You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'MAC' tag.
Now for the Mac East division, otherwise known as the oddest division – literally, with 7 teams – in college football.
BOWLING GREEN
Last Year: 8-5, lost to Tulsa by bowl-record 56 points – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
Bowling Green Jr. QB Tyler Sheehan looks to lead the Falcons into the MAC Title game in 2008
If it had been this year last year, Bowling Green would have played for the MAC Title, not Miami. The Falcons were 6-2, Miami was 5-2, but with only the division records counting, BG lost the tiebreakers. It worked out for them though – well, kinda. Miami lost, and Bowling Green got their bowl spot and promptly got blown away 63-7 by Tulsa.
The offensive skills position pretty much return everybody – QB Tyler Sheehan, HBs Anthony Turner and Willie Geter, and WRs Freddie Barnes and Corey Partridge. Interestingly enough, both Turner and Barnes played some QB for the Falcons in both 2005 and 2006, before Sheehan nailed down the starting job heading into last season. The offensive line, however, returns just 2 starters, and have just 36 career starts with the returning players this year.
Defensively, Bowling Green only has to replace a DE and an OLB. Leading tacklers – LBs Erique Dozier and John Haneline and SS P.J. Mahone – all return to lead what should be an improved defense. There are no non-conference breaks on the schedule, as BG plays Minnesota (who they beat last year) at home and Pitt, Boise State, and Wyoming all on the road. That said, the Falcons certainly are one of the favorites in a wide open East.
MIAMI
Last Year: 6-7, lost MAC Title and a bowl game to Central Michigan – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
Clayton Mullins (9) is one of the 3 returning LBs that lead a strong Miami defense
It might be safe to say Miami is still finding the going tough post-Roethlisberger. They improved from 2-10 to 6-7 last year, and should see more of the same this season, challenging to repeat as the West’s title game rep. Daniel Raudabaugh returns at QB, though with 12 TDs and 12 INTs last year he will have to battle redshirt Fr. Clay Belton for the starting job. The top 3 rushers are gone, though Thomas Merriweather appears to be the guy at HB and he led the Redhawks in rushing TDs last year. Miami is fine at WR, with Dustin Woods, Eugene Harris, and Armand Robinson all returning, and the OL has 3 starters back.
Miami topped the MAC in defense last year and returns 9 starters, obvious reasons to believe they may be the team to beat in this division. The strength is the LBs – Caleb Bostic, Joey Hudson, and Clayton Mullins – who were the top 3 tacklers last year. The DL and secondary are both solid, and you know what they say – “Defense wins championships.” Miami plays at Bowling Green this year and hammered the Falcons 47-14 last year . Interestingly, they host a very green Vanderbilt offense on the opening Thursday night, becoming the first MAC team to host an SEC team since 1920.
KENT STATE
Last Year: 3-9 – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
HB Eugene Jarvis spearheads a potent Kent State running game as the Golden Flashes look to improve on last year’s 3-9 season
Kent State stunned Iowa State 23-14 in Ames on the opening Thursday night of last season, and then things went awry. Injuries, most notably at the QB spot where they were down to the fourth-stringer, wrecked the season. QB Julian Edelman started last year and is back this year, along with HB Eugene Jarvis, a 1st Team All-MAC player from last year. The OL is experienced, and the Golden Flashes are predominantly a running team.
Eight defensive starters return, including all 3 LBs – Cedrick Maxwell, Stevon Moss, and Derrek Burrell. 3 DL starters are back, and, while losing their top 2 DBs, Kent State has 6 DBs returning with starting experience. Overall, Kent State should be an improved defense, and should be much better overall. They could be a darkhorse contender in the West and reaching bowl eligibility – Kent State has made only one bowl ever – isn’t out of the question.
BUFFALO
Last Year: 5-7 – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
Could HB James Starks lead Buffalo – yes, Buffalo – into a bowl game??
Buffalo was 12-68 from 2000-2006, or really, really bad. UB brought in Turner Gill in 2006, went 2-10, and started off 2007 1-4 – ho-hum Bulls football. Yet after a 26-10 win over Akron, Buffalo was 3-0 in the division and were in the race. After a 31-28 loss at Miami, Buffalo fell 31-17 at home to Bowling Green, falling out of contention. They won 5 MAC games last year, just 3 less than the 7 years before that, and outgained MAC teams by 70 yards/game last season (third in the conference). Maybe that’s why Nebraska was looking at Gill for their vacancy. The offense returns 10 starters, most notably 1,100-yd and 12 TDs from last year in HB James Starks.
