EMU- Beat a P5 team on the road and is sitting pretty at 2-0!
UB- Beat a P6 team on the road and has sweet helmets!
Ball State- played very stout D against a top 10 team. With their balance the MAC West could see the Cardinals near the top of the standings come November.
Toledo- 1-0 and did a number on Bye this week.
Kent State- smooshed Howard. If I didn't think Toledo would have beaten Illinois I would stick Kent above us just for fun.
Akron- Very nice game being able to hit someone else finally.
----------------------------
Ohio- still 1-0 but they didn't look great doing it. I think they are the only team I have in Limbo giving the small sample size.
----------------------------
NIU- Hey...the opponents are good and so is the Defense. FSU looks getable.
BGSU- Maryland is probably a 7 or 8 win team. Not a fan of your coach though.... Actually I think I am!!
WMU- TF did your offense go?
CMU- just, TF?
Miami- your defense might not be that bad I guess? Do you know what the MAC's 5th best defense and worst offense gets you? 2015 Kent State.

-----------------------------

This might be a bad year for the MAC. Only two (?) 1-A wins in first two weeks of play.

I'd put NIU at the bottom. We are 129th (of 130) in points scored and 127th in total offense. Our special teams play isn't that good either.

WMU will go 6-6. Lester has no idea what he’s doing.

I want to see a few more data points (weeks) yet before I jump to any conclusions on who is good.

Until that time, I still think 2017 performances are the best barometer.

We all know the MAC plays tough football so the defensive performances of EMU, Ball and even Miami are not really uncharacteristic.

If this was 1998 for any MAC team to beat Purdue would by default mean they would be good enough to finish with a winning season. These days even second division MAC teams can pick up an A5 scalp like EMU did last season. Toledo was terrible the year they beat Michigan.

Purdue actually should be pretty good though. At least going on last season they should be trending up? They did graduate a lot on defense so maybe they are a 4-8 BIG team. Northwestern losing to Duke also puts some doubt in my mind.
I want to believe EMU is actually good!!! For THAT program, defeating Purdue means more than a P5 scalp. Once again,

EMU only scored 19 points in that win. They scratched out a win over a second tier B1G team which anyone in the MAC could have done.

If they had did it 62-7 against Purdue that is a different story. They would be up there with Boise St and UCF as potential access bowl contenders then.

(09-09-2018 09:44 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  EMU only scored 19 points in that win. They scratched out a win over a second tier B1G team which anyone in the MAC could have done.

If they had did it 62-7 against Purdue that is a different story. They would be up there with Boise St and UCF as potential access bowl contenders then.

Purdue was a 6 or 7 win BIG team last season. They were only 2nd tier if the BIG consists of three or four tiers. Purdue is not Illinois. A win over Purdue is as good as a win over Minnesota, or Northwestern.


NIU probably doesn't score 10 points against Purdue, and BG and WMU probably gives up 35+

UTfan right on . Good win and NIU does not score 10 on Purdue. We are overrated as of now until we get QB production we are MAC mid pack and bottom 1/2 in the WEST.

(09-09-2018 10:11 AM)NIU05 Wrote:  UTfan right on . Good win and NIU does not score 10 on Purdue. We are overrated as of now until we get QB production we are MAC mid pack and bottom 1/2 in the WEST.

With that being said NIU may win 9-6 over Purdue ha. I think NIU and EMU are probably cream of the crop for defenses in the league.

(09-09-2018 10:29 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  

(09-09-2018 10:11 AM)NIU05 Wrote:  UTfan right on . Good win and NIU does not score 10 on Purdue. We are overrated as of now until we get QB production we are MAC mid pack and bottom 1/2 in the WEST.

With that being said NIU may win 9-6 over Purdue ha. I think NIU and EMU are probably cream of the crop for defenses in the league.

9 points would be better than our current 6.5 ppg average this season, you're giving our offense too much credit haha.

I don't think Purdue's defense is quite as good as Iowa or Utah so it would probably be a 13-10 game. Who would win is anyone's guess.

