1. Toledo- Most points scored in the weekend and least given up.
2. Ohio- Grind it out G5 road win. We know Ohio has a legit Defense.
3. EMU- Solid D, but that Oline doesn't seem to be blocking for play makers.
4. BG- paired with the better loss to Liberty, I'd say a comfy FCS win is rare these days.
5. Miami- UMass better than Liberty? Probably not. But a decent win nonetheless.
6. Akron- Well 24s to 21s it is.
7. NIU- In the back of my mind I knew HC would give BC a game. And SIU is no slouch. I'm actually impressed with NIUs defense. But I thought Rocky was the best QB in the MAC, that everyone forgot about?
8. CMU- BC win vs. MSU loss is why CMU is 8 not 7.
9. Ball State- Tough schedule. The cards will have time to climb.
10. WMU- About what we expected.
11. UB- it fueled the fire last season... maybe Buffalo doesn't try to win these.
12. Kent- Year 0.

UB lost to Kent last year (blowing a 14-point 4th quarter lead) so UB should be last.

Akron with a loss to a bad Temple program and squeezed out the W over FCS Morgan State? If they’re the 6th best team in the MAC we’re in for a very long year.

EMU should probably be even with CMU. Both struggled with FCS teams and lost nearly identical games to B10 opponents.

Toledo





Everyone else

(09-10-2023 09:20 AM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  Akron with a loss to a bad Temple program and squeezed out the W over FCS Morgan State? If they’re the 6th best team in the MAC we’re in for a very long year.

They might be lol.

My view, in groupings:

Toledo
Ohio

BGSU
Miami
NIU

EMU
CMU
WMU

Akron
Kent St
Ball St
Buffalo

My rankings based on wins and teams played. I think this is Toledo's conference to win as no one else has been impressive enough and their easy non-conference should allow them to go into conference play healthy. If Ohio can get their offense on track then i think these are the only two teams with a true shot to win the MAC.

1. Toledo - Toledo has the best offense and a top defense in the MAC. They beat a bad FCS and the Illinois team they lost to got beat easily by Kansas and probably not as good as everyone thought.
2. NIU - Best OOC win in the conference and on the road. Defense has been good for two games even against a top 25 FCS that scored 49 points the week before. This offense needs to get it together. Another losing season and Hammock needs to be fired.
3. Ohio - 2nd best win in the conference on the road. Defense has been good but their offense has severely underachieved after 3 games for a team expected to win the East and potentially the conference. Just shows how much good QB play matters for G5 teams.
4. Miami - Miami(FL) just roasted A&M. Miami went on the road and beat a fellow FBS for the conference's 3rd best win. Chuck Martin is very uncompetitive in OOC and is best against fellow MAC level opponents.
5. EMU - I thought they would not have lost by as much as they did to Minnesota. Only 152 yards of offense is not good.
6. Akron - Lost a close one to Temple on the road despite leading much of the game. Really got lucky to get a fumble that allowed them to win last night.
7. BG - Probably interchangeable with Akron here. Beat EIU, which isn't a good FCS, but a win nonetheless.
8. CMU - Competitive for half against MSU and eeked by 1-AA.
9. BSU - Georgia result is about what should be expected. Honestly hard to gage anything after two SEC road opponents.
10. UB - Held their own for one half vs Wisky. I honestly don't know anything about Fordham to know if they are a good FCS or not.
11. WMU - Like KSU, gonna be a long season. Can just hope as a fan to see progress.
12. KSU - Gonna be a long season but at least 28-6 to SEC isn't as bad as it could have been.

(09-10-2023 10:52 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  12. KSU - Gonna be a long season but at least 26-0 to SEC isn't as bad as it could have been.

Or 28-6; trailed 14-6 at the half because of a pick 6 but controlled things up to that point. With a roster depleted by the portal they just don’t have the horses, especially against an SEC squad. It was a miracle they kept it that close before wearing down.

