Bringing in a mediocre 57-19 (75%) YTD record into the end of October.

MAC Notes:
- Week Nine will feature the transition to midweek MAC football with two games on Thur., Oct. 29 and two games on Sat., Oct. 31.
- This season the MAC will have 16 games on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday nights during the last five weeks of the regular season.
- The MAC already has two teams bowl eligible as both Toledo (7-0) and Bowling Green (6-2) are eligible.
- Toledo is bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive year and the Falcons for the fourth straight season.
- Toledo (7-0, 4-0 MAC) scored 38 unanswered points in turning a 28-10 deficit into a 51-35 win at UMass, the fifth largest comeback in school history. The Rockets ran 105 plays in the victory, the second most in program history, and amassed 620 yards of total offense.
- After seven games this season, the Rockets have posted a decisive 73-0 scoring advantage in the third quarter this fall


Nick's Pick: Western 34 - Eastern 16
Comment: Western is starting to come into their own this season after playing a very rugged September slate. I see this game being a little closer than some may expect since Eastern takes this rivalry game more seriously than Western.


Nick's Pick: Buffalo 27 - Miami 17
Comment: UB forced four turnovers last week to beat Ohio 41-17; I don't know that they will duplicate that this week. Miami is playing younger guys and building for the future. Like the Eastern/Western game, I see this contest a little closer than some may expect with the Bulls pulling away in the second half.


Nick's Pick: Ball State 28 - UMass 24
Comment: This is the battle between the two teams who are having the most disappointing season in the league based off of preseason expectations. With Ball State playing at home I give the nod to the Cards and after seeing UMass flame out in the second half against Toledo; that loss (losing an 18-point halftime lead) may linger forward for the remainder of the season.


Nick's Pick: Central 26 - Akron 21
Comment: This is a battle for the MAC team to remain bowl eligible so there is something big at stake; the Zips are coming off a bye week while Central won a thriller against Ball State. The Chips are playing very well and I like them to find a way to win and for the Zips to officially have another lost season where local expectations were for something much bigger.


NIU/Toledo and Ohio/BG will be added over the weekend...

Nick's Pick: Western 34 - Eastern 16
Actual Score: Western 58 - Eastern 28
Initial Comment: Western is starting to come into their own this season after playing a very rugged September slate. I see this game being a little closer than some may expect since Eastern takes this rivalry game more seriously than Western.
Final Thought: Western thumped them even more than predicted...the Broncos continue to play better week after week and their final three games with BG, NIU & Toledo will determine the MAC champ.


Nick's Pick: Buffalo 27 - Miami 17
Actual Score: Buffalo 29 - Miami 24
Initial Comment: UB forced four turnovers last week to beat Ohio 41-17; I don't know that they will duplicate that this week. Miami is playing younger guys and building for the future. Like the Eastern/Western game, I see this contest a little closer than some may expect with the Bulls pulling away in the second half.
Final Thought: UB did in fact pull away in the 2nd half and then held off any chance of a final Hail Mary with a QB sack.


Nick's Pick: Ball State 28 - UMass 24
Comment: This is the battle between the two teams who are having the most disappointing season in the league based off of preseason expectations. With Ball State playing at home I give the nod to the Cards and after seeing UMass flame out in the second half against Toledo; that loss (losing an 18-point halftime lead) may linger forward for the remainder of the season.


Nick's Pick: Central 26 - Akron 21
Comment: This is a battle for the MAC team to remain bowl eligible so there is something big at stake; the Zips are coming off a bye week while Central won a thriller against Ball State. The Chips are playing very well and I like them to find a way to win and for the Zips to officially have another lost season where local expectations were for something much bigger.


NIU/Toledo and Ohio/BG will be added over the weekend...

CMU beats Akron today, hell they beat Toledo next week and they will play in the MAC Championship game. I guess they hired the right guy.

..and BSU beat UMASS, 20-10.

(10-31-2015 04:40 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  CMU beats Akron today, hell they beat Toledo next week and they will play in the MAC Championship game. I guess they hired the right guy.

Yes, provided WMU decides to lose.

(10-31-2015 04:40 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  CMU beats Akron today, hell they beat Toledo next week and they will play in the MAC Championship game. I guess they hired the right guy.

