Date: December 2nd, 2016
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Site: Ford Field - Detroit Michigan
TV: ESPN2


Figured I'd get a thread started for tomorrow night's game. Ohio is currently 17-point underdogs according to Vegas odds. Western Michigan is on the verge of history, one win away from a perfect record and a likely trip to the Cotton Bowl. An Ohio win would spoil The Bronco's perfect season and bring a MAC Football Title back to Athens for the first time since 1968.

(12-01-2016 02:30 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Date: December 2nd, 2016
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Site: Ford Field - Detroit Michigan
TV: ESPN2

Ohio 8-4 (6-2 MAC)

#17 Western Michigan 12-0 (8-0 MAC)

Figured I'd get a thread started for tomorrow night's game. Ohio is currently 17-point underdogs according to Vegas odds. Western Michigan is on the verge of history, one win away from a perfect record and a likely trip to the Cotton Bowl. An Ohio win would spoil The Bronco's perfect season and bring a MAC Football Title back to Athens for the first time since 1968.

And take fifteen million dollars out of our pockets.

(12-01-2016 03:13 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  And take fifteen million dollars out of our pockets.

What are the odds the ref from the Buffalo-Ohio game a few years is working the game?

I might be wrong, but I believe this year's WMU team is much better/deeper than say the BSU team which got upset years ago on their march to fame.

As we all know, P.J. has been a master recruiter and has built a team with excellent players and depth. This is not a fluke season.

He had a really good team last year but it was hurt by a ridiculously difficult season with MSU, OSU, etc. (that was when MSU was really good. Lol).

I'm not expecting an upset. This isn't BSU/UB.

I thought the payout for the Access bowl was $4 million of which the participating team keeps half and the other half is split 13 ways (12 MAC schools + MAC office)? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: In which case the non WMU share would be ~150k

(12-01-2016 03:28 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  I thought the payout for the Access bowl was $4 million of which the participating team keeps half and the other half is split 13 ways (12 MAC schools + MAC office)? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: In which case the non WMU share would be ~150k

I talked with someone who would know.

The number I heard from him would be about 400K per school and WMU gets two shares (800K) + expenses.

I'm not sure how the rest of the money is shared with other G5 conferences, but I do know what MAC schools will get.

(12-01-2016 03:47 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-01-2016 03:28 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  I thought the payout for the Access bowl was $4 million of which the participating team keeps half and the other half is split 13 ways (12 MAC schools + MAC office)? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: In which case the non WMU share would be ~150k

I talked with someone who would know.

The number I heard from him would be about 400K per school and WMU gets two shares (800K) + expenses.

I'm not sure how the rest of the money is shared with other G5 conferences, but I do know what MAC schools will get.

Doesn't seem like very much when it has to be split 13 ways does it?

Pressure is on Western Michigan to deliver. Ohio needs to come into the game playing like they have nothing to lose. I'm not expecting an upset, but crazier things have happened. If Ohio's rushing defense can make Western a one-dimensional team, if they limit the damage done in the air courtesy of Terrell and Davis, if they force a turnover or two, I think Ohio can make this competitive. Granted, this all relies on Ohio finding their offense. I know.... a lot of ifs... But a guy can dream, right?

(12-01-2016 03:19 PM)OUVan Wrote:  What are the odds the ref from the Buffalo-Ohio game a few years is working the game?

Are you referring to the safety on OU after the QB tossed the ball away at the 4-yard line? Because that call was awful! If Ohio pulls off the upset courtesy of some garbage calls from the refs, Bobcat fans will never hear the end of it on this board.

(12-01-2016 03:59 PM)Warhawks222 Wrote:  

(12-01-2016 03:47 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-01-2016 03:28 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  I thought the payout for the Access bowl was $4 million of which the participating team keeps half and the other half is split 13 ways (12 MAC schools + MAC office)? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: In which case the non WMU share would be ~150k

I talked with someone who would know.

The number I heard from him would be about 400K per school and WMU gets two shares (800K) + expenses.

I'm not sure how the rest of the money is shared with other G5 conferences, but I do know what MAC schools will get.

Doesn't seem like very much when it has to be split 13 ways does it?

I should have pressed for details. This person said 15M, but these numbers do not come out to 15M for the MAC.

My elementary math would be say 5M+ to MAC schools (including WMU), a few million for expenses. The rest??? Does it go to other G5 conferences????

(12-01-2016 04:04 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-01-2016 03:59 PM)Warhawks222 Wrote:  

(12-01-2016 03:47 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-01-2016 03:28 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  I thought the payout for the Access bowl was $4 million of which the participating team keeps half and the other half is split 13 ways (12 MAC schools + MAC office)? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: In which case the non WMU share would be ~150k

I talked with someone who would know.

The number I heard from him would be about 400K per school and WMU gets two shares (800K) + expenses.

I'm not sure how the rest of the money is shared with other G5 conferences, but I do know what MAC schools will get.

Doesn't seem like very much when it has to be split 13 ways does it?

I should have pressed for details. This person said 15M, but these numbers do not come out to 15M for the MAC.