Quote:5. EMU - I thought they would not have lost by as much as they did to Minnesota. Only 152 yards of offense is not good.

EMU has disappointed me. Thought they were going to be competing with Toledo & NIU for the West. Since they have a good coach, I can't say they're merely getting off to a slow start. Almost lost to an FCS opening game, and then well under 200 yards of O. Minnesota has a good D, but I mean, that should make you be like 275 total yards, not 150-ish.

Quote:8. CMU - Competitive for half against MSU and eeked by 1-AA.

I think CMU could end up being a surprise this year, if their HC is as good as he's 'supposed to be', when he first arrived. They showed having some O -- although no D (which is what kept it close 1st half against MSU).

Quote:10. UB - Held their own for one half vs Wisky. I honestly don't know anything about Fordham to know if they are a good FCS or not.

Buffalo lost again to a FCS. However, these past two years, they were top-notch FCS teams. Fordham only had 2 losses last year in regular season. One to Ohio in a 1 possession shoot-out. The other, in OT against Holy Cross who is a top-level FCS team that Buffalo lost to last year. Then they lost by 10 in a shoot out VS New Hampshire in the playoffs, who almost beat CMU this week.

I think with the transfers, FCS power teams (as with G5 consistent winners) will be better off than yesteryear, with good scouting. So when it comes to a playoff-level FCS team and a run-of-the-mill MAC team, an FCS win shouldn't be a WTF result. But of course, when our conference isn't doing well, it just makes it sting.

Quote:11. WMU - Like KSU, gonna be a long season. Can just hope as a fan to see progress.

It's supposed to be like this. It just shouldn't continue thru the season being like how we executed in err so many times, is all. I think our coach is good, and by the last games of the season, we should be a team nobody in the MAC wants to play.

Quote:12. KSU - Gonna be a long season but at least 28-6 to SEC isn't as bad as it could have been.

Wasn't a bad loss at all. However, we don't know how good/bad Arkansas will be -- but regardless, KSU holding them to only 300 yards on O was good. That said, KSU couldn't even muster 1 yard a carry on O... and as far as their D is concerned, they gave up 56 pts to UCF, where UCF was in a low-scoring barn-burner against Boise which indicated that if you're an expected middle-of-the-road MAC team, you shouldn't be giving up 56pts to a team like that.

Last Week:
Northern Illinois
---
Eastern Michigan
Ohio
Western Michigan
---
Toledo
Akron
Bowling Green St
Central Michigan
Buffalo
---
Kent St
Miami
Ball St


This Week:
Ohio
Toledo
Northern Illinois
Miami
Eastern Michigan
----
Bowling Green St
Western Michigan
Central Michigan
Akron
----
Ball St
Kent St
Buffalo

--OU only team w/ 2 wins, & 1 vs a G5, the 2 W's is why they're ahead of UT
--Not gonna punish NIU too hard, they have the best win in the Conference
--MU powers up my rankings after beating (albeit weak) G5
-- EMU held their own vs Minnesota
-- BGSU thru UA hard to rank. Couldn't get it done vs G5 or got blown out vs P5, but beat their FCS. I rank them vs how they did vs their FCS.
--BSU & KSU winless but have played all P5's, so lot of room to climb.
--UB winless w/ a FCS loss

These rankings are based where the teams are now, not how they're supposed to do, not based solely on this week but factoring in last week too. But I wouldn't be surprised if these tiers end up being how the teams wind up being.

(09-10-2023 12:51 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  

Quote:12. KSU - Gonna be a long season but at least 28-6 to SEC isn't as bad as it could have been.

Wasn't a bad loss at all. However, we don't know how good/bad Arkansas will be -- but regardless, KSU holding them to only 300 yards on O was good. That said, KSU couldn't even muster 1 yard a carry on O... and as far as their D is concerned, they gave up 56 pts to UCF, where UCF was in a low-scoring barn-burner against Boise which indicated that if you're an expected middle-of-the-road MAC team, you shouldn't be giving up 56pts to a team like that.

