CSNbbs

In addition to adding Temple but no #14, look at EMU what is doing.

EMU was scheduled to open at UofM on Sept 1 and go to Idaho Sept 8.

So what happens:

EMU and UofM move their game to Oct 6 - an open date (I don't think UofM wanted to open with an 1 - 11 team),

EMU now schedules to go to Pitt on Sept 1 replacing UofM.

EMU cancels their game with Idaho and apparently pays 250K.

EMU now has a possible home game (MAC) on Sept 8 (last year's schedule was awful - I believe 3 straight road games to start the season) or Sept 15 depending on the MAC.

Other OOC games will be @Vandy Sept 29 and Northwestern Oct 20 at Ford Field.

PRESUMABLY NONE of this had to do with Temple.

Playing the 1st game at UofM and getting beat badly, then a costly flight to Idaho and if there was a loss then... the season is off to a terrible start.

At least now, Eastern will have MAC games Sept 8, 15 and 22 and presumably one or two will be at home.

The idea, I believe, is NOT to play a bunch of BCS schools on the road in September and have the season down the toilet.

Who wants to start the season off with 3 or 4 OOC losses???? (some schools are scheduling multiple BCS bowl teams

It is taking a LOT OF DOING but getting these 12 games schedules done and balanced is a chore.

Toledo has September 8th and September 29th open for conference games.

9/01 vs Purdue
9/15 at Kansas
9/22 vs Iowa State
10/06 vs Liberty


Perhaps UT will play EMU on September 8th. We are scheduled to play at the Glass Bowl this year.

Or EMU could play CMU which also has an open date Sept 8.

Or perhaps more likely, Ball State. Ball State wants to open 9/1 in their remodeled stadium so they likely would be on the road 9/8 (they have no OOC games scheduled those two weeks). I believe EMU opened at BSU last year.

I think playing these 'rivalry' games in Sept is a good thing - excitement is high and it before a lot of the OOC losses pile up.

Better then EMU playing CMU in November!!

I'd love to see EMU play @Pitt, home to BSU (my speculation), two more MAC games, then @Vandy and @UofM, MAC and then Northwestern at Ford Field.

This sounds manageable!

Quote:Who wants to start the season off with 3 or 4 OOC losses???? (some schools are scheduling multiple BCS bowl teams

NIU doesn't seem to mind starting off 1-3, apparently the :bcs: is worth it.

I remember years ago, the MAC (BT, etc.) played ALL of their OOC game before the conference season started.

AND there were only 3 OOC games!!

Typically each school would schedule down (for the MAC that meant I-AA schools - like E. IL, E. TN. E. KY, and W Ky. W Il, etc. and the rest of the alphabet soup).

The first game was AT HOME and vs. one of these I-AA teams.

That worked for the MAC. Most MAC teams started their conference schedule either 2 - 1 and 1 - 2.

No one started 0 - 4 and out scored 150 - 25!

A few MAC teams now are dead in the water by the 3rd week of the season. (okay a few are dead in the water in August lmfao ).

Few (except KSU, Ohio, etc. ) schedule I-AA instead opt mostly for the big money games OR the 2:1 or 3:1 deals with the big boys.

E.g., EMU has a money game vs. UofM. A 2:1 with Vandy and a 2:1 with Northwestern (with this year's game at Ford Field). Pitt was a convenient $ game to get out of the Idaho game.

I can't remember the last time EMU opened at home with a I-AA opponent.

emu steve Wrote:I can't remember the last time EMU opened at home with a I-AA opponent.

They lost to Eastern Illinois 31-28 in 2004 in the midst of a four-game losing streak that followed a season home-opener win against Buffalo.
A: 14,995

EMU opened the 2003 season with a 28-21 home win over E. Tenn. State. The Bucs took a 21-14 lead midway through third quarter. EMU held them scoreless the rest of the way and scored the go-ahead TD with about 7 minutes remaining.
A: 11.725

That was followed by a 34-12 home loss to Western Illinois.
A: 11,123

EMU's opened the 2002 season with two losses (Michigan State, Toledo) by a combined 121-20, then rebounded by a 35-32 win over SE Mizzou State.
A: 9,851

A 45-3 loss to Maryland followed, but EMU then responded with a 48-45 victory over Southern Illinois (attendance = 15,221).

I-AA accounted for 2 of 3 wins (Akron was the other).

but I didn't think that the last was in '04.