturday home game for the Bronco seniors that first signed after the 1–11 season and have since gone to the Cotton Bowl, so that should add to the fun.

Week 8: Western Michigan vs Eastern Michigan (October 21st) — With the West, you have to experience the Michigan MAC Rivalry. Leg one see the Broncos and Eagles duke it out on a Saturday in Ypsilanti. Go for the game, and visit Depot Town afterwards for some grub. Or be a loser and go to Ann Arbor for food.

Week 9: Buffalo vs Akron (October 28th) — Again, this game is here by default of being the last Saturday game in the MAC in 2017. InfoCision is fun, and for most of you Westites like myself, Akron has a Chick-Fil-A. We don’t have many of those. Hit it up, and enjoy the secret sauce. You’re welcome in advance.

Week 10: Central Michigan vs Western Michigan (Wednesday, November 1st) — I have a lot of hard opinions about this game being on a Wednesday night, but that’s for a different time (and really, can be said about all of the rivalry games in this post). As any WMU or CMU fan, and they’ll tell you this is the rivalry of the MAC. These games are usually great (last year notwithstanding), and with the Victory Cannon on the line, it’s worth the Wednesday night trip to Kalamazoo.

Week 11: Eastern Michigan vs Central Michigan (Wednesday, November 8th) — Similar to the BG-Buffalo game on the East schedule, this is a drive that sucks. Roughly 2.5–3 hours to Mt. Pleasant on a Wednesday is brutal, but it is a rivalry game and the final leg of the Michigan MAC Trophy. If either team beats Western Michigan, they can claim the trivalry title with a win here. It’ll be cold, but that’s how you should experience Mt. Pleasant if we’re being honest.

Week 12: Toledo vs Bowling Green (Wednesday, November 15th) — Again, you should partake in this rivalry. Did you know it was once called the Battle for the Peace Pipe? True story. Going further, said Peace Pipe was once stolen, and never found. They replaced it with a trophy replica, but got rid of that in the ongoing NCAA purge of negative Native American imagery. Now they play for the I-75 Trophy which is comical, because I-75 runs from the U.P. of Michigan all the way down to Miami, Florida. These two make up literally 20 miles of a 1,000+ mile road.

Week 13: Western Michigan vs Toledo (Friday, November 24th) — Another Black Friday, another WMU-Toledo game. Two years ago, the Broncos upset a ranked Rocket team in the Glass Bowl to deny Toledo the chance to play for the MAC Championship. Last year saw Western Michigan thrash a decent UT team en route to their perfect regular season. Now, we could have another de facto MAC West Championship Game on our hands, on Black Friday. The Glass Bowl is pretty cool itself, so whether you go for the scenery or the action, you’re in for a treat.


So there are your schedules. Feel free to make your own and comment below how you’d do it. I’m curious to see what some of our more Southern readers might do, or what a Buffalo or NIU fan might try to swing in terms of hitting all 12 stadiums in 13 weeks.

And if you do decide to try either schedule, please drink responsibly, don’t drive drunk, and don’t drive tired. Otherwise, have fun and report back your findings for future research.

Free On Saturday

Brandon Fitzsimons

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I was on ESPN. WMU Class of 2014. I do IT stuff and talk sports

Free On Saturday

MAC Football, Saturdays Optional

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