Arkansas is the 2nd team getting votes in this weeks top 25, so they should be decent this season. KSUs team total was weighed down by the QB running for his life and taking -46 yards on 11 ‘rushes’. Despite an inability to make holes their RB had 71 yards on 14 carries at halftime, and ended up 18 rushes for 68 yards. They also aren’t expected to be a “middle-of-the-road MAC team”, they’re fulling expected to be basement dwellers for the foreseeable future until they backfill the roster with players that can compete at this level. It will be interesting to see how this squad matches up in the MAC, they might just grab a W or two.

(09-10-2023 10:52 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  My rankings based on wins and teams played. I think this is Toledo's conference to win as no one else has been impressive enough and their easy non-conference should allow them to go into conference play healthy. If Ohio can get their offense on track then i think these are the only two teams with a true shot to win the MAC.

1. Toledo - Toledo has the best offense and a top defense in the MAC. They beat a bad FCS and the Illinois team they lost to got beat easily by Kansas and probably not as good as everyone thought.
2. NIU - Best OOC win in the conference and on the road. Defense has been good for two games even against a top 25 FCS that scored 49 points the week before. This offense needs to get it together. Another losing season and Hammock needs to be fired.
3. Ohio - 2nd best win in the conference on the road. Defense has been good but their offense has severely underachieved after 3 games for a team expected to win the East and potentially the conference. Just shows how much good QB play matters for G5 teams.
4. Miami - Miami(FL) just roasted A&M. Miami went on the road and beat a fellow FBS for the conference's 3rd best win. Chuck Martin is very uncompetitive in OOC and is best against fellow MAC level opponents.
5. EMU - I thought they would not have lost by as much as they did to Minnesota. Only 152 yards of offense is not good.
6. Akron - Lost a close one to Temple on the road despite leading much of the game. Really got lucky to get a fumble that allowed them to win last night.
7. BG - Probably interchangeable with Akron here. Beat EIU, which isn't a good FCS, but a win nonetheless.
8. CMU - Competitive for half against MSU and eeked by 1-AA.
9. BSU - Georgia result is about what should be expected. Honestly hard to gage anything after two SEC road opponents.
10. UB - Held their own for one half vs Wisky. I honestly don't know anything about Fordham to know if they are a good FCS or not.
11. WMU - Like KSU, gonna be a long season. Can just hope as a fan to see progress.
12. KSU - Gonna be a long season but at least 28-6 to SEC isn't as bad as it could have been.

Not sure how you can put Northern Illinois ahead of Ohio. We actually beat our FCS opponent!

(09-11-2023 10:03 AM)bobcat_backer Wrote:  

(09-10-2023 10:52 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  My rankings based on wins and teams played. I think this is Toledo's conference to win as no one else has been impressive enough and their easy non-conference should allow them to go into conference play healthy. If Ohio can get their offense on track then i think these are the only two teams with a true shot to win the MAC.

1. Toledo - Toledo has the best offense and a top defense in the MAC. They beat a bad FCS and the Illinois team they lost to got beat easily by Kansas and probably not as good as everyone thought.
2. NIU - Best OOC win in the conference and on the road. Defense has been good for two games even against a top 25 FCS that scored 49 points the week before. This offense needs to get it together. Another losing season and Hammock needs to be fired.
3. Ohio - 2nd best win in the conference on the road. Defense has been good but their offense has severely underachieved after 3 games for a team expected to win the East and potentially the conference. Just shows how much good QB play matters for G5 teams.
4. Miami - Miami(FL) just roasted A&M. Miami went on the road and beat a fellow FBS for the conference's 3rd best win. Chuck Martin is very uncompetitive in OOC and is best against fellow MAC level opponents.
5. EMU - I thought they would not have lost by as much as they did to Minnesota. Only 152 yards of offense is not good.
6. Akron - Lost a close one to Temple on the road despite leading much of the game. Really got lucky to get a fumble that allowed them to win last night.
7. BG - Probably interchangeable with Akron here. Beat EIU, which isn't a good FCS, but a win nonetheless.
8. CMU - Competitive for half against MSU and eeked by 1-AA.
9. BSU - Georgia result is about what should be expected. Honestly hard to gage anything after two SEC road opponents.
10. UB - Held their own for one half vs Wisky. I honestly don't know anything about Fordham to know if they are a good FCS or not.
11. WMU - Like KSU, gonna be a long season. Can just hope as a fan to see progress.
12. KSU - Gonna be a long season but at least 28-6 to SEC isn't as bad as it could have been.

