MAC Sports Blog by VanDelay Sports

The MAC opens the bowl season with the Ohio Bobcats vs. the Marshall Thundering Herd on December 26th in a match-up of former MAC rivals. Ohio returns to Detroit, the site of their loss to CMU in the MAC Championship, for the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl, formerly the Motor City Bowl. Interestingly enough, the two will begin a 6-game series next season as the 9-4 Bobcats will look for the program’s first ever bowl victory. Temple will face UCLA on December 29th in what should be a very entertaining game in the Eagle Bank Bowl in Washington DC.  The Bowling Green Falcons will battle surprising Idaho on December 29th in Idaho’s backyard at the Humanitarian Bowl.  Northern Illinois will face a very tough South Florida team on January 2nd.  The conference finishes its bowl schedule with their best team as Central Michigan will battle Troy on January 6th at the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

Central Michigan defeated a game Ohio Bobcat squad 20-10.  The Chippewas were led by superstar QB Dan LeFevour who threw for 255 yards with two scores in the victory.  Central Michigan will play Troy on January 6th at the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, while the Bobcats will face Marshall in Detroit at the Little Caesar’s Bowl. For the entire bowl schedule to see where all 5 MAC teams in bowl games are playing look to Football-Bowl.com

After consecutive games where the offense looked like a 3-6 team rather than a 6-3 team’s offense, the Ohio Bobcats started strong Tuesday night @ Buffalo. The Bulls, a team that looks a lot like the 2008 Bobcats, were able to hold Ohio close and tie the game in the 4th quarter at 24-24, but a late FG and defensive INT sealed the road win for the Bobcats.

The win means Ohio is now 5-1 in MAC play, just 1/2 game behind East Division leader Temple (5-0).  The win also mean the Bobcats are very likely to be heading to a bowl game this postseason; their 2nd bowl appearance in 4 years after a 34-year drought that dated back to 1968. The loss for Buffalo guarantees that UB will not be playing a postseason game this season.

The Bobcats have a home game against Northern Illinois a week from Saturday followed by a home game against Temple to close the season on Black Friday. If they win out they head to the MAC Championship, however a loss to NIU means Ohio will need Temple to slip up as well before the two meet. Either way, Ohio controls their own destiny, something any team would ask for this time of year.

The current MAC bowl picture looks great for CMU, Temple and Ohio with Northern Illinois needing another win to better-position themselves. Bowling Green’s schedule may line up perfectly and Kent State controls their own destiny while WMU and Toledo need minor miracles to play in bowl games in 2009-2010. Akron, Buffalo, Miami, Ball State and EMU are all eliminated from bowl eligibility this season.

MAC football continues this week with Toledo @ Central Michigan on Wednesday night, Bowling Green @ Miami and Ball State @ Northern Illinois on Thursday night, Temple @ Akron on Friday night and WMU @ EMU on Saturday.

With mid-week games the norm the remainder of the year, we take a quick look at the bowl picture for MAC teams in 2009. 2008 saw the MAC send a record-tying 5 teams to bowl games, only to see all 5 teams lose. Thanks to the bowl tie-ins and mediocrity across the college football world, even a 6-6 Northern Illinois went bowling a season ago.

In 2009, four MAC teams have been eliminated from the bowl conversation. A 6-6 record is needed to be considered, and with just three guaranteed bowl berths, MAC teams need teams like Louisville, Purdue, Illinois and Washington to lose again to better the chances of sending more than three teams to bowl games. Now that we have 34 bowl games each year, a 7-5 record will almost assure a team of a bowl game, but we have learned in the MAC that if a team is going to get screwed that team will likely come from the Mid-American Conference.

At 7-2, Central Michigan and Temple look to be in very good shape for bowl berths. Given both team’s schedules, 8-9 wins is likely and CMU could very well go 10-2 and head to another bowl game in Detroit, this time in the newly-named Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl. 6-3 Ohio and Northern Illinois face off later this month and both have hopes for not only postseason play but also division titles. 5-5 Kent State has a tough road ahead and their loss to Akron hurts their chances greatly, while at 4-5 Bowling Green has a schedule that could line up a 3-0 end of the season.

Prediction: Four or five MAC teams will make bowl games in 2009 including Western Division Champion Central Michigan and Eastern Division Champion Temple. Ohio, NIU and Bowling Green all end 7-5 as the bowls have to decide between MAC teams with similar resumes.

