Can Tyler Tettleton Dethrone Jordan Lynch for Best MAC Quarterback Title?

Sep 1, 2012; University Park, PA, USA; Ohio Bobcats quarterback Tyler Tettleton (4) rolls out of the pocket to pass in the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US Presswire

The MAC is unquestionably on the top of the list of a college football fan’s favorite conferences to watch. Whether they want to admit it or not, as much as they love Saturdays, they love to watch the middle-of-the-week offensive explosions the conference’s games provide in between Saturday’s action.

Last season, we saw a first. Led by their all-everything quarterback Jordan Lynch, the MAC Champion Northern Illinois Huskies found themselves as the first conference representative to garner an opportunity at BCS magic. The Huskies landed themselves in the FedEx Orange Bowl paired up against the ACC kings, the Florida State Seminoles. Although they didn’t get the Cinderella-like outcome they had hoped for (they were blown out 31-10), it still spoke volumes about the evolution of the conference as a legitimate national threat.

Because of last year’s accomplishments, Lynch has been tabbed by some as a potential Heisman candidate. Even his own institution has jumped on the bandwagon by launching a campaign for the senior by giving out lunchboxes to voters with Lynch’s likeness on it.

Easily, you can say that Jordan Lynch was the best MAC QB in 2012. But will it be more of the same in 2013, or will he have to look over his shoulder at someone else coming to knock him off the throne and take over the title of, ‘Best QB in the MAC?’

The answer to that is yes he will, and that competition comes in the form of Ohio Bobcats senior Tyler Tettleton.

With that, I wanted to take a look at what helps and hurts each QB’s cause of being named the best quarterback in the MAC for 2013:

Jan 1, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Northern Illinois Huskies quarterback Jordan Lynch (6) looks to pass in the second quarter of the game against the Florida State Seminoles at the 2013 Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Lynch

What Helps: Coming off a season in which you threw for 3,138 yards, 25TD and just six interceptions is certainly a start. Doing that while also rushing for 1,815 yards and 19 scores definitively makes Jordan Lynch the king of the MAC quarterbacks. Numbers like that have to have Lynch’s confidence through the roof as he aims to get as close to a repeat performance as he can.

He has all five offensive linemen from last year returning to protect for him, a task which they more than handled with ease last season. Of the eight total returning players on offense, that’s not a bad five to have in that group if you’re a quarterback.

Although Dave Doeren is no longer the coach at NIU, Rod Carey takes the helm which means there shouldn’t be a significant change in the offensive scheme, which sometimes can hinder a system-quarterback’s production.

What Hurts: As much as I said Lynch’s confidence could be thriving from his success during the regular season, he was brought back down to reality against Florida State in the Orange Bowl. He had some bright moments, but overall the FSU defense had him contained and on the ground regularly. For someone that people are campaigning for for Heisman candidacy, he played nowhere near that level when matched against a top-level defense. Could that performance take a shot at the young man’s confidence as it maybe brought him to the realization that he’s not at the elite level that a lot of people thought he was?

Lynch has some weapons on this offense, but he’s lost a big one in wide receiver Martel Moore. Last year, Moore caught for 1,083 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was a huge contributor to the quarterback’s success and I’d make a safe bet that Lynch will miss his go-to-guy a lot this season.

Tyler Tettleton

What Helps: Tettleton is an experienced, third-year starting QB for the Ohio Bobcats. In contrast to Lynch, Tettleton has been on somewhat of a big stage and has delivered. Tettleton and crew opened up the year in 2012 against the Penn State Nittany Lions. It was the first game at home for PSU since their sanctions were handed down and the atmosphere was highly emotional. That didn’t affect Tettleton however as he tossed for 324 yards and two scores, on his way to leading Ohio over an eventual 8-4 Penn State team.

This experience will help when Ohio opens the season next week against the Louisville Cardinals on the road. The Cardinals are considered a legitimate national championship contender and another season-opening upset isn’t exactly unlikely. Based off last year’s opener, Tettleton won’t be afraid going in and he’ll make sure his teammates aren’t neither. All stats aside, a win over a team like Louisville would certainly slingshot the Ohio QB toward the goal of taking over Lynch’s title.

Another reason an upset isn’t considered unlikely is due to the amount of weapons Tettleton has to play with. He has a 1,600-yard rusher coming back behind him in Beau Blankenship and he returns two of his top three receivers from last season in Donte Foster and Chase Cochran.

Tettleton passed for 2,844 yards last season. Given what Lynch lost in Moore and what the Bobcats’ gunslinger has coming back, it’s not far-fetched to believe that Tettleton’s passing numbers this season could surpass Lynch’s.

What Hurts: Opposed to what Lynch has returning on his offensive line, Tettleton has to replace three of his starters up front. A possible drop-off in protection could provide a devastating blow to his ability to work in the pocket. Tettleton can move around slightly, but not near as much as Lynch would be able to if he had potential offensive line issues. He can’t surpass Lynch’s passing stats if he’s laying on his back.

It’s certainly great for the team that he has such a productive running back in Blankenship, but it could hurt him personally. He’s improved even more over the offseason and I can see Frank Solich call upon him to carry more of the load on offense than he did last year, thus taking the ball out of Tyler’s hands.

The bottom line is that this battle can go either way. These are two talented quarterbacks that should get an equal shot at playing in the NFL after this season is over.

But when it’s all said and done, we’ll have to revisit this and see what the case actually turned out to be.

Or, we’ll look back and see that someone like Kyle Pohl from Akron was actually the best QB in the MAC because–after all–it is MACtion and that’s why we love it. You never know what can happen.

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Jack is a Staff Writer for Saturday Blitz. Follow Jack on Twitter @JackJ14CFB