I'm hoping the Bobcats win the MAC East and go bowling again...we'll see. Would love to see a revenge victory over Marshall.

That being said let's face it MAC fans, our conference may technically be 1-A but we'll never run with the big dogs. I'd rather be honest and play 1-AA. The MAC would definitely challenge conferences like the Southern Conference for the FCS National Championship year after year. I think it would be a lot more exciting to do that than be the perennial Division 1-A OOC Cupcake Conference to pad the win columns of true 1-A powerhouses.

The MAC did well against 1-AA this past weekend and choked against 1-A....hello???

Just sayin'..

I think of that as taking the easy way out. The MAC is just down right now. I dont think I would go to another game if we dropped to 1-aa

About 15 years ago, the entire MAC was forced to play in I-AA. It was a disaster. I keep hearing talk that the NCAA may try to make this a permanent arrangement. I think the only reason we are kept in I-A is because the BCS teams need six wins to be bowl eligible. They have to beat somebody.

I know that Kent is really pushing to average 15,000 per game this year in order to remain eligible for I-A status. The new AD is emphasizing football. It's about time someone at Kent pays attention to football.

A MAC team to keep an eye on is the University of Buffalo. Jeff Quinn took over as the head coach this season. Quinn was ND coach Brian Kelly's right hand man for the past 19 years. Buffalo romped over Rhode Island 31-0 in their opener, racking up over 400 yards of offense in the no-huddle spread many saw at UC the past few years.

http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article182683.ece

Toledo really needs to beat OU today if they want any hope of having a winning record in the MAC this year. Problem comes from a severe lack at WR and no pass rush on defense to take pressure off of the DB's. Hopefully they figure it out today before the rest of their OOC schedule comes in.

OU hasn't beat Toledo since 1988, hopefully that changes.

^^Agreed

Akron does the MAC proud by losing to Gardner-Webb at home.

31-31 heading into OT, Akron went first and scored, PAT blocked. G-W scores, makes their PAT, and they win 38-37

believer;479755 wrote:^^Agreed

and the streak continues... 20-13 UT

Big South (1-AA) goes 2-0 vs the MAC today as Liberty beats Ball State too.
The only victories MAC schools have against 1-A teams are against other MAC schools.

This conference blows.

My Zips lose to Gardner Freaking Webb. FML


Atleast I have the soccer team to cheer for..

The MAC is in a sorry state. After two weeks, we have not beaten even one I-A team but we have lost to two I-AA teams. Temple had to come from behind to beat an I-AA team last week and then they beat a fellow MAC team. Kent seems to have done the best so far. Kent was only down 6-3 at the half against Boston College and ultimately lost 26-13. They had five turnovers which killed the game for them.

Things don't get any easier next week. Kent plays Penn State and Ohio plays Ohio State. Maybe one of them will get lucky.

Glad Toledo pulled out an ugly win in Athens. This is a sorry conference.

UT at Western this week is a big game, winner might be able to contend in the west.

What happened to the MAC? Not too many years ago they were improving alot and having one or 2 ranked teams (i believe) each year. Toledo, BG, and Northern ILL.

cats gone wild;483422 wrote:What happened to the MAC? Not too many years ago they were improving alot and having one or 2 ranked teams (i believe) each year. Toledo, BG, and Northern ILL.

Let me try to explain.

First, the MAC has the unenviable task of recruiting decent 1-A talent in the long shadow of the Big 10 and to a lesser degree the Big East.

Second, the MAC barely qualifies as 1-A. Most of the conference stadiums seat 30,000 or less and very few of the programs fill half the stadiums on game day...let alone sellout.

Third, the MAC is not a BCS conference and will NEVER field a Top 10 caliber team. What decent 1-A caliber athlete will jump on that "opportunity" to showcase his talents for the NFL? None, zero, nada. Basically the MAC gets all the 1-A leftovers...the kids who didn't quite have Big 10-level talent, but who still want to play 1-A football. This is why some MAC teams can give OSU and other Big 10 teams fits when they play head-to-head. The MAC team is fielding the Big 10 rejects, misfits, and wannabes. It's an opportunity for the MAC boys to prove the Big 10 scouts wrong.

The true 1-A conferences (or the NCAA at least) look the other way on the fact that the MAC barely if actually pulls enough average game attendance to qualify as 1-A. They NEED the MAC, C-USA, and Sun Belt conferences to be labeled 1-A so they can pad their win columns prior to their BCS conference schedules. Those cupcake "W's" look good at the end of the season when the bowl game committees begin lining up their post-season schedules.

These things are quite cyclical for the MAC. Every few years a Central Michigan, Miami of Ohio, Toledo, Northern Illinois or Bowling Green will put together a decent group of athletes who happen to be playing a little above reality and can knock off a smattering of Top 25 programs.

