VanDelay's 2014 MAC PigSkin Preview <--- From the MAC board

Quote:I no longer have the time to keep up the website but wanted to keep tradition alive and post on this forum my PigSkin Preview. More high-level than in-depth but provides my initial thoughts of how the season will play out. Hopefully I'll have the time to keep up with Nick's Picks during the season if my career and family obligations open up a few minutes each week.

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2014 MAC PigSkin Preview

EAST
1) Bowling Green
2) Ohio
3) Akron
4) Buffalo
5) Kent State
6) Miami
7) U-Mass

West
1) Toledo
2) Northern Illinois
3) Ball State
4) Western Michigan
5) Central Michigan
6) Eastern Michigan

MAC Championship
Bowling Green over Toledo


For more than a decade the MAC has had overwhelming preseason favorites with elite quarterbacks, such as NIU’s Jordan Lynch last season; or in previous years like Miami’s Ben Roethlisberger, Central’s Dan LeFevour, Toledo’s Bruce Gradkowski or Marshall’s Byron Leftwich and Chad Pennington. That will not be the case this year as there is no dominating quarterback returning. In fact, this year the parity in the MAC should be at its highest level in several seasons making this conference more wide open than it has been in nearly two decades.

Bowling Green’s Matt Johnson might be the league's best returning signal caller this year and leads twelve returning starters from last year's championship team. New coach Dino Babers will be implementing his version of the Baylor offense and the Falcons have the skill players to successfully run that up-tempo style. Defensively the Falcons must replace most of their defensive line but have two solid linebackers returning to lean on in Gabe Martin and DJ Lynch.

Ohio has been a rock of consistency under Frank Solich and will be once again contending for their first conference title since 1968. The Bobcats have a favorable schedule to make a title run and play in their sixth straight bowl game behind a dependable defense and favorable schedule.

Kyle Pohl leads an Akron team that may have turned the corner under Terry Bowden. The Zips lost a heartbreaker at Michigan early in the year and then upset Toledo to close out the season with a 4-4 conference record, their best finish since 2005.

Buffalo, coming off an impressive 8-5 campaign must replace 1st round NFL draft pick Khalil Mack at linebacker, which will not be an easy task. Sophomores Jarrett Franklin and Brandon Crawford have huge shoes to fill as his replacement. Kent State returned to form last season going 4-8 after their record-breaking 11 victories in 2012. This offensively challenged team will once again struggle to reach .500

After three surprisingly uncompetitive seasons under Don Treadwell, Miami now looks to former Notre Dame assistant Chuck Martin to bring the RedHawks back to prominence. Martin owns a NCAA D-II National Title at Grand Valley State and brings in several impact transfers from the Fighting Irish who will contribute this fall.

UMass is going retro to look for future success. Gone is Charlie Molnar after two unproductive seasons of trying to build a FBS program and back is former Minuteman head coach Mark Whipple. Whipple led UMass to a I-AA national title in 1998 before becoming a long-time NFL assistant coach.

In the west division Toledo must find a new quarterback. Whoever wins that starting role will certainly have plenty of quality skill players at their disposal including sophomore sensation Kareem Hunt at running back. Ultimately the Rockets will only go as far as their much maligned defense will take them. Northern Illinois graduated a bevy of talent from a class that went 46-8 from 2010-2013 but don’t count out Rod Carey’s Huskies as they have played in four-straight MAC Championship games and may well again. Receivers Da’Ron Brown and Tommylee Lewis will help transition the successor of all-everything Jordan Lynch at quarterback.

Ball State finished last season with 10 wins for only the third time in their 90-year history. Replacing 2nd team All-MAC quarterback Keith Wenning will be a challenge so expect the Cardinals to lean heavy on running-back Jahwan Edwards.

Western struggled mightily last season under first year head coach PJ Fleck, who was the youngest coach in Division I FBS. Don’t expect the Broncos to repeat their dismal 1-11 record considering they return their entire secondary, but expecting a winning season will be a stretch.