Huh?

With 7 losses UMass is now officially out of the running for a bowl which means their affiliation with the MAC will end at midnight on 11/27/15.

At any time between now and then UMass can accept the invitation into the MAC as a full member, anyone think there's a chance they take it?

I don't think they can. I think that ship has long sailed. And after seeing 4 seasons with little to show for it why would MAC want to keep them?

no, its part of the agreement. Once the MAC offers full membership to UMass they have until midnight on the day of the last game of the 2nd season after the offer to accept it even if they signal otherwise before hand. It's a fail-safe for them so they can explore other offers but fall back if nothing better appears.

UMass fans will say there's zero chance because '16 and '17 are fully scheduled and '18 is nearly done but the reality is no rivalries, no championships, no TV contract and no bowl tie-ins is going to make recruiting extremely difficult.

I don't think they'll will accept it either and I think them leaving is what's best for the MAC but I don't think its what is best for UMass.

They obviously overestimated what a coach who had success in FCS would be able to do in FBS. It would be hard to argue that they are making even modest progress. That team is not good at all.

Headed to an independent schedule, no bowl prospects, a team that is only marginally better than it was, and this year maybe even declining--did somebody really think this through?

With Memphis or Houston or whatever program can sustain a couple years of success and join the Big 12, the AAC will need a replacement. Maybe that's the (desperate) thinking.

Here's a list of all UMass's wins since joining the MA in 2012, in chronological order with the final record of each team they beat-

1-11(0-8) Akron
0-12(0-8) Miami
2-9(1-6) Kent St
2-10(1-7) EMU
5-7(4-4) Ball St
4-5(2-3) FIU note: FIU's last 3 games are 2 likely losses vs Marshall and WKU and 1 winnable game vs Charlotte.

14-54(8-36) Total record of opponents beaten
6-38(5-23) UMass total record

The good news for UMass is that the quality of the wins are increasing over time, the bad news is the quantity is not.

So far 4-0 on the weekend and I've added the NIU/Toledo & Ohio/BG picks at the bottom.



Nick's Pick: Western 34 - Eastern 16
Actual Score: Western 58 - Eastern 28
Initial Comment: Western is starting to come into their own this season after playing a very rugged September slate. I see this game being a little closer than some may expect since Eastern takes this rivalry game more seriously than Western.
Final Thought: Western thumped them even more than predicted...the Broncos continue to play better week after week and their final three games with BG, NIU & Toledo will determine the MAC champ.


Nick's Pick: Buffalo 27 - Miami 17
Actual Score: Buffalo 29 - Miami 24
Initial Comment: UB forced four turnovers last week to beat Ohio 41-17; I don't know that they will duplicate that this week. Miami is playing younger guys and building for the future. Like the Eastern/Western game, I see this contest a little closer than some may expect with the Bulls pulling away in the second half.
Final Thought: UB did in fact pull away in the 2nd half and then held off any chance of a final Hail Mary with a QB sack.


Nick's Pick: Ball State 28 - UMass 24
Actual Score: Ball State 20 - UMass 10
Initial Comment: This is the battle between the two teams who are having the most disappointing season in the league based off of preseason expectations. With Ball State playing at home I give the nod to the Cards and after seeing UMass flame out in the second half against Toledo; that loss (losing an 18-point halftime lead) may linger forward for the remainder of the season.
Final Thought: UMass outgained the Cards 448-427 but Ball State held off the Minutemen in the red zone to earn the win.


Nick's Pick: Central 26 - Akron 21
Actual Score: Central 14 - Akron 6
Initial Comment: This is a battle for the MAC team to remain bowl eligible so there is something big at stake; the Zips are coming off a bye week while Central won a thriller against Ball State. The Chips are playing very well and I like them to find a way to win and for the Zips to officially have another lost season where local expectations were for something much bigger.
Final Thought: A surprisingly low scoring affair as Central continues to build a nice resume to earn a MAC bowl bid; Akron will need to win out (including a game against Buffalo) for any hope for a post season game, which right now seems unlikely.


Nick's Picks: Toledo 34 - NIU 26
Comment: OK Rocket fans, the kiss of death, I've picked UT to beat NIU this year after the Huskies have dominated this series over the past few seasons. I do expect a very close and entertaining game.

