Looking ahead to Nov 17 and Dec 4th

[WhiteBarksdale]

Longtime lurker, first time poster.

I, like most of you, have thoroughly enjoyed watching the guys play the last few seasons, especially this season. Its been tougher than usual to watch the guys play this year as I currently(temporarily) live in South Korea, meaning that kick off is sometimes at 2 to 4am. BUT, its been so worth it, its been a lot of fun watching the guys play. It gets easier from here with MACtion on ESPN, the kickoff times are more manageable for me.

That brings me to my point. With the way this MAC season is shaping up it seems that the marquee matchup of the season will fall on November 17th when TSUN comes to the Doyt. If the trends hold firm, this game will mostly likely be just a preview of the first ever meeting of TSUN and BG in the MAC Championship in Detroit. I am so excited, I can hardly wait, Im sure the rest of you feel the same.

But there was recently a post on HustleBelt, ( http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-football/ ... t-on-board" target="_blank ) that doesnt really apply to the BG faithful, but it irked me nonetheless. BG has not gotten it's due credit as a team on the biggest MAC blog in the world (correct me if Im wrong). Outside of some great plays made by some individuals, our boys largely go unnoticed. Especially our savior Matt Johnson. The guy has done nothing but shatter the stat books over and over, and against 3 Power 5 conference teams to boot. Yet, HustleBelt wants everyone not named BG to jump on the TSUN bandwagon "for the good of the conference". I just can't buy that, I think BG's schedule has been much tougher than TSUN and we have played better in my biased opinion. But most of all, I think that whats "for the good of the conference" is having another Heisman contender/finalist. The least that good be done, is to continue to highlight the stats, they speak for themselves. It all just makes the wait for November 17th that much more difficult.

http://imgur.com/ivCxu6J" target="_blank

[Rollo83]

I get the Hustle Belt post, I really do. Toledo is the conference's best shot, really only shot, at crashing the party and playing in a New Year's Day bowl game much like Northern Illinois did a few years back. If Toledo were to lose at any point (regular season or MAC championships) then that spot would more likely to go to the likes of Houston, Memphis, or Temple. Hell, the argument could even be made that if Memphis or Houston wins out, they might even go over Toledo, no matter what the Rockets do.

So I get that if your team is out of the picture you might want to root for Toledo to uphold the MAC reputation. I was rooting for Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl that year. However, as the article suggests, Bowling Green fans have a different perspective. One, we have a great shot at the MAC championship ourselves. We denied NIU a second trip to one of those bowls in 2013, when we ruined their undefeated season in the MAC Championship Game. Secondly, its hard for us to ever root for our arch rival to win anything. Same goes for OSU/Michigan fans, Alabama/Auburn fans, or any other great college football rivalry.

So I don't take that article as slight on BG at all.

[Schadenfreude]

I was annoyed by that Hustle Belt post as well. I really hope the Falcons embarrass the Rockets next month, and I think they have what it takes to make that happen.

[kdog27]

The streak to them ends this year. They have played well all season and have been impressive but BG is playing better now. And getting to beat them twice in a season would more than make up for the 5 game losing streak. I don't think any team from the MAC hangs with BG at the indoor track meet that is Ford Field. I'll root for them to be undefeated until they come to BG.

That said, both teams have plenty of work ahead before November 17.

[gmartin]

If BG beats Toledo at the Doyt it's not given Toledo will represent the West in the MACC. You can hate me for saying this but I would prefer BG already have the East locked up before the Toledo game. BG loses a close game to Toledo at the Doyt. Toledo wins out and is in the Top 15. BG then crushes the Rockets hope in an ass whipping in Detroit!!!

[Falcon137]

If BG beats Toledo at the Doyt it's not given Toledo will represent the West in the MACC. You can hate me for saying this but I would prefer BG already have the East locked up before the Toledo game. BG loses a close game to Toledo at the Doyt. Toledo wins out and is in the Top 15. BG then crushes the Rockets hope in an ass whipping in Detroit!!!

A BG win over Ohio and the division race is officially over. It's shocking how bad everyone in the east (minus BG) has been the last 3 years.

If Toledo is 9-0 coming to the Doyt and BG is 8-2, a BG win likely puts BG in the top 25 and Toledo just outside of it. Each team wins the following week and it's possibe to have ranked vs ranked in Detroit. BG wins again. That would be a dream season.

Although, I wouldn't be surprised to see Toledo lose to NIU and Central back to back.

[gmartin]

Considering we DROPPED from the others receiving votes after a 48-0 win I don't see any way BG is ranked going into that game. If Toledo loses to us and slips against CMU or WMU they won't make it to Detroit. I want to play Toledo in Detroit for the Mac Championship so if that means Toledo beats BG at the Doyt so be it. A BG - Toledo game at Ford Field may be the best game in that stadium in years. Lions fans may even attend. Lol

[kdog27]

Considering we DROPPED from the others receiving votes after a 48-0 win I don't see any way BG is ranked going into that game. If Toledo loses to us and slips against CMU or WMU they won't make it to Detroit. I want to play Toledo in Detroit for the Mac Championship so if that means Toledo beats BG at the Doyt so be it. A BG - Toledo game at Ford Field may be the best game in that stadium in years. Lions fans may even attend. Lol

Hoping we can lose so we can win in Detroit? No thanks...