The MAC football races for 2009 can be summed up pretty easily thanks to Kent State’s loss @ Akron on Saturday. Central Michigan and Northern Illinois control their own destiny in the MAC West with the winner of their game on November 27 booking a trip to Detroit for the MAC Championship Game, and in the East, Temple and Ohio both control their own destiny if either can win out. Let’s take a look at the contenders:

MAC East:

• Temple - (7-2, 5-0 MAC) - The Owls squeaked by Miami this week to improve to 5-0 in MAC play as they head to Akron to face the Zips on Friday, November 13th. Temple ends the regular season with Kent State at home and @ Ohio.
• Ohio - (6-3, 4-1 MAC) - The Bobcats return to action @ Buffalo on Tuesday night on ESPN2 and need their offense to come back after consecutive weeks of poor showings. A win for the Bobcats keeps the pressure on the Owls as the two could meet on November 27 with the MAC East on the line.
• Kent State - (5-5, 4-2 MAC) - After a loss @ rival Akron, Kent State now needs help, but a game @ Temple gives the Flashes a strong chance. After traveling to Temple on November 21, the Golden Flashes host Buffalo on the 27th to close the season.
• Bowling Green - (4-5, 3-2 MAC) - BG needs to win out to have a shot at the East title as they don’t face Temple this year and lost to Ohio early in MAC play. After traveling to Oxford to face Miami, BG has Akron and Toledo at home to close the season and could very well end up 7-5 and headed to a bowl game.

MAC West:

• Central Michigan - (7-2, 5-0 MAC) - CMU hosts Toledo on Wednesday night then plays @ Ball State next Wednesday which likely has them 7-0 in MAC play headed into the NIU game on November 27th.
• Northern Illinois - (6-3, 4-1 MAC) - After hosting Ball State on ESPNU on Thursday night, NIU has a tough game @ Ohio. If NIU can win that one the game against CMU on November 27 will be for the MAC West title.

In the quest to advance to the MAC Championship Game the Ohio Bobcats and Kent State Golden Flashes are keeping the pressure on Temple in what is turning out to be a great race. Ohio overcame a sluggish offense to score a 4th quarter TD and pull away with a win @ Ball State and improve to 6-3 and 4-1 in MAC play. Meanwhile, Kent State showed that they are indeed for real with a impressive win at home over Western Michigan. With Temple playing out of conference for the second time in three weeks, the Owls proved they have taken the next steps as a program in picking up win #6. Here is a look at the MAC East teams still in contention:

• Temple (6-2, 4-0 MAC) - The Owls have Miami and Kent State at home and road games @ Akron and a season finale @ Ohio which could be the deciding game in the MAC East race.
• Kent State (5-4, 4-1 MAC) - With wins over Ohio and WMU in consecutive weeks, the Golden Flashes have proven they are for real and could very well win the MAC East this season. Remaining games for Kent State include @ Akron and @ Temple before a home matchup with Buffalo to finish the regular season.
• Ohio (6-3, 4-1 MAC) - Ohio looked bad on offense in their 20-17 win at Ball State, but they got the much-needed win. Looking for just their second bowl berth since 1968, the Bobcats are off until Tuesday, November 10th when they play @ Buffalo. Ohio closes the regular season with home games against Northern Illinois and Temple.
• Bowling Green (3-5, 2-2 MAC) - BG is still in the race but does not face Temple this season and faces a potential elimination game tomorrow night @ Buffalo. While BG could very well run the table in their final three games (@ Miami, vs Akron, vs Toledo), having 3 losses including to Ohio and Buffalo would put the Falcons in a tough spot.
• Buffalo (3-5, 1-3 MAC) - Last week I didn’t even include the Bulls, but a closer look at UB’s remaining schedule is the reason they are still in the picture. Buffalo needs a 4-0 finish to end 5-3 in conference play and have a lot of help for a share of the MAC East title and that starts on Tuesday night vs Bowling Green. Remaining for UB include vs BG, vs Ohio, @ Miami and @ Kent State.

In the MAC West, Northern Illinois is the lone contender for CMU’s crown and the Huskies will likely have to keep winning to create a showdown on November 27 @ Central Michigan. CMU has a home game with Toledo and @ Ball State while NIU has EMU and Ball State before @ Ohio and the big game with CMU to end the regular season.

It seemed clear-cut. The Ohio Bobcats and Temple Owls seemed destined to meet in the final week of the season with the MAC East title and a berth in the MAC Championship Game on the line. While that still may very well happen, Kent State’s win @ Ohio on Saturday introduced the Golden Flashes into the MAC East race. With Temple 4-0 after defeating Toledo, Ohio and Kent State are now tied at 3-1 in MAC play with Bowling Green at 2-2 hanging on to slim hopes for the MAC East title.

Here is a look at what each team has remaining on their schedule with the understanding that the winner will meet the Central Michigan Chippewas in the MAC Championship. Be sure to check back at VanDelay Sports for the weekly MAC football scores to see the week’s MAC football results.
- Temple (4-0) - The Owls have 5 games remaining, 4 against MAC opponents as they host Miami and Kent State and travel to Akron and Ohio.
- Kent State (3-1) - The Flashes face Western Michigan and Buffalo at home and travel to Akron and Temple.
- Ohio (3-1) - Ohio is @ Ball State and @ Buffalo in the next two weeks then finishes the 2009 regular season with home games against Northern Illinois and Temple.
- Bowling Green (2-2) - The Falcons have games @ Buffalo and @ Miami in the next two weeks and end the regular season with home games against Akron and Toledo. At 3-5 overall right now, BG will likely have to win out to get a bowl game, and 4 straight to finish the season may get them a MAC East title if others falter.

