MAC Bloggers Give Football Predictions and Falcon Love

So, Hustle Belt, the outstanding website that covers the MAC has rounded up the usual suspects and rallied the MAC Blogosphere to give our predictions for MAC football.  The media will meet tomorrow and let their thoughts fly, so we wanted to beat them by one day so we can accuse them of just copying us.

Eight of us voted:
Hustle Belt
Bull Run
Over The Pylon
Eagle Totem
Falcon Blog
Maroon Musket
The Rocket Nation
Chippewa Country

The results were very good for the Falcons.  BG is predicted to make it back to the MAC Championship game, this time to lose to the NIU Huskies.  Also, Matt Johnson is the odds-on pick to be MAC Player of the Year, under the expectation that he will produce play station numbers in the FalconFast attack.

The number in parenthesis is first place votes.

EAST:

1. Bowling Green (6) 52 points
2. Akron (1) 41 points
3. Buffalo (1) 39 points
4. Ohio 38 points
5. Kent State 23 points
6. Miami 19 points
7. UMass 10 points

WEST:

1. NIU (4) 42 points
2. Toledo (2) 41 points
3. Ball State (2) 33 points
4. CMU 25 points
5. WMU 15 points
6. EMU 13 points

MAC Champion: NIU
Coach of the Year: Terry Bowden
Player of the Year: Matt Johnson

Just for the sake of accountability, here are my picks:

East

1. BGSU
2. Akron
3. Buffalo
4. Kent
5. Ohio
6. Miami
7. UMass

West

1. UT
2. NIU
3. CMU
4. WMU
5. BSU
6. EMU

MAC POTY: Matt Johnson, BG
MAC COTY: Terry Bowden, AK
MAC Champ: BGSU

Some commentary on the differences.

I think Ohio is set for a down year, even in the East.  This team is just not as strong and deep as the other teams that Solich has had.  Kent, I think, is set for a small resurgence, though I easily could have flipped them.

In the West, it is my belief that UT has almost everyone back and wins this year and sets up a slobberknocker for the ages at Ford Field in December.  Obviously, the vote count between UT and NIU was very close, and you can't argue with that.

My biggest surprise is in the West, where I see Ball State struggling this year.  CMU has an experienced team with a lot of guys back and I see them climbing and I think that the talent WMU is assembling allows them to begin a slow climb, similar to what we saw from Akron last year.

Anyway, we are getting close to what I believe is setting up to be the most highly anticipated Fall in many, many years at the Doyt.  Media day is tomorrow, and can be watched on ESPN3 and probably other places.  I'll have a summary, though we don't really expect a lot of news...this is a lot of Coachspeak.

Unless we hear about spirographs or whether the toilet seat ended up being up or down.