Defense is a little bit of a concern, though, especially at LB. The line should continue improvement and the entire secondary returns. Road games at Pitt, Missouri, Central Michigan and Bowling Green will be tough, but could it be possible for Buffalo to have a .500 season?
TEMPLE
Last Year: 4-8 – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
HB Jason Harper is one of Temple’s 22 – yes, that’s all of them – returning starters
After seemingly forever in the Big East cellar, Temple has found a much better home in the MAC. From 2003-2006, Temple won four games, the same number they won last year. Much like Buffalo, incredible improvement for one of the worst I-A programs in recent years. Amazingly, Temple returns all 22 starters and loses just two letterman from last year, something I have never even seen or heard of.
The top 3 offensive players – QB Adam DiMichele, HB Jason Harper, and WR Bruce Francis – return with a year of experience. The entire defense is back. You would think a team with all their starters back would have to improve, but it’s Temple, right? Could Temple be one of the bowl eligible teams next year? It will certainly be a surprise to me if Buffalo or Temple reaches the 6-6 mark next year.
OHIO
Last Year: 6-6 – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
So. WR LaVon Brazill should be a starter at WR for Ohio this season
After being fired for going 9-3 at Nebraska, Frank Solich seems to have found some success at Ohio, signing an extension through 2013 in mid-July. The Bobcats went bowling in 2006, but were just 6-6 last year. This year could be tougher as Ohio returns just 13 starters. HB Kalvin McRae (19 rushing TDs last year) is the biggest hole to fill, and QB Brad Bower is gone, giving way to Theo Scott to be this year’s starter.
Three of the top five tacklers from last year are gone, but LB Michael Brown, SS Michael Mitchell, and DE Jameson Hartke look to lead the defense. A tough sked won’t help the young Bobcats – trips to Wyoming, Ohio State, Northwestern, Western Michigan, Kent State, Temple, and Miami could be trouble. Phil Steele says of Ohio, “If Solich pulls out a winning record, I’ll give him my vote for MAC Coach of the Year.”
AKRON
Last Year: 4-8 – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
Akron’s Andre Jones moves from FS to WR this year in efforts to replace the departed Jabari Arthur
Last year’s struggles might have been expected for Akron, having to replace QB Luke Getsy, who replaced Akron’s career passing leader Charlie Frye. QB Chris Jacquemain enters his second season as the Akron starter after a tough 2007. The leading rushing TD (7) HB Alex Allen is back, but they must replace 1,171-yd, 10 TD receptions WR Jabari Arthur. The offensive line does have 4 starters back, and T Chris Kemme was 2nd Team All-MAC in 2007.
Just 5 starters back from a defense that was #10 in the MAC last year. Leading returning tackler FS Andre Jones moves to WR, leaving Sr. MLB Kevin Grant as the top returning tackler. Leading rusher from last year Bryan Williams moves to SS and is the only returning “starter” (can you call it that?). The defensive line should be the Zips’ strength, but it’s a little different in the back 7.
What is the deal with these northern conferences? The Big Ten completely lies with their 11 teams, and the MAC has 13 teams, a terrible number for a football league.
Also, last year the MAC determined their standings by counting only division games. Last year, the entire West Division and Miami out of the East played 8 conference games, while everyone else played just 7. So games against the non-division teams were basically meaningless. That changes this year, as all conference games will be used in determining the champions.
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger continued the string of MAC-to-NFL QB stories
Around the turn of the century, the MAC was a respectable league known for producing NFL QBs – Chad Pennington (Jets) and Byron Leftwich (Jags) from Marshall when they were in the MAC, Ben Roethlisberger (Miami), Bruce Gradkowski (Bucs) from Toledo, Charlie Batch (a stretch, I know) from Eastern Michigan, and Charlie Frye (Browns) from Akron. Josh Harris and Omar Jacobs were two great college QBs at Bowling Green and Cleveland Browns return specialist Joshua Cribbs played QB at Kent State.