My elementary math would be say 5M+ to MAC schools (including WMU), a few million for expenses. The rest??? Does it go to other G5 conferences????

Teams get $4M for the Cotton Bowl of which I'm 60% sure it is split how I said it would be or at least that's how it's been split in the past by other conferences. The $15M you are talking about is completely unrelated. G5 teams were allocated $75M for the CFP to be split at their discretion. $60M of that is split evenly between the 5 conferences. The remaining $15M is awarded based on how conferences perform in OOC play and bowl games against other competition. There is some formula that rates them #1-#5

#1 conference receives 5/15*$15=5M
#2 conference receives 4/15*$15=4M
#3 conference receives 3/15*$15=3M
#4 conference receives 2/15*$15=2M
#5 conference receives 1/15*$15=1M

I'm guessing the MAC will land #3 meaning they will get $3M to split. Perhaps they are intending to group this $7M between the 2 together and after pulling out whatever amount of money for whatever reason this left a share being worth $400k. Either way the conference would still be getting the $3M regardless of if WMU wins or not.

Each bowl team is also given 300k to help pay for expenses

http://www.collegefootballplayoff.com/re...stribution

http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/colleg...one-050415

Ohio lost to 2-9 Texas State. That's a bad one.Hard to beleive they made it to the MACC game.

Hey, worse teams than OU have beaten better teams than WMU. WMU is a heavy favorite, but football is a funny game.

(12-01-2016 04:58 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  Ohio lost to 2-9 Texas State. That's a bad one.Hard to beleive they made it to the MACC game.

Ohio also beat a 1-loss Toledo on the road at the Glass Bowl for the first time in nearly 50 years. Yeah, the home loss against the Texas State Bobcats was a tough pill to swallow, but their defense has turned it around big time since then.

(12-01-2016 04:58 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  Ohio lost to 2-9 Texas State. That's a bad one.Hard to beleive they made it to the MACC game.

A 3-OT loss in the season opener. So what? No way that should be held against Ohio. In 2014, Ohio State lost to a very average VaTech team in the second game of the season. How'd that year turn out for the Buckeyes?

Fleck's been successful in keeping the guys focused through the season, though we've had a few slow starts. But he'll really need to work his magic tomorrow, as this week's distractions - CFP rankings, Cotton, awards, media interviews, Fleck job rumors, etc. - would test any team. Ohio can play loose, no pressure.

1999 Marshall was ranked and undefeated going into the MACC with us, and they found themselves down 20-0 by halftime. And there have been a few ranked West teams upset since then.

Sure, I'd be surprised if we lost. But strange things have happened in the MACC.

(12-01-2016 04:58 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  Ohio lost to 2-9 Texas State. That's a bad one.Hard to beleive they made it to the MACC game.

I watched that game on TV. It was a total physical mismatch in favor of Ohio but Texas State played extremely well and had some lucky plays.

Texas State had a new coach that had a plan in place to pull off the upset.

Every time I see the name Texas State University I always think Armadillos. Those Bobcats need to change their name.

Sure hope these Billyhills from Athens are prepared to play.

Western Michigan simply cant represent the rest of us.

(12-01-2016 09:46 PM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  Fleck's been successful in keeping the guys focused through the season, though we've had a few slow starts. But he'll really need to work his magic tomorrow, as this week's distractions - CFP rankings, Cotton, awards, media interviews, Fleck job rumors, etc. - would test any team. Ohio can play loose, no pressure.

1999 Marshall was ranked and undefeated going into the MACC with us, and they found themselves down 20-0 by halftime. And there have been a few ranked West teams upset since then.

Sure, I'd be surprised if we lost. But strange things have happened in the MACC.

Ohio's going to need to have all the breaks.

Some turnovers by WMU early and capitalize for points.

Ohio is 5th in the NCAA's in rushing defense. Does it translate against Western Michigan's offensive attack?

Solich said that WMU has no weakness and the key was tackling very well and being at the right spots at the right time. Basically either you play excellent football or you lose the FB game.

Quote:“You can try to double Corey [Davis] all you want,” Ohio head coach Frank Solich said at the Mid-American Conference teleconference last Monday. “He’ll still make some plays, and the ground game will kill you.

“So you try and pick your poison a little bit and try to be as sound as you can be and try to be at the right spots at the right time,” Solich continued. “It comes down to really tackling well. They do not have a weakness. Their ground game is exceptional. Their passing game is exceptional.”

It seems like Ohio’s best shot at pulling off an upset on Friday would be to zero in on stopping Western Michigan’s rushing attack while forcing Terrell to beat them through the air. Ohio’s front-seven has excelled at making teams one-dimensional with a dominant defense against the opponent’s running game.

The Bobcats rank fifth nationally in rushing defense, allowing 105.1 yards per game while the Broncos rank 13th in rushing offense with an average of 247.3 yards per game.

“We’ve been pretty good against the run throughout the course of the season. We are first in the MAC against the run,” Solich said. “But we have not faced a running football team like these guys so it’s going to be a great challenge.”

http://www.athensnews.com/news/sports/bo...d8069.html