Hustle Belt - 2014 MAC Football News: Week 10MAC Football, MAC Basketball, MAC Recruiting, MAC Baseball and all of the other #MACtion hijinks in between - hustlebeltblog@gmail.comhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50387/hustle-fav.png2014-11-01T21:50:44-04:00http://www.hustlebelt.com/rss/stream/68376622014-11-01T21:50:44-04:002014-11-01T21:50:44-04:00Broncos Run Roughshod Over RedHawks
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<img alt="Freshman running back Jarvion Franklin had a monster day for the Broncos." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LVrjgWepgIjLukvUAB6b5F9Txws=/0x70:4000x2737/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43248142/20140830_sng_bd1_006.JPG.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Freshman running back Jarvion Franklin had a monster day for the Broncos. | Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Western Michigan hands Miami its biggest loss of the season as Jarvion Franklin shreds the RedHawks defense.</p> <p>The first two drives in Oxford didn't bode well for the Miami RedHawks: the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/western-michigan-broncos">Western Michigan Broncos</a> sacked <span>Andrew Hendrix</span> three times (two for <span>Jarrell McKinney</span>, one for <span>Richard Ash</span>), then <span>Jarvion Franklin</span> had runs of 5, 4, and 55 yards for a three-play Broncos touchdown drive. That sequence is all you need to know about how things went down at Yager Stadium this afternoon.</p>
<p>That's not to say it was all gloom-and-doom for the RedHawks. As they have many times before this season, Miami stayed competitive: a great kick return from <span>Fred McRae IV</span> led to a 19-yard touchdown pass from Hendrix to <span>Dawan Scott</span>, helping Miami knock 7 points off a 21-point Western lead. And Franklin had a key fumble on the next drive — caused by Miami's all-world <span>Quinten Rollins</span> — that resulted in a 52-yard field goal from Kaleb Patterson. After a field goal from <span>Andrew Haldeman</span>, the Broncos held only a 24-10 lead at the half.</p>
<p>The RedHawks had been in this situation before: down a few scores (but within reach) at the half, and Chuck Martin and his staff made adjustments that put the fear of God in more talented teams (Marshall, Cincinnati) or ended up in landmark wins for Miami (Massachusetts).</p>
<p>Today was not that day.</p>
<p>The second half was all Broncos, all the time: 17 unanswered points to make it a final score of 41-10, thanks to another Franklin rushing touchdown and a pass from <span>Zach Terrell</span> to Corey Davis. With the writing on the wall just a few plays into the fourth, Hendrix — who took a nasty hit in the second and came out for a play — was replaced by second-string quarterback Drew Kummer. The RedHawk and Bronco reserves got some playing time, and that was that.</p>
<p>Franklin was obviously the MVP, with three touchdowns on 182 yards rushing to go with a fumble that ended up not mattering much. But the most impressive performance surely came from the Broncos' defense, which held the red-hot Hendrix to only 96 yards passing, well below the 288 yards he averaged coming into the game. The line, which finished with six sacks on the day, certainly deserves praise. But Western's defensive backfield was superb, holding the MAC's best receiving duo, <span>David Frazier</span> and <span>Rokeem Williams</span>, to a total of one catch for 20 yards. Cornerback Donald Celiscar, in particular, did an outstanding job.</p>
<p>With the win, the Broncos are now a bowl-eligible 6-3 after last year's 1-11 season (and 4-1 in MAC play), while the RedHawks fell to 2-8 (2-4).</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-football/2014/11/1/7144389/miami-redhawks-vs-western-michigan-broncos-football-final-broncos-runthechuck_21122014-11-01T18:09:41-04:002014-11-01T18:09:41-04:00CMU Is Bowl-Eligible
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<figcaption>Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Central Michigan is finally bowl-eligible with a big win over Eastern Michigan</p> <p>Rivalry games are meant to be intense. They bring fan bases together, forcing people, who absolutely hate each others' guts, into the same stadium and all of their arguments and fights are settled by a football game. The Eastern Michigan vs. Central Michigan game in Mt. Pleasant back in 2011 was one of my favorite games I've ever attended. I hated everybody and chewed off all of the nails I had on my fingers. It was so close, so competitive, so hard-hitting, teetering back and forth where every snap was much more important than the last.</p>
