MAC Bracket Busters

Just a quick update on the Bracket Buster games to be played on ESPN this February. Ohio will face George Mason, Kent State will take on St. Mary's, Miami will face Valpo, and Akron will play Virginia Commonwealth.

Even though we don't talk much MAC basketball over here, one thing is for certain: These are some great games. All of these teams are cruising and the MAC can only hope for two bids this year (which I personally feel they should).

Joe Lunardi the other day had Ohio listed as his "last team in" for the NCAA tournament. Hopefully, the conference will be able to rebound from the last few years of disappointing postseason performances.

If I'm projecting this stuff right now, I predict Ohio gets a 12 seed while Kent State winds up with a 10. How does that sound, guys? One thing is for certain though, whichever MAC teams can win in these Bracket Busters, it will certainly go a long way in determining their NCAA tournament fate. Kent State has to beat St. Mary's to get in as an at-large, in my opinion. They all do, but the Golden Flashes need a big road win (against a ranked team no less).

MAC and the BCS

Okay, it's almost February. You know what that means? The doldrums of the college football blogosphere. There has been about zero stuff worth posting with regards to football.

But, how about we gaze into our crystal ball and analyze any chance that a MAC team has at crashing the BCS party? Feel free to tell me how wrong I am in the comments.

Candidate #1: Miami.

The MAC Fan in Me Says: Why does Miami make for a solid candidate? Let's take a look at this season. Even though they were 1-4 versus BCS competition, there was a reason for that: injuries. The RedHawks really couldn't find a point in the season where all of their offensive stars were healthy. Daniel Raudabaugh will take over and he was solid filling in for Kokal last year. The defense should be ready to roll with nine of their key parts back including the entire LB corps (Joey Hudson and Clayton Mullins the most notable).

The Objective Pessimist in Me Says: Okay, those are great points, but this team was only 1-4 against BCS conference teams. And we're not talking Ohio State, Penn State, or Texas here. This team was the only team that could claim they lost to Minnesota (in overtime), they got shelled by Colorado 42-0, they lost a tight game to Vanderbilt, and they were owned by Cincinnati. Also, Syracuse was shaky at best in 2007.

Some Arbitrary Percentage of BCS-likeliness: 1%. This team could evolve into the best team in the MAC East, but they certainly won't compete for the BCS. There are too many holes across the board to be one of the best non-BCSers out there.


Candidate #2: Western Michigan.

The MAC Fan in Me Says: This year was a fluke and the Broncos should find themselves as one of the better teams in the conference for the 2008 season. Cubit really has this team going and he gained a lot of momentum for beating Iowa. The team at the end of the year looked like we expected coming into 2007 and that trend should carry over into next season. Just about everybody on defense is coming back and most are upperclassmen.

The Objective Pessimist in Me Says: It's Western Michigan. No offense to Bronco fans, but it'll be really tough to make a case for being BCS-worthy. The offense isn't even close right now as it was nearly anemic at times. The Broncos had one of the best run defenses in the nation and it was totally gashed in '07. Even though they get a ton of guys back defensively, it still won't be an adequate run defense.

Some Arbitrary Percentage of BCS-likeliness: 1%. Like Miami OH, they don't have nearly enough offensive explosiveness and the defense, while more consistent, still won't be good enough to get it done. We're talking about a team that doesn't quite have what it takes, but should be competitive in MAC play. They still have two holes on their schedule, but I'm getting a funny feeling about that Nebraska game to start the year. Even so, the Broncos will most likely win 7 or 8 games this year.


Candidate #3: Central Michigan.

The MAC Fan in Me Says: Well, you have to give them credit: They have been the best team in the MAC over the last two years despite some poor non-conference showings under Butch Jones. The defense returns enough guys to see significant improvement and more fundamentally sound plays on that side of the ball. The offense should continue to be one of the most explosive in the MAC with LeFevour and company coming back. One thing that went under the radar for the most part was the fact that the offense was more potent under Butch Jones in 2007 than it was under Kelly in 2006.

The Objective Pessimist in Me Says: Yeah, the razzle-dazzle offense is always a joy to see, but there are still some major defensive issues. I get the sense that Butch Jones has no idea how to coach that side of the ball. Add onto this the fact that they have to go on the road to face Georgia, Purdue, and Indiana, and a BCS bid looks very unlikely.

Some Arbitrary Percentage of BCS-likeliness: 5%. If they didn't play Georgia between the hedges, I might give CMU a better shot. That 5% is if they compete with Georgia (not losing by more than 20) and winning the rest of their games. Other than that, this team won't sniff the light of day regarding the BCS. The Chips just don't have a good enough defense to compete with the upper-echelon in college football. Expect them to beat Indiana, but lose to Purdue and Georgia pretty easily. Also, I'm not sure whether or not this will be the best team in the MAC next year.

Candidate #4: Bowling Green.

The MAC Fan in Me Says: Nine starters back on a young defense, a young stud in Tyler Sheehan, and the return of most of the team's dynamic offensive weapons. What's not to like? Of course the MAC schedules always come out late, but the MAC East doesn't really look like it will be as good as the West coming into 2008. This gives the Falcons a great shot at pulling out a MAC East championship. Look for that offense to shine this year.

