How did the MAC get so bad???

[Redwingtom]

And did you see the stats for the OU-Toledo game? They were beyond abysmal. OU threw three picks (two of which were returned inside the 5) and Toledo threw two picks. Total yards for the game was 395 FOR BOTH TEAMS COMBINED! Toledo missed FOUR field goals. OU averaged 1.6 yards per rush on 28 carries.

[NWLB]

Watching Toledo suck is a vice of mine, the only down side was that they also won the game. Yet in that, I retain the joy of knowing how bad OU is, how bad UT will be, and that BGSU only seems able to improve....so long as they don't get crippled against UM.

[MACMAN]

The reality is, that with out having Conference Champions all having the same equal chance at a national title via a play off, conferences like the MAC never stood a chance, as they were subjected all the bias of the polls and desire to keep the big, big. Which is why I fully support this move the BCS is making to establish a new boundary. A boundary that says we are different, we have wanted to be different and now you go and you compete against other lower conferences and have your title and we will have ours.
ITs long over due. Its about the MAC Champs play for something real, other than 4 mac teams playing in the toilet bowl because they fished at .700

[Falconfreak90]

We'll be fine...I have no doubt that Dave Clawson is the right man for this job and am already dreading the days when we will be dealing with "Clawson's leaving for...." threads. We're a very young team. I like the talent...we've been very judicious in the signing of JUCO or academically borderline kids (IIRC..ALL of the Feb 2010 signees made it through the NCAA clearinghouse this fall). That's a trap others in the conference have fallen into and it will always come back to bite you in the ass eventually.

We've got the right kids and the right coaches...we just need to allow them to mature. in a way...watching a team grow and mature is fun, it's part of what makes college football so unique.

I'm with Flipper...This team will be solid soon...will take time but it is exciting seeing where Coach Clawson and his staff are taking us.

GO FALCONS!!

[daspollak]

Im going to take a different approach for why the MAC stinks right now. Look at most recruiting sites and you will see a lack of OH players as the top recruits in the country. This is true for most states across the Midwest. The reason for this is the population decline in many of the states do to economic hardships, and now non-traditional football states like NC are getting more players into these rankings. (NC has 6 players, and OH has only 5) This has a trickle down effect for all schools in the region.

The MAC footprint sits inside the Big10. They are always going to get the best recruits in the area, and as a result have stronger football teams. This was great when there was plenty of talent to go around, but in the last few years the bottom schools of the Big10 have been struggling to put together quality teams. Look at Minnesota upset as an example of a quality team that has fallen on hard times. If those teams are struggling to compete in the FBS, imagine how hard it is for the MAC to compete.

More teams are now looking out of state to find that elite talent to compete. Florida, Texas, and California are the top producing states of football talent. They also have better talent from top to bottom to fill the big boy's rosters. Schools like OSU, UM, and ND have the name brand and the coach to go in and take away talent. Most other schools struggle. If a kid has the decision to stay close to home to play or travel hundreds of miles to play what do you think their decision will be. Because of this the SEC has one of the most complete conferences in college football, and the Sun Belt will be on the rise.

The MAC needs to find ways of bring in talent that have a lot of upside if it hopes to be prominent like it was during the first half of this decade. Unfortunately if we rely on Midwest boys to carry the load we will get left behind. You wouldn't drill for diamonds in the middle of OH, and you shouldn't be looking to build your football team with every player from there. MAC schools need to recruit from where the talent is located.

[FortWayneFalcon]

Focus on the state of Bowling Green. There's pleanty of talent right here. Everybody's taking thier limited recruiting assets and sending them all over the country to chase "ranked" players. If the recruiting is worked harder in the BG region I believe there will be more success.

[hammb]

Focus on the state of Bowling Green. There's pleanty of talent right here. Everybody's taking thier limited recruiting assets and sending them all over the country to chase "ranked" players. If the recruiting is worked harder in the BG region I believe there will be more success.

Oh I have to disagree. BG itself is lucky to produce one D1 athlete every few years. Even going up into Toledo the region produces some good basketball talent, but historically there isn't a lot of D1 football talent coming from NW Ohio.

At the very least you have to expand into the Cincy/Columbus/Cleveland areas to bring in top notch D1 talent. I think we sometimes forget just how many D1A programs the state of Ohio is trying to support. If the state is producing less talent that is going to hurt the MAC, since half of the conference is located in Ohio. OSU doesn't feel this, they can just leave the state and do more national recruiting, but on the MAC level if this region continues to produce less talent than it has in the past, it's going to be something we have to deal with.