Coming into today’s games, the MAC football standings did not give us enough data to really see who was in the race for the MAC East and West Division titles. While schedules seemed to line up well for teams like Central Michigan, Ohio and Temple in their respective divisions, we needed to see another week of data to truly draw more informed assumptions.

With Week #6 now behind us and 2-3 conference games in the books for every MAC team, the MAC West championship will once again have to go through the Central Michigan Chippewas. With their 56-8 drubbing of Eastern Michigan today, CMU improved to 3-0 in MAC play. We will know more, much more, about the Chippewas in two weeks as they travel to Western Michigan and Bowling Green in the next two weeks and still have to worry about Northern Illinois, the lone other MAC West team without a loss in conference play. NIU, meanwhile, had a week off after crushing WMU last week. The Huskies are at Toledo next weekend and have @ Ohio and @ CMU in the final two weeks of the season.

The MAC East race could be building up to the last week of the season when Ohio hosts Temple. The Bobcats are now 2-0 in MAC play with road wins @ BG and @ Akron while Temple has defeated Buffalo in Week 3 and has taken care of the scheduling break in beting EMU and Ball State in the past two weeks. With two of the next three games being out of conference, the October 24 game @ Toledo could be huge for the Owls considering they have not looked good against supposedly lesser teams including a loss to Division I-AA (FCS) Villanova. Ohio, meanwhile, could very well be 5-0 in MAC play headed into a tough final three games of the season. With Miami and Kent State at home and Ball State on the road, the Bobcats final three will be much tougher on paper @ Buffalo and at home versus NIU and Temple in the final weeks of the season.

Midseason MAC Predictions: Central Michigan will win the MAC West and Ohio will edge Temple for the MAC East title. CMU tops Ohio in the MAC Championship and CMU, Ohio, NIU and WMU will be bowl eligible. Temple’s key to bowl eligibility in 2009 will be wins versus both Army and Navy. A loss in either makes them 1-3 out of the conference needing no worse than 6-2 to have a serious shot at a bowl game, assuming they do not win the MAC East.

Week 2 started strong for the MAC as Toledo pulled off an upset of Colorado on Friday night on ESPN, but several thrilling games on Saturday added to what is an impressive Week 2 for the MAC.

• Eastern Michigan, picked by most every media member to finish in last place in the tough MAC West, gave Northwestern all they could handle in a 27-24 loss when the Wildcats kicked the game-winning 49-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining.
• Western Michigan blocked a Indiana FG late in the 4th Quarter to keep the score 23-17 and proceeded to drive inside the IU 10 yard line. However a fumble by WMU gave Indiana the ball with under two minutes remaining and gave IU the 23-19 win.
• Central Michigan appeared to have been defeated in their quest to upset intra-state rival Michigan State in East Landsing as their 2-point conversion attempt failed with 32 seconds left. With MSU up 27-26 the Chippewas perfected the onside kick and drove to the MSU 30 yard line where the 47-yard FG was no good. But a flurry of flags thanks to a Michigan State player jumping offside lead to another attempt, this time from 42 yards out, which sailed just inside the right upright for a CMU 29-27 upset of Michigan State.
• Buffalo was the big disappointment of the afternoon as the Bulls, winners @ UTEP last week, hosted Pitt and were blown out 54-27.

Fans can find great MAC merchandise including Western Michigan hats & clothing, CMU apparel & more on DFN Sports sites!

In other MAC action this weekend, Akron opens InfoCision Stadium against Morgan State and led 24-0 at the half. Akron’s nearby rival, Kent State, trailed Boston College by the same score at halftime of their game while tonight’s MAC games feature Ball State hosting New Hampshire, Northern Illinois hosting Western Illinois, Ohio @ North Texas and Bowling Green @ #25 Missouri. For all of the MAC scores for every MAC football game, keep updated with VanDelay Sports.

After a dismal first week for Mid-American Conference football, the MAC was looking to get back on track in Week 2 football action. With a 3-10 start to the 2009 season which included Miami’s 42-0 loss to Kentucky, Western Michigan’s 31-7 loss to Michigan and Temple’s 27-24 loss to Division I-AA (FCS) Villanova, MAC teams had little to be proud of. But week 2 has started strong thanks to Friday Night College Football as the Toledo Rockets have started week 2 with a win over the Big 12 Conference’s Colorado Buffaloes. Toledo jumped out to a 23-3 halftime lead and while Colorado cut the lead to 13 at the end of the 3rd Quarter, the Rockets then took complete control to blow out the Buffs 54-38. Aaron Opelt had a huge day for the Rockets throwing for over 300 yards and 4 TDs while rushing for over 100 yards with a TD on the ground as well. With a new coaching staff in place there’s no doubt fans will flock to buy Toledo Rockets hats & clothing to support UT football in 2009.

In the rest of Week 2 MAC football action, several teams have intriguing matchups as CMU faces Michigan State, WMU is @ Indiana, Bowling Green travels to #25 Missouri and Buffalo hosts Pittsburgh in games that MAC teams could potentially pull an upset. Meanwhile Ohio @ North Texas features a FBS matchup of the MAC vs Sun Belt and Akron, NIU and Ball State all face FCS opponents in must-win situations.