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The 2014 Mid-American Conference Media Days began today in lovely Detroit, and that means that tomorrow we'll once again be treated to the MAC preseason Media Poll. But seeing as that's still more than 12 hours away, and 12 hours is a long time, we figured we'd jump the gun and give the MAC fans another preseason poll.
Eight MAC blogs teamed up to put out our own preseason MAC Blogger Poll. Bull Run (Buffalo), Chippewa Country (CMU), Eagle Totem (EMU), Falcon Blog (BGSU), Maroon Musket (UMass), Over the Pylon (Ball State), The Rocket Nation (Toledo) and of course The Belt (general MACtion), all voted.
Each voting blog submitted a ballot ranking the teams in each division from first to last, picking a MAC Champion, Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, and the results are in.
In the East Bowling Green was far and away the favorite, while Akron, it appears, has the Bloggers' confidence to continue its improvement from 2013. It appears as bloggers we all like what Chuck Martin will do, and aren't convinced Mark Whipple can right the Minutemen's ship just yet.
| EAST | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | Bowling Green (6) | 52 |
| 2 | Akron (1) | 41 |
| 3 | Buffalo (1) | 39 |
| 4 | Ohio | 38 |
| 5 | Kent State | 23 |
| 6 | Miami | 19 |
| 7 | UMass | 10 |
Out west the voting was much tighter up top with Toledo and NIU being separated by just a single point, despite NIU receiving four first place votes to Toledo's two. Thee gray field and new quarterback weren't enough for the bloggers, as we've collectively picked EMU to finish below P.J. Fleck's mighty rowing Broncos.
| WEST | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | Northern Illinois (4) | 42 |
| 2 | Toledo (2) | 41 |
| 3 | Ball State (2) | 33 |
| 4 | Central Michigan | 25 |
| 5 | Western Michigan | 15 |
| 6 | Eastern Michigan | 13 |
It all leads up to a rematch of 2013 MAC championship game, with NIU getting revenge (at least that's how us bloggers seem to think it will play out). Matt Johnson will light up MAC defense's in Dino Baber's high-octane offense, and Terry Bowden will be rewarded for his successful turnaround of a Zips team that will probably appear in its first bowl game in a decade.
| MAC Champion | Northern Illinois |
| Coach of the Year | Terry Bowden, Akron |
| Player of the Year | Matt Johnson, QB, Bowling Green |
The official media poll comes out tomorrow. It'll be interesting to see how the bloggers compare to the beat writers.
How do you have this season playing out? Think it'll be NIU vs. BGSU again? Is Matt Johnson your favorite to win Player of the Year? Let us know below.