For this reason, we must be sure to beat out the other MAC schools in recruiting battles.

[Flipper]

I think the "State of Bowling Green" is a term coined by Dave Clawson....IIRC, it includes OH, MI, PA and points west to Chicago. I think it's best to be more local in our recruiting...kids from really far away seem to blow out with a greater frequency.

[Falcon137]

Focus on the state of Bowling Green. There's pleanty of talent right here. Everybody's taking thier limited recruiting assets and sending them all over the country to chase "ranked" players. If the recruiting is worked harder in the BG region I believe there will be more success.

Oh I have to disagree. BG itself is lucky to produce one D1 athlete every few years. Even going up into Toledo the region produces some good basketball talent, but historically there isn't a lot of D1 football talent coming from NW Ohio.

At the very least you have to expand into the Cincy/Columbus/Cleveland areas to bring in top notch D1 talent. I think we sometimes forget just how many D1A programs the state of Ohio is trying to support. If the state is producing less talent that is going to hurt the MAC, since half of the conference is located in Ohio. OSU doesn't feel this, they can just leave the state and do more national recruiting, but on the MAC level if this region continues to produce less talent than it has in the past, it's going to be something we have to deal with.

For this reason, we must be sure to beat out the other MAC schools in recruiting battles.

Bingo Hamm. Although Cincy is becoming tougher and tougher to recruit. You now have UC (which since hiring Kerry Coombs has locked up the city), Ohio State which has always got players from Cincy, and now you have Notre Dame with Brian Kelly recruiting the GCL schools. Miami, OSU, UC all do a pretty good job in Dayton, which produces a lot of players. There have also been whispers at Dayton about going from 1AA-non scholarship to scholarship. Also, Lexington and Louisville are not to far down 71 and 75.

I've been excited in recent years about the inroads BG has been making in SW Ohio, getting players from Wayne, Trotwood, Middletown, and Cincy.

[musicman2343]

And did you see the stats for the OU-Toledo game? They were beyond abysmal. OU threw three picks (two of which were returned inside the 5) and Toledo threw two picks. Total yards for the game was 395 FOR BOTH TEAMS COMBINED! Toledo missed FOUR field goals. OU averaged 1.6 yards per rush on 28 carries.

But remember.... UT QB Dantin - "I believe we have one of the best offenses in the nation."

[Flipper]

The nation he's talking about is probably the State of Delusion...

[daspollak]

The point I was trying to make is there is not enough talent in the Midwest to support all of the teams here anymore. The MAC is usually the last one to the table, and there is not much food left now and days. The MAC decline coincides with the Big10 and Big East declines as well. The talent has moved, and the conferences that easy access to it will become much better.

[CapitalFalcon]

Did anyone ever stop to think that, while there is a lot of competition, recently, other mid-major schools have flourished? Look at TCU. They compete with SMU and North Texas, which are both about as far away from each other as BG and UT. Plus, they are in the footprint of the Big 12, with A&M also very close and Texas not much further away that BG is to Columbus. So these are all factors, but I think daspollak has a point...The Midwest is no longer the cradle of football. It's moving south...And I think that has a lot to do with the long-term economic opportunities (real or perceived) in states outside of the Rust Belt.

[jpfalcon09]

Football is also different in the midwest than in the south. Up here, many teams still pride themselves on lining up 8 guys and handing the ball off 30-35 times a game, while teams in the south use their speed and throw the ball more. It's evident watching the ESPN high school games, and seeing some of the southern schools just air it out for speedy WR's is pretty amazing at that level.

I also believe these things go in cycles. I wouldn't be shocked to see the midwest in 4-6 years once again dominate high school football. But, for right now the action is in California, Texas, Florida and even Alabama and Georgia, but it will dry up when those regions become more heavily recruited.

[FalconTurf]

There seems to be this idea that Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan and such are taking players from the MAC. I really doubt it. These schools are looking for special attributes in athletes and if they don't find them in Ohio they move on. Ohio State is simply keeping a larger percentage of Ohio BCS-level players in state making less opportunities for Michigan, Wisconsin and other BCS schools.

The MAC may have less to choose from and with 6 schools in Ohio recruiting the same level of athlete the talent pool may be drained but not because BCS schools are taking MAC-level athletes. If you want to compete you need to a nice crop of regional talent infused with some Florida, Texas, Georgia or some other region. If anyone is hurting the MAC the Sunbelt and C-USA are keeping the best of the south MAC-level players home.