However the MAC has hit some “down” years. For the most part, it’s pretty much the Sun Belt of the North, providing the easy-breathing games for the Big Ten and Big XII. The most notable non-conference wins for the MAC last year: Western Michigan won at Iowa, Bowling Green won at Minnesota in OT, both Toledo and Kent State beat Iowa State, and Miami beat Syracuse. Yes, Ball State should have beaten Nebraska in Lincoln (lost 41-40).
Throw in some negative results with I-AA teams – two-time defending champ Central Michigan was blown away by North Dakota State(ask Minnesota about the Bison), Northern Illinois lost to Southern Illinois, and Toledo beat Liberty by a point.
Toledo beat Iowa State 36-35 last season
In the conference, though, it’s basically a free-for-all. Champion Central Michigan’s only conference loss was to Eastern Michigan, the West’s last place team. Heck, even Buffalo and Temple won 5 and 4 games respectively. Oh, and check this play out, the end of the Akron-Western Michigan game from last year…
…that video needs no explanation. That said, the MAC is a very even league at the top. Two-time defending champion Central Michigan has to be the favorite, but they’ll get stiff challenges from Western Michigan, and Ball State in the West, and Bowling Green and Miami from the East. Here’s my team-by-team breakdown, starting with the West.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Last Year: 8-6, beat Miami for MAC Title, lost bowl to Purdue – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
Central Michigan QB Dan Lefevour might be the best QB you’ve never heard of – he had 46 total TDs last year
The Chippewas return 8 starters on each side of the ball, most notably Jr. QB Dan Lefevour, already the career leader in passing yards at CMU. Lefevour threw for 27 TDs and ran for 19, numbers similar to some guy named Tebow (he had 32 and 23). The top two HBs – Justin Hoskins and Ontario Sneed – return as well. Antonio Brown and Bryan Anderson had 102 and 90 receptions last year (the next highest WR had 33) and they both return. They have 4 starting OL back. Oh, and they led the MAC in offense last year.
However, CMU was #10 in the MAC in defense last year, and they lose their top two tacklers. So. MLB Nick Bellore returns off a 102 tackle year. Three DL return and the entire secondary is back. The LBs are a trouble area, though. CMU gets primary West challengers WMU and Ball State at home, so they still have to be the favorite in my book.
WESTERN MICHIGAN
Last Year: 5-7 – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
QB Tim Hiller led Western Michigan to an unlikely 28-19 win at Iowa late last season, costing the Hawkeyes a bowl bid
The Broncos return their 3 best offensive skill players in QB Tim Hiller, HB Brandon West, and WR Jamarko Simmons. They have a really good receiving corps, and 4 OL who started 4+ games last year return as well. WMU was forced to deal with quite a few injuries last year, but the win over Iowa has to cause some optimism for this season.
The defense returns 10 starters and should be improved (they were 5th last year). MAC Defensive Player Of the Year MLB Dustin Duclo is back, as is leading tackler Boston McCornell. All four secondary starters are back, including two-time 1st Team All-MAC corner Londen Fryar. WMU should make a bowl and is a serious contender.
BALL STATE
Last Year: 7-6, crushed by Rutgers in the bowl – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
Cardinal QB Nate Davis had a 30-to-6 TD-INT ratio last year
2nd Team All-MAC QB Nate Davis returns with his favorite WR target Dante Love and TE Darius Hill, who led the Cardinals in TD receptions last year. The top two leading rushers from last year – Frank Edmonds and MiQuale Lewis – are back behind an OL that returns 129 career starts, second most in I-A. The Cardinals were the #3 offense in the MAC last year.
The defense returns 7 starters, including last year’s leading tackler LB Bryant Haines. The secondary has 3 starters back, and CBs B.J. Hill and Trey Lewis led the team in INTs last season. Outside of a trip to Indiana, they have a good chance at a 3-1 non-conference, so, like WMU, it should be another winning and contending year for Ball State.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Last Year: 2-10 – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
HB Justin Anderson was a bright spot for Northern Illinois in a 2-10 2007
Nowhere to go but up for the Huskies and new coach Jerry Kill, who were decimated by injuries last year – they were near the top of I-A in starts lost by injury. They return 21 starters, including QB Dan Nicholson, 1,000-yd rusher Justin Anderson, and the top 5 receiving leaders from last year. 4 OL are back, and NIU is known for its powerful running game (alums Michael Turner and Garrett Wolfe are proof).