<p>This has to be one of the most dull rivalry games this conference has ever seen. That's probably just my intuition speaking, but no matter who you rooted for in this game, it was just really really boring.</p>
<h4>Who needs Thomas Rawls?</h4>
<p>The Eagles just could not stop the run. They came out flat and never figured out a good way to respond to CMU's run game. Thomas Rawls was out after suffering an injury against Buffalo last week. He was the listed starter, but even Devon Spalding, the third or fourth stringer (after the second string, it's all the same anyways) ended up being CMU's leading rusher with 158 yards with two touchdowns. Saylor Lavallii, who started the game and had a 41-yard rushing touchdown on their first drive, picked up 109 on the ground on 24 touches with a pair of score of his own.</p>
<p>As a team, the Chippewas had 309 rushing yards. EMU had 21.</p>
<h4>Cooper Rush threw with precision</h4>
<p>18-for-23 for 223 and a touchdown (interception too, but EMU didn't do anything with the ball after that happened): not much more you can ask from Cooper Rush. Deon Butler led CMU in receiving with five catches for nearly 100 yards. Titus Davis and Anthony Rice both had four catches a piece for 51 and 24 yards, respectively. Davis was the only one with a touchdown.</p>
<p>Darius Jackson was the only one who had a receiving score for the Eagles, but it came so late in the fourth quarter that is was what everybody would call "garbage time".</p>
<h4>Eastern Michigan came out flat</h4>
<p>Countless three-and-outs (okay, we could count 'em, but I'm currently drinking a Bell's Two-Hearted and I'm not about to go back and count the actual total), bad punts, no one player dominated for the Green and White, CMU always seemed to do everything better on nearly every play. There's no way to really measure this outside of seeing the final score and the fact that EMU only had 76 total offensive yards and five first downs. They also played really, really badly.</p>
<p>That, and they averaged 1.9 yards per play.</p>
<h4><b>Next Games</b></h4>
<p>EMU is off until the 15th when they head to Kalamazoo and face off against Western Michigan. The Chippewas will go back home to Mt. Pleasant and face off against the Miami RedHawks. The Central/Western game isn't until November 22.</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-football/2014/11/1/7143149/eastern-michigan-eagles-vs-central-michigan-chippewas-football-finalAlex Alvarado2014-11-01T10:30:01-04:002014-11-01T10:30:01-04:00Who Will Win The Michigan-MAC Trophy?
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<figcaption>Leon Halip</figcaption>
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<p>I, for one, love the MIchigan-MAC series. It'd be cool to have a fourth team in the mix, but it's also nice to have games where Eastern, Central and Western Michigan Universities all play against each other for a trophy to take back home.</p>
<p>Today starts everything with Eastern Michigan vs. Central Michigan. The Chippewas are the favorite to win this, but a a scrappy Eagles team at The Factory might not be the ideal team to play against right now. CMU is only a win away from bowl eligibility.</p>
<p>PJ Fleck and his Broncos will head down to Oxford, Ohio to face off against the Miami RedHawks. There's a case to be made for Western Michigan to possibly be the best team in the MAC and Miami's two wins are against Kent State and UMass. Maybe their offense will be more than enough to get an upset over WMU.</p>
<p>Other than that, there aren't any other MAC games on today. Yup. Just the two. Talk about scary stories, right?</p>
<p>I don't really know what you kids are supposed to do after that. That's a bummer. Maybe hit up some goofy Halloween parties or what have you. But maybe that stuff isn't exactly your cup of tea. If it's not, you can join us in this open thread for a while.</p>
<p>Play nicely.</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-football/2014/11/1/7141933/college-football-live-chat-let-the-michigan-mac-series-commenceAlex Alvarado2014-10-31T19:00:02-04:002014-10-31T19:00:02-04:00S.O.S.: Where is the #MACtion!?
