2021 Mid-American Conference football season explained

2021 Mid-American Conference football season
Color:	2B366E
Color Text:	FFFFFF
League:	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport:	Football
Duration:	September 2 - December 4
No Of Teams:	12
Season:	Regular season
Mvp:	Dustin Crum
Mvp Link:	Mid-American Conference football individual awards
Conf1:	East Division
Conf1 Champ:	Kent State
Conf2:	West Division
Conf2 Champ:	Northern Illinois
Finals:	MAC Championship Game
Finals Link:	2021 MAC Championship Game
Finals Champ:	Northern Illinois
Finals Runner-Up:	Kent State
Finals Mvp:	Offense: Jay Ducker (RB, Northern Illinois) Defense: C. J. Brown (DB, Northern Illinois) Special Teams: John Richardson (PK, Northern Illinois)
Prevseason Year:	2020
Nextseason Year:	2022

The 2021 Mid-American Conference football season was the 76th season for the Mid-American Conference (MAC), as part of the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

The provisional schedule was released on February 26, 2021. The season was scheduled to begin September 2, 2021, and ended with the MAC Football Championship Game on December 4, 2021.^[1]

Previous season

See main article: 2020 Mid-American Conference football season. The 2020 Mid-American Conference football season saw a delayed start and shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with only 6 regular season games.^[2] The Buffalo Bulls won the East Division, while the Ball State Cardinals won the West Division. In the 2020 MAC Championship Game, the Cardinals defeated the Bulls 38–28. The Cardinals would go on to the Arizona Bowl, where they defeated the San Jose State Spartans 34–13.

Preseason

Preseason Media Poll

The Preseason Media Poll was announced on July 20. Kent State was voted the favorite to win the East Division, while Ball State was voted as favorite for the West Division. Ball State was also the favorite to win the conference championship game.^[3]

East
1	Kent State	112 (11)
2	Ohio	96 (2)
3	Miami (OH)	94 (5)
4	Buffalo	93 (4)
5	Akron	39
6	Bowling Green	28

West
1	Ball State	114 (11)
2	Toledo	104 (7)
3	Western Michigan	103 (4)
4	Central Michigan	68
5	Eastern Michigan	44
6	Northern Illinois	29

Preseason awards

The following list contains MAC players included on watch lists for national awards.

Award	Head coach/Player	School	Position	Link
Maxwell Award	Kevin Marks	style=	Buffalo	RB	^[4]
	Preston Hutchinson	style=	Eastern Michigan	QB
	Dustin Crum	style=	Kent State	QB
	Kaleb Eleby	style=	Western Michigan	QB
Bednarik Award	James Patterson	style=	Buffalo	LB	^[5]
	Troy Hairston	style=	Central Michigan	DE
	Troy Brown	style=	Central Michigan	LB
	Desjuan Johnson	style=	Toledo	DT
	Ralph Holley	style=	Western Michigan	DT
Davey O'Brien Award	Dustin Crum	style=	Kent State	QB	^[6]
Doak Walker Award	Darius Boone	style=	Eastern Michigan	RB	^[7]
	Bryant Koback	style=	Toledo	RB
	Kobe Lewis	style=	Central Michigan	RB
	Kevin Marks	style=	Buffalo	RB
	Lew Nichols III	style=	Central Michigan	RB
Fred Biletnikoff Award	Justin Hall	style=	Ball State	WR	^[8]
John Mackey Award	Thomas Odukoya	style=	Eastern Michigan	TE	^[9]
John Mackey Award	Ryan Luehrman	style=	Ohio	TE	^[9]
Rimington Trophy	Braydon Patton	style=	Northern Illinois	C	^[10]
Rimington Trophy	Bryce Harris	style=	Toledo	C	^[10]
Butkus Award	James Patterson	style=	Buffalo	LB	^[11]
Outland Trophy	Curtis Blackwell	style=	Ball State	C	^[12]
	Mike Caliendo	style=	Western Michigan	C
	Jake Fuzak	style=	Buffalo	OT
	Bryce Harris	style=	Toledo	C
Bronko Nagurski Trophy	Troy Brown	style=	Central Michigan	LB	^[13]
	Ralph Holley	style=	Western Michigan	DT
	Desjuan Johnson	style=	Toledo	DT
	Brandon Martin	style=	Ball State	LB
Lou Groza Award	Marshall Meeder	style=	Central Michigan	K	^[14]
Paul Hornung Award	Justin Hall	style=	Ball State	WR	^[15]
	Kalil Pimpleton	style=	Central Michigan	WR
	Clint Ratkovich	style=	Northern Illinois	RB
Wuerffel Trophy	Bubba Arslanian	style=	Akron	LB	^[16]
	Brandon Martin	style=	Ball State	LB
	Bryce Cosby	style=	Ball State	DB
	Tariq Speights	style=	Eastern Michigan	LB
	Isaac Vance	style=	Kent State	WR
	Sam Allan	style=	Kent State	OL
	Bailey Flint	style=	Toledo	P
	Mike Calidendo	style=	Western Michigan	OL
Walter Camp Award	Dustin Crum	style=	Kent State	QB	^[17]
Manning Award	Dustin Crum	style=	Kent State	QB	^[18]
	Kaleb Eleby	style=	Western Michigan	QB
	Drew Plitt	style=	Ball State	QB
Ray Guy Award	Bailey Flint	style=	Toledo	P	^[19]
	Dom Dzioban	style=	Miami (OH)	P
	Jake Julian	style=	Eastern Michigan	P
	Luke Elzinga	style=	Central Michigan	P
	Matt Ference	style=	Northern Illinois	P
	Matt Naranjo	style=	Bowling Green	P
	Nick Mihalic	style=	Western Michigan	P
	Dustin Crum	style=	Kent State	QB	^[20]
	Drew Plitt	style=	Ball State	QB
	Kyle Vantrease	style=	Buffalo	QB