Not sure how you can put Northern Illinois ahead of Ohio. We actually beat our FCS opponent!

Rourke has been out. FAU was favored to win by 3.5 so Ohio actually beat the spread by 10 points on one.

Offense however left too many points on the table. Should have defeated SDSU and layed 14 more points on FAU.

(09-10-2023 10:52 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  1. Toledo - Toledo has the best offense and a top defense in the MAC. They beat a bad FCS and the Illinois team they lost to got beat easily by Kansas and probably not as good as everyone thought.
2. NIU - Best OOC win in the conference and on the road. Defense has been good for two games even against a top 25 FCS that scored 49 points the week before. This offense needs to get it together. Another losing season and Hammock needs to be fired.
3. Ohio - 2nd best win in the conference on the road. Defense has been good but their offense has severely underachieved after 3 games for a team expected to win the East and potentially the conference. Just shows how much good QB play matters for G5 teams.
4. Miami - Miami(FL) just roasted A&M. Miami went on the road and beat a fellow FBS for the conference's 3rd best win. Chuck Martin is very uncompetitive in OOC and is best against fellow MAC level opponents.
5. EMU - I thought they would not have lost by as much as they did to Minnesota. Only 152 yards of offense is not good.
6. Akron - Lost a close one to Temple on the road despite leading much of the game. Really got lucky to get a fumble that allowed them to win last night.
7. BG - Probably interchangeable with Akron here. Beat EIU, which isn't a good FCS, but a win nonetheless.
8. CMU - Competitive for half against MSU and eeked by 1-AA.
9. BSU - Georgia result is about what should be expected. Honestly hard to gage anything after two SEC road opponents.
10. UB - Held their own for one half vs Wisky. I honestly don't know anything about Fordham to know if they are a good FCS or not.
11. WMU - Like KSU, gonna be a long season. Can just hope as a fan to see progress.
12. KSU - Gonna be a long season but at least 28-6 to SEC isn't as bad as it could have been.

Bowling Green is better than Akron. Eastern Illinois is improving, and my guess is they are better than Morgan State. I know the Ohio Valley is not a power conference, but the Panthers beat Indiana State 27-0 in their opener.

On the other hand, Northern Illinois is overrated here. Boston College damn near lost to Holy Cross last weekend.

I think my top tier all gonna make a bowl game. Not sure if a 6th team gets in or not but the battle for it will be fun if they do.

Bowl Projections from the experts:
24/7 has everyone in the West making it but Western & Eastern.
CBS drops Central & Ball St, & adds Eastern. East is Ohio, Miami, & Buffalo

(It's fun watching how the last few slots change from week to week)

