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Business as usual in the MAC, for once, with the only result that might be considered a surprise was Ohio beating Miami soundly. Otherwise the bad teams lost and the good teams won. It might be worth noting that Akron does now hold the longest losing streak in the country, but they may go back & forth with New Mexico on that as the bye weeks shake out.
Temple 42, Buffalo 0- Perhaps the first big, complete game from Temple all season, as they set season highs for scoring total and margin of victory. Next Week: Akron at Temple, Miami at Buffalo
Ohio 34, Miami 13- The Bobcats just stuffed the Miami offense as they steadily added touchdowns to their total throughout the game. Ohio is now on a four game win streak after a sluggish start, and all four have been convincing wins. Next Week: Louisiana at Ohio, Miami at Buffalo
Kent State 30, Bowling Green 6- The wheels seem to have come off for the Falcons Read Post
The MAC is really the only league that doesn’t have an extra-light schedule this week. The MAC has tomorrow and one more normal Saturday, then November comes, and the MAC has games on 12 days over 4 gameweeks. It’s crazy- you’ll see. But to accommodate all that, many teams don’t have byes until that [...]
Another eventful weekend in the MAC, with further shifting in the balance of power, big comebacks, and the end of a miserable losing streak.
Miami 27, Central Michigan 20- This one should have gone to overtime, but the Chips missed a wide-open Miami receiver who sprinted away for a 71 yard game winner with 19 seconds left. Miami is just two games away from bowl eligibility. Next Week: Ohio at Miami, Central Michigan at Northern Illinois
Temple 28, Bowling Green 27- Bowling Green decided to go for two after scoring what should have been the tying touchdown late in the game, came up short, and saw Temple escape with this one. Of course, it shouldn’t have been that close, but Temple’s offense remains questionable. Next Week: Temple at Buffalo, Kent State at Bowling Green
Eastern Michigan 41, Ball State 38- This was a bizarre game. Read Post
We’re all up in the MAC this week, but seriously, they have a ridiculous amount of teams and, thus, games.
12:00 PM- Miami at Central Michigan: Central Michigan hasn’t beaten anyone with a decent record yet, but Miami would count at this point. Otherwise, I don’t have much a feel for this game. Line: Central Michigan by 12.5. Well, this one seems easy. I think it could go either way, but I don’t think CMU can be counted on to blow anybody out just yet. I think Miami steals this one, 21-18.
1:00 PM- Bowling Green at Temple: Two teams seemingly heading in different directions, although Temple needs to get its offense on track soon if they’re going to uphold their title of East favorites. Read Post
Finally, the last batch of reviews for this week. Which is handy, because week 7 starts in about 22 hours. By odd coincidence, MAC teams in the lower half of the alphabetical sort (in this case, Miami, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, and Temple) are having much better seasons than the ones in the top half. Go figure.
Miami
Record: 3-3, 2-0 MAC
Highlights: Wins over Colorado State and Kent State, exposing Florida’s horrific offense in week 1, lead the league in turnover margin.
Weak Points: Blowout losses to Missouri and Cincinnati, worst ground game in the league (119th in the country), most team stats are bottom half of the MAC.
Grade: B-. Extra points for exceeding expectations- only losses are to BCS league teams, and they’ve already beaten teams they would have lost to in 2009.
Remaining Games: at Central Michigan, Ohio, at Buffalo, at Bowling Green, at Akron, Temple
Best Case: 5-1 for an 8-4 season and a bowl bid. CMU and Ohio certainly haven’t looked unbeatable so far this year.
Worst Case: 1-5 for a disappointing ending, but still a big improvement over 2009.
Prediction: 3-3, and probably at the bottom of the bowl priority list, meaning it’ll be tough to find a game for the postseason. They could certainly perform better though.
Northern Illinois
Record: 4-2, 2-0 MAC
Highlights: Resounding wins over Minnesota and East favorite Temple. Top rushing team in the MAC, allowing just 10.2 points per game despite 3 BCS teams on the schedule.
Weak Points: Special teams ranks among the lowest in the league, pass offense not carrying its share of the load. Read Post
The MAC has a very front-loaded schedule, which means 10 of the 13 teams have played six games in the first six weeks. Because you don’t want to read (and I don’t want to write) about 10 MAC teams in one shot, I’m breaking them into two parts. Here are the first five on the list- Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan (it’s alphabetical, not because they’re all terrible). Eastern Michigan will be moved to the next batch because the NCAA Stats database just went down again.
Akron
Record: 0-6, 0-2 MAC
Highlights: They gook Gardner-Webb to overtime before losing. They’re 4th in the MAC in Net Punting. They are not 120th in any of the major NCAA stat categories.
Weak Points: Everything but punting. Lost to a FCS team. Hasn’t been within 11 of anybody else. Last in the league in offense, 11th in defense.