The Objective Pessimist in me Says: 63-7. 63-7. 63-7. Bowling Green is already getting used to hearing this day in and day out. It was one of the most embarrassing performances in MAC history. Usually the GMAC Bowl showcases two of the best teams from the MAC and C-USA, but Tulsa just took them to the woodshed. The defense needs some major fine-tuning and, like CMU, I'm not sure Brandon has the defensive prowess to see that it happens.

Some Arbitrary Percentage of BCS-likeliness: 5%. I set the bar this low because of BG's schedule. They get to face a somewhat challenging non-conference slate with zero patsies. They get Minnesota at home and Pitt, Boise State, and Wyoming on the road. It's going to be tough, but I give the Falcons a slim, slim chance.


Candidate #5: Ball State.

The MAC Fan in Me Says: Okay, here we go; a BCS-worthy MAC team! Maybe. Ball State is returning boatloads of talent. Actually, make that everybody offensively. Dante Love, Darius Hill, Frank Edmonds, Nate Davis, you name it. They were young and explosive in 2007 and should be even better in 2008. The defense gets 8 guys back but that side will need to see major improvement before Ball State starts thinking about the BCS. Also, Indiana is the only team from a BCS conference on the slate, a game the Cards should win.

The Objective Pessimist in Me Says: This team was still horrible defensively and even though they competed against Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, and to some extent Rutgers, that's not good enough to get into the BCS. The only shot BSU would have is winning all of their games because there is no room for error on a schedule that isn't incredibly difficult. While the offense will explode, it probably won't be enough to make the BCS.

Some Arbitrary Percentage of BCS-likeliness: 10%. It sounds a little high, but the Cardinals should definitely be the class of the MAC plus an easy schedule. Even so, the offensive and defensive improvement should probably amount to 10 (or 11 including the title game) wins. I think this is a team that will be able to beat a BCS conference team (something the MAC has forgotten to do on a consistent basis since 2003).

CFN Rankings: MAC

The always reliable CFN rankings came out the other day (yes, that's sarcasm, folks). Anyway, they consider themselves to be experts and here's how the MAC was ranked (BTW, this is my commentary, not what CFN said). (In the Notable Teams part, the "ahead" means teams that the MAC Team X was ranked ahead of; "behind" means they finished behind these teams):


#113: Northern Illinois

Notable Teams: Ahead-Minnesota, Duke; Behind-UAB, Rice, UL Lafayette

NIU was the lowest ranked MAC team this year and with good reason. The Huskies weren't a good team at all to begin with considering Garrett Wolfe was the entire offense last season. If you add onto the fact that they didn't have enough talent to compete for the MAC championship, their defense, specifically the line, was decimated by injuries.


#102: Kent State

Notable Teams: Ahead-Baylor, Tulane, Syracuse; Behind-Army, Colorado State, Middle Tennessee

Kent State was rolling early on looking a bit like they did in 2006, but the loss of Julian Edleman really hurt the running game. KSU had a ton of injuries at the QB position this year putting them in a tough spot. They did drop the final seven games, but the defense played pretty decent overall. The main reason the Golden Flashes ended the year as cold as they did was the lack of efficiency from the QBs. You have to give Doug Martin a pass here for having to throw almost all of the QBs on the roster out on the field at some point in time.


#99: Temple

Notable Teams: Ahead-Marshall, Iowa State; Behind-Notre Dame (by a spot), San Diego State, Louisiana Tech

Hey, they delivered by beating expectations, didn't they? I know Al Golden must be happy with the progress that Temple has been making. Not only did they save face in a lot of games that would have been total blowouts for the previous two seasons, but they even won four games. Golden showed just how committed he was to the program by staying at Temple and declaring himself not-interested in the UCLA job. Temple was able to do it by playing about as good defensively as anybody in the MAC down the stretch.


#93: Buffalo

Notable Teams: Ahead-Notre Dame, Colorado State; Behind-North Carolina, San Jose State

WOW. That's pretty much what I have to say. It's an absolute amazing turnaround. The Bulls were one of the worst teams in the nation during the 2006 season, just God-awful. But Turner Gill must have seen something in this crew. Now, you can argue all you want about the strength of the conference, but the very fact that this Bulls team competed with Baylor and Syracuse might have just been the most positive things to ever happen to this team at the FBS level.


#90: Akron

Notable Teams: Ahead-SJSU, North Carolina; Behind-Stanford, UTEP

J.D. Brookhart is supposed to be one of the best coaches in the conference. So, it leaves one to ponder, what happened? Akron took a step back from their MAC championship from 05 in the 2006 season, but this year was an unmitigated disaster for the Zips. Things looked like they were coming together for a while with a win against Army and arch rival Kent State along with solid showings against Ohio State and Indiana. Even with the miracle against Western Michigan, things really did take a turn for the worse going 1-5 down the stretch. I thought CFN brought up a good point about how Akron was competitive in most of their losses, but they included defeats against Buffalo and Temple (which are never good things, no matter how improved they might be).


