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Athlon Ranks Mid-American Football Head Coaches for 2013

2013-05-19T17:17:29Z

Spring ball is over and the 2013 season isn't quite here, so to fill our insatiable need for football coverage media outlets across the nation are coming up with some interesting things. The fine people over at Athlon Sports took it upon themselves to rank all 125 FBS coaches. An impressive task.

Here's a look at where the MAC coaches come in on Athlon's list. Take a seat because things aren't pretty.

62. Frank Solich, Ohio Bobcats

63. Pete Lembo, Ball State

72. Dave Clawson, Bowling Green

81. Terry Bowden, Akron

84. Matt Campbell, Toledo

104. Rod Carey, Northern Illinois

111. Jeff Quin, Buffalo

113. Dan Enos, Central Michigan

114. Don Treadwell, Miami

115. Ron English, Eastern Michigan

116. P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan

118. Paul Haynes, Kent State

122. Charley Molnar, UMASS

As you can see, things are downright ugly for the MAC in terms of this list. But why? After all guys like Solich (117-63) and Bowden (141-73) were proven coaches at major programs before coming to the MAC. I mean Bowden once led Auburn to a perfect season in the fabled SEC in his first season with the program and Solich led Nebraska to three top-10 finishes in six season. So why the hate?

Well when we look at how Athlon justify's its rankings things get dicey. As one can expect they look at records, previous stops on the resume and how well a coach manages a game and recruits.

But sure enough it's not just the on-the-field intangibles that the fine folks at Athlon took a look at. Here are some of the other criteria used to rank the head coaches (actually these are the first criteria listed):

"How well are the assistants paid? Are the facilities up to par with the rest of the conference? ... Are there off-the-field or age issues to take into consideration?"

Now wait a second. Understanding that assistant coaches pay has an impact on how well a program does in the long-run, after all no one wants to be underpaid, it still doesn't make sense to me that it somehow impacts how good a head coach is. In fact, pay shouldn't matter at all. No. 28 Mack Brown certainly makes more ($5 million annually) than No. 6 Chris Peterson ($2 million) and No. 3 Bill Snyder ($2.95 million) and can pay his assistants better, but outside of Texas not many would put Brown over the other two.

Facilities. Again, are we ranking coaches here, or the programs they work for. I don't judge the carpenters skills based off of his tools, I certainly wouldn't say No. 60 Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) is better than No. 63 Pete Lembo (Ball State) because he gets to play in a nicer stadium.

And off-the-field issues, funny that they mention that. I agree off-the-field issues do impact a coaches performance, yet somehow the Athlon Sports editors list Bobby Petrino (king of off-the-field issues) at No. 8, 54 spots ahead of Solich. Never mind the fact that Solich has won more games (117 to 75) and has had a much more stable career. Oh and Solich never got run out of a job for sleeping with a young female staff member. When you look at their resumes, is Petrino better than Solich, probably, but not 54 spots better. Then there is this.

Has a coach built a program or continued the success from a previous coach?

Again, I think you have to give Solich the nod here. Sure Louisville and Arkansas weren't powerhouses before Petrino got there (Arkansas still isn't) but Ohio had never even won a bowl game until Solich arrived. After getting canned from Nebraska, Solich came to Athens and has built Ohio into a winning program. What has Petrino ever built besides one heck of a national media buzz over who he's sleeping with?

But to get back on track here, I can't help but think that much of the reason for the MAC's low rankings in this list is because of the conference they play in. Sure, I'm all for putting newer, unproven head coaches at the bottom, but Athlon is clearly being overly harsh to the coaches like Ron English who has one of the toughest jobs in the MAC (he's battling with two other in-state schools in the same conference, plus the big boys Michigan and Michigan State for recruits).

Clearly, the editors didn't give much thought to the smaller schools as evidenced by the long string of back-to-back MAC coaches at the end of the list. I could continue here, ranting about the unfairness of this list, but I think we can all agree that clearly this isn't an accurate reflection of a conference that routinely breeds great coaches. After all, three of the top four coaches on this list spent time roaming the sidelines for a MAC school.