Head Coaches

Lance Leipold, who had been head coach of Buffalo since 2015, left the MAC to take the head coach position with the Kansas Jayhawks of the Big 12 Conference.^[21] Leipold was replaced by interim head coach Rob Ianello during the school's search for a new permanent coach.^[22] However, Ianello and several other Buffalo assistant coaches were tabbed to join Leipold at Kansas, leaving a temporary vacancy at the team's head coaching position.^[23] Michigan co-defensive coordinator Maurice Linguist was later hired as Buffalo's new permanent coach.^[24]

On July 14, Frank Solich announced his retirement from the head coach position at Ohio after 16 seasons with the school. Tim Albin was promoted to head coach to fill Solich's vacancy.^[25]

Team	Head coach	Previous Job	Years at school	Overall record
style=	Akron	Tom Arth	Chattanooga	3	0
style=	Ball State	Mike Neu	New Orleans Saints (QB Coach)	6	1
style=	Bowling Green	Scot Loeffler	Boston College (Off. coordinator/QB coach)	3	0
style=	Buffalo	Maurice Linguist	Michigan (Co def. coordinator)	1	0
style=	Central Michigan	Jim McElwain	Florida	3	0
style=	Eastern Michigan	Chris Creighton	Drake	8	0
style=	Kent State	Sean Lewis	Syracuse (Co Off. Coordinator)	3	0
style=	Miami	Chuck Martin	Notre Dame (Off. coordinator/QB coach)	7	1
style=	Northern Illinois	Thomas Hammock	Baltimore Ravens (running backs coach)	3	0
style=	Ohio	Tim Albin	Ohio (associate head coach)	1	0
style=	Toledo	Jason Candle	Toledo (Off. Coordinator)	6	1
style=	Western Michigan	Tim Lester	Purdue (QB Coach)	5	0

Mid-season changes

On November 4, Tom Arth was fired as head coach at Akron after posting a 3–24 record with the school in 3 years. Oscar Rodriguez, who was formerly the school's inside linebacker coach and associate head coach, was named interim head coach.^[26] On December 4, the school announced Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as the new permanent head coach.^[27]

Rankings

See main article: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.

	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 6	Final
Akron	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Ball State	AP	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Bowling Green	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Buffalo	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Central Michigan	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Eastern Michigan	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Kent State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Miami	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Northern Illinois	AP					RV
	C
	CFP	Not released
Ohio	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Toledo	AP			RV
	C
	CFP	Not released
Western Michigan	AP				RV
	C				RV
	CFP	Not released

**Legend**
		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

Schedule

Index to colors and formatting
MAC member won
MAC member lost
MAC teams in bold

All times Eastern time.

