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<a href='http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2005/12/02/sports/sports02.txt' target='_blank'>Sportswriter complaining about Rockets getting GMAC bowl bid over NIU</a>

way to single out the players by this "reporter". I think he just owns stock in the Kleenex corp.

This is NOT precedent. GMAC took BG last year before the MACC. There is no contratual obligation to take the "other team" in the MACC.

It does suck to be a good team sitting at home, but it's happened to EVERY team in the MAC at some point. Akron was the ONLY bowl-eligible team (not counting South Carolina/Clemson) in Division I-A to stay home last year. THAT is a bigger slap in the face than this.


And, how do you have a player run for 270 yards an LOSE? That one still baffles me.

rteynor Wrote:This is NOT precedent. GMAC took BG last year before the MACC. There is no contratual obligation to take the "other team" in the MACC.

It does suck to be a good team sitting at home, but it's happened to EVERY team in the MAC at some point. Akron was the ONLY bowl-eligible team (not counting South Carolina/Clemson) in Division I-A to stay home last year. THAT is a bigger slap in the face than this.


And, how do you have a player run for 270 yards an LOSE? That one still baffles me.

Have the other team pass for over 400 yds.

Boca Rocket Wrote:

rteynor Wrote:This is NOT precedent.&nbsp; GMAC took BG last year before the MACC.&nbsp; There is no contratual obligation to take the "other team" in the MACC.

It does suck to be a good team sitting at home, but it's happened to EVERY team in the MAC at some point.&nbsp; Akron was the ONLY bowl-eligible team (not counting South Carolina/Clemson) in Division I-A to stay home last year.&nbsp; THAT is a bigger slap in the face than this.


And, how do you have a player run for 270 yards an LOSE?&nbsp; That one still baffles me.

Have the other team pass for over 400 yds.

when your defense allows the Akron offense to drive deep in their own territory consistently, they had to score eventually.

I'll admit, i was pissed that GMAC gave Toledo the bid this year, but that is life in college football. Good Luck Rockets, whoop on your opponent

rteynor Wrote:This is NOT precedent. GMAC took BG last year before the MACC. There is no contratual obligation to take the "other team" in the MACC.

It does suck to be a good team sitting at home, but it's happened to EVERY team in the MAC at some point. Akron was the ONLY bowl-eligible team (not counting South Carolina/Clemson) in Division I-A to stay home last year. THAT is a bigger slap in the face than this.

Very well written post!

I've got to believe the GMAC is relieved about taking Toledo after NIU's lost to Akron.NIU had two losses to Akron and a home loss to Ball State(4-7).Akron had losses to Army 20-0,a blowout to Miami O 51-23.,a loss to Ball State 23-17 and CMU 31-17. Had Omar played against Akron in the BGSU game the Zips would have gone down and not been in the MACC.For anybody to claim that Akron was the #1 or #2 team in the MACC for the course of the season would be absurd.Akron seemed to gel at the tail-end of the season with solid wins against Kent and OU
and carried that into the MACC.Akron really played with alot of heart and deserves the MACC title.Again props to the Zips.

I don't have much of a problem with the article. If the situation was reversed with NIU bowling and Toledo at home, we'd be pissed too.


Does NIU deserve a bowl? Probably, but this loss almost guarantees they will not get one. I feel bad, but NIU is our rival in the West, and I love it when our rivals stay home and we bowling. Call it classless but its just the beauty of a strong rivalry.

msopher Wrote:I don't have much of a problem with the article. If the situation was reversed with NIU bowling and Toledo at home, we'd be pissed too.


Does NIU deserve a bowl? Probably, but this loss almost guarantees they will not get one. I feel bad, but NIU is our rival in the West, and I love it when our rivals stay home and we bowling. Call it classless but its just the beauty of a strong rivalry.

nothing classless about you guys being happy about us staying at home. if it were the other way, i too would be happy. so, in the spirit of *rivalry* lets see gradkowski end his career with a whimper!

msopher Wrote:I don't have much of a problem with the article. If the situation was reversed with NIU bowling and Toledo at home, we'd be pissed too.


