Here are some MAC predictions from different sources.
Collegefootballnews.com
MAC EAST
1. UCF
2. Miami
3. Marshall
4. Akron
5. Ohio
6. Kent State
7. Buffalo
MAC WEST
1. BGSU
2. NIU
3. Toledo
4. Ball State
5. WMU
6. CMU
7. EMU
MACC: Bowling Green over UCF
Best Offensive Player: Josh Harris, QB BGSU
Best Defensive Player: Jason Babin, DL WMU
Street & Smith
MAC EAST
1. Miami
2. Marshall
3. Akron
4. UCF
5. Ohio
6. Buffalo
7. Kent State
MAC WEST
1. NIU
2. Toledo
3. WMU
4. BGSU
5. CMU
6. Ball State
7. EMU
MACC: NIU over Miami
Phil Steele
MAC EAST
1. UCF
2. Miami
3. Marshall
MAC WEST
1. NIU
2. Toledo
3. WMU
4. BGSU
They list Ben Roethlisberger as the 3rd best QB in the nation. I couldn't find any more info from Phil Steele.
Athlon Sports
MAC EAST
1. UCF
2. Miami
3. Marshall
4. Akron
5. Ohio
6. Kent State
7. Buffalo
MAC WEST
1. Toledo
2. NIU
3. WMU
4. BGSU
5. CMU
6. Ball State
7. EMU
UCF has best recruiting class.
Lindy's
MAC EAST
1. Marshall
2. UCF
3. Miami
4. Akron
5. Kent State
6. Ohio
7. Buffalo
MAC WEST
1. BGSU
2. Toledo
3. NIU
4. WMU
5. CMU
6. Ball State
7. EMU
Darius Watts/Marshall 7th best receiver in nation. Roethlisberger/7th best QB, Michael Turner/NIU 6th best RB, Babin/WMU 3rd best DL and Steve Azar/NIU 10th at kicker.
No unit in the MAC listed in top 10.
Marshall vs Illinois in the Dec 26th MCB.
UCF vs Southern Miss in the Dec 18th GMAC.
Sporting News
MAC EAST
1. Marshall
2. Miami
3. UCF
4. Akron
5. Kent State
6. Ohio
7. Buffalo
MAC WEST
1. NIU
2. BGSU
3. Toledo
4. Ball State
5. WMU
6. CMU
7. EMU
Predict Miami and NIU have the best chance to win the league if MUg falters.
Team on the rise: CMU
Team on the down slope: WMU
The most underrated player in the league: Jason Feldpausch of WMU. He was the WMU special teams MVP last year and was second on the team in tackles and interceptions.
The most overrated player in the league: Charlie Frye, QB Akron. In two seasons he has not elevated his team above mediocre status.
Best Coach: Bob Pruett/Marshall
Best Coaching Staff: NIU
Coach on the hot seat Jeff Woodruff at EMU picked last by every publication and owner of a 4-18 record in three seasons.
Marshall predicetd to return to the GMAC, while NIU predicted to head to the MCB.
Biggest shoes to fill:
Byron Leftwich/QB Marshall, Doug Gabriel and Jimmy Fryzel/receivers UCF and Tom Ward and David Gardner LB's Toledo.
2003 College Action-College and NFL Double Issue
MAC EAST
1. Marshall
2. UCF
3. Akron
4. Miami
5. Ohio
6. Kent State
7. Buffalo
MAC WEST
1. NIU
2. BGSU
3. Toledo
4. WMU
5. Ball State
6. CMU
7. EMU
Michael Turner/NIU 1st Team All-American **
Jason Babin/WMU 2nd Team All-American **
Very interesting...best UT does with any of them is 2nd...
Karl, Athlon has Toledo winning the West.
I noticed that, but even Nick thinks someone else wins the title. We actually get the lable of underdog this year!!! :D
Frye OVER RATED? okay...now I've heard it all :rolleyes:
look at how much the East predictions vary....I've seen both Miami and UCF go from 1st to as low as 4th in the East.
THERE.
[as I press enter to the hate mail I just distributed towards The Sporting News]
The Sporting News said that CMU is a team on the rise, yet they are picked for 6th in the West....even behind WMU who they pick as the team on the down slope. Does that really make sense?
RF - no, it doesn't - but does that really surprise you? Not me.
I'm still upset about this "most overrated player" thing....I mean....how about Ben Roethlisberger? He's supposedly the 3rd best QB in the nation, yet he cannot lead his team to a MAC East title.....I mean....gimmie a break
Or how about Joshua Cribbs? He's supposed to be an all-around athlete but his team isn't winning either.
Josh Harris hasn't led his team to a MACC....
It's just not fair is all I'm saying :crying:
rocketfootball Wrote:The Sporting News said that CMU is a team on the rise, yet they are picked for 6th in the West....even behind WMU who they pick as the team on the down slope. Does that really make sense?
I have no idea rf. Maybe those guys were looking at recruiting classes and into the future. No idea really. I was wondering the same thing.
Frye overrated???
thats gotta be a joke
Quote:The Sporting News said that CMU is a team on the rise, yet they are picked for 6th in the West....even behind WMU who they pick as the team on the down slope. Does that really make sense?
No, it doesn't make much sense. :rolleyes: However,
for the parts in bold. :D
I honestly cannot see BG or UCF finishing lower than 3rd in their respective divisions. In all seriousness, the top 3 in the East (MUr, MUg and UCF) and the top 3 in the West (NIU, BG and UT) are all interchangeable IMO...very little separates any of these 6.
And Charlie Frye is far from overrated....this kid is one of the MAC's best.