(09-11-2023 11:25 AM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  

(09-10-2023 10:52 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  1. Toledo - Toledo has the best offense and a top defense in the MAC. They beat a bad FCS and the Illinois team they lost to got beat easily by Kansas and probably not as good as everyone thought.
2. NIU - Best OOC win in the conference and on the road. Defense has been good for two games even against a top 25 FCS that scored 49 points the week before. This offense needs to get it together. Another losing season and Hammock needs to be fired.
3. Ohio - 2nd best win in the conference on the road. Defense has been good but their offense has severely underachieved after 3 games for a team expected to win the East and potentially the conference. Just shows how much good QB play matters for G5 teams.
4. Miami - Miami(FL) just roasted A&M. Miami went on the road and beat a fellow FBS for the conference's 3rd best win. Chuck Martin is very uncompetitive in OOC and is best against fellow MAC level opponents.
5. EMU - I thought they would not have lost by as much as they did to Minnesota. Only 152 yards of offense is not good.
6. Akron - Lost a close one to Temple on the road despite leading much of the game. Really got lucky to get a fumble that allowed them to win last night.
7. BG - Probably interchangeable with Akron here. Beat EIU, which isn't a good FCS, but a win nonetheless.
8. CMU - Competitive for half against MSU and eeked by 1-AA.
9. BSU - Georgia result is about what should be expected. Honestly hard to gage anything after two SEC road opponents.
10. UB - Held their own for one half vs Wisky. I honestly don't know anything about Fordham to know if they are a good FCS or not.
11. WMU - Like KSU, gonna be a long season. Can just hope as a fan to see progress.
12. KSU - Gonna be a long season but at least 28-6 to SEC isn't as bad as it could have been.

Bowling Green is better than Akron. Eastern Illinois is improving, and my guess is they are better than Morgan State. I know the Ohio Valley is not a power conference, but the Panthers beat Indiana State 27-0 in their opener.

On the other hand, Northern Illinois is overrated here. Boston College damn near lost to Holy Cross last weekend.

Like I said, they are interchangeable. EIU was 2-9 last season. The Indiana St team they beat was also 2-9 last year. They aren't a good FCS.

Boston College led the whole game and still won. What MAC wins in OOC do you think are better than a P5 win?

(09-11-2023 12:27 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  

(09-11-2023 11:25 AM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  

(09-10-2023 10:52 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  1. Toledo - Toledo has the best offense and a top defense in the MAC. They beat a bad FCS and the Illinois team they lost to got beat easily by Kansas and probably not as good as everyone thought.
2. NIU - Best OOC win in the conference and on the road. Defense has been good for two games even against a top 25 FCS that scored 49 points the week before. This offense needs to get it together. Another losing season and Hammock needs to be fired.
3. Ohio - 2nd best win in the conference on the road. Defense has been good but their offense has severely underachieved after 3 games for a team expected to win the East and potentially the conference. Just shows how much good QB play matters for G5 teams.
4. Miami - Miami(FL) just roasted A&M. Miami went on the road and beat a fellow FBS for the conference's 3rd best win. Chuck Martin is very uncompetitive in OOC and is best against fellow MAC level opponents.
5. EMU - I thought they would not have lost by as much as they did to Minnesota. Only 152 yards of offense is not good.
6. Akron - Lost a close one to Temple on the road despite leading much of the game. Really got lucky to get a fumble that allowed them to win last night.
7. BG - Probably interchangeable with Akron here. Beat EIU, which isn't a good FCS, but a win nonetheless.
8. CMU - Competitive for half against MSU and eeked by 1-AA.
9. BSU - Georgia result is about what should be expected. Honestly hard to gage anything after two SEC road opponents.
10. UB - Held their own for one half vs Wisky. I honestly don't know anything about Fordham to know if they are a good FCS or not.
11. WMU - Like KSU, gonna be a long season. Can just hope as a fan to see progress.
12. KSU - Gonna be a long season but at least 28-6 to SEC isn't as bad as it could have been.

Bowling Green is better than Akron. Eastern Illinois is improving, and my guess is they are better than Morgan State. I know the Ohio Valley is not a power conference, but the Panthers beat Indiana State 27-0 in their opener.

On the other hand, Northern Illinois is overrated here. Boston College damn near lost to Holy Cross last weekend.

Like I said, they are interchangeable. EIU was 2-9 last season. The Indiana St team they beat was also 2-9 last year. They aren't a good FCS.

Boston College led the whole game and still won. What MAC wins in OOC do you think are better than a P5 win?

