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Seriously it was only a few years ago when Bg and urban were tearing it up, big ben and Miami Oh were stacked, toledo Tom was on the national scene, central mich had brian kelly... Now the league is getting beat by 1aa schools and is getting embarassed by CUSA week in and out.. CUsa has surpassed us, mountain west is leaps and bounds better... The Mac is the Worst 1a league in the country

I agree that the conference looks to be the worst in the country at this point. In order for MAC teams to compete at a higher level they need three things. One they have to have a top level coach. Two they have to have a veteran team filled with juniors and seniors. Three they need to have a game changer, preferably at quarterback. At this point there aren't many teams that meet these criteria. Temple may be the only one. We don't have the last two, and I'm not sold on the coach. What usually happens to teams is there coach gets plucked by a bigger school, they lose their quarterback, or they just lose their veteran guys. The MAC can't reload, programs have to rebuild. Fans and ADs don't understand this, and that is why often coaches get fired for unrealisitic expectations. MAC football really should be IAA due to the fact that teams don't draw fans. We'll play Marshall Saturday, and there will be 8,000-10,000 fans. We'll announce 15,000 because that is what the NCAA minimum is. It is a joke.

I think you left out MONEY. We are playing games against better funded schools because our state doesn't fund anything properly thus all areas of the university are cut, and that includes athletics.

So we have one of the youngest teams in the nation- I don't have facts at hand, but look at our roster. We just lost the nation's best receiver and a stellar QB amongst others. And our coach is in his second year. He is working with someone else's players and those that are his are very young.

We oh so should have beaten Troy...who has not lost on that field since FDR was born or something like that. We held the Hurricanes to less points than they scored last week. And were in position to "do things" several times, but penalties.. oh the penalties. Mistakes by young players.

Oh by the way, how did Urban's team look last week? Yeah, they won, but at least we could snap the ball.

Do we have the W's? No we don't. I HATE to lose. Do we have a team, and a scheme and a vision to keep improving--Hell yes we do! Our first 4 games have been described as a "Meatgrinder" for a young team, and I don't disagree.

And if you aren't sold on Dave Clawson, have you ever sat down and talked with the man? Have you listened to him speak about his team? I have to respectfully disagree. I am thrilled that he is our coach.

So bring on the MAC in a couple of weeks. I think we'll be ready to compete.

I am completely sold on Dave Clawson, and it appears the players are too. He is the right guy to lead this team.

As for the MAC getting so bad fast, yeah, it's been noticeable. Look at 2003 ... we were ranked, Miami was ranked, NIU got up to #12 after beating 'Bama, Maryland, and Iowa State and we knocked them off, Toledo beat #9 Pitt, and Marshall had another great season. I don't remember if either Marshall or Toledo were ranked that season. Seven years later, not a single coach from 2003 remains. In fact, CMU has had two coaches between then and now that have come and gone. Two of the MAC teams from 2003 are now C-USA, and a Big East reject is now a MAC team. We just had the right stars and planets line up at the right time I guess.

Now if there is another MAC power blooming, I do believe it is BG. We've got a great coach, we've got a young but very talented team that will only get better, and we've been recruiting well. Watch out. We'll be back. As for the rest of the conference, well, we could use them getting better in order for us to be viewed as better.

I would agree that money is a very important part in college football today, but I think the previous posts are missing the boat. First please give Coach Dave Clawson time to get this program moving. If you want to be critical of him do it in his fourth year...which will be his first recruiting class...then you can be critical. Part of the problem that Coach Clawson is facing is a carry over from Brandon. I don't think most fans realize but fifth year senior Tyler Donahue was the ONLY lineman taken in his recruiting class. How can you only recruit one lineman in a recruiting year? That is why Coach Clawson is dealing with such a young line. I believe that BGSU can be a powerhouse again. Just give the man Coach Clawson time...he has the right attitude and understands the game. Just my opinion.

WHAT SHE SAID!!!
Well done, AAF!!

I still have faith in Clawson. I like what he stands for and I like listening to him speak. I think he is a good, young coach.

Unfortunately BG was not ripe for an immediate turnaround like they were when Urban got here. I know we all wanted that quick turnaround, but it just wasn't really doable with this roster. When Urban showed up he had a core of very talented underperforming players. Blackney's team still had talent, but he couldn't get them prepared to play and his schemes were way out of date at the time. When Clawson got here he had a senior QB and WR with a solid OL, and not much else. He was able to take that group and win 8 games, which was more than I expected right off the bat.

However, once those seniors graduated there was almost NOTHING left for him. The classes that should now be forming our core of upper classmen were CRAP. One of those classes was almost a complete bust.

Brandon got lauded for his recruiting, but his last few years it wasn't there. Those classes were bad with way too many transfers, washouts, and busts. They didn't produce nearly enough talent to build a winning team in '10 no matter HOW good of a coach we brought in.

I think we've got a pretty good coach on board right now, and I think we've got some talent to build on. This year was always going to be a rebuilding year for BG because we're just too young to expect a great year. However, I agree that the MAC is awful across the board, and even though we are rebuilding a run at the MAC title is probably not out of the question, even still. This season is not about winning football games, it's about developing the young talent to compete on a high level in '11 and beyond. Obviously I wanna see wins as much as anyone, but they shouldn't be expected at this time...we're just too young.

I think the last paragraph of hammb sums up my feelings EXACTLY!

I have to completely agree with Hammb as well. It's painfully obvious we won't be making any waves this year. Clawson needs some time to develop his guys.

always a falcon wrote:I think you left out MONEY. We are playing games against better funded schools because our state doesn't fund anything properly thus all areas of the university are cut, and that includes athletics.

Without question, Bowling Green's resources are more limited than most bowl subdivision programs. But this is primarily a function of local interest (paid attendance, etc.) and the portion of the general fee devoted to athletics. The fee is controlled by the Board of Trustees, and not dictated by the state.

(State government's primary role is to help share the cost of instruction, and this has improved lately. It used to be tuition went up 6 percent a year, every year. The last few years, tuition has grown more slowly than at any time since the 1980s.)

Anyway, back to football: I have a ton of faith in Dave Clawson, and I think this team has a lot talent. These players just need time to grow. We need to be patient.

As far as the MAC: I think coaches and media are as willing as they've ever been to put a MAC program in the top 25. We just haven't seen a team break out, away from the pack, and some of that comes down to pure statistical chance.

Some of these nonconference losses are disappointing, without question (I thought Gardner-Webb was a furniture store). But it happens. This conference has never been head and shoulders ahead of the championship subdivision, and we aren't the only conference getting stung (see Kansas, Virginia Tech or Mississippi for details).

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.

0-0 in MAC play right now folks, and that is all that counts, contesting for a MACC. So having not played a mac contest, and having lost to another mac squad the hunt has not even started yet. BCS ranks and titles mean nothing and wont happen for MAC schools under the "system". So all that honestly matters is the MAC, these warm up games are nothing but a chance to work out the kinks, and it looks like we have some, with good coaching they will get hammered out, this is a good BG team with players of the same caliber we always have. We just have use them all right.
I just hope our starters dont get to beat up in the big house, Mich is a very different team than the one the rockets beat.

But but but, if we only had a national playoff in football, we'd have a chance at a national title, so much more money, and all that extra interest.........

The MAC is bad, really really bad. Temple hardly is a decent team either, consider the Big East is working with a 1AA team as an expansion candidate, in the Philly market, rather than talking to Temple.

But I've heard this song before. Things can and will go around again. I honestly think fan support has been seriously stubbed by the extended obsession with getting games on TV. That era is over, time to move games to the net, and worry less about about filling ESPN's schedule.

The other thing to remember, some of those epic years were when the entire league was hitting at the same time. We have a few good teams. Just not as many, nor all in the same point in their cycles.

NWLB wrote:The MAC is bad, really really bad. Temple hardly is a decent team either, consider the Big East is working with a 1AA team as an expansion candidate, in the Philly market, rather than talking to Temple.

To be fair, I mean they did bascially kick Temple out of the conference. I really can't see the Big East saying to Temple "hey we made a mistake, wanna come back to the conference" even though the Big East Temple was in was a much better conference then the Big East is now. And you really can't blame them for going after Villanova over Temple, I mean Nova is already in the conference for all other sports, much rather someone who is already in the conference for all other sports then a team that would just be a football only member. Unless Temple is willing to put all their sports in the Big East I don't see their football team going back to that conference

BGFalconfromCincy wrote:

NWLB wrote:The MAC is bad, really really bad. Temple hardly is a decent team either, consider the Big East is working with a 1AA team as an expansion candidate, in the Philly market, rather than talking to Temple.

To be fair, I mean they did bascially kick Temple out of the conference. I really can't see the Big East saying to Temple "hey we made a mistake, wanna come back to the conference" even though the Big East Temple was in was a much better conference then the Big East is now. And you really can't blame them for going after Villanova over Temple, I mean Nova is already in the conference for all other sports, much rather someone who is already in the conference for all other sports then a team that would just be a football only member. Unless Temple is willing to put all their sports in the Big East I don't see their football team going back to that conference

Can't disagree. I am just musing that for all the lip service they have lent to improving, a 1AA team is going to sprint past them in joining a conference which is a step above what Temple can hope to join after the MAC (hopefully) declines to continue to host their program. Sadly it reflects badly on the MAC, which remains another reason why I wish we hadn't sopped to the bleed hearts who invited them.

The way the league is playing in recent years, even having the bowl games is a bad joke. I continue to NOT see a benifit to showing off how second-rate most of the league is. It is only a vague hope the MAC will improve that leaves me thinking it isn't an entirely bad idea.

In any case, in times like this, I fall back on what really counts when you boil things down: winning the MAC, winning your rivalry games, and worry about the rest later. Because times like this do much to grind down the arguments about how it is all about TV, bowls, playoffs, and rankings.