| Year Game Played: | 2008 |
| Title Sponsor: | Marathon |
| Game Name: | MAC Championship Game |
| Subheader: | Conference Championship |
| Football Season: | 2008 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Ball State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Cardinals |
| Visitor School: | Ball State University |
| Home Name Short: | Buffalo |
| Home Nickname: | Bulls |
| Home School: | University at Buffalo, The State University of New York |
| Visitor Record: | 12–0 |
| Home Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Coach: | Brady Hoke |
| Home Coach: | Turner Gill |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 12 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 13 |
| Visitor Rank Bcs: | 12 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 21 |
| Home 4Q: | 14 |
| Date Game Played: | December 5 |
| Stadium: | Ford Field |
| City: | Detroit, Michigan |
| Mvp: | Mike Newton (DB, Buffalo) |
| Odds: | Ball State by 15 |
| Referee: | Tom McCabe |
| Attendance: | 12,871 |
| Us Network: | ESPN2 |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, Rob Stone[1] |
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.[2]
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.[3]
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Team | Scoring information[4] | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length | Time | Ball State | Buffalo | |||||
| 1 | 1:59 | , | 1:11 | Buffalo | Naaman Roosevelt 2 yard pass from Drew Willy, A. J. Principe kick good | 0 | 7 | |
| 2 | 7:40 | , | 4:01 | Ball State | MiQuale Lewis 4 yard run, Ian McGarvey kick good | 7 | 7 | |
| 0:00 | , | 1:00 | Ball State | Ian McGarvey 47 yard field goal | 10 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 11:24 | , | 3:36 | Buffalo | Naaman Roosevelt 39 yard pass from Drew Willy, A. J. Principe kick good | 10 | 14 | |
| 8:07 | , | 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 | , | 2:48 | Buffalo | Naaman Roosevelt 8 yard pass from Drew Willy, A. J. Principe kick good | 17 | 35 | |
| 4:17 | , | 1:41 | Ball State | Louis Johnson 22 yard pass from Nate Davis, Ian McGarvey kick good | 24 | 35 | ||
| 2:53 | , | 1:22 | Buffalo | James Starks 1 yard run, A. J. Principe kick good | 24 | 42 | ||
| Final score | 24 | 42 | ||||||
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 | |
| QB | Drew Willy | ||
| 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 | |