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The Weekly Wrapups will look back at the games of the weekend, such as it is, and present my conference power rankings. They get shorter when conference play starts.
The MAC went 6-7 against 13 out of conference teams this weekend, a much better start than they had in 2008. Broken down, the league was 6-0 against FCS teams, 0-1 v. Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, and independent Army. So it wasn’t great, since nobody in the MAC beat a FBS team. That will change Thursday, no matter what. Let’s look at the games.
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Quiet night in college football, between the big opener and the bigger Saturday.
Temple very nearly became the first team to fall to a FCS opponent Friday night. Villanova took the lead in the second quarter and held it until the 4th, then took it back again with under 2 minutes to play after Temple fumbled the [...]
We interrupt our weekend previews to take a look at tonight’s games. We’ll have more in-depth looks at these weeknight games as the season unfolds, especially when they’re conference games that actually mean something. Anyway..
5:00 PM- Villanova (FCS) at Temple: Villanova won the FCS championship (you know, in a playoff) last year, a season that included [...]
Today is the day. All the talk of recruiting, GPA, realignment, coaching changes, Senate hearings, lawsuits, transfers, arrests and everything else goes out the window. At least until Tuesday because there’s no games Tuesday. Football is finally ready to kick off.
Here on the Fringe, we attempt to preview any given weeknight game as best we can, and we will have our Weeknight Football preview a little later today. But for now, the first of our weekly features including the BCS Buster Watch and my non-BCS Top 25. So here we go.
BCS Buster Watch
Currently on the watch: Everybody. All 54 teams are presently undefeated. So instead, here are 10 teams besides Boise State, TCU, and Utah that could make a run at the dream season, or at least stay undefeated long enough to garner a little attention. These teams are picked because they could (not will) make it to about 4-0 and do it with a worthwhile resume. In no particular order, except for alphabetical by the order their conference pages are sitting on my desk:
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The team previews are done, so we’re zooming out a level to look at each conference as a whole, and we’re doing it fast- football is very nearly upon us.
The Mid-American Conference had what might have been a bit of a breakout year in 2009. Both division races went down to the last two weeks, with the East not being decided until the MAC’s now-traditional Thanksgiving Friday season finales. But the football was exciting and competitive all through the season, the league showed up for two of the best bowl games of the year, and Central Michigan ended the year 23 & 24 in the polls.
For 2010, we have two clear favorites and a few question marks right behind them about who will emerge- and someone always does- to push the favorites right to the end of the season. In the West, Northern Illinois is loaded and ready to chase down their first conference championship since 1983. In the East, the resurgent Temple team looks to avenge their final-Friday loss to Ohio and take their place in the title game.
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Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
At #6 on my pre-pre-season rankings, (ie, I checked on returning players, glanced at schedules, and ranked ‘em), Temple may be a step down from what I see as the “Big 5,” but not by much. Last year they went from laughingstock to a shot at league champions in 8 weeks, before stumbling down the stretch to wind up at 9-4.
The quarterback position appears to be solidified this year, placing the team in the hands of junior Chester Stewart, who started four games last year. Sophomore running back Bernard Pierce returns after rushing for 1300 yards and 16 touchdowns a year ago. All told, 9 starters on offense and 7 starters on defense form one of the most experienced teams in the MAC.
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The MAC had an eventful weekend, although it actually all ended by Friday. We knew Central Michigan was on to the conference final, but Ohio has joined them by ending Temple’s impressive win streak at 9 and taking the East division. The rest of the league did wrap up play last week as well, with one team earning their all-important 7th win, and another it’s 12th loss.
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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
Like C-USA, the MAC has a mix of conference and non-conference games this week. I’ll mention some of the other games, but since nobody here is contending on the national scene, we’ll mostly look at the conference games to keep an eye on tomorrow:
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Once again, congratulations go out to all the players of the week and their teams:
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