BOWLING GREEN — The Mid-American Conference released its full 2019 schedule Tuesday, and the draw was a good one for fans of the Battle of I-75 rivalry.
The Toledo-Bowling Green rivalry will stay on a Saturday this fall, as the Falcons play host to Toledo on Oct. 12 at Doyt Perry Stadium at a time to be determined later.
“When we have the opportunity, we very much like to put the rivalry games into Saturdays,” MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said of crafting the schedule. “By the same token, when they’re really attractive to the TV partners, they’re often going to go there as well. It’s a balance, it’s a mix you play with year-in and year-out.”
The league said it plans to announce more of the game times and TV broadcast pairings in early June. Bowling Green will play the reverse of its MAC schedule from 2018 by traveling to Kent State, Western Michigan, Miami, and Buffalo, and hosting Toledo, Central Michigan, Akron, and Ohio.
The Falcons also will play two high-profile nonconference opponents on the road, visiting Kansas State on Sept. 7 and Notre Dame on Oct. 5.
The schedule announcement was particularly good for Bowling Green, which will play five of its six home games on Saturdays. BG’s home finale Nov. 19 is a Tuesday against Ohio. It’s the only home game scheduled for a weeknight.
BG will play two weeknight games total, with the Falcons’ trip to Miami scheduled for Nov. 13, a Wednesday. The Falcons again will finish the regular season on a Friday against Buffalo, the defending MAC East champion. BG will travel to UB on Nov. 29.
Toledo’s MAC schedule also is a reverse of last year, with home games against Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, and Northern Illinois.
The Rockets visit Ball State, Buffalo, and Central Michigan along with Bowling Green.
In the nonconference, Toledo opens the season Aug. 31, at Kentucky, which went 10-3 last season and finished at No. 12 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll.
The Rockets will play their home opener Sept. 14 against Murray State. Then Toledo visits Colorado State on Sept. 21. BYU comes to the Glass Bowl on Sept. 28 to close out the nonleague schedule.
Toledo gets two of its conference home games on Saturdays in October — Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan. The Kent State and Northern Illinois home games are midweek November games.
Saturday road games for the Rockets in October are the I-75 game at Bowling Green
The other Saturday road game in October is at Ball State, and games at Buffalo and Central Michigan fall on a Wednesday and Friday, respectively, in November.
The MAC will play its annual championship game Dec. 7, a Saturday, at Ford Field in Detroit.
2019 UT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
• Saturday, Aug. 31 – at Kentucky
• Saturday, Sept. 7 – OPEN
• Saturday, Sept. 14 – Murray State
• Saturday, Sept. 21 – at Colorado State
• Saturday, Sept. 28 – BYU
• Saturday, Oct. 5 – Western Michigan
• Saturday, Oct. 12 – at Bowling Green
• Saturday, Oct. 19 – at Ball State
• Saturday, Oct. 26 – Eastern Michigan
• Tuesday, Nov. 5 – Kent State
• Wednesday, Nov. 13 – Northern Illinois
• Wednesday, Nov. 20 – at Buffalo
• Friday, Nov. 29 – at Central Michigan
2019 BGSU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
• Thursday, Aug. 29 – Morgan State
• Saturday, Sept. 7 – at Kansas State
• Saturday, Sept. 14 – Louisiana Tech
• Saturday, Sept. 21 – at Kent State
• Saturday, Sept. 28 - OPEN
• Saturday, Oct. 5 – at Notre Dame
• Saturday, Oct. 12 – Toledo
• Saturday, Oct. 19 – Central Michigan
• Saturday, Oct. 26 – at Western Michigan
• Saturday, Nov. 2 – Akron
• Wednesday, Nov. 13 – at Miami
• Tuesday, Nov. 19 – Ohio
• Friday, Nov. 29 – at Buffalo
First Published February 20, 2019, 5:42 p.m.