MAC Conference Championship Game

Postseason

Bowl Games

Legend
	MAC Win
	MAC Loss

Bowl game	Date	Site	Television	Time (EST)	MAC team	Opponent	Score	Attendance
Bahamas Bowl	December 17	Thomas Robinson Stadium • Nassau, Bahamas	ESPN	12:00 p.m.	Toledo	Middle Tennessee	L 24–31	13,596
Cure Bowl	December 17	Exploria Stadium • Orlando, FL	ESPN2	6:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Coastal Carolina	L 41–47	9,784
LendingTree Bowl	December 18	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN	5:45 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Liberty	L 20–56	15,186
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	December 21	Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID	ESPN	3:30 p.m.	Kent State	Wyoming	L 38–52	10,217
Frisco Football Classic	December 23	Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX	ESPN	3:30 p.m.	Miami (OH)	North Texas	W 27–14	11,721
Camellia Bowl	December 25	Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL	ESPN	2:30 p.m.	Ball State	Georgia State	L 20–51
Quick Lane Bowl	December 27	Ford Field • Detroit, MI	ESPN	11:00 a.m.	Western Michigan	Nevada	W 52–24	22,321
Sun Bowl	December 31	Sun Bowl • El Paso, Texas	CBS	12:00 p.m.	Central Michigan	Washington State	W 24–21	34,540

Central Michigan was originally slated to play in the Arizona Bowl on December 31 against Boise State, but the bowl was cancelled when Boise State was forced to withdraw due to a COVID-19 outbreak within their team. Central Michigan was then invited to play in the Sun Bowl on the same date to replace Miami (FL), who had withdrawn from that bowl due to COVID-19 as well.^[28]

MAC records vs other conferences

2021–2022 records against non-conference foes:

Power Conferences 5	Record
ACC	2–1
Big Ten	1–10
Big 12	0–0
Pac-12	0–0
BYU/Notre Dame	0–1
SEC	0–5
Power 5 Total	3–17

Other FBS Conferences	Record
American	0–2
C–USA	2–0
Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)	3–1
Mountain West	1–3
Sun Belt	1–3
Other FBS Total	5–9

FCS Opponents	Record
Football Championship Subdivision	11–1

Total Non-Conference Record	23–27

Mid-American vs Power 5 matchups

This is a list of games the MAC has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, BYU, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 2	SEC	Bowling Green	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	L 6–38
September 4	Big Ten	Western Michigan	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	L 14–47
September 4	SEC	Central Michigan	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	L 24–34
September 4	SEC	Akron	Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	L 10–60
September 4	ACC	Syracuse	Ohio	Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	L 9–29
September 4	ACC	Northern Illinois	Georgia Tech	Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA	W 22–21
September 4	SEC	Kent State	No. 6 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	L 10–41
September 11	Big Ten	Miami (OH)	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	L 26–31
September 11	Independent	Toledo	No. 8 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN	L 29–32
September 11	Big Ten	Ball State	No. 11 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	L 13–44
September 11	Big Ten	Buffalo	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	L 3–28
September 11	Big Ten	Eastern Michigan	No. 18 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	L 7–34
September 18	SEC	Central Michigan	LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	L 21–49
September 18	Big Ten	Northern Illinois	No. 25 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	L 10–63
September 18	ACC	Western Michigan	Pittsburgh	Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA	W 44–41
September 18	Big Ten	Kent State	No. 5 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa Stadium, IA	L 7–30
September 25	Big Ten	Akron	No. 10 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	L 7–59
September 25	Big Ten	Bowling Green	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	W 14–10
September 25	Big Ten	Kent State	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD	L 16–37
September 25	Big Ten	Ohio	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	L 6–35

Mid-American vs Group of Five matchups

The following games include MAC teams competing against teams from the American, C-USA, Mountain or Sun Belt.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 4	American	Miami (OH)	No. 8 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	L 14–49
September 11	Mountain West	Wyoming	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	L 43–50
September 11	American	Temple	Akron	InfoCiscion Stadium • Akron, OH	L 24–45
September 11	Sun Belt	South Alabama	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH	L 19–22
September 16	Sun Belt	Ohio	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	L 14–49
September 18	Mountain West	Ball State	Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY	L 12–45
September 18	Mountain West	Colorado State	Toledo	Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH	L 6–22
September 18	Sun Belt	No. 16 Coastal Carolina	Buffalo	UB Stadium • Buffalo, NY	L 25–28
September 25	C-USA	FIU	Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI	W 31–27
September 25	Sun Belt	Texas State	Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI	W 59–21
September 25	Mountain West	San Jose State	Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI	W 23–3
September 25	C-USA	Buffalo	Old Dominion	S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA	W 35–34