#89: Eastern Michigan

Notable Teams: Ahead-Same as Akron; Behind-Same as Akron

I thought this ranking was a little high. Although, when you think about it, Eastern Michigan was a competitive football team. I know I'm a pathetic MAC homer trying to find the good in all of these teams when the conference was terrible this year, but they were able to find ways to compete with Northwestern, Michigan, Ohio, and Bowling Green. Also, don't forget, these guys won the three-way race to be declared MAC champion of the state of Michigan. They stunningly beat both Western and Central this year.


#88: Miami OH

Notable Teams: Ahead-Same as Akron; Behind-Same as Akron

Miami wasn't very good this year. I know they slammed Bowling Green, but the Falcons didn't have their heads screwed on for that game. The RedHawks basically were dealt a killer non-conference scheduling having to play Vanderbilt, Syracuse, Colorado, Minnesota, and Cincinnati. They were champions of the East, but they failed to qualify for a bowl game. The issue with Miami was offensive injuries. They took hit after hit on that side of the ball and you have to wonder what might have been if those guys remained healthy. They would probably be looking at bowl season...


#87: Toledo

Notable Teams: Ahead-Same as Akron; Behind-Same as Akron

Toledo was supposed to really break through and become legitimate competitors for the MAC West. Well, that didn't happen. The main reason was the defense; it was atrocious. But that side of the ball aside and even though next year should be the season things start to click again for this usual MAC powerhouse, they had a wonderful stretch during the middle of the year. They skated past Liberty and lost by 10 to Buffalo before they went on an offensive rampage. Ohio, Eastern Michigan, and Northern Illinois got torched giving up an average of 55 points a game! Even with that great offensive stretch, they lost hopes of going bowling by poor showings during the final two games against Ball State and Bowling Green.


#80: Western Michigan

Notable Teams: Ahead-Vanderbilt, Washington State, Ole Miss; Behind-Memphis, Wyoming, Nevada

If you're looking for the most disappointing team for the 2007 season, look no further from the guys from Kalamazoo. This team was projected by many to win the Mid-America Conference. The setback of the season occurred when Akron won the game on that miracle lateral on the kickoff. However, they really did make a strong finish to the year by hanging on against Central Michigan, spoiling Iowa's season, and defeating Temple. Look for these guys to get back on track in 08.


#77 (tied): Ohio

Notable Teams: Ahead-Arkansas State, Memphis, Wyoming; Behind-Miami FL, Northwestern, NC State

If you're looking for that one team that was probably a little better than two of the ones who went bowling (ahem, Ball State & Bowling Green, ahem), this could have been it. Even though the Bobcats finished an average 6-6, they were at least decent down the stretch with only one bad game against Akron from tasting the postseason for the second consecutive year.


#64: Central Michigan

Notable Teams: Ahead-Navy, Nebraska, Southern Miss; Behind-Bowling Green, Houston, Colorado

Hmmm, this one confused me a little. CMU dominated this entire conference with the wee exception of that inexcusable Eastern Michigan loss. Not really sure what CFN was thinking here, but I can understand them up to a point. I mean, this team did get slaughtered by North Dakota State, Clemson, Kansas, and Purdue in September. Their non-conference performance was ridiculous and CMU fans have to demand more out of this program. Those ones fall on Butch Jones' shoulders.


#63: Bowling Green

Notable Teams: Ahead-Kansas State, Arizona, Iowa; Behind-Georgia Tech, Pitt, FAU

How is this possible after that horrid showing from the GMAC Bowl? I digress, but even though they did get knocked out hard and cold in that game, it looked like they were so unprepared for that game. Maybe Brandon should have kept them fresh on fundamentals instead of "gadget" plays for Anthony Turner.


#58: Ball State

Notable Teams: Ahead-Pitt, Georgia Tech, Colorado; Behind-Indiana, Maryland, Louisville

I can see Ball State being the best team in the conference. They aren't as horrible as they looked against Rutgers because of the mismatch that future NFLer Ray Rice presented. But even so, that's not an excuse for getting your butt kicked. The Cardinals only bad loss in 2007 was against Central Michigan where the defense evaporated like water in the middle of the Sahara Desert. I'm still trying to figure out how CMU won that game 58-38...


Well, there you have it. CFN generally does some solid hindsight articles and I was kind of kidding earlier about the "reliable" ranking thing. You gotta hand it to Pete Fiutak & Co., they generally do a much better job than anything you'll find on ESPN.com. At least they back up what they say have some valid points.

AKRON PAYBACK!

AND IT WASN'T EVEN THAT CLOSE!

"You heard the song, The Big Payback? Let's hope that's what it was. If not, Akron is pretty darn good." That's how Miami coach Charlie Coles summed up the game where his Red(skins)hawks had it handed to them last night by a score of 69-54.

For those who don't follow Akron basketball very close, Coles was referring to last season's Mid-American Conference Championship game, where Miami squeaked one out with a lucky shot at the buzzer to win 53-52 and go on to the NCAA tournament. As Miami made it to the dance, the Zips stayed home despite winning 26 games.