So instead I'll leave it to the crop of new talent as well as the masters like 'Fearless Frankie' Solich to prove their value on the field.

Final weekend series: Day 3

2013-05-19T01:59:33Z

**Standings**
Seed	Team	W	L	GB	Playoff
1	Kent St	20	7	-	-
2	Buffalo	19	7	0.5	-
3	NIU	16	11	4.0	-
4	Ball State	15	12	5.0	-
5	Miami	14	13	6.0	-
6	Bowling Green	13	14	7.0	-
7	Toledo	13	14	7.0	-
8	Central Michigan	12	15	8.0	-
9	~~Eastern Michigan~~	12	15	~~8.0~~	x
10	~~Akron~~	10	17	~~10.0~~	x
11	~~Ohio~~	8	18	~~11.5~~	x
12	~~Western Michigan~~	8	19	~~12.0~~	x

Buffalo at BGSU

Game 1: UB wins 10-4

Game 2: UB wins 4-3

Game 3: BGSU wins 5-4

The Falcons stop the sweep in walk-off fashion. Down by 4 runs at the very start of the game, BGSU scored the winning run off a walkoff triple by Pat Lancaster. Buffalo will have to settle as being a 2-seed as BGSU will be the 6th.

CMU at WMU

Game 1: WMU wins 6-4

Game 2: CMU wins 5-3

Game 3: CMU wins 9-2

A huge clutch win for the Chips. Since EMU lost their game as well, the Maroon and Gold will move on to play the top-seeded Kent State on Wednesday.

Toledo at EMU

Game 1: Toledo wins 4-0

Game 2: EMU wins 10-4

Game 3: Toledo wins 6-5

Toledo wins the series but loses the tiebreaker to rivaled Bowling Green. Toledo will be the 7th seed and Eastern Michigan was sent home in a very tight race to the finish.

NIU at Ball St

Game 1: Ball State wins 3-2

Game 2: Ball State wins 14-3

Game 3: NIU wins 6-4 (10 innings)

*NIU- MAC West Champs*

The Huskies prevented the sweep and are now MAC West champions. Earning the 3rd seed in the tournament is the highest in school history.

Kent St at Akron

Game 1: Kent State wins 5-4 (17 innings)

Game 2: Kent State wins 4-3

Game 3: Kent State wins 4-1

*Kent St- MAC Champs*

The Golden Flashes have now become either MAC regular season or tournament champions in 13 of the last 14 years. They have also won the MAC East title in seven of their last eight years. KSU and their MAC baseball dynasty is actually pretty remarkable.

Ohio at Miami

Game 1: Miami wins 12-7

Game 2: Miami wins 13-6

Game 3: Ohio wins 7-3

The Red Hawks could've been the 4-seed with a win here, but they'll have their shot against Ball State next week. Don't you hate when teams that have not place in the playoffs just get in the way of things?

--------------

MAC TOURNAMENT

A whole lot of baseball to be played from Wednesday through Saturday amongst these eight schools. It'll start at 9 am on the 22nd at the All- Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio. All games will be streaming online and you'll be able to see a rematch of last year's championship matchup on Wednesday.

G1: (5) Miami @ (4) Ball State - 9 am

G2: (6) BGSU @ (3) NIU - 12:30 pm

G3: (7) Toledo @ (2) Buffalo - 4 pm

G4: (8) CMU @ (1) Kent St- 7:30 pm

Final weekend series: Day 2

2013-05-18T15:22:47Z

**Standings**
Seed	Team	W	L	GB	Playoff
1	Buffalo	19	6	-	-
2	Kent St	19	7	0.5	-
3	Ball State	15	11	4.5	-
4	NIU	15	11	4.5	-
5	Miami	14	12	5.5	-
6	Bowling Green	12	14	7.5	-
7	Toledo	12	14	7.5	-
8	Eastern Michigan	12	14	7.5	0.5
9	Central Michigan	11	15	8.5	1.0
10	~~Akron~~	10	16	~~9.5~~	~~2.0~~
11	~~Ohio~~	8	17	~~11.0~~	~~3.5~~
12	~~Western Michigan~~	8	18	~~11.5~~	~~4.0~~

Buffalo at BGSU

Game 1: UB wins 10-4

Game 2: UB wins 4-3

One more win by Buffalo and they'll be crowned as regular season MAC champs & will be the top seed going into Wednesday's festivities. A loss here and they'll be cheering for Akron.

