There is more on the line than just a Mid-American Conference championship for the Western Michigan Broncos.

Western (12-0, 8-0 MAC) moved up four spots in the College Football Playoff rankings, which were announced Tuesday night.

The Broncos are now No. 17 in the rankings and a win over Ohio University (8-4, 6-2) at Ford Field tonight could propel Western Michigan into the biggest bowl game in school history.

Kalamazoo hosted a send-off Thursday afternoon for the Broncos, who only picked up their first bowl victory last season.

Coach P.J. Fleck, whose name is being rumored for several head coaching vacancies, has put Western Michigan, ranked No. 13 by the Associated Press and No. 14 in the Amway/USA Today Coaches Poll, in a position to be claim a New Year’s Six bowl game.

The Broncos are currently on a 14-game winning streak dating back to last season, which is second only to the nation’s only other undefeated team — No. 1-ranked Alabama.

Included in the Broncos’ undefeated record are wins over the Big Ten Conference’s Northwestern and Illinois. It is the first time in school history that Western Michigan has defeated two teams from Power 5 schools in the same season.

It is only the fourth time in Mid-American Conference history that a school has beaten two Big Ten teams in the same season.

“Head Coach P.J. Fleck and the WMU football

program have brought immense pride to the greater Kalamazoo region during the 2016 season,” said Greg Ayers, president and chief executive officer for Discover Kalamazoo, which organized the send-off. “Their performance on the gridiron and throughout the community has been exceptional. This is our opportunity to salute and wish the team well as they head to Detroit for the MAC Championship Game.”

Western Michigan is making its first appearance in a neutral site MAC Championship game. The Broncos lost back-to-back games to Marshall for the title in 1999 and 2000. Their only other appearance came in 1988.

Ohio is in the title game for the first time since 2011.

The Bobcats are 0-3 at Ford Field having lost in 2006, 2009 and 2011.

The MAC Championship Game will pit the league’s best offense against its best defense.

Western Michigan has rolled up 362 points in going undefeated in conference games this season.

Ohio has allowed just 134 points in its conference games, which is 13 points better than the Broncos.

Western leads the league in scoring offense (44.8 ppg.) and rushing offense (247.2 ypg.). The Broncos also have the MAC’s best scoring defense having allowed just 19.2 points per game.

The Bobcats are No. 1 in rushing defense having allowed just 105.1 yards per game this season.

The game will also feature some of the top players in the country in Western Michigan’s Corey Davis and Zach Terrell.

Davis became the all-time leader in receiving yards against Toledo last Friday night. He became the first player to have 300 receptions, more than 5,000 yards receiving and 50 touchdowns.

Terrell recently received notification from the Heisman Trust that he had received significant national recognition and would be considered for the postseason award.

The Broncos also feature a pair of bruising running backs in James Franklin and Jamauri Bogan.

Franklin rushed for 1,266 yards this season and Bogan 787 yards.

Ohio University freshman Louie Zervos was second in the MAC in scoring with an average of 8.8 points per game. The kicker had 23 field goals and 31 extra points.

Senior Greg Windham was 10th in total offense with an average of 192.7 yards per game with 1,366 passing and 368 rushing.

The Mid-American Conference Championship game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN.