The Buffalo Bulls played their last regular season game of the 2024 season on Tuesday night of Week 14. However, their postseason fortune relied upon three teams on Friday and potentially two more teams on Saturday before they moved on to a bowl game.
How Buffalo can still make the MAC Championship Game is a feat of chaotic results that could just very well happen.
Buffalo Can Still Make the MAC Championship
It’s no easy feat, but the Bulls are still technically alive in the MAC Championship Game hunt. They would need some serious luck to fall their way, but crazier things have happened.
To make it as simple to understand, here are the results Buffalo would need to happen to make the MAC title:
- Ohio loses to Ball State on Friday
- Miami beats Bowling Green on Friday
- Eastern Michigan beats Western Michigan on Saturday
- Northern Illinois beats Central Michigan on Saturday
So, to sum this up, Ohio and Bowling Green have to lose. This then triggers the tiebreaker scenario between Ohio, Bowling Green, and Buffalo. In this tiebreaking scenario, it would move all the way to tiebreaker No. 4, and Buffalo would need CMU to lose and EMU to win in order to beat Bowling Green in the tiebreaker.
And now, let’s break down why they’d need extra results on Saturday if the two games were to fall their way on Friday.
In the lone scenario that gets Buffalo into the MAC Championship Game, Ohio will have just lost to Ball State, while Bowling Green secures their place. That means we’re looking for one team out of the three remaining tied teams: Miami, Ohio, and Buffalo.
The first four tiebreakers separate only Ohio out of the mix, so the MAC’s fifth tiebreaker rule then determines the outcome based on each BGSU and Buffalo’s combined conference opponent winning percentage in MAC play.
In this scenario, EMU is Buffalo’s unique opponent while CMU is Bowling Green’s unique opponent. Entering Week 14, Bowling Green’s winning percentage is a game higher than Buffalo’s, and as such, it would need a two-game swap in order to get Buffalo into the game.
Thus, Central Michigan has to lose, and Eastern Michigan has to win.
It’s absolutely a long shot, but for Buffalo fans, it’s possible.
You are currently rooting for Ball State to knock off Ohio and Bowling Green to win against Miami. Then, your focus shifts to Saturday.
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