2011 Preview Blitz: MAC Schedule Breakdown
By Kyle Kensing
In the high school landscape that is college football, the MAC and Sun Belt are the freshmen. The MAC is becoming that kinda cool freshmen the upperclassmen invite to the occasional party. A MAC member has cracked the Top 25 each of the last three seasons (Ball State in 2008, Central Michigan 2009, Northern Illinois 2010).
The conference’s overall level of play has improved exponentially over the past decade, and the coming season promises more of the same. Toledo, Northern Illinois, Miami, Ohio U., Western Michigan and Temple all finished .500 or better. All have the potential to do so again, while others like Central Michigan, Kent State and Bowling Green should be improved. The coming year is an exciting time for the uninitiated to jump into MACtion.
TUESDAY NIGHT’S MAIN EVENT
The MAC’s chief exposure is its mid-week contract with ESPN. The Sun Belt is occupying the first few Tuesday nights in October, so the MAC won’t appear in its primetime slot until Nov. 1. The first Tuesday MACtion is a biggie though, pitting Northern Illinois against Toledo in the Glass Bowl. The Huskies and Rockets were the MAC West pacesetters last season and should set the tone once again with quarterbacks Chandler Harnish and Austin Dantin returning.
Both NIU and Toledo are back in the Tuesday night showcase come Week 11 against Bowling Green and Western Michigan respectively. In fact, four of the conference’s games that week are Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Temple hosts Miami in a potentially East division-defining matchup. Thursday brings Ohio to Central Michigan.
Week 12 is another fully loaded MAC week of Ball State – NIU on Tuesday, Nov. 15; Bowling Green – Ohio and WMU – Miami on Wednesday, Nov. 16; and Toledo – CMU on Friday, Nov. 18. Miami at Ohio the Tuesday before Thanksgiving closes the book on the MAC Mid-Week Main Event.
The genius of MAC scheduling is the above games are likely to determine the conference championship, and if recent precedent holds to form, produce a Top 25 team. Mid-week billing may not be ideal, but the guarantee of national exposure on ESPN is a feather in the cap not all conferences are guaranteed (looking at you, Mountain West).
MAC – BIG TEN CHALLENGE
The MAC has been something of a little brother to the Big Ten, providing each other with non-conference games due to proximity. This season, there are 11 MAC vs. Big Ten games slated as follows:
- Akron at Ohio State, Sept. 3
- Ball State at Indiana, Sept. 3
- Western Michigan at Michigan, Sept. 3
- Toledo at Ohio State, Sept. 10
- Temple at Penn State, Sept. 17
- Northern Illinois vs. Wisconsin (at Soldier Field, Chicago), Sept. 17
- Miami at Minnesota, Sept. 17
- Eastern Michigan at Michigan, Sept. 17
- Eastern Michigan at Penn State, Sept. 24
- Western Michigan at Illinois, Sept. 24
- Central Michigan at Michigan State, Sept. 24
CMU vs. MSU is a date Sparty has to have circled on its calendar. The Chippewas used a fourth quarter rally to topple Michigan State two seasons ago.
Minnesota’s date with Miami is another especially intriguing contest. The Golden Gophers dropped their MAC matchup to Northern Illinois last season. Of course, the same head coach who led the Huskies in that win, Jerry Kill, now mans the sideline at Minny. As for the RedHawks, MU comes to Minneapolis with Don Treadwell captaining the ship. Treadwell oversaw a 31-point outpouring on Minny last season as Michigan State’s offensive coordinator.
Juxtaposed Start
Eastern Michigan has struggled through some of the most trying times in college football the past…well, ever. For that reason, EMU gets a pass on opening with Howard and Alabama State. Howard finished in the MEAC basement at 0-8, and 1-10 overall. ASU was better, actually reaching the SWAC Championship Game and finishing 7-5. But after that, the Eagles jump into a double dip of Michigan and Penn State. Both are teams that could emerge as surprise contenders in the Big Ten. Talk about a massive jump.
SCHEDULE SUPERLATIVES
- Best Non-Conference Games
Nevermind this ladder, I need it to climb on my high horse for a moment. In all the chatter over playoffs and determining a champion and yada yada yada, forgetting are the myriad great memories bowl games create. The 2009 Humanitarian Bowl is one of the most exciting games of recent years.
The circumstances in this rematch are different, but hopefully a resurgent Falcon bunch and talented Vandal team can once more combine to create fireworks.
The lowest depth of Connecticut’s rollercoaster, Big East championship season was probably its two-touchdown loss to Temple. This Temple squad is a bit different from the Owls that beat Randy Edsall’s Huskies. When Edsall’s UM Terrapins host Temple on Sept. 24, Steve Addazzio will be manning the sidelines in Al Golden’s stead. But the Owls will still boast the backfield combo of Matt Brown and Donald Brown, arguably as talented a one-two running back punch as any the Terps will draw.
Alright, even though NIU won 11 games last season and return key components, the Huskies are likely well overmatched against the reigning Big Ten champions. However, NIU getting this “home” game against a Rose Bowl participant is pretty neat. Soldier Field is roughly 70 miles from the NIU campus, and 150 from Wisconsin’s. UW fans always travel home and the ratio will likely breakdown 95-to-5 Badgers-to-Huskies backers, but it is an opportunity for national exposure. And who knows? NIU is a talented, veteran team that won its last matchup with a Big Ten opponent. Maybe the Huskies will catch UW looking ahead to its Nebraska date two weeks later.
A staple of Frank Solich-coached Bobcat teams have been the defenses. In Rutgers, OU faces an offensive line that was more porous than any in college football, allowing a national worst 65 sacks. The aggressive Tampa 2 defense will give Ohio a fighting chance.
As mentioned above, UConn dropped a two-touchdown decision to a MAC opponent. The coming season should be one of rejuvenation for the Broncos, and knocking off the reigning Big East champion would be a great launching pad into conference play.
I contend that top tier FCS programs are comparable to the better Sun Belt and MAC teams, and this matchup provides an opportunity to test that hypothesis. UNH is a likely preseason FCS Top 25 with standouts like linebacker Matt Evans returning.
Best Conference Games
The introduction to Tuesday Night MACtion should be exciting. Last season, the Huskies hung 65 points on the Rockets. UT improved tremendously after that shellacking, finished with eight wins and was second to NIU in the MAC West. It’s unlikely Toledo will allow a repeat offensive splurge before a Glass Bowl crowd in a showdown that may determine a conference championship game participant.
The Bobcats looked to be in the driver’s seat of the MAC East following a 34-13 drubbing of Miami late last October. But the RedHawks didn’t lose another game from then on, eventually snatching away the title game spot when Kent State upset OU. This year, the right to play in Detroit could be settled in this final week meeting of 2010 bowl participants.
Temple was seemingly positioned perfectly for a MAC championship heading into last season’s final stretch. The Owls’ final two games were against Ohio and Miami, their competitor atop the East. Ohio spoiled Temple’s title hopes in Philadelphia, effectively keeping the Owls out of the postseason. The roles may be reversed this time around.
WMU failed to knock CMU from its divisional perch in the Butch Jones era. Even in last year’s rebuilding under Dan Enos, the Chippewas managed to best Bill Cubit’s Broncos. This year, CMU must come to Kalmazoo in one of the first conference games of the season. This one should set the tone for two squads seeking marked improvement from 2010.
The Owls finish 2011 with a favorable stretch of three straight home games. Perhaps this is the scenario for Temple to finally reach the MAC Championship game, but starting off this homestand right with a defeat of Miami is critical. The RedHawk defense completely stymied Temple in last year’s regular season finale, allowing not a single touchdown.