I have a sinking (stinking) feeling that the Owls will end up bowling here, my version of MAC hell, if they don't win their next two games. I can only hope they win the next two.
My car stalled out on the way home and thanks to triple A got a tow and finished last in the MAC answers department.
Here are my Week 11 answers:
1. There are still six teams in the MAC who can become Bowl Eligible. The two with the toughest road to hoe are Kent and WMU, each with six losses. Do either, neither, or both teams make 6-6 and potentially see a bowl.
I think WMU slips in there because one of the other conference tie-in bowls will have non-qualifiers. Plus, I like Bill Cubit.
2. In the past two years three coaches from the MAC have “moved up”. Brady Hoke in 2008 and Turner Gill / Butch Jones in 2009. Which Coach or Coaches more out in 2010. Also which coaches get tossed on the garbage heap of failed and fired MAC coaches.
Everybody will come asking Al Golden (Minnesota, Colorado) but those aren't the areas in Al's recruiting footprint. I think he would be extremely uncomfortable recruiting there. According to a guy I work with who is PSU-connected, some pretty influential PSU backers have let Al know through backchannels that he's president's Graham Spanier's top choice as replacement for Joe in one or two years, that Al doesn't need to prove himself at any place but Temple. Al never wanted to go to Tennessee, East Carolina or Cincy. He wanted Temple and I think the only other job he'd want is Penn State. He doesn't want to go through the sheer exhaustion of building a program like he did at Temple anywhere else. He can stay put at Temple and still go to PSU. He has all the time in the world. Plus Temple sweetened the pot by raising his salary from 575K to $1.2 mil. That's a pretty damn sweet pot.
3. Right now three MAC teams are getting votes in various polls (NIU, Temple, and Ohio). Is the MAC starting to upswing off of the (real or perceived) fall off from 2004-2009?
Only Bowl wins will tell. I see NIU and Temple winning bowl games this year.
4. So far this season what has been the story that defines the MAC? Which player’s, team’s, or mascot’s news headline is most representative of the conference as a whole.
I think Mike Gerardi defines the MAC. With him, there's no doubt in my mind Temple goes 10-0 so far. No doubt.
It's shocking to me that Golden stayed with Chester Stewart out of loyalty and hurt his team's chance at true greatness. But Al is a stubborn guy so I admire his change of heart/head as much as I'm shaking my freaking head (smfh is the facebook abbreviation) over sticking with a guy who couldn't complete a play-action pass to save his life.
5. Rank MAC squads in order of pure 2010 Power
1. Temple
2. NIU
3. Toledo
4. Ohio
5. Miami Ohio
6. WMU
7. Ball State
8. Kent State
9. CMU
10. Buffalo
11. Bowling Green
12. Eastern Michigan
13. Akron