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<img alt="The fog creeps in as the Akron Zips start to authentically re-enact Michael Jackson's "Thriller"." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2L3fRUAUXT4a37SBTa8V26jr9zg=/0x130:4000x2797/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43173174/20120908_ajw_bm1_300.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The fog creeps in as the Akron Zips start to authentically re-enact Michael Jackson's "Thriller". | Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>I look around and all I see are Halloween costumes, snow flurries, and a clear lack of #MACtion.</p> <p>We're right in the heart of the #MACtion! Next week starts the Tuesday/Wednesday night games that we all know and love, but first we have to get through last weekend's games.</p>
<p>Northern Illinois beat Eastern Michigan, despite the Eagles' best efforts to not lose. Western Michigan rowed the boat over, through, and under the Ohio Bobcats. Toledo narrowly avoided a homecoming upset vs. Blake Frohnaphel's arm and the rest of Massachusetts. Ball State beat the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/akron-zips">Akron Zips</a> into a bit of amnesia, causing the Zips to forget they were one of the best teams in the East. Miami is the latest to leave the one-win club after beating Kent State. Finally, Central Michigan survived without <span>Thomas Rawls</span> and (for part of the game) <span>Titus Davis</span> against Buffalo.</p>
<p>What does this week have in store for us? Not a lot, actually.</p>
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<table width="100%" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
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<tr bgcolor="#EDF1F3">
<th align="center">Date/Time</th> <th align="center">Home</th> <th align="center">Away</th> <th align="center">Where To Find It</th>
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<tr onmouseover="this.bgColor='#C7D9EC'" onmouseout="this.bgColor='#FFFFFF'" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<td align="center">Saturday 11/1, 1 p.m.</td>
<td align="center">Eastern Michigan (2-6)</td>
<td align="center">Central Michigan (5-4)</td>
<td align="center">ESPN3</td>
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<tr onmouseover="this.bgColor='#C7D9EC'" onmouseout="this.bgColor='#FFFFFF'" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<td align="center">Saturday 11/1, 2:30 p.m.</td>
<td align="center">Miami (2-7)</td>
<td align="center">Western Michigan (5-3)</td>
<td align="center">ESPN3</td>
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</tbody>
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<p> </p>
<p>Wow. So little #MACtion. Very much sadness.</p>
<p>Sigh.</p>
<p>Gotta make the picks anyways! I went a perfect 3-0 again, putting my record at 13-3! (Crap, thirteen is unlucky. Uh oh.) Since there are only two games, may as well go get 'em!</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/central-michigan-chippewas">Central Michigan Chippewas</a> at <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/eastern-michigan-eagles">Eastern Michigan Eagles</a></p>
<p>Seeing as this is a rivalry game, it will be a very close matchup for these two teams. Reginald Bell III appears to be the quarterback for now, though that didn't stop <span>Brogan Roback</span> from <a href="http://www.hustlebelt.com/2014/10/25/7070767/brogan-roback-cleared-to-play" target="_blank">proclaiming he will see the field</a> this week. Eastern actually boasts a very good front seven, with <span>Great Ibe</span> anchoring the line. Thomas Rawls is questionable to play, and it will be interesting to see how the Chippewa offense adjusts to <span>Saylor Lavallii</span> as the primary carrier; will <span>Cooper Rush</span> be forced to throw the ball more? This game comes down to a field goal, 26-23.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/western-michigan-broncos">Western Michigan Broncos</a> at Miami Redhawks</p>
<p>Western Michigan could clinch bowl eligibility for the first time in what feels like an ice age for Broncos fans with a win over the pesky and persistent Miami RedHawks. The RedHawks are coming off a victory over Kent State, and have started to click on both sides of the ball, while Zac Terrell and <span>Jarvion Franklin</span> continue to terrorize MAC defenses. with stunning efficiency. Miami is still developing, so Western should win by at least two scores.</p>
<p>Questions? Comments? Concerns? Favorite Halloween movie!?!?! Tell us in the comments!</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/2014/10/31/7139589/mac-football-television-schedule-week-10James H. Jimenez2014-10-31T17:00:02-04:002014-10-31T17:00:02-04:00Let's Get This Michigan-MAC Series Going Already
