It’s the Battle of the Bricks 2.0 in the first-ever divsion-less MAC Championship Game.
The 2024 MAC Championship Game is officially set.
For the first time ever, the Battle of the Bricks rivalry will see a rematch. After triumphing in their regular season finales on Black Friday, the Miami (OH) RedHawks and Ohio Bobcats will converge at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 7.
This is the first year where the Battle of the Bricks rivalry is a possible MAC Championship matchup. The conference scrapped divisions this season, allowing two former MAC East teams to meet for the title game in the Motor City.
In a regular season matchup on Oct. 19, Miami cruised past Ohio 30-20 in a commanding victory. The RedHawks built their advantage as large as 30-6 before the Bobcats trimmed the deficit to 10 with two touchdowns in the final six minutes of action. That game served as an inflection point for both teams as neither has lost since that October afternoon.
Miami enters the MAC Championship Game riding a scorching 7-game win streak, recovering from a 1-4 record to finish the regular season 8-4. Ohio similarly enters on a 5-game win streak, allowing the Bobcats to post the best overall record in the MAC at 9-3. Both teams funnel into Detroit boasting 7-1 conference records, with Ohio’s lone defeat coming to Miami and Miami’s coming at the hands of Toledo — both in October.
This will be the RedHawks’ second-straight MAC Championship Game appearance and third under head coach Chuck Martin, who guided Miami to victories in 2019 and 2023. Miami defeated Toledo for the conference crown last December and it aims to become the first team to register back-to-back MAC titles since 2011 and 2012 Northern Illinois.
The Bobcats qualify for the MAC Championship for the first time since 2022 and the second time under head coach Tim Albin. Ohio features one of the longest conference championship droughts in all of college football. Despite this being the program’s sixth MAC Championship appearance, Ohio has not sat on the league’s throne since 1968.
This will be the 21st-straight MAC Championship Game set at Ford Field in Detroit, and it’s one of five conferences to host a neutral-site title game. The 2024 MAC Championship Game kicks off at 12 p.m. ET from the home of the Detroit Lions and will be televised on ESPN.