Mid American Conference schools and their fans like to make the argument that the MAC is a much stronger conference than is portrayed by the sports media. In past years, MAC schools could usually point to several upsets of bigger name opponents. So far this season the MAC is 16-27 in all out of conference games, including a miserable 0-11 versus the Big Ten. That kind of out of conference record is making it more and more difficult for MAC fans to make their case for respectability. If it weren?t for Bowling Green?s dual wins over Big Twelve opposition, and Miami?s victory over North Carolina, the MAC?s out of conference results would be even more abysmal.
Granted, the MAC still plays most of its out of conference games on the road which makes the task doubly difficult, however, some out of conference losses are difficult to explain, such as:
Northeastern 31, Ohio 0.
South Florida 37, Northern Illinois 6.
Western Illinois 29, Northern Illinois 26.
Lehigh 37, Buffalo 26.
The MAC simply must start winning these and other out of conference games in order to get national respect. Some conference observers have offered that the MAC should cease scheduling road games against the Big Ten, Big Twelve and Big East and instead focus on other mid-majors from Conference USA, Mountain West and the WAC which would be more agreeable to home and home scheduling. However, others state that if the MAC wishes to be considered a ?major? then it must continue to schedule and hopefully defeat the majors. It?s an interesting dilemma that the MAC faces but one that the MAC should address during the next round of scheduling.
Schizophrenic Dogs
Can anybody figure out the Northern Illinois Huskies? The team is now 1-3 after dropping a home game to Division 1-AA Western Illinois, 29-26. This comes after the nation watched the Huskies outplay Wisconsin in every facet of the game, except on the scoreboard. This also comes after Northern Illinois opened the season with a home victory over Wake Forest, 42-41 (a Wake Forest squad that beat Purdue this past weekend), and lost on the road to South Florida, 37-6. It?s enough to make the hardiest Huskies fan speechless. The question is which Northern Illinois squad will show up for its conference opener against Kent State. Looks like a maddening year for the Northern Illinois faithful.
Falcons sweep Big 12 Competition
You can bet that the Big Twelve is glad to see the last of the Bowling Green Falcons. First, Bowling Green rolls over Missouri at home, 51-28 and then this past Saturday the Falcons plucked the Jayhawks on the road, 39-16. Bowling Green opens its conference schedule with a home tilt in two weeks against the Ohio Bobcats. The Falcons, however, continue to struggle for Top 25 votes, placing 34th in the ESPN/USA Today poll and 36th in the Associated Press poll. Bowling Green may be looking to make a statement October 5 in their conference opener against a weak Ohio University squad that is yielding an average of 34 points per game while scoring an average of 8 points per game.
Rockets Crack ESPN Mid-Major Top Ten Poll
The Toledo Rockets are ranked 9th in this week?s ESPN mid-major poll after defeating Mountain West opponent, UNLV at home, 38-21. Toledo joins other MAC schools, Bowling Green (3rd) and Marshall (2nd). In fact, the MAC comprises one-third of the Mid-Major Top 10.
Welcome To The MAC, UCF
After enduring some big time smack talk from team members and fans of the Central Florida Golden Knights, UCF found that life in the MAC won?t be a cakewalk after all. UCF traveled to Marshall and was defeated, 26-21. Now the rallying cry from the UCF faithful is ?the best 0-3 team in the nation.? Central Florida gets 1-AA Liberty at home this week before resuming conference play on October 12 at Western Michigan.
Elsewhere: Indiana survived a scare by Central Michigan, 39-29; Connecticut continued to feast on MAC opposition by defeating Ohio 37-19 after Ohio blew a 19-6 3rd quarter lead; Maryland hammered Eastern Michigan for the second straight year, 45-3; Clemson downed Ball Sate, 30-7; Minnesota defeated Buffalo 41-17; Virginia defeated a stubborn Akron squad, 48-29. Miami defeated Kent State, 27-20 in the MAC Conference opener for both teams.
Players of the Week
Week 4 Offensive Player of the Week:
RB Joe Alls, Bowling Green, 161 yards rushing, 2 touchdowns (one rushing and one passing).
Runner-Up:
QB Josh Cribbs, Kent State, 314 yards total offense, 2 touchdowns.
Week 4 Defensive Player of the Week:
NG Alex Glantzis, Bowling Green, 9 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 force fumbles.
Runner-Up:
DE Jamus Martin, Marshall, 10 tackles, fumble recovery.
Upset Special
Well, the Upset Special is 1-1 after Central Michigan blew a 4th quarter lead in route to losing to Indiana, 39-29. This week we are counting on the Toledo Rockets to pull the upset at Pittsburgh. But don?t bet the bank on it, ok?
MAC Home Attendance
This past week four MAC teams played home games with total attendance of 97,590 or an average for the week of 24,398.
On Tap:
The conference schedule begins to pick up this week with Miami traveling to Akron; Ohio hosting Buffalo in what could be dubbed the Futility Bowl; Kent State plays at Northern Illinois.
The out of conference schedule is highlighted by Western Michigan having the unenviable task of taking on what may be the best team in the nation, Virginia Tech. At least WMU gets to play this one in Kalamazoo. Also, Toledo travels to Pittsburgh and Central Michigan heads east to play Boston College. In one of the more intriguing out of conference matchups, Ball State travels to Connecticut in what is the MAC?s last attempt to upend the Huskies. If UConn wins this one, they may demand to be crowned MAC Champs.