Does NIU deserve a bowl? Probably, but this loss almost guarantees they will not get one. I feel bad, but NIU is our rival in the West, and I love it when our rivals stay home and we bowling. Call it classless but its just the beauty of a strong rivalry.

This whole thing feels almost like a sequel to the Toledo/Marshall rivalry.......without the dirty cheating program.

It's healthy for a program to have heated rivalries on and off the field. If nobody roots against us, we must not be performing well enough to matter.

Boca Rocket Wrote:I've got to believe the GMAC is relieved about taking Toledo after NIU's lost to Akron.NIU had two losses to Akron and a home loss to Ball State(4-7).Akron had losses to Army 20-0,a blowout to Miami O 51-23.,a loss to Ball State 23-17 and CMU 31-17. Had Omar played against Akron in the BGSU game the Zips would have gone down and not been in the MACC.For anybody to claim that Akron was the #1 or #2 team in the MACC for the course of the season would be absurd.Akron seemed to gel at the tail-end of the season with solid wins against Kent and OU
and carried that into the MACC.Akron really played with alot of heart and deserves the MACC title.Again props to the Zips.

The only thing that matters is where you stand at the end of the season. Every team in the Conference including us got beat by teams that were less talented this season. No one knows who would have won the game if Omar was playing or not. Akron was the only team in the MAC who made big plays in all of their must win games. This was a balanced conference this year and when you have such a balanced league you need luck, good coaching, and talent.
Akron is not a little push over team anymore. The school has pumped tons of money into their athletic programs in the last few (specifically their indoor practice facility) years and it’s paying off.

The two teams who deserve bowl bids in the MAC got them this year.

msopher Wrote:I don't have much of a problem with the article.&nbsp; If the situation was reversed with NIU bowling and Toledo at home, we'd be pissed too.


Does NIU deserve a bowl?&nbsp; Probably, but this loss almost guarantees they will not get one.&nbsp; I feel bad, but NIU is our rival in the West, and I love it when our rivals stay home and we bowling.&nbsp; Call it classless but its just the beauty of a strong rivalry.

Miffed at the system for sure, but I don't understand the animosity (that's a big word that means anger, g-force) aimed toward our little hometown team. What should we do-turn down a bowl game? We're not Notre Dame.

rteynor Wrote:

msopher Wrote:I don't have much of a problem with the article.&nbsp; If the situation was reversed with NIU bowling and Toledo at home, we'd be pissed too.


Does NIU deserve a bowl?&nbsp; Probably, but this loss almost guarantees they will not get one.&nbsp; I feel bad, but NIU is our rival in the West, and I love it when our rivals stay home and we bowling.&nbsp; Call it classless but its just the beauty of a strong rivalry.

This whole thing feels almost like a sequel to the Toledo/Marshall rivalry.......without the dirty cheating program.

It's healthy for a program to have heated rivalries on and off the field. If nobody roots against us, we must not be performing well enough to matter.

What I see happening with the budding NUI Toledo rivalry is that this will be a rivalry like the Toledo BG one. In that both programs respect each other and that most fans respect the other program. To me this will not be like the Marshall Toledo one where it was a pure hatred of that school in West Virginia because they were loud month pricks and would come at laugh at us like they did in 2000 when we did not get a bowl birth and everyone in the MAC was feeling that it was a grave injustice.

GlassBowl9 Wrote:

Boca Rocket Wrote:I've got to believe the GMAC is relieved about taking Toledo after NIU's lost to Akron.NIU had two losses to Akron and a home loss to Ball State(4-7).Akron had losses to Army 20-0,a blowout to Miami O 51-23.,a loss to Ball State 23-17 and CMU 31-17. Had Omar played against Akron in the BGSU game the Zips would have gone down and not been in the MACC.For anybody to claim that Akron was the #1 or #2 team in the MACC for the course of the season would be absurd.Akron seemed to gel at the tail-end of the season with solid wins against Kent and OU
and carried that into the MACC.Akron really played with alot of heart and deserves the MACC title.Again props to the Zips.