Mid-American vs FBS independents matchups

The following games include MAC teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes Army, Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn, or UMass.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 18	Independents	Eastern Michigan	UMass	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Amherst, MA	W 42–28
September 25	Independents	Miami (OH)	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	L 10–23
October 2	Independents	Toledo	UMass	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Amherst, MA	W 45–9
October 2	Independents	Army	Ball State	Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN	W 28–16

Mid-American vs FCS matchups

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 2	Western Illinois	Ball State	Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN	W 31–21
September 2	Wagner	Buffalo	UB Stadium • Buffalo, NY	W 69–7
September 3	St. Francis	Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI	W 35–15
September 4	Norfolk State	Toledo	Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH	W 49–10
September 11	VMI	Kent State	Dix Stadium • Kent, OH	W 60–10
September 11	Duquesne	Ohio	Peden Stadium • Athens, OH	L 26–28
September 11	Robert Morris	Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI	W 45–0
September 11	Illinois State	Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI	W 28–0
September 18	Bryant	Akron	InfoCiscion Stadium • Akron, OH	W 35–14
September 18	Murray State	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH	W 27–10
September 18	LIU	Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH	W 42–7
September 25	Maine	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	W 41–14

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

East Division

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special teams
Week	Player	Team	Position	Player	Team	Position	Player	Team	Position
Week 1 (September 6)^[29]	Kyle Vantrease	Buffalo	QB	Darren Anders	Bowling Green	LB	Josh Smith	Kent State	P
Week 2 (September 13)^[30]	Matt McDonald	Bowling Green	QB	Bubba Arslanian Montre Miller	Akron Kent State	LB CB	Graham Nicholson	Miami (OH)	K
Week 3 (September 20)^[31]	DJ Irons	Akron	QB	Taylor Riggins	Buffalo	DE	Jonah Wieland	Ohio	P
Week 4 (September 27)^[32]	Matt McDonald	Bowling Green	QB	Brock Horne	Bowling Green	LB	Matt Naranjo	Bowling Green	P
Week 5 (October 4)^[33]	De'Montre Tuggle	Ohio	RB	Will Evans	Ohio	DE	Nate Needham	Bowling Green	K
Week 6 (October 11)^[34]	Dustin Crum	Kent State	QB	Tyson Durant	Akron	CB	Graham Nicholson (2)	Miami (OH)	K
Week 7 (October 18)^[35]	Dylan McDuffie	Buffalo	RB	James Patterson	Buffalo	LB	Nate Needham (2)	Bowling Green	K
Week 8 (October 25)^[36]	Dustin Crum (2)	Kent State	QB	Manny Lawrence-Burke	Kent State	LB	Alex McNulty	Buffalo	K
Week 9/10 (November 8)^[37]	Dustin Crum (3)	Kent State	QB	Nico Bolden	Kent State	S	Andrew Glass	Kent State	K
Week 11 (November 15)^[38]	Brett Gabbert	Miami (OH)	QB	Kam Butler	Miami (OH)	DE	Michael Mathison	Akron	WR/KR
Week 12 (November 22)^[39]	Dustin Crum (4)	Kent State	QB	CJ West	Kent State	DL	Andrew Glass (2)	Kent State	K
Week 13 (November 29)^[40]	Xavier Williams	Kent State	RB	Montre Miller (2)	Kent State	CB	Nate Needham (3)	Bowling Green	K

