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The MAC Championship game is just hours away, set to kick off at 8 PM tonight on ESPN2. The conference has been flying under the radar this year for the most part, but suddenly they have a 10 win team and another 9 win team squaring off for the title, in what should be a very watchable matchup. The MAC game is again held at Ford Field, the indoor stadium home to the Detroit Lions. Central Michigan (10-2/8-0) is back in the title game for the third time in four years, after missing out a year ago. CMU won the game in 2006 and 2007. This is the first appearance for Ohio (9-3/7-1) since 2006, their only other title game to date.
Storylines
For Central Michigan, you’ll be hearing a lot about Senior QB Dan LeFevour. He currently sits 2nd on the active career passing yardage list, behind some guy named Colt from Texas, but is also ranked 18th on the active career rushing yardage list too- the highest ranked QB of only two on that list. In total, he is in first place in the individual total offense active list, well ahead of McCoy overall. This is his last conference game, and his biggest spotlight of the season, at least since they beat Michigan State in the early going. If the game does get out of hand and the commentators are forced to talk about other things, they’ll probably discuss his draft chances before moving quickly on to the SEC or Big 12 games.
Ohio’s story will focus on coach Frank Solich, last remembered by the general public as getting fired by Nebraska after an 8-3 season. Since then, he’s worked toward making Ohio a consistent contender in the MAC, and while they did win the East back in ’06, it’s been a bit up and down. Still, the team has bounced back from a 4-8 season last year, and this is the second 9 win season under Solich, something they hadn’t had otherwise since 1968. Read Post
We’ve made it through 12 games in 13 weeks and now it’s time to put a bow on the 2009 season in C-USA and the MAC. The MAC preview is coming this afternoon, to get you ready for tonight’s game. The Conference USA Championship Game kicks off at noon Saturday on ESPN2. The Houston Cougars (10-2/6-2) come to Greenville, NC to take on the East Carolina Pirates (8-4/7-1). The Pirates host the game on account of a better record in league play, despite Houston’s better record overall. The teams did not meet in the regular season.
Storylines
Houston’s story has been pretty well documented- wins over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech vaulted them into the top 25, only to lose to UTEP, perhaps the most inconsistent team in the league. They got back on track by beating Mississippi State and only lost once more, on the road at UCF. They come into the weekend ranked 21st and are hoping to see QB Case Keenum get a trip to New York for the Heisman ceremony.
East Carolina has had a lower profile this year than they usually do. Rarely does a year go by without a signature win for the Pirates over one of their regional rivals, but this year they lost to West Virginia, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech. Their only conference loss was on the road at Southern Methodist, a 28-21 affair. Their coach, Skip Holtz, is a rising start and his name has even come across in at least one rumor tied to Notre Dame. Expect to hear the name in conjunction with several jobs as they start to break open at the more mid-level BCS schools. Read Post
Another eventful weekend in C-USA, as we now have the league championship game set, while at least one team saw their bowl hopes go up in smoke and another stumbled across the finish line, lucky that the league has a lot of bowl ties. Read Post
For most of America’s 1-A college football teams, the regular season has come to a close. The conferences with no championship game have a few games here and there over the next few weeks, and four non-BCS teams have appointments with championship games next week. Here are some of the highlights from yesterday’s action:
Troy and TCU [...]
In case you were being dragged around the malls into the afternoon, we had two more titles handed out over the last 24 hours or so, and the BCS picture isn’t getting any better for Boise State. Here’s what we know, and what we think:
- Ohio 35, Temple 17- Ohio is you MAC East Champion and will go on to play Central Michigan on Friday night. Both teams end their seasons at 9-3, as Temple’s 9 game streak comes to an end.
- Boise State 44, Nevada 33- The Wolf Pack gave the Broncos all they could, but BSU got out to a big lead early and Nevada couldn’t get caught up. Boise State repeats as WAC champion, and will look to go 8-0 in the league for 2 years running next week.
- Texas survived a good game from Texas A&M to stay in the driver seat for a BCS slot.
- Alabama did the same against Auburn, to keep the SEC Championship locked in as a play-in game, unless UF loses to FSU today.
- Pitt lost to West Virginia last night, which essentially eliminates them from BCS consideration unless they beat Cincinnati next week, and could mean that Cincy will not be rewarded with a BCS bowl if they lose to Pitt next week.
All this means is that as long as Cincinnati beats Pitt next week, it’s still a three way dance between Boise State, Oklahoma State (if they win today, and that’s a pretty big if), and Penn State/Iowa for two remaining places. If Oklahoma wins today, then a pretty clear path opens for BSU’s inclusion, especially if Cincinnati does beat Pitt next week. Read Post
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