(09-09-2018 09:14 AM)Fthechips Wrote:  WMU will go 6-6. Lester has no idea what he’s doing.

Even that might be a stretch with our defense.

It would mean beating 4 or 5 MAC opponents (depending on how we fare against Georgia State in two weeks). Not sure where all those would come from.

(09-09-2018 07:46 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  Miami- your defense might not be that bad I guess? Do you know what the MAC's 5th best defense and worst offense gets you? 2015 Kent State.

-----------------------------

He speaks the truth!

You have CMU ranked too high. I doubt they will surpass 3 wins this year. No QB, No WR's, No O-Line. Defense is decent but has to stay on the field the entire game.

Prediction: NIU 3 - CMU 2

EMU is, finally, catching a break: CMU, WMU and NIU, are headed downward.

Playing the MAC West has been a gauntlet for EMU in the past.

Power rankings (week 1 - NFL)

Kahlil Mack (G.O.A.T). What a game vs. the Packers.

(09-09-2018 10:29 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  

(09-09-2018 10:11 AM)NIU05 Wrote:  UTfan right on . Good win and NIU does not score 10 on Purdue. We are overrated as of now until we get QB production we are MAC mid pack and bottom 1/2 in the WEST.

With that being said NIU may win 9-6 over Purdue ha. I think NIU and EMU are probably cream of the crop for defenses in the league.

I'm still in "wait and see" mode for our defense. Purdue gashed us on the ground for 350 yards, and a couple of our run-stuffing DT's got hurt in the game. We made great plays when we had to, especially in the red zone, but our run D has left a lot to be desired through 2 games.

I do think our passing game will be good enough to keep us in any game on our schedule, however. Wiegers has been tremendous so far.

Giving everyone a blank slate, Eastern Michigan has to be #1 right now. No losses, 1 of 2 teams with an FBS win, and the best win in the league so far (B1G scalp).

I have:
1.) Toledo
2.) Ohio
3.) Eastern Michigan
4.) Buffalo
5.) Ball St
6.) Akron
7.) Kent St
8.) Northern Illinois
9.) Bowling Green St
10.) Miami of Ohio
11.) Western Michigan
12.) Central Michigan

As of now.

(09-09-2018 09:53 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  

(09-09-2018 09:44 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  EMU only scored 19 points in that win. They scratched out a win over a second tier B1G team which anyone in the MAC could have done.

If they had did it 62-7 against Purdue that is a different story. They would be up there with Boise St and UCF as potential access bowl contenders then.

Purdue was a 6 or 7 win BIG team last season. They were only 2nd tier if the BIG consists of three or four tiers. Purdue is not Illinois. A win over Purdue is as good as a win over Minnesota, or Northwestern.


NIU probably doesn't score 10 points against Purdue, and BG and WMU probably gives up 35+

Purdue was definitely trending up last year, indeed really more of a Northwestern or Minnesota then Illinois or Rutgers.

(09-09-2018 09:44 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  EMU only scored 19 points in that win. They scratched out a win over a second tier B1G team which anyone in the MAC could have done.

If they had did it 62-7 against Purdue that is a different story. They would be up there with Boise St and UCF as potential access bowl contenders then.

Toledo and Ohio would be the only other ones I could beating Purdue, maybe Northern Illinois.

(09-09-2018 09:25 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  I want to see a few more data points (weeks) yet before I jump to any conclusions on who is good.

If this was 1998 for any MAC team to beat Purdue would by default mean they would be good enough to finish with a winning season. These days even second division MAC teams can pick up an A5 scalp like EMU did last season. Toledo was terrible the year they beat Michigan.

I agree with this. Even a team that ends up winning the MAC can look bad in their first few games. But it's still fun.

(09-09-2018 08:53 PM)emu steve Wrote:  EMU is, finally, catching a break: CMU, WMU and NIU, are headed downward.

Playing the MAC West has been a gauntlet for EMU in the past.

That's what I was thinking.