Nick's Pick: BG 41 - Ohio 13
Comment: The Bobcats are a mess right now while BG is really starting to click on both sides of the ball.

Finished 5-1 this week losing the Toledo/NIU game (I noted the "kiss of death" with my predicted Rocket victory); I currently stand at 62-20 YTD. The games get harder this time of year since you never know who is playing for something special versus those just playing to end the season. The "want-too" is really hard to gauge.




Nick's Pick: Western 34 - Eastern 16
Actual Score: Western 58 - Eastern 28
Initial Comment: Western is starting to come into their own this season after playing a very rugged September slate. I see this game being a little closer than some may expect since Eastern takes this rivalry game more seriously than Western.
Final Thought: Western thumped them even more than predicted...the Broncos continue to play better week after week and their final three games with BG, NIU & Toledo will determine the MAC champ.


Nick's Pick: Buffalo 27 - Miami 17
Actual Score: Buffalo 29 - Miami 24
Initial Comment: UB forced four turnovers last week to beat Ohio 41-17; I don't know that they will duplicate that this week. Miami is playing younger guys and building for the future. Like the Eastern/Western game, I see this contest a little closer than some may expect with the Bulls pulling away in the second half.
Final Thought: UB did in fact pull away in the 2nd half and then held off any chance of a final Hail Mary with a QB sack.


Nick's Pick: Ball State 28 - UMass 24
Actual Score: Ball State 20 - UMass 10
Initial Comment: This is the battle between the two teams who are having the most disappointing season in the league based off of preseason expectations. With Ball State playing at home I give the nod to the Cards and after seeing UMass flame out in the second half against Toledo; that loss (losing an 18-point halftime lead) may linger forward for the remainder of the season.
Final Thought: UMass outgained the Cards 448-427 but Ball State held off the Minutemen in the red zone to earn the win.


Nick's Pick: Central 26 - Akron 21
Actual Score: Central 14 - Akron 6
Initial Comment: This is a battle for the MAC team to remain bowl eligible so there is something big at stake; the Zips are coming off a bye week while Central won a thriller against Ball State. The Chips are playing very well and I like them to find a way to win and for the Zips to officially have another lost season where local expectations were for something much bigger.
Final Thought: A surprisingly low scoring affair as Central continues to build a nice resume to earn a MAC bowl bid; Akron will need to win out (including a game against Buffalo) for any hope for a post season game, which right now seems unlikely.


Nick's Picks: Toledo 34 - NIU 26
Actual Score: NIU 32 - Toledo 27
Initial Comment: OK Rocket fans, the kiss of death, I've picked UT to beat NIU this year after the Huskies have dominated this series over the past few seasons. I do expect a very close and entertaining game.
Final thought: Give all the credit to NIU for finding a way to win with a backup QB and their top WR hurt...they are champions for a reason and very well may win another championship in December.


Nick's Pick: BG 41 - Ohio 13
Actual score: BG 62 - Ohio 24
Initial Comment: The Bobcats are a mess right now while BG is really starting to click on both sides of the ball.
Final thought: BG is playing at an extremely high level right now and maybe NIU is the only team that could beat at this point in time. Ohio is a mess as I noted...how does this seem to happen almost every November to this program?

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This week's games (to save space)

Buffalo 20 - Kent State 16
Going back to my "want too" note above...this is a very tough game to pick. I like that UB has more offense and I certainly see this as a very close and relatively low scoring affair.

Western 38 - Ball State 24
The Broncos continue to play better every week and totally control their own destiny in terms of winning the MAC West. This may end up being a bigger margin of victory than I've predicted.

Akron 27 - UMass 24
Back to the "want too" note...who really knows if these teams are still focused or if they've cashed it in already. Akron seems to be playing for more but let's face it...Akron is Akron when it comes to football so anything is possible. UMass has been the most disappointing team in the league this year.

Miami 28 - Eastern 21
Both teams view this game as probably their last chance at victory this season so expect a very hard fought contest with no one in the stands. Eastern lost some games early in the season they should have won so to me there is a confidence issue with this program (and well deserved after so many losing seasons) while Miami at times this year with their young team have looked pretty decent. I'm picking "pretty decent" this week over "lost confidence."