CMU at WMU

Game 1: WMU wins 6-4

Game 2: CMU wins 5-3

The Chips are still clawing their way into the playoffs. Akron's loss to Kent makes Central the only team that's below the top-8 teams in the MAC, but could still make their 11th strait appearance in the MAC tournament. I'll explain in the next series recap.

Toledo at EMU

Game 1: Toledo wins 4-0

Game 2: EMU wins 10-4

This is where things get really interesting. Bowling Green, Toledo and Eastern Michigan are all tied up with 12-14 records, but tiebreakers make things a little bit easier to figure out.

Head-to-head Tiebreakers:

BGSU > Toledo

BGSU > CMU

EMU > BGSU

Toledo > CMU

CMU > EMU

Since BGSU and Toledo both have tiebreak wins over Central, they're both automatically in the tournament. So here are the possible scenarios that could happen today & what the final bottom seedings would look like:

-BGSU wins, Toledo wins, CMU loses:

6. BGSU, 7. Toledo, 8. EMU, CMU out.

-BGSU wins, Toledo wins, CMU wins:

6. BGSU, 7. Toledo, 8. CMU, EMU out.

-BGSU wins, EMU wins, CMU (wins/loses):

6. BGSU, 7. EMU, 8. Toledo, CMU out.

-BGSU loses, Toledo wins, CMU wins:

6. Toledo, 7. BGSU, 8. CMU, EMU out.

-BGSU loses, Toledo wins, CMU loses:

6. Toledo, 7. EMU, 8. BGSU, CMU out.

-BGSU loses, EMU wins, CMU (wins/loses):

6. EMU, 7. BGSU, 8. Toledo, CMU out.

Central really needs EMU to fall to Toledo in that series finale if they want any shot at a MAC championship, and it'll be exciting to see how these last three seeds get finalized.

NIU at Ball St

Game 1: Ball State wins 3-2

Game 2: Ball State wins 14-3

Ball State pretty much won Friday's game from the get-go, scoring 7 runs in the very first inning on four hits. NIU started off as the potential 3-seed and have now slipped down to the 4 spot. The outcome of today's matchup will be the deciding factor of who will be the 3 and 4 seeds.

Kent St at Akron

Game 1: Kent State wins 5-4 (17 innings)

Game 2: Kent State wins 4-3

This sure has turned into a neck-and-neck race as to who could be the #1 seed in the tournament, hasn't it? Being out hit 13-4 in yesterday's game, Akron will not be able to play in the tourney, but will wrap things up today at 1 pm.

Ohio at Miami

Game 1: Miami wins 12-7

Game 2: Miami wins 13-6

Miami can't be any worse than a 5 seed for the tournament. A loss here would solidify them in that seed, but a win means that they'll be watching the outcome of the Ball St/NIU finale. Miami could jump up to 4 with a win of their own and some help from NIU.

#MACtion

Akron cornerback Seth Cunningham arrested for robbing a tobacco store

2013-05-17T21:16:36Z

Hey, more news out of Akron! This time it's an arrest and suspension on the football team. Senior cornerback Seth Cunningham reportedly robbed a 24-hour tobacco store at gunpoint in nearby Brunswick, Ohio, getting away with something called a "water pipe" valued at about $500, and later he confessed to holding up the store.

I am not entirely certain what store it was, but they mention it located on Pearl Road, and this is the only tobacco store that comes up in Brunswick on Pearl Road on Google Maps. "Discount Cigarette Mart." For all your discount cigarette needs.

Cunningham had a chance to start some games in his upcoming senior year, given the departures of Avis Commack and Micklos Blake. He had one pass breakup and nine tackles last season (and somehow USA Today has a photo of one of them!) (no, seriously!) but the Fox TV article mentions him as a "star." He's not quite a starter, so I suppose glyphically this is accurate. But if he is going to miss any time this upcoming season, I am not seeing this being a huge impact. Next man up, whoever it may be.

