1. BUGS is completely out of the MAC West chase. They'd need NIU to lose twice and they'd have to beat Toledump. Now, that's not mathmatically impossible but it is highly unlikely given the fact that NIU plays EMU. So BUGS is out.
2. NIU and Toleduh both control their own destiny. If NIU beats the Rockettes, they win the West - regardless of the EMU results. If Toledump wins out, they win the West - regardless of any other results. The smart money says the NIU will manage to find some way to choke.
3. Can Kent possibly get any worse? Cribbs seriously needs to consider transfering to a school that a) won't be playing I-AA ball anytime soon and B) would allow him to showcase his talents with a decent supporting cast.
4. Is WMU really almost as bad as EMU or has the entire team just given up ala Ohio last year? Regardless, beating EMU by less than a field goal shouldn't count as a "W." Maybe a "W" with an asterisk.
5. Whoda thunk the MAC East race could come down to the Marshall/Ohio game? Assuming the Herd beats the Redskins in Huntington, the MAC East will be determined by the winner of the Herd/Bobkitties game. (Notice I'm not terribly concerned about thumping Testicle Tech in Huntington). I can just imagine the national excitement generated by an Ohio/NIU MACC. Wow. TV sets all over the nation will be tuned to just about anything else. (Of course, an Ohio/anybody matchup isn't going to generate much excitement outside of Athens and the other location).
6. I just got my first set of bifocals and this well and truly sucks.
7. NIU appeared to have a decent crowd for the BUGS game. Will they sell out the Toledo game or have the Husky alumni fulfilled their moral obligation of attending one game each year?
8. Buffalo, Akron and Kent won't make the 15,000 average home attendance requirement. EMU probably won't either. What two other teams that average over 15,000 at home do we bring in to keep having a MACC?
MAKO,
Re:
#2. I think NIU is hungry. They have improved and seem to be a well coached team. If they can stay focused when they play Toledo....who knows?
On the other hand...Toledo is the defending MAC Champ. They will also be hungry, as they want to hang onto the Title. Amstsutz has been there and will know how to get his guys ready.
#3. (See also #8) This is a terrible situation for Cribbs. He has tremendous talent and it seems his team is destined to battle it out for the I-AA Title. What a shame.
#4. Hard for me to believe WMU has slipped this far. I really figured these guys would be right in the thick of things. They lost at least 1 key defensive player for the year...and may have lost their spirit after an early loss.
#5. I am very excited about the Miami game. Either we win our 6th straight MAC East Crown, or the Redhawks take it away from us. Hope we have a large, boistrous crowd. Hopefully there won't be any injuries and we have a good game. I've also learned not to overlook ANYONE. Ball State could come in and ....well...who knows?
#6. Congratulations. I think.
Cribbs can't throw.
He's lost it somewhere.
He's thrown for more INT TD's than KSU TD's. Seriously.
Kent ain't goin nowhere. Attendance, schmendance. Mark my words.
(Well forget 'em if I'm wrong...)
Quote:Attendance, schmendance. Mark my words.
(Well forget 'em if I'm wrong...)
If you figure out a way to quit being wrong, care to pass along that little observation to me? But, I always operate on the premise that, if you're gonna be wrong, then you might as well be bad wrong.
<!--EDIT|MAKO|Nov 10 2002, 03:07 AM-->
I think if 8 teams in a conference meet the attendance requirements the others will be allowed to fall below. As long as Kent can go to the NCAA's in Basketball, just keep them around. :wave:
Nothing against NIU, but it's pretty hard to get excited tonight about seeing the MAC's undefeated and ranked team lose out to the Huskies. No doubt the Huskies have a very good team, but if they hang on to win the MAC West we'll have to endure a good dose of skepticsm about (the strength) of a IA conference that has a divisional winner that lost to a IAA team. Hard to explain away. :crying:
<!--EDIT|exCincy Kid|Nov 10 2002, 04:32 AM-->
MAKO Wrote:4. Is WMU really almost as bad as EMU or has the entire team just given up ala Ohio last year? Regardless, beating EMU by less than a field goal shouldn't count as a "W." Maybe a "W" with an asterisk.
Let's see. If I remember correctly, Eastern beat Akron. I think Akron beat Marshall last week? Hmmmmmm.
Although I would have prefered a blow out win over Eastern we'll take the win. Eastern is a scrappy team and will surprise some people in years to come. The Broncos could have easily beaten NIU and BG. We'll be back next year if we can find a quarterback to direct this team.
For a team with a first year starting QB and after losing our best offensive player and two-time running first team all-MAC player and one guy on our media guide, I think the early season shakiness was to be expected. But this NIU team is just finding a way to win, and Michael Turner is showing himself to be the best back in the MAC....or at least the second best behind the guy he replaced.
Marshall fans - I got your choke right here....let's see how you do with a very gimpy Leftwich against a hungry Miami.
Hey Mako - When are you going to hang up your comments about NIU choking. The only team I've seen truly choke in MAC play this year is Marshall. Your comment about smart money and NIU choking is dead wrong. Assuming you actually bet with money, and not your mouth, you would notice the Huskies have covered or pushed on all but one game this year. For what its worth - Byron is a stud and I hope the Bears draft him. You guys have a tremendous football program and I wish you and your team all the best, unless we get to play you in Huntington on December 7th.
Quote:If you figure out a way to quit being wrong, care to pass along that little observation to me?
No probs, Mako.
You've got to stop believing the NCAA is actually going to do what it says it's going to do, when it says it is going to do it.
They are simply not going to start throwing out DIV I schools who have been div I for many decades based on a relatively artificial attendance number. This won't happen the way you think it's going to happen for a lot of reasons.