But for all intents and purposes the MAC is caught between a rock and hard place....Do they stay 1-A and pretend to be one of the big boys or should they drop to 1-AA and experience an actual opportunity to play for the FCS national title?

I'm inclined for the MAC to be the premier 1-AA conference and face an Appy State in the FCS national title game rather than play a 6-6 Arizona State team in the December 22nd Kraft "MAC" & Cheeze Bowl.

But that's just me......

believer;483447 wrote:The true 1-A conferences (or the NCAA at least) look the other way on the fact that the MAC barely if actually pulls enough average game attendance to qualify as 1-A. They NEED the MAC, C-USA, and Sun Belt conferences to be labeled 1-A so they can pad their win columns prior to their BCS conference schedules. Those cupcake "W's" look good at the end of the season when the bowl game committees begin lining up their post-season schedules

I agree with most of your post, but this really isn't true. If they eliminated all "other" non-BCS leagues, the bigger schools would simply fill their OOC schedules with 2 or 3 FCS schools instead of the typical 1. The bigger schools wouldn't play each other more, they would just find their "gimme wins" elsewhere. So yes, you are right in a sense, the non-BCS leagues, especially the ones you mentioned, are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

I happen to agree many of them should drop down to FCS, play for a real national title and also continue to try to get games against FBS schools. It would help if all of them dropped at once though, as the FBS schools will still try to schedule the low-tier FBS schools before scheduling all FCS schools. However, if there were only say, 100 schools eligible for the BCS (6 main conferences, WAC, MWC), you would see things change.

The reason the BCS conferences don't want them to drop down to FCS is that BCS schools can only count one win versus an FCS school in a year.

Right now I'd rather stay in 1-A and compete for the MAC every year and try to pull a few upsets along the way.

Still doesnt answer my question. They were having ranked teams each year for a few, and now its near impossible for them to have a ranked team. Why the decline.There were the same BCS schools/conferences back then like there are now. You dont see Utah, Boise, TCU and Houston hurting do you?

cats gone wild;483672 wrote:Still doesnt answer my question. They were having ranked teams each year for a few, and now its near impossible for them to have a ranked team. Why the decline.There were the same BCS schools/conferences back then like there are now. You dont see Utah, Boise, TCU and Houston hurting do you?

Trends in college football. This happens to most conferences. They are good for a few years, then bad for a few years. Then good for a few years, then bad for a few years.

I think right now many of the better players who would have gone MAC in years past are going to the BE, ACC and to second tier B10 teams to stake their fortunes. In this era of BCS football and conference bowl tie-ins they rather go to those conferences for a shot at a BCS Bowl game or another bowl besides the Motor City or GMAC Bowl.

One other trend to bring up is like discussions with B10 decline is the population shifts out of the midwest in this country. As a result, kids that might have grown up in Ohio in the past are raised in a different part of the country and going to school there. Likewise, I think even if the kid was raised in the midwest, there is an inclination to go to college in another part of the country. This plays out to the athlete at this level as well.

grodt;483650 wrote:The reason the BCS conferences don't want them to drop down to FCS is that BCS schools can only count one win versus an FCS school in a year.

Right now I'd rather stay in 1-A and compete for the MAC every year and try to pull a few upsets along the way.

This is true now. However, if these smaller conferences disband or move to FCS, those rules will surely change. An FBS with around 80-90 teams will definitely change this exception because there will need to be teams to play. So while this is true at this point, it would definitely be repealed after changes are made.

I can't speak for the other MAC schools, but it is evident that Kent doesn't want to drop down to Div. I-AA. I think the schools will do everything in their power to remain I-A.

The attendance issue is an interesting angle. I know there are several FCS programs clamoring to make the step up, many who average over 20K already Montana, Delaware, Appy State are well over 20K per game and are looking to make the move. A couple Ivy League schools average above and around 20K as well, but they will not be making a move obviously (Yale and Penn). You wouild think the non-Ivy's would at least get a shot if they are average over 20K if they are giving the MAC schools the same courtesy.

Not good to see two MAC teams on Mark Schlabach's "Bottom 10" List (Akron, Eastern Michigan) and a third (Bowling Green) on the "waiting list"

I said earlier that BG will struggle to stay out of the East basement. You just don't generally win with inexperienced skill people, especially at QB. As for the question of why the MAC isn't challenging some of these schools as in the past, I do believe it's most cyclical. I think we'll see the conference come back up in a few years with some teams pulling upsets as they've done in the past.

Right now, some of the schools that have usually pulled those upsets (BG, Toledo, Central and Miami) are all basically starting over after losing 3 and 4 year starters, not to mention coaching changes.