West Division

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special teams
Week	Player	Team	Position	Player	Team	Position	Player	Team	Position
Week 1 (September 6)	Harrison Waylee	Northern Illinois	RB	Lance Deveaux Jr.	Northern Illinois	LB	Matt Ference	Northern Illinois	P
Week 2 (September 13)	Harrison Waylee (2)	Northern Illinois	RB	Dyontae Johnson	Toledo	LB	Bailey Flint	Toledo	P
Week 3 (September 20)	Kaleb Eleby	Western Michigan	QB	Zaire Barnes	Western Michigan	LB	Nathan Snyder	Ball State	P
Week 4 (September 27)	Rocky Lombardi Ben Bryant	Northern Illinois Eastern Michigan	QB QB	Ali Fayad	Western Michigan	DL	Chad Ryland	Eastern Michigan	K
Week 5 (October 4)	Skyy Moore	Western Michigan	WR	Dillon Thomas	Northern Illinois	LB	Justin Hall	Ball State	WR/RS
Week 6 (October 11)	Drew Plitt	Ball State	QB	Bryce Cosby	Ball State	S	John Richardson	Northern Illinois	K
Week 7 (October 18)	Kaleb Eleby (2) Jay Ducker	Western Michigan Northern Illinois	QB RB	Bryce Cosby (2)	Ball State	S	Marshall Meeder	Central Michigan	K
Week 8 (October 25)	Rocky Lombardi (2)	Northern Illinois	QB	Desjuan Johnson	Toledo	DT	Kanon Woodill	Northern Illinois	K
Week 9/10 (November 8)	Trayvon Rudolph Hassan Beydoun	Northern Illinois Eastern Michigan	WR WR	Jose Ramirez	Eastern Michigan	DE	Kalil Pimpleton	Central Michigan	KR
Week 11 (November 15)	Lew Nichols III	Central Michigan	RB	Jamal Hines	Toledo	LB	Chad Ryland (2) John Richardson (2)	Eastern Michigan Northern Illinois	K K
Week 12 (November 22)	Lew Nichols III (2) Bryant Koback	Central Michigan Toledo	RB RB	C. J. Brown	Northern Illinois	S	Chad Ryland (3)	Eastern Michigan	K
Week 13 (November 29)	Skyy Moore (2)	Western Michigan	WR	Jamal Hines (2)	Toledo	LB	Jake Julien	Eastern Michigan	P

MAC Individual awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the Mid-American Conference football coaches at the end of the season.^[41]

Award	Player	School
Offensive Player of the Year	Lew Nichols III	Central Michigan
Defensive Player of the Year	Ali Fayad	Western Michigan
Special Teams Player of the Year	Kalil Pimpleton	Central Michigan
Freshman Player of the Year	Jay Ducker	Northern Illinois
Vern Smith Leadership Award	Dustin Crum	Kent State
Coach of the Year	Thomas Hammock	Northern Illinois

All-Conference Teams

The following players were listed as part of the All-Conference teams.

Position	Player	Team
First Team Offense
WR	Kalil Pimpleton	style=	Central Michigan
WR	Dante Cephas	style=	Kent State
WR	Jack Sorenson	style=	Miami
WR	Skyy Moore	style=	Western Michigan
OL	Sidy Sow	style=	Eastern Michigan
OL	Bernhard Raimann	style=	Central Michigan
OL	Luke Goedeke	style=	Central Michigan
OL	Bryce Harris	style=	Toledo
OL	Mike Caliendo	style=	Western Michigan
TE	Christian Sims	style=	Bowling Green
QB	Dustin Crum	style=	Kent State
RB	Lew Nichols III	style=	Central Michigan
RB	Bryant Koback	style=	Toledo
PK	Nate Needham	style=	Bowling Green
First Team Defense
DL	Troy Hairston	style=	Central Michigan
DL	Kameron Butler	style=	Miami
DL	Jamal Hines	style=	Toledo
DL	Ali Fayad	style=	Western Michigan
LB	Darren Anders	style=	Bowling Green
LB	James Patterson	style=	Buffalo
LB	Troy Brown	style=	Central Michigan
LB	Ivan Pace Jr.	style=	Miami
DB	Bryce Cosby	style=	Ball State
DB	Elvis Hines	style=	Kent State
DB	C.J. Brown	style=	Northern Illinois
DB	Samuel Womack	style=	Toledo
DB	Tycen Anderson	style=	Toledo
P	Nathan Snyder	style=	Ball State
First Team Specialists
KRS	Justin Hall	style=	Ball State
PRS	Kalil Pimpleton	style=	Central Michigan