I'm so sorry, Zips fans. You'll always have soccer.

Nick Harwell's career with Miami is over

2013-05-17T16:27:33Z

We were all dancing around the inevitable conclusion, but our thoughts turned out to be correct: Nick Harwell is gone from Miami. The school confirmed he's no longer enrolled at the University after he went through the standard appeals process, and coach Don Treadwell confirmed he's no longer with the football team given this outcome.

Also thrown into this story was that Harwell pleaded guilty earlier this month to a count of attempted theft and was given 90 days in jail, 89 of them suspended. So ... time served plus probation. There was no mention of him allegedly attempting to break into his girlfriend's residence, which was on the original police report.

He had a real chance at breaking all sorts of MAC records in his senior year if he stayed healthy and out of trouble, and all of that is out the door. What's next for him remains to be seen, but he does have football talent so don't be surprised if you see him wind up at some small Division II college. Being originally from Texas, he'll probably wind up down there. I'm not sure pro football scouts would be particularly interested in him after how this episode unfolded.

In terms of Miami football terms, this is an opportunity for junior Dawan Scott to become The Guy, given he's their top returning receiver (57 catches, 851 yards, 7 touchdowns).

It's a sad end to a bad situation, but I can't help but see the irony that Harwell won't graduate from Miami after stealing a cap and gown out of his ex-girlfriend's car.

Final weekend series: Day 1

2013-05-17T03:45:24Z

**Standings**
Seed	Team	W	L	GB	Playoff
1	Buffalo	18	6	-	-
2	Kent St	18	7	0.5	-
3	NIU	15	10	3.5	-
4	Ball St	14	11	4.5	-
5	Miami	13	12	5.5	0.5
6	Bowling Green	12	13	6.5	1.5
7	Toledo	12	13	6.5	2.0
8	Eastern Michigan	11	14	7.5	2.5
9	Akron	10	15	8.5	1.0
10	Central Michigan	10	15	8.5	1.0
11	~~Ohio~~	8	16	~~10.0~~	~~2.5~~
12	~~Western Michigan~~	8	17	~~10.5~~	~~3.0~~

Buffalo at BGSU

Game 1: UB wins 10-4

Falling down to the potential 7-seed isn't exactly how the Falcons wanted to start the series off, but there's not much they can do about that now. They're two games away from playing on Wednesday, so they better figure something out before they're known as "that one team that should've made the MAC tournament but ended up collapsing in the last weekend of the year".

Okay, so they probably wouldn't be remembered quite like that, but still.

CMU at WMU

Game 1: WMU wins 6-4

Western? You're not supposed to be winning right now, you're not even able to participate in the tourney next week! Central needs to win these last two games against their in-state rival... or else!

(They're actually one game out, but I just wanted to say "...or else!")

Toledo at EMU

Game 1: Toledo wins 4-0

The Rockets can breathe a little bit easier winning the series opener at Oestrike Stadium. Since Bowling Green swept Toledo in the regular season, BG wins the tie-breaker for the 6 seed. Akron's loss to Kent State gives EMU some breathing room, but not enough for comfort.

NIU at Ball St

Game 1: Ball St wins 3-2

Well, good news for NIU: no harm to them in the standings. Good news for Ball State: you won your one stinkin' game. Four more teams still have to play their way in by Saturday.

Kent St at Akron

Game 1: Kent state wins 5-4 (17 innings)

Serious '#MACtion' went down at Canal Park. It's a really corny hashtag, yes, but 17 innings later, you can use whatever the heck hashtag you feel like. Akron needed a win here to jump over EMU as the potential 8-seed, but they will live to fight another day or something like that.

Ohio at Miami

Game 1: Miami wins 12-7

Ohio's loss now has them as the second team to be mathematically out of the playoff picture. Miami is only a half game out of being the fifth team granted the golden ticket to the MAC tournament, which isn't much of a stretch.