Same for the defense – 13 of the 14 leading tacklers from last year are back. The Huskies were the #12 defense in the MAC last year, so the only way to go? Gotta be up. While a bowl may be a stretch, NIU should be better than last year, and may make some noise in the West.
TOLEDO
Last Year: 5-7 – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
Toledo returns 1,000-yd receiver Stephen Williams
The toughest test for Toledo? Probably replacing 1,500-yd rusher Jalen Parmele. DaJuane Collins ran for 636 yds last year, and looks to be next in line of the Toledo HBs (Chester Taylor, Trinity Dawson, and Parmele). Jr. QB Aaron Opelt is back, with WRs Nick Moore and Stephen Williams, the two leading receivers. Returning 3 OL starters, the Rockets usually have strong O-lines. Toledo was #2 in pass offense and #1 in rush offense in the MAC last season.
10 of the top 12 tacklers return, including Keith Forestal and Barry Church. Church and FS Tyrell Herbert make the safety tandem one of the best in the league, and there should be improvement along the defensive front, as the Rockets were dead-last in the MAC in defense last year. A tough schedule for Toledo though, with trips to Arizona and Michigan, and home games against Fresno State, Central Michigan, Miami, and Bowling Green.
EASTERN MICHIGAN
Last Year: 4-8 – 2007 Schedule – 2008 Schedule
Eastern Michigan MLB Daniel Holtzclaw was the #3 tackler in the MAC last year with 125
Jr. QB Andy Schmitt is back, but the Eagles lose last year’s leading rusher Pierre Walker. The top 3 receivers – Jacory Stone, DeAnthony White, and Tyler Jones – return. 4 OL return, and EMU should be in the middle of the pack offensively – about the same as where they were last year.
EMU was near the bottom defensively though, and lose 2 of the top 4 tacklers. Sr. MLB Daniel Holtzclaw returns to lead the defense. LB Andre Hatchett is questionable due to academics (he’s on the roster on the EMU official site) and he would be a crucial loss. The entire secondary comes back. The Eagles did beat both Central and Western Michigan last year, but the division may be just a little too strong for EMU to make it out of last place.
With Western Kentucky joining the Sun Belt Conference (sort of) this year, Division I-A is down to just 3 Independents – Army, Navy, and Notre Dame. I’m one of those that believes Notre Dame needs to get over themselves and join the Big Ten, but that won’t happen in my lifetime (they have no reason to though). Anyways, I’ll include the Irish in the Big Ten preview.
That leaves Army and Navy. Army has returned to Independent status after an “experiment” of sorts in Conference USA. It didn’t go so well, and Army has struggled just as much as an Independent. Phil Steele says they would be a perfect fit for the MAC (using Temple as an example) and that makes sense – the Black Knights do face 4 MAC teams this season. On top of that there’s the minor issue of 6 straight losses to Navy (just 2 wins since 1996).
Navy has beaten Army 6 consecutive times, and nine out of 11 since 1996, including last year’s 38-3 rout
The Knights were just 3-9 last year, but this year’s schedule is easier with potentially winnable home games against Temple, New Hampshire, Akron, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana Tech, and Air Force. However, Army returns just 8 starters, one of which is QB Carson Williams, who threw for 11 TDs and 12 INTs last year. Williams will face a stiff challenge from freshman QB Paul McIntosh, Indiana’s Mr. Football in 2007 who accounted for nearly 4,000 yards of offense his senior year and presents more of an option-style QB, which Army is looking for.
The top 4 rushers – HBs Tony Dace, Patrick Mealy, Wesley McMahand, and Ian Smith – return, but the WR spot will be a weakness of some sorts, as Army does look to move to more of an option offense emphasis. The OL have 5 players back with starting experience, always in important in a run-first offense.
Jr. DT Ted Bentler (#99) – team leader in sacks last year with 3 – leads the Army front seven into 2008
Defensively, the front 7 looks to be fine with 4 starters back, but heavy losses in the secondary may be a problem for the Knights. Army will also struggle on special teams as well, so it looks to be another difficult year for Army, but success could be on the horizon.