Position	Player	Team
Second Team Offense
WR	Konata Mumpfield	style=	Akron
WR	Justin Hall	style=	Ball State
WR	Hassan Beydoun	style=	Eastern Michigan
WR	Trayvon Rudolph	style=	Northern Illinois
OL	Curtis Blackwell	style=	Ball State
OL	Jake Fuzak	style=	Buffalo
OL	Bill Kuduk	style=	Kent State
OL	Nolan Potter	style=	Northern Illinois
OL	Brayden Patton	style=	Northern Illinois
TE	Tristian Brank	style=	Akron
QB	Kaleb Eleby	style=	Western Michigan
RB	Marquez Cooper	style=	Kent State
RB	Sean Tyler	style=	Western Michigan
PK	Chad Ryland	style=	Eastern Michigan
Second Team Defense
DL	Daymond Williams	style=	Buffalo
DL	Lonnie Phelps	style=	Miami
DL	Desjuan Johnson	style=	Toledo
DL	Ralph Holley	style=	Western Michigan
LB	Jaylin Thomas	style=	Ball State
LB	Matthew Salopek	style=	Miami
LB	Jonathan Jones	style=	Toledo
LB	Zaire Barnes	style=	Western Michigan
DB	Jordan Anderson	style=	Bowling Green
DB	Devonni Reed	style=	Central Michigan
DB	Sterling Weatherford	style=	Miami
DB	Dorian Jackson	style=	Western Michigan
P	Jake Julien	style=	Eastern Michigan
Second Team Specialists
KRS	Trayvon Rudolph	style=	Northern Illinois
PRS	Devin Maddox	style=	Toledo

Position	Player	Team
Third Team Offense
WR	Quian Williams	style=	Buffalo
WR	Dallas Dixon	style=	Central Michigan
WR	JaCorey Sullivan	style=	Central Michigan
WR	Mac Hippenhammer	style=	Miami
OL	Jack Klenk	style=	Buffalo
OL	Brian Dooley	style=	Eastern Michigan
OL	Nathan Monnin	style=	Kent State
OL	Logan Zschernitz	style=	Northern Illinois
OL	Vitaliy Gurman	style=	Toledo
TE	Thomas Odukoya	style=	Eastern Michigan
QB	Brett Gabbert	style=	Miami
RB	Dylan McDuffie	style=	Buffalo
RB	Clint Ratkovich	style=	Northern Illinois
PK	Andrew Glass	style=	Kent State
Third Team Defense
DL	Karl Brooks	style=	Bowling Green
DL	Jose Ramirez	style=	Eastern Michigan
DL	Dominique Robinson	style=	Miami
DL	James Ester	style=	Northern Illinois
LB	Lance Deveaux	style=	Northern Illinois
LB	Bryce Houston	style=	Ohio
LB	Dyontae Johnson	style=	Toledo
LB	Corvin Moment	style=	Western Michigan
DB	Devin Tyler	style=	Bowling Green
DB	Jordan Gandy	style=	Northern Illinois
DB	Tariq Drake	style=	Ohio
DB	Maxen Hook	style=	Toledo
P	Matt Naranjo	style=	Bowling Green
Third Team Specialists
KRS	Ron Cook	style=	Buffalo
PRS	Marion Lukes	style=	Central Michigan

All-Americans

The 2021 College Football All-America Teams are composed of the following College Football All-American first teams chosen by the following selector organizations: Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Walter Camp Foundation (WCFF), The Sporting News (TSN), Sports Illustrated (SI), USA Today (USAT) ESPN, CBS Sports (CBS), FOX Sports (FOX) College Football News (CFN), Bleacher Report (BR), Scout.com, Phil Steele (PS), SB Nation (SB), Athlon Sports, Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Yahoo! Sports (Yahoo!).

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. Football consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.

Position	Player	School	Selector	Unanimous
First Team All-Americans
K	Nate Needham	style=	Bowling Green	FWAA

Position	Player	School	Selector	Unanimous
Second Team All-Americans
OL	Bernhard Raimann	style=	Central Michigan	TSN

NFL draft

The following list includes all MAC players who were drafted in the 2022 NFL draft.

