Who is ready for some Friday afternoon football on championship weekend?
Due to a state of emergency in the city of Buffalo where snowfall reached historic levels, the Mid-American Conference postponed the Buffalo Bulls’ home game against the Akron Zips on Friday, Nov. 18 — one day before the game was slated to kick off.
Buffalo (5-5, 4-2 MAC) remained alive for the MAC Championship Game headed into that contest, but the Bulls officially lost their shot at a conference championship Tuesday night, when Ohio steamrolled Bowling Green by a final score of 38-14 to punch a ticket to Detroit.
Thanks to Ohio’s win freeing up Buffalo’s plans the first week of December, the Bulls’ matchup with Akron has been officially scheduled for that weekend, with the conference announcing Wednesday morning that the matchup between Buffalo and Akron will transpire at UB Stadium in Amherst, NY on Friday, Dec. 2 with a tentative kickoff time at 1 p.m. ET.
The University of Akron at University at Buffalo football game has been rescheduled for Friday, December 2nd with a tentative kick time of 1 pm ET.
Additional details will be forthcoming. pic.twitter.com/6860w33GIF
— #MACtion (@MACSports) November 23, 2022
This is one of 11 FBS games slotted for that weekend, and the MAC East contest will be the only one without designated conference championship status.
The C-USA Championship Game and Pac-12 Championship Game are both slotted Friday night, so the Buffalo-Akron game looks bound to serve as the appetizer to a weekend laden with conference title matchups. The rescheduled game will take place one day before Ohio and Toledo compete for MAC supremacy in Detroit.
Bowl eligibility remains on the line for Buffalo, which must win one of its final two games to clinch its first postseason appearance under second-year head coach Maurice Linguist. Buffalo hosts Kent State this Saturday, so even if the Bulls lose that matchup, they’ll receive another chance at clinching bowl season when Akron comes to town.
Akron (1-9, 0-6 MAC) is eliminated from bowl contention for the fifth-consecutive year. The Zips currently ride the nation’s longest losing streak at nine straight games, and remain in search of their first FBS win under first-year head coach Joe Moorhead. Akron plays on the road this week vs. Northern Illinois before the Dec. 2 contest against Buffalo.
The MAC announced in their statement regarding the rescheduled matchup that “additional details will be forthcoming,” so this is considered a developing story.