MAC Roundtable, Week 2

1). The MAC has looked weak so far against out-of-conference opponents. Is this shaping up to be a down year for the MAC?


That's a really good question.  I thought this was a year when things started to look up for the MAC, which has had some very average football seasons recently.  Of course, the marquee team has weakened a little bit (CMU), so we don't start with a team set to finish in the Top 25.  Temple has to beat Connecticut and Penn State to get to the end of the season undefeated, so it is an uphill struggle for them to make it.  I fear the MAC has made little progress this season.  NIU's defeat @ Iowa State was disappointing.


2). Why don't our fans come to games? Whether it is Buffalo in a large city or Bowling Green off the side of a highway, our stadiums are generally...uninspired. Even after Central Michigan's GREATEST WIN OF ALL TIME against tormenting in-state rival MSU, Central Michigan's stadium was half full the next week against Alcorn State. Can anything be done to at least get on par with a Tulsa or ECU?


It isn't just football....basketball attendance is cruising into the tank as well.  As  a Bowling Green fan for decades, I have seen us try everything to generate significant and sustainable attendance improvement, and it has never really made a difference.  Discounts, partnerships, flexible ticket packs, etc...nothing.  You occasionally get a blip, but nothing sustained.  If it was the same I wouldn't worry, but it seems to be getting worse.  Certainly, the lack of marquee players has made a difference.


I looked it up this week.  Tulsa averages about 22K for its home games.  That should not be out of reach for most of the MAC programs, but that seems to be high mark, not the average.


3). People act like a win for Boise State is a win for the "little guy." Is Boise State really carrying water for the non-aq's anymore? It seems to me they are essentially a BCS program at this point in time.


So long as Boise State can go undefeated and not make the championship game, they are still paying the price for being a non-aq.  Similarly, until it is conceivable for them to make it with one loss, they are non-AQ.  And, the BCS snobs still talk about Boise not being able to compete week in and week out in a major conference.  For my money, they are still not at the grown ups table.


4. The game of the week has to be Temple versus Central Michigan on Thursday night (ESPNU). Who ya' got in that match-up?


I like Temple.  They are at home, and I think this is their year.


5. Which MAC QB is going to take the crown as "best of the conference" when the dust settles at the end of the season?


I'm going to go with Spencer Keith of Kent.  He was the second highest returning QB in terms of passing efficiency, and the top one has lost his job.  Kent is my dark horse pick in the MAC and Keith will make his mark with the team.  


6. Rank them FIRST to WORST.

1.  Temple
2.  WMU
3.  Kent
4.  OU
5.  NIU
6.  CMU
7.  Buffalo
8.  BGSU
9.  Ball State
10.  Toledo
11.  Miami
12.  EMU
13.  Akron