You can't just say P5, FCS or G5 as a general statement of quality. Northwestern would beat about 10-15 G5 teams. BC maybe less. FAU, SJSU, SDSU, Jacksonville St etc. are possibly a better win than BC in 2023 if I had to guess. It doesn't really matter? It's week 2. Power rankings are just for fun.

(09-10-2023 10:52 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  My rankings based on wins and teams played. I think this is Toledo's conference to win as no one else has been impressive enough and their easy non-conference should allow them to go into conference play healthy. If Ohio can get their offense on track then i think these are the only two teams with a true shot to win the MAC.

1. Toledo - Toledo has the best offense and a top defense in the MAC. They beat a bad FCS and the Illinois team they lost to got beat easily by Kansas and probably not as good as everyone thought.
2. NIU - Best OOC win in the conference and on the road. Defense has been good for two games even against a top 25 FCS that scored 49 points the week before. This offense needs to get it together. Another losing season and Hammock needs to be fired.
3. Ohio - 2nd best win in the conference on the road. Defense has been good but their offense has severely underachieved after 3 games for a team expected to win the East and potentially the conference. Just shows how much good QB play matters for G5 teams.
4. Miami - Miami(FL) just roasted A&M. Miami went on the road and beat a fellow FBS for the conference's 3rd best win. Chuck Martin is very uncompetitive in OOC and is best against fellow MAC level opponents.
5. EMU - I thought they would not have lost by as much as they did to Minnesota. Only 152 yards of offense is not good.
6. Akron - Lost a close one to Temple on the road despite leading much of the game. Really got lucky to get a fumble that allowed them to win last night.
7. BG - Probably interchangeable with Akron here. Beat EIU, which isn't a good FCS, but a win nonetheless.
8. CMU - Competitive for half against MSU and eeked by 1-AA.
9. BSU - Georgia result is about what should be expected. Honestly hard to gage anything after two SEC road opponents.
10. UB - Held their own for one half vs Wisky. I honestly don't know anything about Fordham to know if they are a good FCS or not.
11. WMU - Like KSU, gonna be a long season. Can just hope as a fan to see progress.
12. KSU - Gonna be a long season but at least 28-6 to SEC isn't as bad as it could have been.

Like this since feel if healthy, without a few players and could finish with a healthy QB, it was a winnable game with Miami. Miami played well and for the full 60 minutes. It was Carlos Davis first start here and had a slow start. He is healthy enough to be ready for EMU,

(09-10-2023 08:17 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  1. Toledo- Most points scored in the weekend and least given up.
2. Ohio- Grind it out G5 road win. We know Ohio has a legit Defense.
3. EMU- Solid D, but that Oline doesn't seem to be blocking for play makers.
4. BG- paired with the better loss to Liberty, I'd say a comfy FCS win is rare these days.
5. Miami- UMass better than Liberty? Probably not. But a decent win nonetheless.
6. Akron- Well 24s to 21s it is.
7. NIU- In the back of my mind I knew HC would give BC a game. And SIU is no slouch. I'm actually impressed with NIUs defense. But I thought Rocky was the best QB in the MAC, that everyone forgot about?
8. CMU- BC win vs. MSU loss is why CMU is 8 not 7.
9. Ball State- Tough schedule. The cards will have time to climb.
10. WMU- About what we expected.
11. UB- it fueled the fire last season... maybe Buffalo doesn't try to win these.
12. Kent- Year 0.

Yea I'm not sure where people were getting that - he's made big plays at times to win games at the end but has never been consistent. 3 INTs in one game, vs. FCS is still unacceptable, though the 3rd one hit a WR in the hands first (high pass but probably catchable). And our pass blocking (and running game) sucked so it isn't all his fault.

(09-11-2023 12:27 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  What MAC wins in OOC do you think are better than a P5 win?

New Hampshire might be better than Boston College this year. Florida Atlantic might be, too.