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<img alt="Coach Creighton wants to get in on this #MACtion." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3ck4hGKBSrUeAfuF97ufQi-0A5A=/90x0:3647x2371/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43092360/455801238.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Coach Creighton wants to get in on this #MACtion. | Leon Halip</figcaption>
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<p>This week's edition features James and Alex evoking traditional spirituals, somewhat relevant criminal cases, and the recurrence of really bad rivalry jokes to make the case for their teams.</p> <p><b>James:</b> Let's do an exercise in symbolic analysis. So you know that song "He's Got The Whole World in His Hand?" That's kinda how illustrative of how this match is going down; since Michigan is shaped like a hand, we can safely assume that Michigan is the hand. Under this assumption, Central is the palm of the hand and Eastern is the thumb. (Approximately... just pretend it is.) The world is the Michigan MAC trophy. So, since Eastern is only a thumb and a thumb on its own can't do much of anything, and since the majority of the hand is the palm, that means most of the hand's surface area is holding the trophy, which therefore means <i><b>CENTRAL IS GOING TO WIN THIS THING DAMN IT ALL.</b></i></p>
<p><b>Alex:</b> How about I just take my open and pat your head when you need a shoulder to cry on after the gameSaturday? And how can EMU be a thumb if CMU seems to get a five-fingered discount on everything?</p>
<p><b>James:</b> I really should have expected that pot shot. But seriously, that joke is so stale (even if it's relevant) that it does little to add to your advantage here. While we're on the subject of victories and EMU, let's look over your victory list: the kinda-sort okay FCS-level Morgan State Bears and the woefully hapless <a href="https://www.ubbullrun.com/">Buffalo Bulls</a>. The creme de la creme of blasse football. At least Central has wins we can take pride in, such as the dismantling Purdue and breaking THE STREAK against Northern Illinois. Also, you have an off-brand <span>Robert Griffin III</span> running your offense in Reginald Bell III... at least when your coach is able to stop college journeyman <span>Rob Bolden</span> from throwing a million interceptions and getting suplexed. And that's before we even get to Brogan Roback. Finally, you play on a grey field. Talk about boring as hell. You're just asking to lose this game.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>Alex:</b> You're going to say that my joke is stale when you can't even be unique about saying we have a grey field. Like holy shit, since when did they get one of those? Let me guess, your field might be green turf? WOW HOW UNIQUE!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Better late than never for the Eagles though. The season hasn't been well, but this is a much more improved team than it was a month ago. And that was a very edgy win over Buffalo, and this is a team that's in the same category as Kent State right now. Don't hold onto that NIU win for too long, because don't forget you also lost to Ball State immediately after that.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>James:</b> Well I'm glad to see that your Eagles decided to start playing after being mathematically eliminated form bowl eligibility. Something to be happy about at least. Even in a loss against Ball State, CMU still managed to hang 426 yards on the Cards defense (in comparison to 287 for BSU), and completely shut down their offense in the second half of the game. The defense was also lights out against Buffalo last week, holding the Bulls to 38 rushing yards (thirty-eight!) despite the Bulls having one of the nation's best rushers in <span>Anthone Taylor</span>. The defense also held UB to 5-13 on third down and made one of the best quarterbacks in the MAC, <span>Joe Licata</span>, quake in his cleats, as he was being chased around relentlessly all game thanks to <span>Leterrius Walton</span> and friends. Last year against Eastern, if you remember, the score was 42-10, and the defense tortured your Eagles, holding you to 5-12 on third down and forcing three turnovers while hanging over 300 yards on offense, with four of the touchdown scores all coming on the rushing end. If<span>Thomas Rawls</span> is healthy, I'm fairly confident a similar result could be in the works.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>Alex:</b> Been there, done that; we held Anthone Taylor to under 20 rushing yards in the second half a few weeks ago.</p>