A couple of MAC teams host 1-AA opponents this week as Liberty visits Central Florida and Southern Illinois comes to Ypsilanti to take on Eastern Michigan.
Marshall and Bowling Green are idle this week.
Granted, the MAC still plays most of its out of conference games on the road which makes the task doubly difficult, however, some out of conference losses are difficult to explain, such as:
Northeastern 31, Ohio 0.
South Florida 37, Northern Illinois 6.
Western Illinois 29, Northern Illinois 26.
Lehigh 37, Buffalo 26.
The MAC simply must start winning these and other out of conference games in order to get national respect. Some conference observers have offered that the MAC should cease scheduling road games against the Big Ten, Big Twelve and Big East and instead focus on other mid-majors from Conference USA, Mountain West and the WAC which would be more agreeable to home and home scheduling. However, others state that if the MAC wishes to be considered a ?major? then it must continue to schedule and hopefully defeat the majors. It?s an interesting dilemma that the MAC faces but one that the MAC should address during the next round of scheduling.
Schizophrenic Dogs
Can anybody figure out the Northern Illinois Huskies? The team is now 1-3 after dropping a home game to Division 1-AA Western Illinois, 29-26. This comes after the nation watched the Huskies outplay Wisconsin in every facet of the game, except on the scoreboard. This also comes after Northern Illinois opened the season with a home victory over Wake Forest, 42-41 (a Wake Forest squad that beat Purdue this past weekend), and lost on the road to South Florida, 37-6. It?s enough to make the hardiest Huskies fan speechless. The question is which Northern Illinois squad will show up for its conference opener against Kent State. Looks like a maddening year for the Northern Illinois faithful.
Falcons sweep Big 12 Competition
You can bet that the Big Twelve is glad to see the last of the Bowling Green Falcons. First, Bowling Green rolls over Missouri at home, 51-28 and then this past Saturday the Falcons plucked the Jayhawks on the road, 39-16. Bowling Green opens its conference schedule with a home tilt in two weeks against the Ohio Bobcats. The Falcons, however, continue to struggle for Top 25 votes, placing 34th in the ESPN/USA Today poll and 36th in the Associated Press poll. Bowling Green may be looking to make a statement October 5 in their conference opener against a weak Ohio University squad that is yielding an average of 34 points per game while scoring an average of 8 points per game.
Rockets Crack ESPN Mid-Major Top Ten Poll
The Toledo Rockets are ranked 9th in this week?s ESPN mid-major poll after defeating Mountain West opponent, UNLV at home, 38-21. Toledo joins other MAC schools, Bowling Green (3rd) and Marshall (2nd). In fact, the MAC comprises one-third of the Mid-Major Top 10.
Welcome To The MAC, UCF
After enduring some big time smack talk from team members and fans of the Central Florida Golden Knights, UCF found that life in the MAC won?t be a cakewalk after all. UCF traveled to Marshall and was defeated, 26-21. Now the rallying cry from the UCF faithful is ?the best 0-3 team in the nation.? Central Florida gets 1-AA Liberty at home this week before resuming conference play on October 12 at Western Michigan.
Elsewhere: Indiana survived a scare by Central Michigan, 39-29; Connecticut continued to feast on MAC opposition by defeating Ohio 37-19 after Ohio blew a 19-6 3rd quarter lead; Maryland hammered Eastern Michigan for the second straight year, 45-3; Clemson downed Ball Sate, 30-7; Minnesota defeated Buffalo 41-17; Virginia defeated a stubborn Akron squad, 48-29. Miami defeated Kent State, 27-20 in the MAC Conference opener for both teams.
Players of the Week
Week 4 Offensive Player of the Week:
RB Joe Alls, Bowling Green, 161 yards rushing, 2 touchdowns (one rushing and one passing).
Runner-Up:
QB Josh Cribbs, Kent State, 314 yards total offense, 2 touchdowns.
Week 4 Defensive Player of the Week:
NG Alex Glantzis, Bowling Green, 9 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 force fumbles.
Runner-Up:
DE Jamus Martin, Marshall, 10 tackles, fumble recovery.
Upset Special
Well, the Upset Special is 1-1 after Central Michigan blew a 4th quarter lead in route to losing to Indiana, 39-29. This week we are counting on the Toledo Rockets to pull the upset at Pittsburgh. But don?t bet the bank on it, ok?
MAC Home Attendance
This past week four MAC teams played home games with total attendance of 97,590 or an average for the week of 24,398.
On Tap:
The conference schedule begins to pick up this week with Miami traveling to Akron; Ohio hosting Buffalo in what could be dubbed the Futility Bowl; Kent State plays at Northern Illinois.
The out of conference schedule is highlighted by Western Michigan having the unenviable task of taking on what may be the best team in the nation, Virginia Tech. At least WMU gets to play this one in Kalamazoo. Also, Toledo travels to Pittsburgh and Central Michigan heads east to play Boston College. In one of the more intriguing out of conference matchups, Ball State travels to Connecticut in what is the MAC?s last attempt to upend the Huskies. If UConn wins this one, they may demand to be crowned MAC Champs.
A couple of MAC teams host 1-AA opponents this week as Liberty visits Central Florida and Southern Illinois comes to Ypsilanti to take on Eastern Michigan.
Marshall and Bowling Green are idle this week.
