September 20, 2003 MAC Day

[hammb]

........at this point it is probably safe to state a MAC team will not beat OSU, at least in the foreseeable future (25Years). During the '90s and into the 2000s I thought some team would go into the shoe and come out with their head on a platter. We came close; Miami came close during the Mike Bath years, and then Toledo several years later..........

Yeah, the MAC was good back then and OSU has always been a super power but the difference between the super powers and the rest wasn't what it is today.

At this point I'll be somewhat surprised if we ever see a MAC team stay within 2 TDs of OSU again, let alone win. They're as good or better than ever, and we're worse than we were back then.

We don't really play the same sport.

[TommyG]

We don't really play the same sport.

In 03 there was a feeling going into that game like we had a legit chance and actually played well enough to win. Now OSU is on a different level. They not only out talent you, but also outcoach you. They could score 100 on most every MAC team of they wanted.
MAC teams can hang in there with the bottom feeders of the P5, not exactly sure what that buys you even if you win. Eastern beat Illnois 2 weeks ago and then should have lost this weekend to CCSU. Anyone think EMU is a threat to be a consistent winning program moving forward?
Beating a top 25 caliber program is big. Winning against Rutgers, Illinois, Vandy, Purdue, Kansas, etc doesn’t do much for you.

[jpfalcon09]

........at this point it is probably safe to state a MAC team will not beat OSU, at least in the foreseeable future (25Years). During the '90s and into the 2000s I thought some team would go into the shoe and come out with their head on a platter. We came close; Miami came close during the Mike Bath years, and then Toledo several years later..........

Yeah, the MAC was good back then and OSU has always been a super power but the difference between the super powers and the rest wasn't what it is today.

At this point I'll be somewhat surprised if we ever see a MAC team stay within 2 TDs of OSU again, let alone win. They're as good or better than ever, and we're worse than we were back then.

We don't really play the same sport.

This was right around the time of the scholarship reductions which helped mid-majors compete for about a 5-7 year window. Boise State and Hawaii were the climax of that era. With the insane attention being paid to recruiting, along with elite players willing to perhaps take a 2nd string role for a couple years to play for coaches like Saban, those days are over. High school kids who are elite want to win at the collegiate level at any means possible and then parlay that success to the NFL. The big programs increase the chances of that success. 90% of the FBS programs are chasing fool's gold.