You can skydive with Ron English for $5,000

2013-05-16T19:46:14Z

What a cool idea. Sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo have given donors incentives to contribute money for a cause, depending on how much you donate. To reach EMU's fundraising goal of $60,000, they're giving away things such as autographed footballs, field passes to football games, and a chance to skydive with Eastern Michigan football coaches, either assistants of the man himself.

The going rate for skydiving with English is the top-of-the-line donation of $5,000.

To outdo himself once again, if the 10th Annual Golf Outing raises $60,000, he is going to skydive. That is not all, you can join him! Through the popular crowdfunding platform IndieGoGo, fans and supporters of the football program can donate to the Time to FLY campaign and receive perks for their charitable gift. One of these gifts is the opportunity to ride from Ypsilanti to Skydive Tecumseh with Coach English, spend the day with him and eventually ride in the plane and skydive with him.

He's either done this before or this is an incredible Photoshop, but he speaks with the authority that he's skydived before. But the entire idea of donating like this got me to write a post about it, which normally doesn't happen because most programs have fundraiser golf outings, dinners and standard swag. But not skydiving.

Time to Fly. Or rather, plummet to earth and gracefully parachute down toward it, giving you a renewed appreciation for gravity and the terra firma. But that's too long of a hashtag.

There are three skydiving opportunities available, and you can donate here.

Baseball's regular season set to wrap up

2013-05-15T21:51:26Z

**Standings**
#	Team	W	L	GB	Playoff
1	Buffalo	17	6	-	-
2	Kent St	17	7	0.5	-
3	Northern Illinois	15	9	2.5	-
4	Ball St	13	11	4.5	0.5
5	Miami (OH)	12	12	5.5	1.5
6	Bowling Green	11	12	6.0	2.0
7	Toledo	11	13	6.5	2.5
8	Eastern Michigan	11	13	6.5	2.5
9	Akron	10	13	7.0	0.5
10	Central Michigan	10	14	7.5	1.0
11	Ohio	8	15	9.0	2.5
12	~~Western Michigan~~	7	17	~~10.5~~	~~4.0~~

With the MAC tournament just around the corner, there is just enough time for one last 3-game series for everybody to squeeze in this last weekend of the regular season. Let's take a gander at the six in-conference series that will all be starting off tomorrow evening.

Buffalo at BGSU

Buffalo is already going to be a top-3 seed in the MAC tournament, so this is really BG's play-in series. Sixth in the MAC standings, the Falcons have a variety of ways to get into the tournament, but they'll be looking to win their way in by taking the series on their home field.

CMU at WMU

With Western out of the playoff picture, this is CMU's series to win. The Chips are sitting at the bottom-tier of the MAC standings, but a sweep here could earn them a spot as a low-seed for the tournament.

Toledo at EMU

In my unbiased opinion, this is the biggest series of the weekend. If one team sweeps then they've earned an automatic bid for the tournament, but what's the likelihood of that happening? Then again, EMU did beat Purdue 20-2 last night, so anything's possible.

NIU at Ball State

All Ball State has to do is win a game. That's it, just win one game. NIU's is already in, so they won't be too crushed by losing a game. Just. Win. One. Stinkin'. Game. That's it.

(Or have either Buffalo or Kent St lose one, that would work, too.)

Kent St. at Akron

It's been almost a full year since the Golden Flashes beat top-seeded Oregon in the Eugene Super Regional to play as the first MAC school to make it to the College World Series since EMU went on to become CWS runner-ups to Arizona in 1976. KSU opened up with a loss to Arkansas, but came back to beat top-ranked Florida, then sent home after a loss to South Carolina. The Gamecocks would then go on to be the 2012 CWS runner-ups.

Not that Kent St need any of this for some sort of motivation for the weekend, but Akron needs something as they are just behind EMU and Toledo and could find themselves playing in Avon, OH on Wednesday.

Ohio at Miami (OH)

The Redhawks are about as inconsistent as they come. They're 9-7 at home for the year and are 3-4 in the month of May. One win here would take the Bobcats' out of the playoff picture.

If you want schedules for this weekend's match-ups, check out the MAC-sports website.

#MACtion