Gee, it seems that Akron's weak out of conference schedule seems to have had absolutely no impact on their ability to compete, and embarrass even the elite of the MAC, which Miami is considered.

For those who are disillusioned into thinking the MAC is going to get more than one bid to the tournament -- it really doesn't matter now, does it? Akron Coach Dambrot is holding firm on his scheduling strategy of negotiating a home and home contract, even with the bigger boys. Some people seem to have a problem with that. I agree, it is difficult to see some of the patsies on the Zips' schedule. What Dambrot is trying to do is not easy. It is going to be difficult in the early going as he builds his program. One thing must happen for his program to work -- the Zips must win. And that's HIS responsibility.

In the meantime, for those who don't happen to agree with Dambrot, I'd like to borrow a phrase from Mike and Mike on ESPN radio, "Just shut up!"

(photo: Lew Stamp/Akron Beacon Journal)

<<<>>>

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- Steve McNees scored 20 points and was 6-for-6 from 3-point range as Akron coasted to a 69-54 win Saturday night over Miami of Ohio.McNees made three consecutive 3-pointers toward the end of the first half to kick off an 18-0 run for the Zips (11-3, 1-0 Mid-American Conference).He followed that with two free throws and another 3-pointer. Jeremiah Wood closed the run by adding a dunk and a layup just before halftime to put Akron ahead 41-19 at the break.Miami (6-7, 0-1) couldn't mount a threat in the second half.Eric Pollitz led the RedHawks with 12 points, while Tyler Dierkers and Michael Bramos each added nine.Wood scored 19 and Nick Dials added 10 points for Akron.

<<<>>>

ZIPS TAKE SQUAWK OUT OF THE REDHAWKS...Akron Beacon Journal

MC NEES'S 3s HELP ZIPS BEAT REDHAWKS WITH EASE...The Plain Dealer

ZIPS DEFEAT REDHAWKS...Cincinnati Enquirer

MEN'S BASKETBALL CRUISES TO 69-54 WIN OVER MIAMI (OH)...GoZips.com

AKRON DEMOLISHES MIAMI 69-54...UofAZips.com

2008 MAC Schedules Thus Far

Sorry for not being able to post in a while, slow day in MAC football news. These schedules are via NationalChamps.net:


Akron:
8-30-08 at Wisconsin
9-6-08 at Syracuse
9-13-08 at Kentucky
9-20-08 ARMY
9-27-08 CINCINNATI

Initial Thoughts: It's tough. The Zips haven't really been shy in terms of scheduling BCS teams. Wisconsin and Cincinnati are basically out of the question, but with Kentucky's loss of Andre Woodson, they should become exponentially easier to beat. Syracuse is Syracuse and that should be a close game. The only home games that Akron gets on their non-conference schedule are those against Army and Cincinnati.


Bowling Green:
9-6-08 MINNESOTA
9-20-08 at Wyoming
9-27-08 at Boise State
TBA at Pittsburgh

Initial Thoughts: The Falcons have also had to settle for a plethora of road games. The Minnesota game might be a revenge trip for the Golden Gophers for what BGSU did to them last year. The road game against Wyoming is winnable if they can figure out that Cowboy defense. Boise State on the Smurf Turf probably won't be that close and the same can be said against Pittsburgh.


Buffalo:
8-28-08 UTEP
9-6-08 COLGATE
9-20-08 at Missouri

Initial Thoughts: Buffalo still has one opening left as well. If there's any time you want to play UTEP, it's late in the year where it appears the team begins to melt down, but Turner Gill's crew will have to take them on during week one. Colgate is very winnable but a little dangerous at the same time. If Buffalo isn't colossally worse compared to last year and they show up, they should win. The Missouri game will be a outright beatdown.


Kent State:
8-28-08 BOSTON COLLEGE
9-6-08 at Iowa State

Initial Thoughts: Kent State still needs two more non-conference opponents, but these two are tough enough. The game against Boston College will be played at home. If we rewind to 2006 for a second, you might recall that Central Michigan gave BC a run for their money. The Golden Flashes will make a return trip to Ames to face the Cyclones who have been struggling over the last two seasons.


Miami:
8-28-08 VANDERBILT
9-6-08 at Michigan
9-20-08 at Cincinnati
10-4-08 WESTERN KENTUCKY

Initial Thoughts: The RedHawks will get to take on two of the same BCS conference teams they played in the 2007 season. This time though, Vanderbilt will make the trip to Oxford. That's a trap game for the Commodores, should be a fun one to see. Call me nuts if you wish, but if Michigan doesn't snatch Terrelle Pryor and they're still learning that Rich Rodriguez spread system, Miami might be able to challenge them. During October, Miami wraps it up against Western Kentucky which is a dangerous game. The Hilltoppers redshirted a bunch of players with experience last year and they weren't half bad anyway.


Ohio:
8-30-08 at Wyoming
9-6-08 at Ohio State
9-20-08 at Northwestern

Initial Thoughts: Ohio, like Bowling Green, will have to make the trip to Laramie. It's going to be tough to go out there because Joe Glenn's bunch is always difficult to beat at home. Ohio also gets to face two Big 10 teams in Ohio State and Northwestern. There's still an opening left on this schedule.


