2022 Season

[Schadenfreude]

I wouldn’t bank on a bowl game at 6-6. We saw Toledo get shut out a few years ago. It wouldn’t shock me if they took a more local 5-7 team over BG. If there are enough teams to fill all spots, BG is the first team not being invited.

Bowling Green clinched a bowl game tonight. The MAC has eight tie-ins, and the MAC will be down to eight eligible teams after the Miami-Ball State game tomorrow night.

Also: My understanding is that all 6-6 teams across FBS must be invited to games before any sub .500 teams are allowed to be invited. I don't think the scenario you describe could happen.

[Flipper]

I think we're all Akron fans this Saturday

[jpfalcon09]

I think we're all Akron fans this Saturday

They have a chance given the three feet of snow expected in Buffalo this weekend.

[cameron]

I have a feeling we’re going to get the help we need. We saw first-hand that Kent is capable, and I certainly wouldn’t rule out Akron either. Those players don’t want to go 0-8 in the MAC, so they still have pride and the role of spoiler to play for. Akron has been competitive in most of their MAC games.

[Flipper]

Akron's QB DJ Irons has as much natural ability as any QB I've seen in conference this year

[jpfalcon09]

Akron's QB DJ Irons has as much natural ability as any QB I've seen in conference this year

Irons was injured last week vs. EMU. Unknown if he'll play Saturday.

[Bgsu2016]

I will say this as an analysis of the MAC, this is really the worst I’ve ever seen the conference. The fact that last night may have been a battle of the two best teams in the league is concerning. They both just have so many holes and so many inconsistencies, and yet they’re both 5-2 in league play.

If you put some of those late 90s/early 00s MAC title contending teams in the 2022 version of this league they would absolutely steamroll the field. 2002 & 2003 BGSU would win every game by 21

[Schadenfreude]

I will say this as an analysis of the MAC, this is really the worst I’ve ever seen the conference.

I remember the 1980s and early 1990s. This is a down year for the conference that reminds me of that era.

[Flipper]

Disagree there...we were a quality team in the early 1990's. we went toe to toe with OSU and beat a quality ECU team at the Doyt. Beat Fresno State in 1991..We didn't walk over the conference then...the league was pretty competitive as a whole.

In the 80's...we had some classic games. Beat Kentucky at their place (the SEC!) almost beat North Carolina before losing it late and we were ranked for much of 1985...we did n't just walk all over everyone then either.

This is the low mark for MAC football in my view during the 40 some years I've been watching it

[BillyLP]

I will say this as an analysis of the MAC, this is really the worst I’ve ever seen the conference.

I remember the 1980s and early 1990s. This is a down year for the conference that reminds me of that era.

Are they really that much worse than a few years ago or is there more parity? 2-19 against the P5 this year, 3-17 last year, 1-21 in 2019. 6-9 against other G5 teams this year, 7-9 in 2021 and 6-9 in 2019. Even going back to 2015, they were 4-20 against P5 and 8-10 against G5. Seems pretty consistent against other conferences to me.

[Flipper]

Almost forgot...in 1983 the Toledo/BG game drew over 33,000 to the Doyt which isn't even possible today. I was in old the north end zone grandstand and recall people lined up on the ramps into the stadium during much of the game.

Interest in the program(s) was higher back then

[jpfalcon09]

MAC is down for several reasons:

1. Demographic shifts in the midwest - people moving out of the rust belt to other parts of the country for new jobs, escaping the poor weather, etc.

2. Regional recruiting is gone. MAC used to get a lot of those Big Ten leftovers, kids who were probably good enough to be 2nd or 3rd string at Ohio State but didn't want to ride the bench. BG and the like were suitable alternatives. The national powers now recruit the entire country.

3. Fewer kids playing football - the number of boys playing on 11-player high school football teams was 1,109,278 in 2009-10. That number dropped to 973,792 in 2021-22. That's a 13% decrease. Fewer kids means fewer kids with high end talent and the rest dilutes.

4. The beginning effects of NIL and the transfer portal. The G5 will become farm systems for the P5. Kids will transfer to a bigger school once they start getting noticed.

[Schadenfreude]

Disagree there...we were a quality team in the early 1990's. we went toe to toe with OSU and beat a quality ECU team at the Doyt. Beat Fresno State in 1991..We didn't walk over the conference then...the league was pretty competitive as a whole.

In the 80's...we had some classic games. Beat Kentucky at their place (the SEC!) almost beat North Carolina before losing it late and we were ranked for much of 1985...we did n't just walk all over everyone then either.

This is the low mark for MAC football in my view during the 40 some years I've been watching it

I'm not trying to throw shade on the good Bowling Green teams of that era. The Falcons were very good 1991-1994. But the MAC as a whole was not performing well in nonconference during the 1980s and early 1990s. Games with P5 schools were uncommon -- I think the MAC was playing nine conference games at times in that era -- and the MAC often didn't do well when teams got outside of conference play. I'm pretty sure that the only time a MAC team was ranked in any week between 1977 (after the Miami glory days ended) and 1995 (when Toledo went undefeated) was when Bowling Green finished 11-0 in the 1985 regular season before getting manhandled by Fresno State.

I will throw a bit of shade: In 1982, Bowling Green won the MAC with a 7-4 regular season record. They lost both nonconference games, at Long Beach State and at North Carolina. Neither of those games were particularly close (at least on paper; this was before my time, so I didn't see those games). The Falcons also lost the bowl game at Fresno State.

Another example that comes to mind is 1987. Eastern Michigan won the MAC but they didn't beat anybody of note during that regular season. The Hurons' nonconference games included a 35-20 win over Youngstown State, a loss to Akron (independent), and a one-point win over Northern Illinois (independent).

I see a lot of handwringing about how the MAC isn't doing particularly well in nonconference play this year. I try to keep in mind that it's one year. Also, if we are sliding into a more challenging period, the conference has been there before, and we eventually got through it.

[Falconwriter]

Almost forgot...in 1983 the Toledo/BG game drew over 33,000 to the Doyt which isn't even possible today. I was in old the north end zone grandstand and recall people lined up on the ramps into the stadium during much of the game.

Interest in the program(s) was higher back then

I think it's more about games being accessible online or on TV now compared to then. If you really wanted to see most games in 1983 you had to actually be there. That's not the case now.

[Schadenfreude]

Bowling Green clinched a bowl game tonight. The MAC has eight tie-ins, and the MAC will be down to eight eligible teams after the Miami-Ball State game tomorrow night.

Minor correction: The Miami-Ball State game is next week.