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team
Skyy Moore	WR	Western Michigan	2	22	54	Kansas City Chiefs
Luke Goedeke	T	Central Michigan	2	25	57	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bernhard Raimann	T	Central Michigan	3	13	77	Indianapolis Colts
Tycen Anderson	S	Toledo	5	23	166	Cincinnati Bengals
Samuel Womack	CB	Toledo	5	29	172	San Francisco 49ers
Dominique Robinson	DE	Miami (OH)	5	31	174	Chicago Bears

Notes and References

Web site: MAC Releases 2021 Football Schedule. February 26, 2021. May 3, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MACtion is Back! . getsomemaction.com . getsomemaction.com . May 3, 2021.
Web site: MAC Announces 2021 Preseason Media Football Poll. July 20, 2021. July 23, 2021. getsomeMACtion.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: 2021 Maxwell Award Watch List – Maxwell Football Club. 19 July 2021.
Web site: 2021 Bednarik Award Watch List – Maxwell Football Club. 19 July 2021.
Web site: Davey O’Brien Award Announces 30-Player Preseason Watch List. July 20, 2021. July 20, 2021.
Web site: 2021 Doak Walker Award Candidates. July 21, 2021. www.smu.eduaccess-date=July 21, 2021.
Web site: 2021 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List Released. July 22, 2021. July 22, 2021.
Web site: 2021 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released. July 23, 2021. July 23, 2021.
Web site: Rimington Trophy Press Release. July 23, 2021. July 23, 2021.
Web site: 2021 Butkus Award Preseason Watch List Released. July 26, 2021. July 26, 2021. August 20, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100820080704/http://www.thebutkusaward.com/watchlist/view.aspx?t=c. dead.
Web site: 2021 Outland Trophy Award Watchlist Unveiled. July 27, 2021. July 27, 2021.
Web site: 2021 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watchlist Unveiled. July 27, 2021. July 27, 2021.
Web site: Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Announces 2021 Preseason Watch List. July 28, 2021. July 28, 2021.
Web site: 57 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2021 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST. July 29, 2021. July 29, 2021. July 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210729150819/https://www.louisvillesports.org/ph-article/57-players-named-to-2021-paul-hornung-award-watch-list/. dead.
Web site: Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2021 Watch List. July 29, 2021. July 29, 2021.
Web site: Walter Camp Foundation Announces 2021 Player of the Year Preseason Watch List. July 30, 2021. July 30, 2021.
Web site: Allstate Sugar Bowl announces Manning Award Watch List. August 5, 2021. August 5, 2021.
Web site: Ray Guy Award announces 2021 Preseason Watch List . August 13, 2021. August 13, 2021.
Web site: The 2021 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Announces 2021 Preseason Watch List. August 19, 2021. August 19, 2021.
Web site: Lance Leipold Named Kansas Head Football Coach . KUAthletics.com.
Web site: Rob Ianello Tabbed as Interim coach. April 30, 2021. May 3, 2021. ubbullrun.com. Vox Media, LLC..
Web site: As many as seven UB football assistants to join Lance Leipold's Kansas staff. Rachel. Lenzi. May 3, 2021. May 4, 2021. BuffaloNews.com. The Buffalo News.
Web site: UB names Maurice Linguist as new head football coach. Rachel. Lenzi. May 7, 2021. May 7, 2021. buffalonews.com. The Buffalo News.
Web site: Head football coach Frank Solich steps down; Associate head coach Tim Albin promoted to head coach. July 14, 2021. July 16, 2021. ohiobobcats.com. Ohio University.
News: Akron Zips fire coach Tom Arth during his third season after posting 3-24 record. ESPN.com. Adam. Rittenberg. November 4, 2021. November 7, 2021.
Web site: Akron hiring Oregon OC Joe Moorhead as football coach. Adam. Rittenberg. December 4, 2021. December 4, 2021. ESPN.com. ESPN.
News: Central Michigan to play Washington State in Sun Bowl after Miami pulls out due to COVID-19 issues . Barrett . Sallee . . December 27, 2021 . December 27, 2021.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 1 Football Players of the Week. September 6, 2021. September 6, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 2 Football Players of the Week. September 13, 2021. September 13, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 3 Football Players of the Week. September 20, 2021. September 20, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 4 Football Players of the Week. September 27, 2021. September 27, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 5 Football Players of the Week. October 4, 2021. October 4, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 6 Football Players of the Week. October 11, 2021. October 11, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 7 Players of the Week. October 18, 2021. October 18, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 8 Football Players of the Week. October 25, 2021. October 27, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 9 Football Players of the Week. November 8, 2021. November 8, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 11 Football Players of the Week. November 15, 2021. November 15, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Week 12 MAC Football Players of the Week. November 22, 2021. November 22, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces Final Football Players of the Week. November 29, 2021. November 29, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.
Web site: MAC Announces 2021 Postseason Football Awards & All-MAC Teams. December 1, 2021. December 1, 2021. getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference.