Clearly, Akron winning the championship will have an impact on the MAC. But what is the impact? How important is it?
1-It may ease the fears of some observers about attendance at the Motor City Bowl. I think attendance exceeded the expectations of most of us. Once again, the Motor City Bowl attendance will be among the best of the non-BCS bowls. And this may increase support for a 3rd MAC Bowl, the Toronto Bowl.
2-It will add a 5th team to the top ranks of the MAC. From what I can tell, Akron is off to a strong start in recruiting. And I believe that Miami, Northern Illinois, Toledo, and Bowling Green are also off to good starts. It may be that some other MAC teams are also doing well.
3-It will give hope to other MAC teams whose success over the past years has not been good. You can bet that coaches and ADs are using this in talking to recruits, boosters, and administrators.
4-And here's what could be most important. Akron's success may take some steam out of the argument against eliminating some "bottom feeders" from the MAC. Further, this year we saw not only Akron's success but improvement from some other teams that might foretell good things in the near future, e.g., Western Michigan, Ohio, and Central Michigan.
One thing is certain-- Akron's unexpected success will have an impact on the MAC. I'm just not sure how broad or significant the impact will be.
I completely agree with the mosaic that you described.
I'd like to add that Temple might be part of that mosaic. (they put together an excellent staff and have exc. infrastructure things).
I'm watching a political show with predictions and I'm saying in '08 (no political predictions here), we could see Akron, Ohio and Temple looking like top MAC teams and who would have thought that say 15 months ago. (however, if J.D. gets a big time offer all bets are off).
If there was a MAC FB story in '05 it was that parity finally hit MAC FB and that is good.
Shane is living off of Hoep's work. We'll see if you can maintain it or if Mia (and he) will be surpassed by some stars in the East like Solich, J.D. and I think Golden at Temple.
Should add BG as a school which could go downward.
I would like to believe the Zips will continue to be a force in the MAC from now on, which helps to keep the bar raised for everyone else. I think we have now helped to elevate the facilities, recruiting and coaching standards which will determine success in the conference. A MACC and on-campus stadium can only boost attendance which is also needed for the MAC to grow. NIU, Miami, Toledo & BG have got to be p.o.'ed that Akron beat them out this year and will be gunning for us in '06, and all the other schools can look to us as an example of what is possible, given enough time & investment.
Your word of the day: REPEAT !
I don't wanna get too cocky about next year. I think we are in good shape but you never know what is gonna happen in this sport. I will say this, we have put the MAC on notice. The top of the MAC has to notice that a bottom feeder CAN dig itself out of oblivion and the bottom HAS to notice that it can be done. If nothing else I think it will take away from some teams perceptions of a gimme game vs. the bottom feeders. You just never know when one of them is gonna make a run up the ladder.
GO ZIPS!
From a Flash fan perspective, we are hoping that it kicks the arse of our athletic dept, alumni, and admin into taking football seriously because they got lapped BADLY! It makes me sick to see the zippies successful at anything, but if the Kent community finally wakes up because if it, then so be it...
Quote:NIU, Miami, Toledo & BG have got to be p.o.'ed that Akron beat them out this year and will be gunning for us in '06, and all the other schools can look to us as an example of what is possible, given enough time & investment.
I'm not. I'm glad Akron won the MAC and is leaning towards being a top tier conference team. With BG slowly moving downhill, we'll need another East team to step up.
msopher Wrote:Quote:NIU, Miami, Toledo & BG have got to be p.o.'ed that Akron beat them out this year and will be gunning for us in '06, and all the other schools can look to us as an example of what is possible, given enough time & investment.
I'm not. I'm glad Akron won the MAC and is leaning towards being a top tier conference team. With BG slowly moving downhill, we'll need another East team to step up.
BG "moving slowly downhill"? Are you basing this on one 6-5 season in which their two most important offensive players were injured? Prior to last year BG went 9-3, 11-3, 9-3, and 8-3. Is that downhill? Or, do you pretend to know that BG won't do well next year and in the years that follow?
I seem to recall Miami clubbing Akron 51-23?
I also think Coach Montegomery will do just fine. We knew it would take a bit to get in under his leadership, and we might slip a little more next year, but you should know from experience... Miami never falls too far. Miami's average season is 7-4, over 120(or so) years of playing football.
Also, who has the most MAC Championships?
So, I must say, Miami will be back in force.