Central Michigan has not transitioned well from the spread offenses of Brian Kelly and Butch Jones that produced three MAC championships from 2004 through 2009. Switching over to a power offense similar to what Michigan State utilizes has produced just a 19-30 under Dan Enos since 2010.

Eastern is turning to Chris Creighton to pump some life into a program that hasn’t had a winning record since 1995. Creighton has had success at the lower levels of NCAA D-III and FCS Non-Scholarship football programs but has never faced a rebuilding job that has consumed the past six coaches.


Of interest: In the past four seasons ten different MAC teams have gone to bowls

He picked Toledo to win the West. What a surprise.

That makes something like 6 of the last 7 years picking Toledo lol. I guess one of these days it has to be right?

I'm going to make a prediction: 2014 MAC Championship Game....Akron vs NIU

I want the Bowling Green rematch.

(07-10-2014 05:24 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  That makes something like 6 of the last 7 years picking Toledo lol. I guess one of these days it has to be right?

No. Not even close. Nice try though.

(07-10-2014 07:09 PM)PrideinthePack Wrote:  I want the Bowling Green rematch.

I agree.....I see a tight game vs. BGSU, but we pull it out with a last minute FG

(07-10-2014 07:29 PM)niubrad00 Wrote:  

(07-10-2014 05:24 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  That makes something like 6 of the last 7 years picking Toledo lol. I guess one of these days it has to be right?

No. Not even close. Nice try though.

There was one year he picked NIU I cant remember which one it was, maybe something like 2010?

From the MAC board as reported by Nick in Cleveland . . .

Note: Links on the MAC board work. Unfortunately, the links below are only copies of the wording and do not contain the actual links. Go to this link to be able to link to the predictions (if you don't believe what is printed below).

Note 2: Links now work thanks to Enaiu.

(07-10-2014 03:09 PM)Nick in Cleveland Wrote:  "About the 26th year in a row that VanDelay has picked Toledo to win the West"


2013
1. NIU
2. Ball St
3. Toledo
4. Western
5. Central
6. Eastern
posted on MAC/BBS and not the VDS site which is mostly dormat now

2012
1.Toledo
2.NIU
3.Ball State
4.Eastern
5.Western
6.Central
http://www.vandelaysports.com/football/m...view-2012/

2011
1. Toledo
2. NIU
3. Central
4. Western
5. Ball St
6. Eastern
http://www.vandelaysports.com/football/m...view-2011/

2010
1. NIU
2. Toledo
3. Central
4. Ball St
5. Western
6. Eastern
http://www.vandelaysports.com/football/m...view-2010/

2009
1 Central
2. Western
3. Toledo
4. NIU
5. Eastern
6. Ball St
http://www.vandelaysports.com/football/m...view-2009/

2008
1. Ball St
2. Western
3. Central
4. Toledo
5. NIU
6. Eastern
http://www.vandelaysports.com/football/m...view-2008/

2007
1. Western
2. Ball St
3. Central
4. Toledo
5. NIU
6. Eastern
http://www.vandelaysports.com/football/m...view-2007/


I believe going back 8 years shows that your statement is not even close to being true so forgive me for not going all the way back to 1998 when I began doing these MAC previews...but thanks for asking

The past 5 years he seems to be in Toledo mode, that hasn't worked out so well :)

Even though his homer Toledo overall predictions have not worked out, I will say for Nick is that his game by game picks at times are scaringly good.

(07-10-2014 08:00 PM)HUSKIEFOOTBALLFAN Wrote:  Note: Links on the MAC board work. Unfortunately, the links below are only copies of the wording and do not contain the actual links. Go to this link to be able to link to the predictions (if you don't believe what is printed below).

IF you want, you can hit the Reply button, and copy what's inside that, instead of copying what you see on the board.

(07-10-2014 09:04 PM)Enaiu Wrote:  

(07-10-2014 08:00 PM)HUSKIEFOOTBALLFAN Wrote:  Note: Links on the MAC board work. Unfortunately, the links below are only copies of the wording and do not contain the actual links. Go to this link to be able to link to the predictions (if you don't believe what is printed below).

IF you want, you can hit the Reply button, and copy what's inside that, instead of copying what you see on the board.

Done and now it works