Temple:
9-6-08 CONNECTICUT
9-20-08 at Penn State
9-27-08 at Kentucky
11-1-08 at Navy
TBA at Army

Initial Thoughts: If there's any game that might be for retribution, it could be the Temple/UConn game. It was quite obvious that Bruce Francis came in bounds and that Temple beat UConn, but it appears that wasn't the case. Temple gets another shot at Penn State and Navy this time on the road.


Ball State:
9-6-08 NAVY
9-20-08 at Indiana
10-11-08 at Western Kentucky
TBA Army @Chicago, IL

Initial Thoughts: The Cardinals were just listed as the Dark Horse sleeper of the NationalChamps.net Early Bird Top 25 and for good reason. They won't really get tested in the non-conference slate though. Navy and Indiana won't be easy, but those are games Ball State should win. If the Cardinals can get by these two teams, or even split the two games, they might be looking at a 9 or 10 win season.


Central Michigan:
9-6-08 at Georgia
9-20-08 at Purdue

Initial Thoughts: CMU still has two openings left, but it's not like the schedule isn't difficult enough. The Chippewas have two great opportunities to make some national noise against probable top 5 Georgia next season and, you guessed it, Butch Jones & Co. have to take on Purdue yet again. That would be the third time in two seasons.


Eastern Michigan:
9-6-08 at Michigan State
9-20-08 at Maryland

Initial Thoughts: If Eastern wanted to get to a bowl game, they would have to schedule a soft non-conference schedule. Turns out that's not what they're doing. The Eagles will get to participate in an intrastate battle between their rivals from East Lansing and they get to hit the road into ACC territory to battle the Terps. There are still two openings and, for the sake of not embarrassing themselves, they should try to get Florida International and North Carolina A&T or something :D .


Northern Illinois:
8-30-08 at Minnesota
10-4-08 at Tennessee
11-22-08 NAVY

Initial Thoughts: The Huskies still have an opening left, but they'll probably lose all three of these games. The game against Minnesota might be interesting, but they'll most likely fall short there. They get to face Navy this time at home. Jerry Kill will have this team a lot better if they can stay healthy, but they're still not good enough to go bowling.


Toledo:
9-6-08 at Arizona
9-20-08 FRESNO STATE
9-27-08 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
10-11-08 at Michigan

Initial Thoughts: If you like offensive shootouts, tune in if you can for the Toledo/Arizona game. It's somewhat bizarre, which adds a little excitement to the game; it's pretty rare that the MAC gets to take on the Pac-10. The FIU game should be a blowout and the Fresno State match up could be one of the better ones in 2008, seriously.


Western Michigan:
8-30-08 at Nebraska
9-13-08 at Idaho

Initial Thoughts: Western Michigan still needs a couple teams on this schedule, but the game against Nebraska could be a huge trap game. That would be Bo Pelini's debut and Nebraska was atrocious defensively last season. The Broncos have to travel to Moscow, Idaho to face the Vandals which should be anything but a stiff test.

It Wasn't Meant To Be

Well, Miami University's football season is officially over after being steam-rolled by Central Michigan in the MAC Championship game. Did the Redhawks deserve to go bowling? Even as the biased homer that I am, I say hell no. This team wasn't very good. They won the East with smoke and mirrors. The offense was anemic at best. We had a heck of a young defense this year but due to the offensive ineptitude, they spent way too much time on the field this year and were worn down in 4th quarters. But there is always next year. And that's what I'm going to discuss today.

On offense, the Redhawks have to replace a few offensive lineman but the core of the unit returns. The running game will be a bit of a question mark considering we played half of the season this year with our 4th and 5th string RB due to injuries. The WR were, for the most part, all freshman and sophomores so with a year under their belts, they should be much more reliable next year. The big change is that the awkward and inaccurate arm of Daniel Raudabaugh will be back to his more comfortable role of backup QB and in comes the stud. That's right, it's the dawn of a new offensive era in Oxford with redshirt freshman QB, Clay Belton, slated to take over the reigns. Belton (left) is a HUGE 6'5" lefty with excellent mobility and a cannon for an arm. While I am not a big Raudabaugh fan at all, I have to give him props for not getting injured this year which would have burned up Belton's redshirt. You are reading that correctly, Miami only had one QB on the roster after the awfulness of Mike Kokal went down early in the season. But, back to Belton, you are hearing it here first. He is going to be the MAC's version of Vince Young. Mark it down, Clay will turn heads.

Defensively, most of the starters return. While the defensive line loses the pass rushing skills of Craig Mester, big Martin Channels will still be stuffing the run in the middle. And of course, our Big 3 Linebacking Corps of Joey Hudson, Caleb Bostic, and MAC Defensive Player of the Year, Clayton Mullins all return and will once again cause havoc to opposing offenses. These 3 guys form the best linebacking trio in the conference and could be the three best overall in the league. The secondary loses Jerrod Gaines at CB but the other 3 guys all return to the #1 defense in the MAC.