First, it's never been etched in stone; they are "working on it." Their dates and numbers are all down the road far enough that leaves the door open for "adjustments"--nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
Two, can you say "class action lawsuit"? NCAA hates those because they always lose them.
Three, it's a stupid idea, based soley on money, not competitive balance, and while that usually drives the train, there are some powerful U's and their prez's who will buck it effectively, IMO.
Four, the U's will get their numbers where they have to be by whatever means it takes to get the numbers there, even if they make them up, buy them etc. You won't believe this, but some schools actually don't follow the letter of the NCAA law! :eek: (Though, if you know of any personally, you are obligated to make a citizens arrest.
)
I repeat my opinion: Kent is not leaving the MAC in div. I football, and the MAC cannot afford to lose Kent because of what we add to the overall stregnth of the league in all sports. Add in the NCAA talking out of both sides of its mouth on almost every issue, I thnk people are getting carried away with the clear beauty of published attendance numbers, as if they really will mean something in 2-3-4 years. Way, way too early to start lopping teams off.
:wave:
The thing is...the MAC West always was interesting...it's just that MAKO didn't know it yet.
Hey EMU...you're up this week.
:wave:
Rabid, I'll quit talking about NIU choking when they actually win the games they must win to take the West title. In the last couple of seasons, the only team in the West that has won the games they
absolutely must win has been Toledump. NIU has two West games left - EMU and the Rockettes. Now, EMU should be a walkover but it is rather irrelevant. You can lose to EMU or beat them and it doesn't make a bit of difference to the Huskies. If you beat Toledo, you lock up the title. You might still win the West even if you lost to Toledo and beat EMU but then you'd need some help from BG.
You can say that the Herd choked against Akron and yes, I'll admit that our play in that game was abysmal. But, Marshall has won the East every single year since we reentered the MAC not by necessarily being the best team (how's that for a shocking admission) (the 2000 season comes to mind) but by
ALWAYS winning the "must win" games. NIU OTOH, has consistently managed to be the bridesmaid by losing to the team that eventually wins the West.
I'm not saying that NIU doesn't have a good team. Obviously, they do. However, any team that can gag itself against I-AA opposition has the opportunity to gag itself against a good conference foe.
Quite frankly, I'm torn on this one. I find it absolutely impossible to root for Toledo but I would relish the opportunity to drop the smack down on them in Huntington. But, what the hell. GOOOOOOO Huskies.
BTW, while I'll put up friendly wagers with the best of them, I'm a pansy when it comes to gambling. As I've said many times before, if I could predict the future, I wouldn't be working for a living.
MAKO Wrote:Quite frankly, I'm torn on this one. I find it absolutely impossible to root for Toledo but I would relish the opportunity to drop the smack down on them in Huntington. But, what the hell. GOOOOOOO Huskies.
You know you would rather see NIU win because you are afraid of the Rockets offense. It won't matter anyway because Miami will host the MAC Championship game this year.
Re: WMU...
MAKO, I think the Bronco team, while hasn't fully collapsed, deflated enough after the UCF, BGSU, and NIU (and Purdue) close-calls where we never really recovered. If the offense rolls, the defense looks flat and unmotivated. If the defense rolls, the offense looks flat and unmotivated. We just can't fire on all cylinders at all. This team is more than capable of scoring more than 7 points on Ball State, and more than capable of not blowing a 24-0 lead on EMU. But I think your analogy to last year's Ohio team is pretty much on the mark. High hopes dashed by an early string of pivotal close-but-no-cigar games.
BroncoMD, I still personally believe Munson is the guy for 2003. I'm crossing my fingers that after having some more experience reading defenses, he may come out smoking next year. And maybe I'm just grasping for some positivity, but someone on the Bronco board mentioned that a lot of mistakes have been committed by seniors lately, while many underclassmen have done well. If that is indeed true, that's a good sign. And as far as Darnell, I'm still a supporter... but I'd better not see that high number of JUCO recruits again next signing day. Secondly, this habit of blowing 2+ TD leads must stop. If this continues, then it may be time to re-consider his golden status as WMU HC.
BTW, USA Today mentioned that we are among the 4 best MAC basketball teams this year, so maybe there will be something to cheer about soon. :rolleyes:
DeKalb State is going to destroy Toledo. Write it down.
RochesterFalcon Wrote:DeKalb State is going to destroy Toledo. Write it down.
:snore:
No matter what happens in that game, you still won't be going to the MAC Championship game. How does it feel?
I know all to well how it feels to be 8-0 and ranked, and then lose. BG is good, but I thought it was kind of funny that they haven't beat a team with a winning record all year.
It is very difficult for any team to go undefeated for an entire season, regardless of the competition. BG may regroup and bounce back (I certainly hope they take out USF) or they may tank like the 1997 Rockets who started 8-0 (nationally ranked) and then finished 1-3.
As to the MAC west, NIU is definitely in the driver's seat: they have Toledo at home, have overcome difficulties and are currently playing some of their best ball of the season. Still, despite RF's bold "DeKalb State" prediction (borne out of disappointment and frustration?) the MAC West is still a two horse race (I don't see NIU losing to Eastern which would let BG back in). For the first time all year, Toledo's young defense played a consistently good game last night (at least until the starters were pulled), so this may not be over yet. I feel that Toledo's offense can move the ball against anyone---the question is can they score from the red zone? Assuming Toledo gets past Western next week, the following week should be total war.
T-Town Wrote:(I don't see NIU losing to Eastern which would let BG back in).
There was a game a couple years ago NIU had at EMU that we didn't see losing GOING INTO THE FOURTH QUARTER and EMU pulled it out.
Can't take a thing for granted. One step at a time. I can't think of a third cliche.