September 20, 2003 MAC Day

[BG71]

I can't forget this 16 years ago today. So much more can be said about this day and season.

Marshall 27 at (6) Kansas State 20
Northern Illinois 19 at (21) Alabama 16
Miami 41 at Colorado State 21
Toledo 35 vs (9) Pittsburgh 31
(5)Ohio State 24 vs BGSU 17

[Schadenfreude]

This may have been the single best day in conference history. I remember getting back to my friend's house in Columbus after the Bowling Green game. About 4 or 5 p.m., ESPN began a rundown of the day's action so far. The show's open was something like this:

It was a big day in college football. There was a big game in SEC, and we are looking forward to another big contest in the Pac 10 tonight.

But first to the MAC.

It was genius. I'd love to get my hands on that tape, if it exists.

[Siborg]

Was that the same year we beat a rated Purdue, a rated NIU on College game day and beat NW in the Motor City bowl? Or am I mixing two years?

[MarkL]

Yup. All in 2003. That was an awesome year. If it weren't for an eventual Super Bowl MVP at Miami, that could have been even better.

[hammb]

Hands down the best year in MAC football history

[kdog27]

That was my favorite year of college football.

[Beaker]

With the league being so strong that year and getting national attention, I recall thinking at the time that the MAC was going to take a big leap toward in national prominence and continue to strengthen. I could not have been more wrong. Now it’s not even foreseeable that the league could ever get back to where it was in 2003. Hey, hope I’m woefully mistaken again.

[Flipper]

A number of schools have moved into FBS and FCS football since 2003. The talent pool is diluted from 2003.

Great year for MAC QB's...Ben,Bruce, Harris, Charlie Frye... Is there a QB in the MAC better than even one of those guys this year?

[unfalconbelievable]

BG had Ohio State on the ropes in 2003, there was dropped TD pass by a tight end that would have put BG ahead mid to late 4th Quarter, sitting in the end zone and saw the play unfold, and a lot of wide eyes and excitement followed by disbelief and what could of been as the ball hit the ground. OSU went down and scored after and we couldn't answer.

[Flipper]

Dropped pass? It was a throw that was down by his ankles and he had to reach for it while going backwards...yes..he got his hands on it, but that was a TOUGH catch for anyone to make let alone a TE. It's not like he was Jackie Smith in the Super Bowl.

The bigger issue was the non call on the fumble recovery at midfield with less than two minutes to go. We would have been in a position to work the sidelines and the middle of the field with that much time left and such a short distance to go

[Tswam]

The dropped pass was in the 3rd quarter when we were headed toward the closed end. Magner threw it. Great call by Brandon and OSU bit on it. Ball was catchable imo but I'm blaming the drop on Gregg Brandon.

Had opportunities after that. We had the td called back after recovering the first onside kick and then the fumble recovery. Still had a chance to pull it off at the end. That was a helluva game and you know Brandon would've gone for 2 if we'd scored at the end.

I know they didn't win the MAC but the '03 team is the best I've seen in watching BG football for over 50 years.

[BillyLP]

Just for the fun of asking a what if question: Do you guys think anything would be different today if BG would have beaten Ohio State? Do you think it would just be a point of pride but overall the program would be in the same place? Or do you think it would have provided a larger launching pad for better recruits, facilities, and longevity of success?

[MarkL]

Just for the fun of asking a what if question: Do you guys think anything would be different today if BG would have beaten Ohio State? Do you think it would just be a point of pride but overall the program would be in the same place? Or do you think it would have provided a larger launching pad for better recruits, facilities, and longevity of success?

I would look to recent history for two parallels.

1. Appalachian State over Michigan. Michigan entered the season a top 5 team. They were the sure thing Big Ten pick with returning all conference players at QB, RB, WR, and OL, and of course the standard top skill Michigan defense. Football savvy folks knew that App State was a two time defending FCS national champion with a formidable offense and was a team not to be taken lightly. Average fans thought App State was "some div 2 team" and Michigan would take them out to the woodshed. And we all know how that went, with perhaps the biggest and most significant upset in modern college football.
App State won the FCS national championship again and parlayed their sudden new nationwide fame into a jump to FBS and already some conference titles. App State to this day is still associated with this win. Michigan, on the other hand, has yet to really recover. The years since have contained many of the worst in the program's illustrious history, with three losing seasons, only two big time bowl games, and a general feeling of mediocrity.

2. Nevada over Boise State, 2010. When the game began, #1 Auburn led by sure thing Heisman winner Cam Newton was down three possessions to Alabama. Auburn loses and Boise wins on the road, and Boise State crashes the national championship game against an Oregon team they had beaten each of the previous two years. Boise was up big going into the fourth. Then Nevada had one heck of a rally and tied the game. A little bit of luck on missed FGs and a lot of heart, Nevada shocked the world and won in OT. Auburn came back to win the game against Alabama and proceed to the national title so it was a double whammy for Boise State.
Nevada finished the season with a bowl win over Boston College. I remember all the college football talking heads saying Nevada cost themselves however many millions in bowl earnings via WAC association with Boise assuming they cost the Broncos a big bowl. Worth every penny, the talking heads said, as Nevada had cemented themselves as a big time program because of this moment.
What has Nevada done since? Nothing. They went to a bowl game in 2012, a great game they lost to Arizona if memory serves me right. They transitioned up to the MWC and have struggled against better competition. Without looking it up, I cannot point to a single win of note since 2010.

Had we beaten OSU that year, I would say we would be somewhere between the two. Brandon would have used the win to get a bigger job so a good hire could have built the program up. However, the state has six MAC programs, a Big Ten superpower, and Cincinnati who was in C-USA at the time. With time, saturation would have taken its toll. Outside the MAC, the programs are considered a dime a dozen. My Michigan brother dismissed Kent State's magical 2012 season as "Akron or some other Ohio MAC team." I think we would have received a nice five year bump but at some point would have regressed back to the mean.

[zete]

........at this point it is probably safe to state a MAC team will not beat OSU, at least in the foreseeable future (25Years). During the '90s and into the 2000s I thought some team would go into the shoe and come out with their head on a platter. We came close; Miami came close during the Mike Bath years, and then Toledo several years later..........

[Schadenfreude]

........at this point it is probably safe to state a MAC team will not beat OSU, at least in the foreseeable future (25Years).

This is a bit too sweeping for me. Few would have imagined Northern Illinois beating Alabama, Toledo beating Michigan, or Western Michigan playing in the Cotton Bowl before those things happened. This is why we play the games.

That said, I'm not planning to make the trip to Columbus next year. We have a much better shot at Illinois.