The amazing thing about the Miami football program is that 44 of the players on the team this past year were either redshirt or true freshman. There were only 13 seniors on the team. That's amazing. The fact that they won the MAC East this year with that much youth is truly an exceptional feat.

I hate to say it, but if the team takes a step backwards in 2008, this could be it for coach Shane Montgomery. It has been entirely too long since Miami has been to a bowl game (only 3 years but still, that's unacceptable). The pieces are there with that linebacking corps, a big time young QB who has had a year to learn the system, and a stable of rapidly developing WR's.

So although 2007 has ended in disappointment for Miami Redhawk football, the future is bright indeed. Is it August yet?

2007 MAC Championship Preview

When: 11:00 AM, ESPN2

Central Michigan: The Chips are finally getting an opportunity to do what they've been aiming for all season long. The MAC title game is finally here and we might get to see a focused Central Michigan team for the first time since their exciting victory against Western Michigan.

The Chips stumble into the title game with a loss to Eastern Michigan and one of those closer-than-it-should-be games against Akron (and the Zips just about outplayed them).

This game will probably come down to Dan LeFevour. The sophomore QB runs for about 70 yards a game individually in rushing which shows his ability to get out the pocket. The Chippewa offense focuses on a lot of short to mid-range passes which allows LeFevour to often hit those with high accuracy. This could be a problem for Miami.

As for the rest of the offense, Justin Hoskins has really developed into the premier back of the CMU offense. Ontario Sneed is also very effective when called upon as shown in the game against Akron last week when he ran for 100 yards. The offensive line is 14th in the nation in sacks allowed which tops the MAC.

However, with all of the praise the offense has been receiving, there's some negative news to pass along regarding the defense. A Pop Warner team might find a way to score 10 points so let's just say that Miami might be able to score. Comparing the scoring defenses, CMU gives up TWO more touchdowns than Miami does! That's an alarming stat and Jones really needs to find some solutions to this defense if the Chips plan on taking the next step into Boise State/Hawaii/BYU territory. Red Keith is the only guy on the defense that is really stepping it up.


Miami RedHawks: Obviously, the biggest story about Miami this season has been the injuries on offense. Miami isn't really as bad as their 20 points per game mark might make it look like because these guys have been absolutely devastated by ailments.

The QB situation is now, if you haven't heard, in the hands of Daniel Raudabaugh. The running game has struggled for most of the year, but Cory Jones and Austin Sykes have done the best they can. Currently, Miami is only rushing for 137 yards per game. Even though the Miami offense hasn't been great, Eugene Harris and Dustin Woods are pretty explosive targets.

The defense has done its job with the offense struggling due to injuries. This team is 47th in scoring defense and they should hold up better than most expect to against the explosive Central Michigan offense. It's very possible that the game could be won or lost in the middle of the field. Miami has a few field generals at LB in Joey Hudson and Clayton Mullins. If they can disrupt the intermediate passing game of CMU, the RedHawks should be in good shape to become 2007 MAC champions.


Prediction: Central will be able to move the football, but they don't do so at will. Miami's defense will come up with a surprising performance. Also, something to chew on until Saturday, you have to gauge Miami's motivation factor. If they drop to 6-7, it will be Ball State going to the GMAC Bowl. Miami's bowl destiny is in their own hands and they will take advantage. I'm sure you've heard the cliche of "defense wins championships." CMU has no defense. Miami wins in a close one, 34-30.

Playing Catch-Up

Hey, sorry fellow MAC fans! I've been getting sort of lazy with the blog plus I've got this basement that will occupy me all winter. Big thanks to GMoney and Don though for helping me out!

Anyway, I have to admit I watched only part of the CMU/Akron game and only part of the Bowling Green/Toledo game and I'm probably not the most fit to comment. I was watching the Colorado/Nebraska, Mississippi State/Ole Miss, and LSU/Arkansas games more attentively.

So, I'm just going to throw some random MAC items floating around in this blogger's head:



It really is a shame that Joe Novak's tenure had to end the way it did.

This was from the article on NIU's official Web site:

"I feel good about this decision," Novak said. "It's time. It's the right time for me personally, for my wife [Carole] and family, and for this program. Everyone says you know when it's time and this is it for me.

"Overall, it's been a wonderful ride," he continued. "There have been good days and bad days, but a lot more good than bad. I'm leaving the program in better shape than I found it, which you always want to do. We accomplished some things, but there are some things we didn't get done, too."

I am a little confused by the timing of it all. If he waited for another year to announce his retirement, he could've rode off into the sun set as Northern Illinois shouldn't be nearly as bad as they were in 2007 with all of the youth and injuries.

This might come to a surprise to some folks, but Novak had a losing record during his time at NIU. Most of those losses came in his first season when he went 3-30 which shows you what kind of challenge he was up against.

Obviously, his most notable season as a head coach was 2003 and 2004 where he went a combined 19-5 and he won the old Silicon Valley Classic (which, in my opinion, was anything but a classic).

Anyway, coach Novak will be missed and the potential replacements are yet to be rumored-off. It'll be interesting to see where the university turns.


