How the MAC Won Kansas’ Upset
Texas' loss to Kansas likely opens a bowl spot for a Mid-American Conference in need of at-large spots
Other than being an embarrassing loss for the once-proud Texas Longhorns, Saturday’s Kansas-Texas game had implications for the MAC’s postseason picture. The loss makes it likely the Big 12 fails to fill all seven of their bowl tie-ins.
While at-large teams around the country benefit from this, no conference rejoiced more than the MAC. The MAC will likely have eight teams reach bowl eligibility, including the entire Western Division.
Deserving MAC teams staying home for the holidays is a sad Christmas movie plot as old as time, with the bowl season leaving behind a 6-6 MAC team seemingly every year. Even with a colossal bowl slate of 43 bowls, this may be a sad deja vu this year, with the MAC only guaranteed six bowl slots.
The Big 12’s last bowl spot is a flex pick between the First Responder Bowl in Dallas and the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth. However, the MAC may not even appear in either of these games. The lack of a Big 12 team allows for another team, particularly Army or Liberty to be flexed into that game and open another ESPN-owned bowl for the MAC.
Instead of sending Army to the Gasparilla Bowl, ESPN could send Kent State or Western Michigan there instead, likely against a Power Five school. Overall, the matchmakers at ESPN would have another matchup to give the MAC a signature bowl win.
Additionally, other dominoes can fall in other conferences such as the PAC-12 not filling all of their bowl obligations as well as the American. While the situation is not optimal for the MAC, it is far from dire. If the MAC enjoys a bowl season as fulfilling as a helping of Christmas Day turkey, they can thank Kansas for opening the first of a number of bowl slots for them.