I think both divisions are a toss up between 3-4 teams in each.

NIU, Toldeo and WMU with a 4th team surprising us.....or not.......Ball State might surprise a few teams this year.

Temple, Ohio, Miami with another team or two surprising us....or not........I'm still hopeful BG will compete for a division title this year. I also think Buffalo could surprise this year.

I think we have a lot of teams that we can't be certain of yet. That's one thing I like about the MAC, you just never know. Success or failure can turn on a few injuries, mistakes and just plain luck. As usual, many MAC teams are not that far apart in talent and coaching.

Too early. OhioU played a I-aa school, a bad WAC school and another non-AQ school. That's not exactly murderers row.

While the Marshall win is nice (especially because of the scoring gap) it doesn't blow a win over a bad Big10 school (BallSt), a close loss to a PennSt (Temple), or an OhioSt (Toledo) or other BCS AQ program out of contention.

Let's see how the Rutgers game goes.

The surprise for Ohio so far has been how well the defense has played. That was expected to be the concern. We know we are loaded on offense and have stong special tams. The defense has been better than expected. The losses on the d-line were significant in the offseason. So far that hasn't been a problem. Ohio was at the bottom of MAC last year against the Pass. When we face a top passing attack like Miami and BGSU that could be a concern. Ohio seems to be doing a decent job against the run so far. Bobcats have gotten a lot of picks so the secondary and linebackers are playing well.

(09-19-2011 01:10 AM)OhioBobcatJohn Wrote:  The surprise for Ohio so far has been how well the defense has played. That was expected to be the concern. We know we are loaded on offense and have stong special tams. The defense has been better than expected. The losses on the d-line were significant in the offseason. So far that hasn't been a problem. Ohio was at the bottom of MAC last year against the Pass. When we face a top passing attack like Miami and BGSU that could be a concern. Ohio seems to be doing a decent job against the run so far. Bobcats have gotten a lot of picks so the secondary and linebackers are playing well.

actually you're right about all of this. our defense was expected to be the weakest part of our game but it has stepped up so far. we gave up a lot of passing yards late in the game at NMSU but that was after we were up 44-7 on them. since then we've tightened things up. but hopefully we will continue to improve in all facets of the game. we're still a work in progress but it's fun to watch!!!

Ohio got two votes in the US Today Top 25. Getting noticed, just have to keep playing to better ourselves every game.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/polls?poll=3

(09-19-2011 11:32 AM)bobcatgrad Wrote:  Ohio got two votes in the US Today Top 25. Getting noticed, just have to keep playing to better ourselves every game.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/polls?poll=3

that's right, bobcatgrad! Getting better and then getting noticed are the keys. a win Saturday would be a great step in that direction!

This week will be key as Ohio is at Rutgers. Big East teams have beaten the MAC so far. Ohio at Rutgers Toledo at Syracuse. Temple at Maryland WMU at Illinois. 4 best MAC teams so far in tough away games vs BCS teams. MAC hasn't delivered in these kind of games this year. BGSU vs Miami will be the big conference game this week. BGSU trying to go 3-1. Miami can't afford to go 0-3 with UC next week.

(09-18-2011 08:42 PM)BrianNowicki Wrote:  Why would you use turnover in this conversation? Miami returned more starters from last year's team than anyone else in the MAC. NIU returned nearly everyone on an offense that no one in the MAC could stop enough to beat.......except Miami.

When I was composing that post, I lost my train of thought. It is not just athlete turnover but coaching staff turnover, as well. We have a number of 1st and 2nd year head coaches and that does make a difference.

(09-18-2011 03:40 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  

(09-18-2011 03:21 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  

(09-18-2011 12:20 AM)perimeterpost Wrote:  I think OHIO is the team to beat in the East because although Temple looks impressive their QB play is a big concern

The same QB who threw for 311 and 2 TDs against your Bobcats last year? Yeah, I'm not remotely worried about it. MAC defenses are not nearly as strong as Penn State's.

you mean the one that threw 2 TDs against OHIO's practice squad when it was 31-10 with 2:16 left in the game? yes, THAT one.

JHG, still feeling confident about your QB situation?

This year will be like most other years. The West dominates the East and has the best teams. Then an undeserving East team pulls off a fluke win in the MACC and the 3rd or 4th or 5th best team in the conference holds the trophy.

(10-22-2011 07:25 PM)niubrad00 Wrote:  This year will be like most other years. The West dominates the East and has the best teams. Then an undeserving East team pulls off a fluke win in the MACC and the 3rd or 4th or 5th best team in the conference holds the trophy.

if it happens most years, then it can't, by definition, be a fluke; it's more like a trend. the question is...what happens to the West teams that they end up losing to the East teams?

Various things. Fatigue, injury, random chance.

(10-22-2011 10:04 PM)OZoner Wrote:  Various things. Fatigue, injury, random chance.

i'm inclined to add overconfidence (on the part of the West champion) to that list too.

The West has won 3 of the last 5 MAC Championships. Perception to NIU fans is that the East does it every year, probably because NIU has lost to East teams they should have beat in each of their two MACC Game appearances.

MAC East is weak this year...I'd take UT or NIU over any MAC East team. As for Ohio, I dunno...good some weeks (Marshall) and not so good on other Saturdays.

(10-22-2011 07:25 PM)niubrad00 Wrote:  This year will be like most other years. The West dominates the East and has the best teams. Then an undeserving East team pulls off a fluke win in the MACC and the 3rd or 4th or 5th best team in the conference holds the trophy.

Sounds a bit like sour grapes. In sports, generally speaking, teams are either getting better or getting worse, performance over a long season seldom stays constant. Ozoner mentioned some of the factors which cause teams to get better or worse. Then there are the breaks of a game which can go one way or another. Last year NIU got outgained by quite a bit in the championship game, so calling that game a fluke might not be accurate. To say that over the course of the season NIU was the best team in the MAC last year would be accurate, but that does not determine who the best team was on the day the championship game was played.

Last year UCONN finished 11th in the Big East in men's hoops, then not only won the conference tournament, they won the National Championship. They are an extreme example of a team which got better and better.