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Here's how the bowl picture is shaking down for the MAC:

Motor City Bowl: Michigan State vs. Central Michigan

Obviously, it would be in the Bowl's best interest to have two Michigan schools face off against each other. MSU + CMU = Sellout. I was at the 2006 Motor City Bowl and the Chippewa fans flocked in some pretty good numbers. If those were MSU fans instead of MTSU fans, Ford Field would have easily sold out.


International Bowl: Rutgers vs. Bowling Green

Rutgers would draw the most fans across the border into Toronto, but I think the Bowling Green folks could make it up there was well. The International Bowl could easily go with UConn here, but the Scarlet Knights would be the most attractive team. Bowling Green would have to go bowling at 8-4 and, I'm not 100% positive, but I think the Falcons would travel better than, say........


GMAC Bowl: Ball State/Miami OH vs. UCF

Personally, I'm a little undecided on the MAC title game. Central Michigan either isn't as good as we thinking judging by their last few games against Easten Michigan and Akron or they just weren't focused. The RedHawks loss last week to Ohio was devastating to their bowl hopes meaning that they would most likely have to beat CMU to get a bid. Keep in mind, Akron in 2005 was playing for their bowl survival and the loser of that game, Northern Illinois, didn't get invited to go bowling.

Ball State will be cheering for the Chippewas as they sit back at 7-5. Should Miami OH win, Ball State might end up going to the Papajohns.com Bowl but that would also require both the Sun and Gator Bowl selecting a Big East team (and Rutgers beating Louisville next week).

The GMAC Bowl usually takes the C-USA championship loser and that could be UCF or Tulsa. These two teams are pretty evenly matched but I'd put my money on that Golden Hurricane offense.


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Also, if you didn't see over at Saturday Sound Offs, Brian Kelly has my full support to become the next head coach at Michigan.

As we saw at Central over the past few seasons (and at Grand Valley State), he's about as innovative as coaches come and he knows how to push the right buttons.

GVSU was always a good program, but he took it to the next level. Central Michigan was wallowing in mediocrity and in three seasons, they became MAC champions.

Even if the Michigan job is not in his best interest, I wish him the best in whatever he does.

FIRE UP CHIPS!


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Also, I'll throw in some stuff from the CCHA for the heck of it:

Captain's Blog (an interesting red from Miami RedHawk captain, Ryan Jones)

Western Michigan earned a split over the weekend against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Click here for the box score of Game 1 and here for the box score of Game 2.

Ranked Bowling Green dropped a tough one last Tuesday against Notre Dame.

A Great Week For The Redhawks

I attended last night's "worst game ever". Man, that sucked. I'm still trying to unthaw as the wind was frigid and ruthless. 7-0? Are you serious? 7-0!!! But you know what, nothing can bring me down right now. I'm on cloud nine (whatever that means).

Miami athletics are experiencing one helluva perfect week.

Let's start with Tuesday night. It was the first game of the basketball season for Charlie Coles and the boys and into Millett Hall came local rival, Xavier. X used a big run to close the first half fueled by Miami turnovers and ineptitude. Down 11 at half, I was ready to turn the game off. Not so fast. The Redhawks flat out dominated the final 20 minutes behind the new 3-headed scoring monster of Tim Pollitz, Mike Bramos, and Kenny Hayes. When Drew Lavendar missed his running lay up as time expired, I could almost picture every Miami alumnus jumping around their living room/bar, high-fiving anyone in sight, and feeling a sense of jubilation that hasn't been felt in awhile. It was different from the MAC Championship game last year. In a way, it was better. Because this game showed our fans and students, this team is really freaking good and we will be killing teams all season. I couldn't be more excited. And did you see the student section??? When the hell did Miami get students that cared about OUR teams??? I love it! This is going to be a special season for the Red and White.

And now onto last night. Words can't describe how much that game sucked to watch. Last year, I attended the N'Western/Miami game which was 0-0 at half. But it wasn't 0-0 in the 3rd. Or 0-0 INTO THE 4TH!!! The temperature dropped about 20 degrees during the game while the wind picked up about 15 mph. The concession stand ran out of coffee and only had the highly menstrual hot chocolate beverage. Disgusting. Even with a Redhawks win, very few things went right. At about 6 pm, my dad and I are tailGREATing and Rece Davis and Mark May walked right by. No more than 5 feet away. Dad said something to May Day about the Redskins but he totally ignored him. No sign of Lou Holtz though which I found strange since he was doing coverage (likely terribly). There was no hangover effect with the students either. A decent amount of kids made it out and were still pretty raucous. I give them a lot of credit, I love this new student enthusiasm. The Miami defense was fantastic. Akron's offense may be terrible, but still, a shutout is a shutout. Great effort.

And you know what the best part of all is? Our Magic Number is 1. Go Falcons!!! Beat those Bulls!!! Let us get killed by Central Michigan in the MAC Championship game!!!

What a great week. There have been almost too many bad weeks so I'm going to enjoy this.

Miami 7, Akron 0

TURNOVERS RULE AKRON-MIAMI GAME

The Zips defense was great. The offense, on the other hand, seemed to have never make it to Oxford, stuck somewhere in suburban Dayton on the trip down to southwest Ohio. Perhaps the offense watched the game on ESPN2 from a bar in Huber Heights, the world's largest community of brick homes. The only consolation was that Miami's offense was just as bad.

