Over The Pylon

This week we continue the format of questions posed to the MAC Blog collective by one of our members, responded to accordingly on each individual site, and then recapped on Friday by the host. This week’s hosting duties fall to FalconBlog, the BG themed site. This week we cover the midweek games that are on the MAC horizon, the front runners for player and coach of the year honors, the impact freshmen, and our favorite memories as fans. Ready… set… ROUNDTABLE!

1. Now that we have reached November, what do you really think of this no-Saturday stuff? Is it a necessary evil, an unnecessary evil, or a non-issue? Do you think that the difficulty for home fans outweighs the long-term benefit of being on ESPN?
I think it’s not an ideal situation, but unfortunately, it’s the position that the MAC has no choice but to take. The MAC wants its football on national television? Great… play it on a date when football isn’t traditionally played. Hence, why you have MAC Tuesdays or MAC Wednesdays. For ESPN, it’s a great deal… they get semi-decent football on television on a night when there isn’t any other real sports to watch. Win for them. For the MAC they get their message and brand out on a much larger scale. Win for them.

Unfortunately, the losers in this equation are the schools, fans, and most importantly, the players. The schools now have to play a home game on a night where they may have classes that need to be canceled, parking lots that need to be cleared, etc. It defeats the mission of the academics right off the bat, not to mention the lack of substantive attendance at midweek games which leads us to the fans. These midweek games are an inconvenience to most, and for some, unable to be attended. There’s other obligations, work the next day, travel time, etc. All not so great. The student athlete portion of the picture should be the most important one but has probably slipped to the bottom of the list. No one seems to talk about the impact to their academics and daily routines, but that may simply be a result of “student athletes” dropping the importance of the “student” piece of that identifier years ago, long before weekday MAC games were even around.

2. As we hit the home stretch, who are your early leaders for MAC Offensive and Defensive players of the year? Coach of the Year?
For the offensive player of the year, the people who don’t really follow the MAC or who follow the MAC with CMU shaded glasses will select St. LeFevour as the obvious choice. For me, these Player of the Year Awards are basically an MVP type award for a player whose team would be lost without him. that’s sort of the definition of valuable.

Offensively, I would say Bernard Pierce from Temple would barely edge out Tyler Sheehan simply because the Owls are having such a great year. If BG was a little further up in the standings, then Sheehan would probably take the edge. Defensively, I’m a sucker for sackers, and Adrian Patterson from Temple is impressive. His 9 sacks this season are good enough for 4th in the nation. Good enough for me. Coaching wise, I guess I’d have to give that to Temple as well. Al Golden has done a bang up job there and his squad controls their own destiny in the MAC East.

3. Bernard Pierce is making a huge impact as a freshmen at Temple. What freshmen are making an impact or showing promise at your program?
Two words…. Eric Williams. This freshman back makes me comfortable when the day arrives and Quale Lewis bolts to greener pastures. Williams is a best on the rush, shines in the Wildcat, and offers a ton of promise in special teams on kick and punt returns. The 1st year players littering the field like Zane Fakes, Jay Pinkston, Williams, Connor Ryan, and the like all make the future bright for these Cardinals.

4. Think back on your time as a fan…..what is the single most exciting or thrilling moment you recall witnessing for your team…..I’m thinking in person, but certainly not a requirement.
Hands down the Toledo game in 2001. Homecoming. Ranked opponent. Game-winning kick return for the go ahead touchdown. Handing Toledo its first loss of the season. An unbelievable weekend and an unbelievable game. Close second was last year’s Western Michigan contest. It was simply incredible to see the crowd, the students, and cap off a regular season at 12-0. Unreal.

5. Rank ’em if you got ’em. (The MAC Power Poll)
1. Central Michigan
2. Temple
3. Ohio
4. Kent State
5. Northern Illinois
6. Western Michigan
7. Bowling Green
8. Toledo
9. Buffalo
10. Ball State
11. Akron
12. Miami
13. Eastern Michigan

Readers… comments… answers. Go.

Filed under: MAC Roundtable |