The NFL season begins Wednesday night with the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, because it's clear the NFL has been trying to be more like the MAC. They see the conference's rising popularity, and this fledgling pro sports league with rampant concussion issues is thinking, yeah, we need to do something to bring the fans back.

They're also doing the traditional "include MAC players on the actual rosters" ritual, which usually works out for these players. As you remember, the Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLVI with nine MAC players on their roster. In this case the Pittsburgh Steelers, yet again, are the ones with the most players, including all three quarterbacks. And the Browns, naturally, have the second most, tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who truly are the MAC of the NFL, so that makes sense.

Below the jump is a list of all players by school, as well as breakdowns by NFL team, position, and playing status. Also, nerts to the Vikings and Rams: zero total MAC players, the only teams without them. They are now expected — nay, ENCOURAGED — to finish 0-16.

AKRON (3)

Reggie Corner — Jaguars defensive back (IR)
Chase Blackburn — Giants linebacker
Domenik Hixon — Giants wide receiver

BALL STATE (1)

Reggie Hodges — Browns punter

BOWLING GREEN (2)

Shaun Suisham — Steelers kicker
Kory Lichtensteiger — Redskins offensive lineman

BUFFALO (5)

Trevor Scott — Patriots defensive end
Jamey Richard — Patriots offensive lineman (IR)
Mike Newton — Colts safety (PS)
James Starks — Packers running back
Josh Thomas — Panthers cornerback

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (8)

Nick Bellore — Jets linebacker
Antonio Brown — Steelers wide receiver
Josh Gordy — Colts cornerback
Colin Miller — Raiders center (PS)
Tory Humphrey — Raiders tight end (IR)
Cullen Jenkins — Eagles defensive tackle
Frank Zombo — Packers linebacker (PUP)
Joe Staley — 49ers offensive tackle

EASTERN MICHIGAN (4)

Charlie Batch — Steelers quarterback
Kevin Walter — Texans wide receiver
T.J. Lang — Packers offensive guard
Jason Jones — Seahawks defensive end

KENT STATE (9)

Julian Edelman — Patriots wide receiver
Sam Kirkland — Patriots wide receiver (PS)
Joshua Cribbs — Browns wide receiver
Ishmaa'ily Kitchen — Browns defensive lineman
Usama Young — Browns defensive back
James Harrison — Steelers linebacker
Abram Elam — Chiefs defensive back
Antonio Gates — Chargers tight end
Jameson Konz — Seahawks linebacker (IR)

UMASS (6)

Josh Samuda — Dolphins offensive guard
James Ihedigbo — Ravens safety
Vladimir Ducasse — Jets offensive lineman
Jeromy Miles — Bengals safety
Jeremy Cain — Jaguars long snapper
Victor Cruz — Giants wide receiver

MIAMI (OH) (5)

Ben Roethlisberger — Steelers quarterback
Brandon Brooks — Ravens offensive guard
Jake O'Connell — Chiefs tight end
Tom Crabtree — Packers tight end
Chris Givens — Saints wide receiver (IR)

NORTHERN ILLINOIS (7)

Chandler Harnish — Colts quarterback
Tracy Wilson — Titans defensive back (PS)
Larry English — Chargers linebacker
Doug Free — Cowboys offensive tackle
Michael Turner — Falcons running back
Pat Schiller — Falcons linebacker (PS)
Nathan Palmer — 49ers wide receiver (PS)

OHIO (4)

LaVon Brazill — Colts wide receiver
Taylor Price — Jaguars wide receiver (IR)
Mike Mitchell — Raiders safety
Dave Zastudil — Cardinals punter

TOLEDO (10)

Bruce Gradkowski – Bengals quarterback
Andrew Hawkins — Bengals wide receiver
John Greco — Browns offensive lineman
Jalen Parmele — Jaguars running back
Brett Kern — Titans punter
Barry Church — Cowboys safety
Kevin Kowalski — Cowboys offensive lineman (PUP)
Phillipkeith Manley — Falcons offensive guard
Lance Moore — Saints wide receiver
Danny Noble — Buccaneers tight end

WESTERN MICHIGAN (9)

John Potter — Bills kicker
Jordan White — Jets wide receiver (PS)
Joe Reitz — Colts offensive guard
Drew Nowak — Jaguars defensive tackle (IR)
Jason Babin — Eagles defensive end
Louis Delmas — Lions safety
Tony Scheffler — Lions tight end
Greg Jennings — Packers wide receiver
E.J. Biggers — Buccaneers cornerback

LEGACY (played for the school during their MAC era)

TEMPLE (13)

Muhammad Wilkerson — Jets defensive lineman
Bernard Pierce — Ravens running back
Matt Balasavage — Ravens tight end (IR)
Brian Sanford — Browns defensive lineman (PS)
Adrian Robinson — Steelers linebacker
Terrance Knighton — Jaguars defensive tackle
Wayne Tribue — Broncos offensive guard (PS)
Steve Maneri — Chiefs tight end
Rod Streater — Raiders wide receiver
Jaiquawn Jarrett — Eagles safety
Evan Rodriguez — Bears tight end
Tahir Whitehead — Lions linebacker
Andre Neblett — Panthers defensive tackle (suspended)

MARSHALL (2)

Byron Leftwich — Steelers quarterback
Doug Legursky — Steelers offensive guard

UCF (4)

Matt Prater — Broncos kicker
Atari Bigby — Chargers strong safety
Brandon Marshall — Bears wide receiver
Asante Samuel — Falcons cornerback

Number of MAC players on roster
8 — Steelers
6 — Browns, Jaguars
5 — Packers, Colts
4 — Patriots, Jets, Ravens, Raiders, Falcons
3 — Giants, Bengals, Cowboys, Chiefs, Eagles, Chargers, Lions
2 — Seahawks, 49ers, Saints, Titans, Buccaneers, Panthers, Broncos, Bears
1 — Cardinals, Dolphins, Bills, Redskins, Texans
0 — Rams, Vikings

MAC players in the NFL by position
Quarterback: 5
Running back: 4
Wide receiver: 17
Tight end: 9
Offensive lineman: 16
Defensive lineman: 10
Linebacker: 9
Defensive back: 16
Punter: 3
Kicker: 3

Players by status
53 man roster: 72
Injured lists: 10
Practice squad: 9
Suspended: 1