Grade: F. To be winless at this point and not get an F, there would have to be some pretty compelling circumstances. Nothing compelling here, just a bad football team.
Remaining Games: at Ohio, Western Michigan, at Temple, at Ball State, Miami, Buffalo
Best Case: 1-5. Unless some other team appears, the only winnable game on the slate is Ball State.
Worst Case: 0-6. This is not unlikely.
Prediction: 0-6 and 0-12 on the season. Ball State has won two games already and the others are all at least decent teams.
Ball State
Record: 2-4, 1-1 MAC
Highlights: Gave Purdue fits, upset Central Michigan on the road. Leading the league in kickoff returns, #2 in rushing offense.
Weak Points: Lost to FCS Liberty. Read Post
Virginia Tech 45, Central Michigan 21- The Chips couldn’t contain Tyrod Taylor as they suffer their second and final loss to a BCS team this year, first year in a while without a win over a Big 6 team. Next Week: Miami at Central Michigan
Western Michigan 45, Ball State 16- Ball State returns to their previous form as this game was over by the first play of the second quarter, when the Broncos went up 28-0. Next Week: Western Michigan at Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan at Ball State
Northern Illinois 31, Temple 17- Read Post
Another busy weekend is at hand in the MAC, who has loaded Saturday schedules all through October, then goes to a bizarre schedule in November with games nearly every day of the week.
12:00 PM, ESPNU- Central Michigan at Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech is certainly capable of looking past a team like Central Michigan, but the Chips haven’t beaten anyone on a level like Virginia Tech has played the last two weeks. Line: Virginia Tech by 22. I’m inclined to think this is a blowout, 45-20 Virginia Tech.
12:00 PM- Western Michigan at Ball State: Ball State rose up and won last week, while WMU fell to Idaho. The Broncos should win this one, unless Ball State has really turned a big corner. Line: Ball State by 5. Sorry, but I’m really not prepared to pick the Cardinals to win just yet. I could be wrong, but one game doesn’t have me convinced. Broncos win an ugly game 17-13.
12:00 PM- Temple at Northern Illinois: This could be the game of the year in the MAC. Read Post
All hell broke loose in the MAC this weekend- Ball State won, Toledo lost, Buffalo finally scored some points, and Temple very nearly lost to Army. At least Akron lost badly, the one thing we could count on.
Temple 42, Army 35- I never would have guessed that these two would put 77 points on the board. Matt Brown stepped in for Bernard Pierce and ran for 226 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair in the 4th quarter that broke a 28-28 tie and then put the Owls ahead for good. Temple is now done out of conference and looks toward a huge MAC game Saturday. Next Week: Temple at Northern Illinois, Army at Tulane
Ohio 30, Eastern Michigan 17- This one was tied at halftime, but Ohio put up 20 in the 3rd quarter to send Eastern Michigan on to its 17th straight loss. Next Week: Bowling Green at Ohio, Eastern Michigan at Vanderbilt
Miami 27, Kent State 21- Another MAC game with big action late, when Miami scored 17 in the fourth quarter to come from behind and beat the Golden Flashes. Miami now has 3 wins for the first time since 2007, and has to be considered a contender now in a wide-open MAC East. Next Week: Akron at Kent State, Miami at Cincinnati
Idaho 33, Western Michigan 13- Read Post
After 10 of them last week, the MAC has no games against BCS opponents today, instead mostly playing league games and a couple against non-BCS teams.
12:00 PM, CBS College- Temple at Army: Both teams are sitting in at 3-1 and playing very well, with Army coming off a win over Duke last week. Temple should have Army outmanned, but the Black Knights have been playing above their talent level all year. Line: Temple by 6. Temple should win, but I’m not comfortable spotting Army that many. Let’s go with 24-21 for the Owls.
12:00 PM- Ohio at Eastern Michigan: Ohio has been a huge disappointment so far this season, having yet to notch a FBS win. Eastern Michigan is far from a good team, and this is Ohio’s chance to break through and get on the right track. Line: Ohio by 10. Once again, far more points than I’m willing to spot a 1-3 team. Ohio should win this one maybe 28-21.
1:00 PM- Kent State at Miami: Kent State, who pushed Ohio & Temple to the end last year, has also failed to win a FBS game in two tries so far, although both were against quality BCS opponents. Miami is 2-2 and 1-0 in the league, hoping to notch another big win today. Line: Kent State by 3. I think Kent State has shown a lot on defense and may be able to stifle the Redhawks today, and win this one 30-10.
2:00 PM, WAC Sports Network- Idaho at Western Michigan: This is an interesting game, with Idaho coming in off a disappointing loss to Colorado State, and Western having been beaten soundly by Toledo last week. Read Post
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