6 - 5 which might be a fluke, but IF Omar goes NFL another 6-5 season is very possible.
I'm not 100% convinced that BG, Mia, etc. have a lock at the top of the MAC East.
Yes, Akron will not sneak up on anyone in '06.
By '08 it could be BG, Mia, Ohio, or Akron. Temple could be a wild card.
I'm anxious to see if Turner Gill can turn UB around (if he can't, who can?).
KSU, to me, is the only East school which seems to have done nothing to set the stage for a resurgance. Akron, Ohio, Temple and UB have made bold coaching moves in the last couple years.
emu steve Wrote:6 - 5 which might be a fluke, but IF Omar goes NFL another 6-5 season is very possible.
I'm not 100% convinced that BG, Mia, etc. have a lock at the top of the MAC East.
Yes, Akron will not sneak up on anyone in '06.
By '08 it could be BG, Mia, Ohio, or Akron. Temple could be a wild card.
I'm anxious to see if Turner Gill can turn UB around (if he can't, who can?).
KSU, to me, is the only East school which seems to have done nothing to set the stage for a resurgance. Akron, Ohio, Temple and UB have made bold coaching moves in the last couple years.
I think Akron will be better in the future, but who knows if they would have even made the MACC if Omar wasn't injured? BG with Omar could probably score more than 24 pts against that Akron defense.
Frankly, I love it that Akron won the MAC. I've already used it to as the KSU athletics administration if Akron can do it, for pity sake, why can't we. Akron?
Finally, Doug Martin deserves a chance at KSU. Too soon to count him out, as the 69-17 drubbing of the Eagles in his first year should prove to EMU fans.
Akron wasn't a bottom feeder the past few years. They had winning records in the previous two seasons. They took the next step this year, but they were not in the same position that Ohio, Kent, and Buffalo have been. Akron was like the 5th best MAC program the prior two years. They didn't have that big a mountain to climb. Yes, BGSU could slide more. They weren't great with Jacobs and bad without him. Without a bowl trip, BG won't have that as a recruiting edge over Toledo and Akron. They don't have the best mac stadium either. They must play at Akron and Ohio next year. Add in Toledo,Miami and a couple of tough cross over games against a stronger west division and you have a makings of another mediocre season for BG. Yes 5-6 or 4-7 is possible for BGSU next year. Not saying they won't go 8-3 or 7-4 but they have downside potential next season.
I think that whether Omar returns or not next year, the Falcons will have a losing record. Their defense isn't good, so it doesn't matter who they lose there. On offense, they lose their two best WRs and two best RBs. I also heard that the new up-and-coming WR Corey Partridge will not be at BG next year. They do appear to be having a better recruiting season than Akron so far, but I'm not sure if Brandon will know what to do with it. As far as the MAC East goes, I'll say that it will probably look like this at the end of the season:
1. Miami
2. Ohio
3. Akron
4. BG
5. Buffalo
6. Kent State
I'm not sure whether Temple will be in the MAC next year, though I believe I remember that they will be, but I'd place them after Buffalo.
Miami's staff has yet to prove anything but that they can choke the life out of a juggernaut. Their recruiting class last year was in the bottom half of the MAC and their attendance still is miles away from Toledo's or Western Michigan's. A new QB at the helm will not help matters much either so picking them #1 is based on past reputation and not looking at fact.
There is no way that OHIO rises to the #2 spot in the East. What is this based on? I am sure that the pathetic way that they closed the 2005 season, their has-been coach getting tanked and arrested, plus having no talent in the cubbard will not lend itself to any great rise in 2006. Ohio had a mediocre recruiting class in 2005 and will not fare much better within the MAC overall, much less the East schools this recruiting season. The Solich hire is proving to be a real joke, so much so that the man blows twice the legal limit and drives drunk the wrong way up a one-way street. "Oh God, we suck, I live in Athens and my career is over - pour me another bar keep!". That is really too sad to joke about because it is so pathetically true.
Akron has everyone back save for Biggs who was a major player for them.
Some will see Hixon as a major loss but aside from one play in the MAC title game he was neutralized the last half of the season. The Zips return the league's best defense and have some big time transfers, ala Nathaniel Robinson coming in eligible for 2006 who will be impact players. Getsy is a capble QB who needs some more targets at WR. With Miami and BG playing at Akron the road to the MAC East will GULP go through the Rubber Bowl? Sad to say it but this is true. Until someone beats the Zippies they are the champs. I hate these terds but they have built their program the right way with facilities and coaches. I wish my alma mater would wake up and do the same.
