(07-11-2017 05:42 PM)Jjoey52 Wrote: I am too lazy to look it up, but I would imagine the MW has won at least 60% of games between the leagues for the last 20 years.
Below are MAC-MW head-to-head results since 1999 (first season of the MW), broken down a few different ways. First, a breakdown of the research criteria:
- MW members as of 1999: AF, CSU, UNLV, NM, SDSU, WYO
- MW member as of 2011: BOISE
- MW members as of 2012: FRES, HAW, NEV
- MW members as of 2013: SJS, USU
- (all current MAC schools were in the MAC in 1999)
MAC members vs. MW members, 1999-2016:
- 2000: @WYO beat CMU (MW 1-0 head-to-head)
- 2002: @CMU beat WYO (1-1); @TOL beat UNLV (1-2)
- 2003: MIA won @CSU (1-3); @UNLV beat TOL (2-3)
- 2007: WYO won @OHIO (3-3)
- 2008: @WYO beat OHIO (4-3); BG won @WYO (4-4)
- 2010: @MIA beat CSU (4-5); WYO won @TOL (5-5)
- 2011: BOISE won @TOL (6-5); WYO won @BG (7-5);
Bowl: TOL beat AF (7-6)
- 2012: @BOISE beat MIA (8-6); @TOL beat WYO (8-7)
- 2013: @UNLV beat CMU (9-7);
Bowl: SDSU beat BUF (10-7);
Bowl: USU beat NIU (11-7)
- 2014: NIU won @UNLV (11-8);
Bowl: AF beat WMU (12-8)
- 2015: @NIU beat UNLV (12-9); EMU won @WYO (12-10); NEV won @BUF (13-10);
Bowl: BOISE beat NIU (14-10);
Bowl: AKR beat USU (14-11)
- 2016: SDSU won @NIU (15-11); @WYO beat NIU (16-11); @EMU beat WYO (16-12); @TOL beat FRES (16-13); @NEV beat BUF (17-13); @CMU beat UNLV (17-14)
What to take from these results/Trends of note:
- From 1999-2016, the MW was 17-14 (.548) vs. the MAC.
- The MW was 4-2 (.667) vs. the MAC in bowl games * (* most bowl games played at MW venues).
- Since 2013 (when both conferences contained all current members), the MW is 9-7 (.563) vs. the MAC.
- Over the past two seasons (by far the two seasons with the most head-to-head matchups), the MW was 5-6 (.454) vs. the MAC.
My interpretation: the numbers give the MW a slight edge over the MAC, but it's not much of a gap and not nearly as wide a gap as I thought it would be prior to compiling these results.
Also worth noting: BYU (1999-2011), Utah (1999-2011), and TCU (2005-2011) were briefly in the MW; Marshall (1999-2004), UCF (2002-2004), Temple (2007-2011), and UMass (2012-2014) were briefly in the MAC. There were only three head-to-head results involving these schools during their time as conference members: Marshall beat BYU in 1999 (bowl), TCU beat NIU in 2006 (bowl), and Temple beat Wyoming in 2011 (bowl), giving the MAC a 2-1 edge. These results were insignificant enough that I decided not to include them above.