It figures that the first touchdown by either side was scored by the defense. Unfortunately, it was the Miami defense who scored with 9:38 left in the third quarter after the ball was knocked out of the hands of Zips quarterback Carlton Jackson on the first series of downs after replacing starter Chris Jacquemain. Jackson was under intense pressure from the Miami D-line, when he made a bad situation worse by trying to pass the ball, not getting enough forward motion on his arm, thus causing the fumble. That was it for Jackson. He found himself back on the bench after the mistake, which seems to permeate the Zips offense this year.

A quick three and out by the Zips with Jacquemain back at the helm followed by a poor rugby punt by John Stec, gave the RedHawks great field position and control of the game.

The defense kept the Zips in the game led by captain John Mackey, who displayed a never-ending supply of guts and leadership while recovering from a torn ACL. Mackey was outstanding with two end-zone interceptions. But despite the red-zone turnovers by the RedHawks, the Zips couldn't cash in with an offense that would take one step forward and two steps back.

When it was all over, both teams committed seven turnovers, three for Akron, four for Miami. Five of the turnovers were interceptions thrown by the inexperienced quarterbacks of both teams. Jacquemain threw the ball 33 times, completing only 12. The RedHawks' Dan Raudabaugh wasn't much better with a 16 for 31 night.

With the win, Miami clinches the MAC East title. You have to wonder how the game could have turned out if the Zips had the least bit of offense.

Not much else to say about an ugly, ugly game.

RedHawks' defense delivers only points...The Akron Beacon Journal

Miami wins East in thriller...The Plain Dealer

RedHawks' D allows Zips (creative...not)...Cincinnati Enquirer

GoZips.com write up

Yahoo Sports

Post-game quotes

Game stats

Box Score

(action photos: Associated Press; John Mackey: Jeff Harwell, Akron Sports Photography)

AKRON AT MIAMI OF OHIO

There is a lot on the line for Miami of Ohio as they meet the Zips in another mid-week, made for TV appearance on ESPN2. If the RedHawkSkins win this game, in which they are favored by nine points, their MAC East Division record would improve to 4-1 -- so -- Akron, which has been out of the divisional race since the Temple game, has a chance to play spoiler again, as it did with last week's victory over the Ohio U Snobkittens. Akron's victory over OU spoiled a chance for the MAC East Championship to be on the line when Miami meets their arch-rival in Athens next week.

With a victory, Miami of Ohio would come within one game of clinching, at least a share, of the MAC East title for the fourth time in the last five years. The Zips fortunes in "The Cradle of Coaches" has not been very impressive, losing the last six out of seven games in Oxford.

The RedHawks have won their last three contests at Yager Stadium, defeating Syracuse (17-14) and Buffalo (31-28). Miami has not won four consecutive games on its home field since it won five in a row at Yager during the 2004 season.

Miami tops the MAC in scoring defense, allowing 26 points per game through 10 contests. Through five conference games, the RedHawks have yielded a league-leading average of just 16.4 points.

DUELING QBs

Like Akron, Miami has had two quarterbacks leading their offense -- sophomore Dan Raudabaugh and Senior Mike Kokal. The season started with Raudabaugh as Kokal's back-up, however, head coach Shane Montgomery used both on a regular basis. Raudabaugh and Kokal have combined for 2,830 yards passing and 11 touchdowns. Both chalked up an impressive performance in a three-overtime, 41-35 loss at Minnesota, with a combined 30 completions in 52 attempts for 418 yards. The two-quarterback sho ended, however, when Kokal injured a knee in game six against Kent State. Since then, Raudabaugh has started every game, leading the RedHawks to two wins and two losses.

Defensively, Miami runs a 4-3. The D-line has a nice mix of two sophomores, a junior and a senior, who can put pressure on the quarterback. Against Buffalo, the Miami D-line had six sacks, adding to their MAC-leading tally of 25.

Miami is also strong in the specialty phase of the game. Junior punter Jake Richardson ranks seventh in the nation with an average of 45.6 yards per kick. Eugene Harris, a freshman, ranks second in the MAC in punt returns, averaging 11 yards per return.

REDHAWKS HAVE BLUE BLOOD

You will notice two famous names on the Miami roster. Junior linebacker Chris Shula, who is normally a back-up, starting only one game against Vanderbilt, is the grandson of NFL Hall of Fame coach and John Carroll grad Don Shula. Another name you may recognize is Nate Parseghian, Miami's starting place kicker. Yes, Nate is the grandson of former Notre Dame coach and Miami alum (and Akron native) Ara Parseghian.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Miami is going to be a tough game for the Zips. Akron's young offensive line, although improving, is going up against a formidable foe in Miami's front four. The Zips' defense is taking on a potent passing attack guarded by the only offensive line to ever earn the MAC East Division Players of the Week Award. A talented RedHawk team, combined with the fact that the Zips look forward to playing in Oxford about as much as General Custer vacationed at Little Big Horn, means a long night for the blue and gold.

Akron at Miami game notes