If Jacobs goes to the NFL BG is dead in the water. The backup QB could not put it in the paint when Omar was injured this season and the talent pool is dwindling after last year's below par recruiting group. The BG defense needs some serious work as they routinely gave up big point totals all season long. You cannot win the MAC without a good defense and the Falcon defenders are pretty subpar, even by MAC standards.
Buffalo is a total joke, hired a joke coach, who was nothing more than a chag-ching based on his playing rep. Gill could hardly find a decent job in 05 and was not even a coordinator, has never recruited NY state, and inherits a terd. I see bagels in the win column for 06 and 07.
Finally my beloved Flashes, I see improvement on the horizon. Our running game cannot be any worse and the defense still has the heart of the group that was best in the MAC in 2004. Aside from the Old Testament injury bug that struck us into a 1-10 2005 I would have been shocked to see this happen. That being said I think that wins over Ohio at home and Buffalo on the road are good bets and that if the game is played early we have a chance in our rival game vs. Akron. Machen will not be the QB in 06 and that is a good thing.
Here is my rundown...
1. Akron (Arrgghh)
T-2. BG/Miami
4. Kent State
5. Ohio
6. Buffalo
Santa Fe Falcon Wrote:4-And here's what could be most important. Akron's success may take some steam out of the argument against eliminating some "bottom feeders" from the MAC. Further, this year we saw not only Akron's success but improvement from some other teams that might foretell good things in the near future, e.g., Western Michigan, Ohio, and Central Michigan.
I don't know about this idea.
Obviously, you are going to need at least 8 schools to run a Division 1-A league so when you are talking about throwing out the bottom feeders at most its the bottom 4 or 5 schools.
The MAC has more of a "middle class" now with CMU, WMU, and Akron stepping up.
Buffalo, Kent, EMU, and Temple are still dragging the conference down so this arguement is far from finished.
Flashy Wrote:There is no way that OHIO rises to the #2 spot in the East. What is this based on? I am sure that the pathetic way that they closed the 2005 season, their has-been coach getting tanked and arrested, plus having no talent in the cubbard will not lend itself to any great rise in 2006. Ohio had a mediocre recruiting class in 2005 and will not fare much better within the MAC overall, much less the East schools this recruiting season.
Ohio has a lot of returning talent for next season. The top 2 QB's return, all of the receivers, leading rushers.....and we have a lot more depth up front as Solich has made it a priority. We have Kalvin McRae our 1,000 yard back returning....he could of had 1,500 yards with more carries early in the season.
The 2005 recruiting class was decent for the Bobcats, and this one looks even better as we already have 10 verbals lined up. Not just 10 cornerbacks and safetys......its big defensive ends and huge lineman.
Then you have another year in the Solich conditioning program and it adds up to some promise for 2006.
Solich has to grab a big MAC win or two next year though if he wants to keep the momentum against him. If he continues to lose opponents will start to use his record against him in recruiting.
emu steve Wrote:6 - 5 which might be a fluke, but IF Omar goes NFL another 6-5 season is very possible.
I'm not 100% convinced that BG, Mia, etc. have a lock at the top of the MAC East.
Its a stupid notion.
BG is losing a lot more than just Jacobs for next season. Also, if you look at BG's recruiting besides a few players it has been in the lower half of the MAC.
Miami though is having a very good class this year, and has a natural advantage over a lot of MAC shools because the Cinncy-Dayton area where they are close to has a lot of good talent. This is an advantage over what BG, Toledo, and OU have to work with.
Akron is in the best spot with all the local talent of NE Ohio.....then they are the closest MAC school to Western PA. If they could just get an on campus stadium, then UA would be a 15,000+ a game type program at the gate. They already are doing better than 10k with a crappy off site stadium. Taking 10,000 to the MCB shows potential for Akron to draw.
ZippyRulz Wrote:Your word of the day: REPEAT !
I will admit I never thought I would see the day the Akron and Repeat would make sense.
It takes years of success to develop a strong program. Toledo, Miami, and Bowling Green over the years have been the most successful.
You do have some one hit wonders from the MAC, Ball State in 96, CMU in 94 (?) etc. I hope Akron stays competitive b/c it will help the MAC as a whole, but we will see. I would love to see a Akron vs Toledo MACC game!