But the conference is no stranger to Florida. Its teams have mined the Sunshine State for speedy recruits to fuel their flashy spread offenses and yield the high-scoring, weeknight games that have spawned a clever nickname — MACtion — and a cult following among college football junkies:

• Nearly 11 percent of the league’s 1,343 players hail from Florida, including its special teams player of the year (Kent State’s Dri Archer) and freshman of the year (Western Michigan WR Jaime Wilson).

• Floridians were responsible for 127 of the MAC’s 552 touchdowns this fall. Three of the league’s top eight leaders in all-purpose yards are from the state.

• Of the 412 receivers, cornerbacks or safeties on MAC rosters this fall, almost one in five (78) are Floridians. By comparison, only seven of the conference’s 219 offensive linemen are from here. "We're not in short supply of big human beings," NIU coach Rod Carey said. "We're in short supply of guys that can run fast." 

• That trend isn’t slowing. In a July analysis by the Tampa Bay Times, only the SEC had extended more offers to Tampa Bay players than the MAC (111). USF and FAU were the only schools to offer more local prospects than Ball State (23) and UMass (22).