[gmartin]

I would love to beat Toledo twice, but if we beat Toledo at the Doyt after already wrapped up the East, that Toledo loss could keep them out of the MAC Championship.

So if I had to choose only one win against Toledo I would prefer it in the MAC Championship game, ruining their high bowl expectations.

Would you rather beat Toledo at the Doyt and face NIU or WMU in the MAC Championship OR lose to Toledo at the Doyt, and BG faces Toledo again and wins the MAC Championship eliminating Toledo from a better bowl.

[kdog27]

I'd rather beat Toledo then beat whoever in Detroit.

[jpfalcon09]

While it's nice to look ahead at "what-ifs", there are still two games to be played before Toledo.

Ohio is going to be playing for their MAC season next week and the team simply cannot overlook them.

Western Michigan still has a ton to play for as they have yet to get into the meat of their schedule, much like the other top MAC teams.

BG could easily be worrying about their MAC chances heading into the Toledo game, so it's simply a moot point right now.

[thewebboy]

I'd rather beat Toledo then beat whoever in Detroit.

This,

[Rollo83]

If BG beats Toledo at the Doyt it's not given Toledo will represent the West in the MACC. You can hate me for saying this but I would prefer BG already have the East locked up before the Toledo game. BG loses a close game to Toledo at the Doyt. Toledo wins out and is in the Top 15. BG then crushes the Rockets hope in an ass whipping in Detroit!!!

A BG win over Ohio and the division race is officially over. It's shocking how bad everyone in the east (minus BG) has been the last 3 years.

If Toledo is 9-0 coming to the Doyt and BG is 8-2, a BG win likely puts BG in the top 25 and Toledo just outside of it. Each team wins the following week and it's possibe to have ranked vs ranked in Detroit. BG wins again. That would be a dream season.

Although, I wouldn't be surprised to see Toledo lose to NIU and Central back to back.

Actually, we can't "officially" clinch the west with a win over Ohio. Someone from among Kent, Akron and Buffalo could run the table the rest of the way and we could lose all three remaining games with WMU, Toledo and Ball State. If that happened, we'd by 5-3 and they would be at 6-2 and win the division.

Now that is very unlikely to happen on both sides. I don't see us losing all three to end the season and Kent, Akron and Buffalo all still have to play each other so a couple will be eliminated, if not all three.

Got to like our chances if we beat Ohio, but it would still be mathematically possible to lose the division if we do.

[Falcon137]

If BG beats Toledo at the Doyt it's not given Toledo will represent the West in the MACC. You can hate me for saying this but I would prefer BG already have the East locked up before the Toledo game. BG loses a close game to Toledo at the Doyt. Toledo wins out and is in the Top 15. BG then crushes the Rockets hope in an ass whipping in Detroit!!!

A BG win over Ohio and the division race is officially over. It's shocking how bad everyone in the east (minus BG) has been the last 3 years.

If Toledo is 9-0 coming to the Doyt and BG is 8-2, a BG win likely puts BG in the top 25 and Toledo just outside of it. Each team wins the following week and it's possibe to have ranked vs ranked in Detroit. BG wins again. That would be a dream season.

Although, I wouldn't be surprised to see Toledo lose to NIU and Central back to back.

Actually, we can't "officially" clinch the west with a win over Ohio. Someone from among Kent, Akron and Buffalo could run the table the rest of the way and we could lose all three remaining games with WMU, Toledo and Ball State. If that happened, we'd by 5-3 and they would be at 6-2 and win the division.

Now that is very unlikely to happen on both sides. I don't see us losing all three to end the season and Kent, Akron and Buffalo all still have to play each other so a couple will be eliminated, if not all three.

Got to like our chances if we beat Ohio, but it would still be mathematically possible to lose the division if we do.

It's semantics. I'll take the snowball's chances in hell before thinking anyone other than BG can win the east with a win next week.

[Beaker]

Welcome to the board, WB.

Agree with Rollo, I don't have a problem with the article, other than I wish it were a team other than Turdelo that was in the position they are in right now. That's the only team in the conference that I find it hard to root for under any circumstance, ever. I get that fans of other MAC schools would root for them to further national prestige of the conference, and given their 8-0 record, they are the team that has the chance to carry that banner at the present time. That said, I think we are the better team right now. Will it be that way on 11/17? We'll see.

Now way, no how, not ever would I be ok with us losing to them. Even more so on our home field. If we beat them on 11/17, yes, that hurts the potential conference resume, but hell, it's Turdledo and BG beating them trumps any potential national glory for the conference in my book. If them losing to us ends up keeping them out of the championship, then I'll relish that fact. If they can earn their way to Detroit, then let's beat them again there. Twice as nice.

As far as the remaining schedule, I don't want to see a repeat of last year when we had the East wrapped up, then seemed to let up when playing the last few league games. I doubt that we would have beaten NIU in the final last year, because they were the better team, but what I don't want us to do is take our foot off the gas this year against teams like WMU and Balls Tate. We need to play every week with the same focus and intensity and keep it rolling. Sometimes when a team relaxes and lets the mojo slip away, they have a hard time getting it back.

I doubt we make it into the rankings at all, even if we win out. That doesn't mean we aren't or won't be one of the best 25 teams, it just means we don't get recognized as such. 2 losses will likely keep us out of that party. Such is life in the MAC.