Hey, you say, whats that ridiculous title headlining this article? Well, as a new contributor here on Hustle Belt, I discussed with the Great Suss a good way in which to join the flow, and the decision was made for a review of this football season's best and worst - the first annual Mid-American Moment of the Year Awards, starting with the awards for Game of the Year..
Follow after the jump to find out who the winners are...for better or worse.
November 13th - Central Michigan 37, Navy 38
The Chippewas may have had a rough season, one that included losses to lowly Bowling Green and Ball State, a bit of kicker roulette, and season-long ups and downs from sophomore quarterback Ryan Radcliff, but they almost managed to go out with a bang. After a strong performance in their win against Western Michigan, Radcliff put up almost 400 yards and three touchdowns passing, and the Chips finished a failed two-point conversion from upsetting a Navy squad that had just hung 76 points on East Carolina the week before.
September 25 - Temple 13, Penn State 22
The Owls tailed off at season's end, but earlier in the season they nearly derailed the Nittany Lions' early season momentum. The Owls raced out to a 13-6 lead after the first quarter, but only managed 100 yards of offense the rest of the game. The defense held its ground, and the Owls found themselves trailing 15-13 with 11 minutes to play and Penn State pinned with third and six at their own eight yard line. Unfortunately for the Owls, Graham Zug caught a 19 yard pass on the next play, and by the time the Owls got the ball back they were down by nine and out of time.
And the Hustle Belt goes to...Central Michigan. I can't give an award to a team that lost because their offense couldn't cross midfield for three quarters.
Worst Game
October 9 - Miami (OH) 3, Cincinnati 45
Speaking of midfield, the RedHawks might be playing in the MAC championship tonight, but a month into the season the appeared destined for the bottom of the conference. In a short road trip to Cincinnati, Miami quarterback Zach Dysert went 5-of-9 for 44 yards on the team's lone scoring drive (a 48 yard field goal), and the Hawks never made it across midfield again until the last minute of the game. The Bearcats didn't score a single point in the second half, but that was largely because they pulled their starters in a 45-3 destruction.
November 26 - Kent State 28, Ohio 6
After a slow start, the Bobcats entered their last game of the season a win away from an appearance in the MAC title game. It seemed like a mortal lock for the legendary Frank Solich's squad, with his team - fresh off a seven game win streak and averaging 36 points - facing a Kent State squad playing for pride after three straight lopsided losses. Instead, Ohio opened the game with a long drive and a missed field goal, and followed that up with a pathetic 135 yards and two field goals the rest of the game - extra shocking considering they had a drive that started at the Kent 19 yard line. The Golden Flashes had no such issues, needing only 87 yards of offense to complete their three offensive scoring drives on the way to ending Ohio's season early.
And the Hustle Belt goes to... Miami having a really bad game on the way to a winning season is unfortunate, but that can't hold a candle to the Bobcats wasting a Golden opportunity against a mediocre team.
Tune in next time for the MAMY's best and worst player of the 2010 season