11-23-2003, 05:58 PM
That may cause rejoicing among many, consternation among a few, and, most likely, complete and total apathy among the vast majority. Oh well, you'll only have to put up with my football drivel for one more week.
1. Marshall 21, UCF 7 - This was a battle between one team with an anemic offense and another team with a downright, well, what's a worse term than anemic? I don't know. Marshall just ain't Marshall without a gunslinger at QB and UCF just ain't EMU with half their team on suspension.
2. BUGS 41, Testicle Tech 14 - I'm a bit surprised by this score. I thought that, with the Toledump game upcoming, BUGS might just take the week off. Never thought they would lose to a team that defines mediocrity but thought it would be closer.
3. Navy 63, CMU 34 - Navy just destroyed any thoughts of a 3rd MAC bowl bid. Nobody but Michigan has beaten the Chips this badly. Not NIU. Not Toledump. Not BUGS. Nobody. Navy will finish the season 8-4 with a win over a terrible Army team and my guess is that any bowl in the world would take Navy before they took a MAC team - especially when Navy beat CMU worse than any MAC teams beat CMU. So, just as it has been, the MAC, in the best year it's ever had, will get precisely two bowl bids.
4. NIU 38, EMU 24 - EMU finishes the season a surprising 3-9. Not only that, they've actually looked decent in their last 3 games. Doesn't matter. They won't survive the attendance rule. NIU is playing for pride and will be sitting at home with a 10-2 record. Once again, OOC wins are nice but they don't count for squat if you get thumped by two Division foes. And remember, the BUGS and Toledump scores weren't terribly close. BUGS beat NIU by 16 and Toledump beat them by 19. 10-2 and sitting home in December. Wecome to the MAC.
5. Miami (OH) 49, Ohio U 31 - Miami's defense played this game at about 1/2 speed. It was enough. If their defense is off, the Redskins will beat you by scoring touchdowns in bunches. This is a very, very good team and probably a legit top 10 team. Unfortunately, Ben Jacobjingleheimerschmidt likes the colors of Iowa's jerseys more than he likes Miami (OH) red so they'll never get the chance to prove it on the field.
6. Kent 34, Buffalo 24 - Yawn.
7. Toledump 34, WMU 17 - I have no idea how the Broncos managed 17 points with only 39 yards rushing. On 25 attempts no less. Per their usual pattern, Toledump let WMU stay in the game far longer than necessary. The BUGS game will be interesting. If the Rockettes follow their normal pattern of resting the first 2 1/2 - 3 quarters of a game, BUGS will beat them. If they play for a whole game, they should be able to win the West again.
_______________________
Final thoughts:
ESPN billed this as "Rivalry Week." To a certain extent that was true. You had LSU playing Ole' Miss. You had Bama playing Auburn. You had Ohio State playing Michigan. You had USC playing UCLA. You had Kent playing Buffalo. Ummm, well, maybe that last one didn't fit the bill. In fact, none of the MAC games fit the bill.
This was a completely forgettable week in conference play. Two teams expected to compete for the East are out of it. BUGS and Toledump could have both lost or both won or one lost while the other won and it wouldn't have meant a damn thing in the West. The BUGS/Toledump winner goes the the MACC and the MCB. The loser stays home.
GOOOOOOOOOOO BUGS!!!!!
1. Marshall 21, UCF 7 - This was a battle between one team with an anemic offense and another team with a downright, well, what's a worse term than anemic? I don't know. Marshall just ain't Marshall without a gunslinger at QB and UCF just ain't EMU with half their team on suspension.
2. BUGS 41, Testicle Tech 14 - I'm a bit surprised by this score. I thought that, with the Toledump game upcoming, BUGS might just take the week off. Never thought they would lose to a team that defines mediocrity but thought it would be closer.
3. Navy 63, CMU 34 - Navy just destroyed any thoughts of a 3rd MAC bowl bid. Nobody but Michigan has beaten the Chips this badly. Not NIU. Not Toledump. Not BUGS. Nobody. Navy will finish the season 8-4 with a win over a terrible Army team and my guess is that any bowl in the world would take Navy before they took a MAC team - especially when Navy beat CMU worse than any MAC teams beat CMU. So, just as it has been, the MAC, in the best year it's ever had, will get precisely two bowl bids.
4. NIU 38, EMU 24 - EMU finishes the season a surprising 3-9. Not only that, they've actually looked decent in their last 3 games. Doesn't matter. They won't survive the attendance rule. NIU is playing for pride and will be sitting at home with a 10-2 record. Once again, OOC wins are nice but they don't count for squat if you get thumped by two Division foes. And remember, the BUGS and Toledump scores weren't terribly close. BUGS beat NIU by 16 and Toledump beat them by 19. 10-2 and sitting home in December. Wecome to the MAC.
5. Miami (OH) 49, Ohio U 31 - Miami's defense played this game at about 1/2 speed. It was enough. If their defense is off, the Redskins will beat you by scoring touchdowns in bunches. This is a very, very good team and probably a legit top 10 team. Unfortunately, Ben Jacobjingleheimerschmidt likes the colors of Iowa's jerseys more than he likes Miami (OH) red so they'll never get the chance to prove it on the field.
6. Kent 34, Buffalo 24 - Yawn.
7. Toledump 34, WMU 17 - I have no idea how the Broncos managed 17 points with only 39 yards rushing. On 25 attempts no less. Per their usual pattern, Toledump let WMU stay in the game far longer than necessary. The BUGS game will be interesting. If the Rockettes follow their normal pattern of resting the first 2 1/2 - 3 quarters of a game, BUGS will beat them. If they play for a whole game, they should be able to win the West again.
_______________________
Final thoughts:
ESPN billed this as "Rivalry Week." To a certain extent that was true. You had LSU playing Ole' Miss. You had Bama playing Auburn. You had Ohio State playing Michigan. You had USC playing UCLA. You had Kent playing Buffalo. Ummm, well, maybe that last one didn't fit the bill. In fact, none of the MAC games fit the bill.
This was a completely forgettable week in conference play. Two teams expected to compete for the East are out of it. BUGS and Toledump could have both lost or both won or one lost while the other won and it wouldn't have meant a damn thing in the West. The BUGS/Toledump winner goes the the MACC and the MCB. The loser stays home.
GOOOOOOOOOOO BUGS!!!!!