Meanwhile, Navy, under Paul Johnson, have won less than 8 games only once since 2002 and has been to 5 straight bowl games (winning two). However, Johnson is now at Georgia Tech, so it’s a new beginning of sorts under new coach Ken Niumatalolo. The Middies have been the epitome of the triple option offense under Johnson and it has been very successful. The offense is so unique that when it’s run to perfection like Navy (and until last year Air Force) does it, it’s hard to be stopped – I’ll use the Air Force-Tennessee game from 2006 as proof.
Ken Niumatalolo is Navy’s new head coach, taking over Paul Johnson, now at Georgia Tech. Niumatalolo did coach the Poinsettia Bowl 35-32 loss to Utah
Offensively Navy always leads the nation in rushing, and they scored the most points in their history last season, breaking a 90 year-old record. QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, a nightmare for TV announcers, returns to lead the option attack. RBs Eric Kettani and Shun White return as well. The OL, however, returns just 25 career starts, the 5th lowest in I-A, and make take some time to come together.
QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada leads the Navy triple option offense into 2008
Defensively, Navy struggled last year. The points they gave up? 19, 41, 34 (OT), 43, 20, 45 (2OT), 44, 59, 44 (3OT), 62, 24, and 3 (Army). They actually won the game where they gave up 62, a 74-62 win at North Texas, the most points ever scored in a I-A game that didn’t go to OT. Eight of last year’s top 10 tacklers return, including 3 DL and the entire secondary. Of course Navy finds themselves at disadvantages defensively, but they should be better this year than they were last year. And they may have to be with the new offensive line getting its feet wet early in the year. I would honestly be surprised if Navy didn’t reach its sixth consecutive bowl this year, in addition to another win over Army.
When talking about great rivalries in sports, you just can’t leave out the spectacle that is Army vs. Navy
Tennessee starts its fall camp Saturday, which means it’s really really close to being football season. The already high anticipation level just continues to rise, as it’s officially less than a month until we have college football again – that is, if you count the opening Thursday night games.
I’m doing my part, embarking on a long, long journey through all the conferences and all the teams in I-A and how they look heading into the season. Yes that’s right, I’m tackling this task with reckless abandon – 21 days straight of conference preview posts.
Some notes about these previews: first, I get most of my information on who’s back for which teams from Phil Steele’s magazine. Yes, he picked Tennessee behind South Carolina in the East (absurd if you ask me) but there’s too much straight information in that book for me to not use. So thank you Phil.
Secondly, I realized as I began writing these that these posts will be quite long. Honestly, I don’t expect anybody to read every word on these posts – if you’re just looking for a quick overview, read my introducing words, and look at the pictures and captions (there’s one for each team).
However, if you’re the betting type and need to know about a particular team you might not know much about, this could help. Also, if for example you’re a Gator fan wanting to know what Hawaii will look like without June Jones and Colt Brennan, or a UGA fan looking to see what kind of challenge to expect from Central Michigan, then just check out those particular teams in the previews. The plan is to do more in-depth previews of Tennessee’s opponents the week leading up to those games.
That said, I must admit the posts will get better as I go along, since obviously I’m going to know more, and likewise have more opinions about, the BCS conference teams than the non-BCS leagues. The BCS conference posts will be less structured and less boring facts, and will have more pictures, YouTube documentations, and biased-but-supposedly-objective musings from my own head.
Here’s the actual schedule. The fun of this journey begins Friday and concludes the Thursday the week before the season gets going…
Aug 1: Army/Navy Aug 2: MAC West Aug 3: MAC East Aug 4: Sun Belt
Aug 5: WAC Aug 6: C-USA West Aug 7: C-USA East Aug 8: MWC
Aug 9: Big East Aug 10: ACC Coastal Aug 11: ACC Atlantic Aug 12: Big Ten
Aug 13: Big 12 North Aug 14: Big 12 South Aug 15: Pac-10
The SEC gets its own week more or less, with an East team being paired with its yearly West opponent for six straight days, culminating with my take on my beloved Volunteers. I would imagine those posts would be the best out of all of the previews. Those will go as follows:
Aug 16: Vandy/Ole Miss
Aug 17: South Carolina/Arkansas
Aug 18: Kentucky/Mississippi State
Aug 19: Georgia/Auburn
Aug 20: Florida/LSU
Aug 21: Tennessee/Alabama
