Over The Pylon

Ed. Note: Clearly OTP has been in a bit of a downswing lately. Between weddings for me (not my own), gig practice for Edge, surgery for RV and work increasing for all of us, the site hasn’t been able to be given full attention and energy from any of us. The fans deserve better, the players and fans who read this deserve better, and all I can say is that it will get better. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

A few years ago, it became apparent that there were some quality sites out there representing the MAC in terms of their blogging chops, so what better way to bring everyone together than through a roundtable of sorts. A virtual one, for sure, as I’m not quite positive I’d want some of these folks in my home, but a roundtable all the same. Some members have come and gone, the leadership and organizational responsibilities have shifted, but it’s back this year in all its glorious wonder. This week’s questions comes from the Toledo experts at Let’s Go Rockets. Off you go…

1. As we enter the final month of the regular season for most teams, what piece has been missing from your respective team? Can adjustments be made in the remaining schedule to fix it?
I’d say the thing missing most is depth. When injuries occurred to the defensive backfield, it was felt. When the offensive line becomes a patchwork quilt of non-starters, that’s bad. BSU has never had the luxury of the depth of a BCS conference team, but this year the depth has been bad even for MAC standards. That sort of problem corrects itself over time as this first year will be the worst year in the Lembo era. The fact that we’re still in good shape to finish above .500 is a testament to the change taking place in Muncie.

2. How do you feel about the new uniforms in college football this season? Seems like teams are rolling out throwbacks and unveiling special uniforms for certain games. Should the MAC hop on board with this trend?
The MAC and more importantly its member institutions has to do something to generate some buzz. The NIU-Toledo game on Tuesday certainly helped with 120+ points, but why not do something trendy like uniforms or gimmicks. My only concern would be whether they can do it wholeheartedly and not half ass it, and whether the schools have enough scratch to actually pull it off. I think most MAC schools operate football on sort of a shoestring budget, so buying uni combos may not be the best use of limited funds.

3. If you were creating an ideal MAC team using the offensive, defensive, special teams, and coaching portions of current MAC teams, list the components of your powerhouse combination.
For me, I would take the coaching of Pete Lembo and his dedication to special teams along with the offensive scheme of Toledo and the defensive scheme of Temple. But next season when Lembo has his players in place, I may be taking Lembo and BSU for all of the above.

4. What one player on your team has the best chance of making an NFL roster?
Sean Baker. Baker has a nose for the football, plays with reckless abandon, and hits like Ike Turner on a 3-day coke bender. Souleater (as we have dubbed him) would do an NFL team good, even if only on the scout team.

5. Rank ‘em
1. NIU
2. Toledo
3. EMU
4. Ohio
5. WMU
6. Temple
7. BSU
8. Miami
9. BG
10. CMU
11. Kent
12. Buffalo
13. Akron

Filed under: MAC Roundtable |