MAC Blogger Roundtable--My Answers

The MAC Blogger Roundtable is back.  This week, our questions are coming from our friends at Bull Run.

1 - NIU has recently cracked the top 25 in both the AP and Coaches Polls should they win out, and if Fresno trips up, do they finish in the top 12? what would a back to back trip for NIU to a BCS bowl mean for that program and for the MAC.

I think NIU could easily end up in the Top 12 again.  They are far from out of the woods--they have to play Ball and UT and those will be very tough games.  Having said that, they certainly appear to be a very, very good team.  A second straight trip to a BCS bowl would be great for #MACtion and maybe NIU would be able to do the unexpected in their second game.  They played the game tough last year, so maybe with a year under their belt, they could make it happen.  Either way, good for the MAC.

2 - Miami has cast Treadwell to the side half way through year three while Ron English is in year five and just survived the "Quinn Reaper". Buffalo has been limping along with Quinn since 2010 and in fact gave him an extension last season.

Is a big part of the problem for the poor performing MAC football schools tied to their expectations?

I don't believe so.  I mean, if Treadwell loses his job at 3-2 we have an expectation problem but at 0-5?  That's a performance problem.  I believe that every program can expect a coach to make the team competitive in the MAC.  Since 2000, 6 current MAC members have won the conference and 5 additional teams have played in the title game.  That is 11 out of 13--and UMass is new, so it is 11 out of 12.  There is no place n the MAC where having a competitive team is not a realistic expectation--least of all Miami.

3 - Off all the games coming up this week in the MAC which one should give us the best indication of how each division, and the conference will play out.

The conference schedule this week suck's a dog's ass.  Frankly, I don't think any game this week will tell us very much.