The only thing that matters is where you stand at the end of the season. Every team in the Conference including us got beat by teams that were less talented this season. No one knows who would have won the game if Omar was playing or not. Akron was the only team in the MAC who made big plays in all of their must win games. This was a balanced conference this year and when you have such a balanced league you need luck, good coaching, and talent.
Akron is not a little push over team anymore. The school has pumped tons of money into their athletic programs in the last few (specifically their indoor practice facility) years and it’s paying off.

The two teams who deserve bowl bids in the MAC got them this year.

Akron is a good example of a team who was bad for many years, took their licks, and kept their head up. They got a good coach and did not give up. Their success is well deserved. Other teams, like Buffalo and Temple (future MAC powder-puff) should take notes on how to turn a "whipping boy" team into a team that won a championship.

One other thing, there is one simple fact in college football that transcends conference affiliation: the current bowl system is UNFAIR. How many times at the end of the season are there polls asking about a playoff, after multiple undeafeated teams exist and someone is left out of the BCS Championship game. Or a team is "calculated" out of the BCS Championship game by a computer.

Yes, UT was left out of a bowl when we were 10-1 and that was a travesty, but those were the cards that we were dealt that year - one MAC bowl. Now there are two and that is not enough b/c of the new parity in the league. We are a "mid-major" conference, we do not have a BCS tie-in, our bowls are never going to net $10million, unless we pull a rabbit out of a hat and score an at-large once in lifetime BCS bowl. People can complain until the cows come home, but this is the situation today. Chryst shifted the paradigm from one bowl to two bowls. Here's hoping a new shift will bring the MAC to three bowls in the future. I feel for NIU, but I am not going to give my right arm or our GMAC bid to them.

rteynor Wrote:This is NOT precedent. GMAC took BG last year before the MACC. There is no contratual obligation to take the "other team" in the MACC.

It does suck to be a good team sitting at home, but it's happened to EVERY team in the MAC at some point. Akron was the ONLY bowl-eligible team (not counting South Carolina/Clemson) in Division I-A to stay home last year. THAT is a bigger slap in the face than this.


And, how do you have a player run for 270 yards an LOSE? That one still baffles me.

For the record - the SVFC and Independence Bowl were each signed on with the MAC before the GMAC put out an official bid. We knew we had at least a third bid last year when BG was selected.

H2Oville Rocket Wrote:

msopher Wrote:I don't have much of a problem with the article.  If the situation was reversed with NIU bowling and Toledo at home, we'd be pissed too.


Does NIU deserve a bowl?  Probably, but this loss almost guarantees they will not get one.  I feel bad, but NIU is our rival in the West, and I love it when our rivals stay home and we bowling.  Call it classless but its just the beauty of a strong rivalry.

Miffed at the system for sure, but I don't understand the animosity (that's a big word that means anger, g-force) aimed toward our little hometown team. What should we do-turn down a bowl game? We're not Notre Dame.

I don't see where he's railing on Toledo. He is railing on the GMAC officials.

You have to look at the turnout of the MACC game. The stands were pretty bare. Bowls want to take the teams that will bring more people to the games. That is college football life.

chicagorocketguard63 Wrote:You have to look at the turnout of the MACC game. The stands were pretty bare. Bowls want to take the teams that will bring more people to the games. That is college football life.

So are they using Toledo fans' turnout at a game in their backyard and comparing it to turnout by NIU fans at a game on a Thursday that's 5 hours away? If so, that's screwed up. And it's not based on home attendance.

chicagorocketguard63 Wrote:You have to look at the turnout of the MACC game. The stands were pretty bare. Bowls want to take the teams that will bring more people to the games. That is college football life.

Loved the student turnout for the NIU/Toledo game. Toledo fans obviously had other obligations.

They were saving their energy for the <span style='color:blue'><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>BOWL GAME THAT WE ARE GOING TO!!!!</span></span>