Over The Pylon

The weekly MAC Roundtable this week is hosted by Buffalo blog UB Bull Run, who is appropriately our opponent this week. Get it on…

1) There are still six teams in the MAC who can become Bowl Eligible. The two with the toughest road to hoe are Kent and WMU, each with six losses. Do either, neither, or both teams make 6-6 and potentially see a bowl.
OTP: I think a bigger question is whether or not a 6-6 MAC team will actually be invited to participate in a Bowl, and the answer is “of course not”. For the actual question, though, I’ll say WMU has a better chance of hitting up 6-6.

2) In the past two years three coaches from the MAC have “moved up”. Brady Hoke in 2008 and Turner Gill / Butch Jones in 2009. Which Coach or Coaches more out in 2010. Also which coaches get tossed on the garbage heap of failed and fired MAC coaches.
OTP: I can’t see any coach getting fired this season. As for who moves on, I also don’t see anyone really heading anywhere. No one is doing a kick ass enough job, though Al Golden probably could make a case, but something tells me he isn’t going to be leaving Temple in the near future. The next few years for the Owls could be extremely good, and they may be one of the schools poached when the Big East expands.

3) Right now three MAC teams are getting votes in various polls (NIU, Temple, and Ohio). Is the MAC starting to upswing off of the (real or perceived) fall off from 2004-2009?
OTP: I think it’s only going to be perceived as an upswing if it’s continual with one particular team. If Temple, NIU and Ohio can maintain this success then they could become the next Marshall, which elevates the conference as a whole. Additionally, having winless teams doesn’t help. The rising tide of a great program will hopefully lift all the boats.

4) So far this season what has been the story that defines the MAC? Which player’s, team’s, or mascot’s news headline is most representative of the conference as a whole.
OTP: Unfortunately, the lack of success by certain programs has defined the conference for the worse. People point to Akron and EMU and the fall off of Ball State as some sort of indictment of the conference as a whole. It’s totally ridiculous, but it is what it is.

5) Rank MAC squads in order of pure 2010 Power
Temple
NIU
Ohio
Miami
Toledo
Kent
WMU
Ball State
Buffalo
CMU
BG
EMU
Akron

6) Rank the Bottom 5 MAC Squads (from above) by how much improvement you might expect in 2011
I think CMU rebounds the most, followed by BG and then Buffalo. EMU and Akron have a ways to go and I can’t see anything getting easy for them for a while.

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