With all the ruckus and festivery around weeknight MAC football ... we're a week away from Akron playing Mississippi State on national TV! Your team most likely begins at least November 11, however, so there's still a bit of time to prepare for this madness.
Today they brought out the standard preseason fodder: media polls and All-MAC teams.
First, the media polls:
MAC East Poll
1. Kent State - 132 points (16 first place votes)
2. Akron - 104 points (8)
3. Ohio - 94 points
4. Miami - 80 points
5. Buffalo - 62 points
6. Bowling Green - 32 points
Kent State and Akron, in that order, seems about right. UA won thanks to some postseason magic, but Kent State always was the better team and their new coach was already in the system.
The Falcon fanatic in me looks at that and is a little shocked that BGSU was ranked so low. Then again ... who goes below them? Buffalo didn't lose and returns a more experience Javon McCrea. I can't put Miami below them either, unless maybe the Orlando Williams suspension sticks.
MAC West Poll
1. Western Michigan - 128 points (14 first place votes)
2. Ball State - 111 points (9)
3. Central Michigan - 92 points (1)
4. Toledo - 76 points
5. Northern Illinois - 59 points
6. Eastern Michigan - 38 points
Another hard-to-argue sorting. WMU is the reigning divisional champ, Ball State should be every bit as good, and CMU lurks in the dimly-lit shadows, waiting to see if Trey Zeigler can play to some more of that potential in his second season. Although: Toledo ... not ... last? Very scary, but it was bound to happen.
We'll be bounce-passing some team previews to your wayside in the coming days. I hope you can handle two sports at once. Don't worry; not in the same confined area.