Predictions are great for a starting point and pre-season discussions...
Damn, will summer ever end????
AkronObsessed Wrote:mean....how about Ben Roethlisberger? He's supposedly the 3rd best QB in the nation, yet he cannot lead his team to a MAC East title.....I mean....gimmie a break
In Ben's first two seasons as QB at MIAMI, he has completely re-written the record books.
Now, as for MIAMI NOT making the MACC, you can thank the defense for that - it's been BAD the past couple of years. Exhibit A is the NIU loss from this past year.
Falconfreak90 Wrote:the top 3 in the West (NIU, BG and UT) are all interchangeable IMO...
No, No, No, Toledo is no good, we suck, we don't have a chance, please don't bother spending any time preparing for us!
I agree RF. There seems to be more parity among the top 3 teams of each division than I've seen since Marshall re-entered the MAC. The team that wins it's respective division will, in no particular order of importance:
1. Avoid injuries to key players. (See BG from last year. Flirted in the top 25, was crushing everyone, was probably playing the best ball in the conference, got a few folks injured, and finished weakly). (P.S. BG needs to update its web site. They've still got the link up for 2002 season tickets. Good luck selling them). (P.P.S. You can get chairbacks for $90??????? Wow. That is cheap folks. At Marshall chairbacks will cost you the season ticket price plus a minimum $300 donation to the Big Green per seat).
2. Catch a lucky break or two from either the ball or the officials. (See Marshall v. Miami) (Oops. Forgot. That wasn't a lucky break. Marshall bribed the officials). (Somebody else can think of a lucky break with the ball bouncing a team's way).
3. Maintain its composure in tight games. (See Marshall v. Miami again. Maimi just needs one first down to run out the clock and, instead, runs the ball 3 times up the middle. Marshall drives the field with a backup quarterback). (See also several Toledump games where they were down by significant margins and came back).
4. Believe with 100% certainty that they are going to win the games that count. (See Marshall and Toledump again. In the past few years, both have always managed to pull out the win when they absolutely had to. Nobody else has done so).
MAKO Wrote:I agree RF. There seems to be more parity among the top 3 teams of each division than I've seen since Marshall re-entered the MAC. The team that wins it's respective division will, in no particular order of importance:
1. Avoid injuries to key players. (See BG from last year. Flirted in the top 25, was crushing everyone, was probably playing the best ball in the conference, got a few folks injured, and finished weakly). (P.S. BG needs to update its web site. They've still got the link up for 2002 season tickets. Good luck selling them). (P.P.S. You can get chairbacks for $90??????? Wow. That is cheap folks. At Marshall chairbacks will cost you the season ticket price plus a minimum $300 donation to the Big Green per seat).
2. Catch a lucky break or two from either the ball or the officials. (See Marshall v. Miami) (Oops. Forgot. That wasn't a lucky break. Marshall bribed the officials). (Somebody else can think of a lucky break with the ball bouncing a team's way).
3. Maintain its composure in tight games. (See Marshall v. Miami again. Maimi just needs one first down to run out the clock and, instead, runs the ball 3 times up the middle. Marshall drives the field with a backup quarterback). (See also several Toledump games where they were down by significant margins and came back).
4. Believe with 100% certainty that they are going to win the games that count. (See Marshall and Toledump again. In the past few years, both have always managed to pull out the win when they absolutely had to. Nobody else has done so).
Mako,
So true...but a few folks injured is not really correct...going into the WMU game, we had 11 STARTERS out with injuries and had freshman all over the 2 deep.
But you're correct...staying healthy is so important.
And our web site is updated...it has 2003 Season Tix info at the top of the page.
Your post was right on...
UTLAW...oh no, I'm not forgetting about UT...the Rockettes proved that last yr!
But I agree you suck!
:D :D
Falconfreak90 Wrote:UTLAW...oh no, I'm not forgetting about UT...the Rockettes proved that last yr!
But I agree you suck! :D :D
No really, you guys have us at Doyt, there is nothing to be concerned with, you'll have no problem with us. :D
In a nutshell, here is how it breaks down this year.
MAC East
Realistic chances for a divisional and conference title: UCF, Miami & Marshall. Darkhorse = Akron. The other three schools have no chance and Buffalo may not win a conference game with cross over matches with NIU & Toledo and traveling to Kent St.
MAC West
Realistic chances for a divisional title and conference title is BG, NIU & Toledo. Dark horse is Western Michigan. CMU & Ball State should be improved but may not show much in the win column. EMU will need great strides not to finish on the bottom again.
So much depends on injuries and getting hot early, but the teams with the best shot at an overall MAC title are Toledo, UCF & Marshall. The next group would be NIU, Miami & BG. Finally, the outsiders with talent who could get hot are Akron & WMU.
That's a pretty quick & objective look at the 2003 season. A few of these publications are totally clueless. Also, consider when they were written - usually in March or early April. So much can change and true freshmen and props or redshirts becoming available are rarely taken into account. :wave:
MAKO Wrote:2. Catch a lucky break or two from either the ball or the officials. (See Marshall v. Miami) (Oops. Forgot. That wasn't a lucky break. Marshall bribed the officials). (Somebody else can think of a lucky break with the ball bouncing a team's way).
I thought of a lucky break or two. Like when Marshall coughed up the ball 10 times against Akron, or when cryon byron broke his wittle weg against the same team.
Were those the kinda breaks you were talking about MAKO??
I think he meant the "broken hearts" of the Rockette players. Watching them load up on their bus for that long ride back to Toledump after losing in the MACC was priceless. Akron did something they couldn't. :crying: