No Miami Next Year?

[BGSUFanatic7]

Miami sent out a story that announced their 2014 MAC conference opponents. BG is not on a list that includes Kent State, UMass, Ohio, WMU, Akron, Buffalo, CMU and NIU. Yikes, how is the BG-MU game not on the conference slate? I guess we will be playing three West teams.

http://www.muredhawks.com/ViewArticle.d ... =209370235

[footballguy51]

We'll probably get stuck playing NIU, Ball State, and UT.

[svillefalcon]

We'll probably get stuck playing NIU, Ball State, and UT.

and we'll beat all three of them. I am not worried about anyone we play in conference. We are the Champs, time for a change that they are worried to play US.

Roll Along...

[thewebboy]

Not scared of any team in the MAC next year, but don't like that we skip divisional opponents. What is the point of a division if you don't play every team in it? Makes for weirder tiebreakers when you don't settle it on the field.

[mscarn]

We're in the East Division and don't play an East Division team? A team that has served as our de facto second rivalry game for decades?

Why even bother with division distinctions in the first place? This has to be a joke.

[jpfalcon09]

That's interesting for sure, would much rather skip a team like UMass than have to skip Miami, especially with them having to come to BG for the next meeting. What a bummer.

[Warthog]

It has to do with the unbalanced divisions (7 team in the East and 6 in the West). There will always be an East team that does not play all of the East division teams.

[orangeandbrown]

That's correct Warthog....we didn't play Akron for a few years. It is unfortunate that it is one of our natural rivals.

[Dayons_Den]

Looks like you need a new Avatar image there orangeandbrown

[Falcon137]

Per John Wagner

Home - Buffalo, Kent State, Ball State, and WMU

Away - Toledo, UMass, Ohio, and Akron

[BGSU33]

It has to do with the unbalanced divisions (7 team in the East and 6 in the West). There will always be an East team that does not play all of the East division teams.

But how do you explain this???:

Since the MAC East went back to a 7-team division in 2007 (with the addition of Temple at the time) Ohio is the only MAC East school to have played each MAC East opponent every single year since. In fact, since 2008, Akron has never played every MAC East team since the realignment, while schools such as Bowling Green, Buffalo and Kent State have each missed out 4 times and Miami, UMass and former member Temple all missed out twice. Yet, Ohio has never missed playing a MAC East opponent during that span. How can this be???

Here is the breakdown of the years a MAC East team has missed a division opponent since 2008 (all MAC East schools played each other in 2007):

Akron: 6 times (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008)
Bowling Green: 4 times (2011, 2010, 2009, 2008)
Buffalo: 4 times (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010)
Kent State: 4 times (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010)
Miami: 2 times (2009, 2008)
Massachusetts: 2 times (2013, 2012)
*Temple: 2 times (2009, 2008)
Ohio: NONE

Add to that, it now looks like BG and Miami will make the list again in 2014. And - remember - this happened with Buffalo last year and had BG , OU and UB finished in a 3-way tie had we all split head-to-head (1-1), UB would have been weeded out for not playing as many MAC East game in the tie-breaker pecking order.

I have actually emailed this question to the MAC asking for an answer and will post one if I get one. Either an Ohio grad does the football scheduling, or OU is the luckiest damn team in the East in terms of whatever random selection order the MAC does each season.

[thewebboy]

My guess, based on year's past....

Aug 28 @WKU
Sep 6 VMI
Sep 13 Indiana
Sep 20 @ Wisconsin

Buffalo Homecoming
@ Toledo
@ UMass
WMU
Kent State
@ Akron Weekday game
Ball State Weekday game
@ Ohio Black Friday

[MarkL]

I really don't like it. The unbalanced scheduling could be more balanced if they spread around the the burden of playing only 5 divisional games. Instead, BG and Akron get hosed the most. I don't get it, I really don't.
I believe at any given point there must be two sets of two east teams who don't play each other. We didn't play Temple in 08 or 09 while Akron and MU didn't play. In 2010 and 2011 we didn't play Akron while two other teams didn't play each other. If these next two years it is us and MU, please let the other two be Ohio and UMass. Knowing the MAC, the other set of two will be Akron and Kent.

[Warthog]

We may get "hosed" more often because our designated rival is in the West. So to try to keep us playing all the other West teams on a consistent basis, we have to play 3 West teams more often than other schools.

[BGSU33]

We may get "hosed" more often because our designated rival is in the West. So to try to keep us playing all the other West teams on a consistent basis, we have to play 3 West teams more often than other schools.

Not according to this. Here is the breakdown of the years a MAC East team has missed a division opponent since 2008 (all MAC East schools played each other in 2007):

Akron: 6 times (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008)
Bowling Green: 4 times (2011, 2010, 2009, 2008)
Buffalo: 4 times (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010)
Kent State: 4 times (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010)
Miami: 2 times (2009, 2008)
Massachusetts: 2 times (2013, 2012)
*Temple: 2 times (2009, 2008)
Ohio: NONE

How has Akron 6 times and Ohio none??? It makes no sense whatsoever! I did see that this year Akron will finally play all six East teams. But will we finally see Ohio not?