<p><br>I have this feeling that we're not going to see Thomas Rawls out there on Saturday. I also have a feeling that we'll be having that Brad McCaslin is going to be calling a lot of plays to get our guys behind the line of scrimmage a lot. And with three of the best "front seven" players in the MAC with <span>Great Ibe</span>, <span>Anthony Zappone</span> and <span>Pat O'Connor</span>, why wouldn't we want to get in Rush's grill all the time?<br><span>Saylor Lavallii</span> may be good, but I'd be more focused on forcing your quarterback to make costly mistakes.</p>
<p><b>James: </b>You should be scared of the Great Mulletted Hope that is Saylor Lavallii. He's an underrated pass blocker and runs tough between the tackles. He also scored two of those patented "rumblin', stumblin, tumblin'" TD's in relief work for Rawls. If the Chips can prepare for a week with him as a starter, unlike the games vs. Syracuse and Buffalo, that offensive line should be able to adjust and Lavallii has the potential to eat that EMU defense alive.</p>
<p>And I think that <span>Cooper Rush</span> got out his interception jitters against Ball State and Buffalo. Rush has developed a great chemistry with <span>Titus Davis</span> and <span>Jesse Kroll</span> and Morris Watts has wrapped the gameplan around the strengths of Rush's game. Taking away the Hail Mary interception vs. Ball State, he has thrown for 978 yards, 8 TD's and 3 INT's with a passer rating of 147.3 in the last four games. That's pretty efficient. And the last I checked, EMU's defense is 118th in points allowed, which doesn't really help the whole "stop the other team from winning" thing.</p>
<p><b>Alex:</b> Again, much improved team than it was when they played against Michigan State and Florida, but that's just an outlier. And didn't I hear that CMU committed 18 penalties in the past two games? You expect these guys to keep their composure in this sort of game? These Eagles don't come out of the tunnel without sledgehammers. I'd be jumpy if I were them, too.</p>
<p>Yeah, and taking away all of the bad stuff for my Eagles and we've won fifty thousand Rose Bowls and the north most team in the SEC. Why do people always have to say "take away the bad stuff" in sports discussions? I don't get it.</p>
<p><b>James:</b> I took away one interception. Hail Mary interceptions barely count. Get over it.</p>
<p>And I acknowledge we have discipline problems (on and off the field.) However, this does not mean that we're doomed to committing nine penalties every game. That, and false start penalties (or procedural penalties, period) are an endangered species in Rynearson; ya'll can barely get 50 people in the grandstands.</p>
<p><b>Alex:</b> Eh, attendance this, grey field that, I've heard it all before. Just make sure you stop at Walgreen's and get yourself some tissue so you're better-prepared for the game on Saturday. 32-26, Eagles got it.</p>
<p><b>James:</b> I think you mistyped that score and meant 3226-0 CMU because we all know that Eastern ain't getting even remotely close. I have the chardonnay to celebrate this bowl-eligibility clinching win already chilling in my freezer... the only use for any tissues that may be bought will be used to clean up the ensuing mess in my apartment. Final score: CMU 28-14.</p>
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https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-football/2014/10/31/7132519/talking-smack-eastern-michigan-eagles-vs-central-michigan-chippewasJames H. JimenezAlex Alvarado2014-10-31T15:00:03-04:002014-10-31T15:00:03-04:00Spread Offense: Bettin' On The MAC
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<figcaption>Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Just a pair this Saturday, but it's a nice pair.</p> <p>Only two for Saturday, but that's because weeknight MACtion returns. And that's a good thing. <b>Your Week 10 MAC picks:</b></p>
<h3>Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan (+15)</h3>
<p>You know what's fun? Look ahead on the schedule and Central Michigan (5-4, 3-2) may be playing Western Michigan on November 22nd for the right to go to a bowl game. Before that showdown however, the Chips must travel to The Factory, which is definitely a tougher place to play since the new moniker and field colors were adopted. Central hasn't been much to watch the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago they fell at home against Ball State thanks to a <span>Scott Secor</span> 55 yard field goal in the final minute. Last week it took a <span>Cooper Rush</span> to <span>Titus Davis</span> fourth quarter touchdown pass to edge a disappointing Buffalo team, 20-14. Chips kicker <span>Brian Eavey</span> likes drama though, so he missed the extra point to keep things interesting. To this point, CMU looks like the team that struggled to put away Buffalo, and not the team that handled Northern Illinois 34-17 on October 11th.</p>
<p>I think this is a huge game for Eastern Michigan (2-6, 1-3). If the Eagles can get a win, head coach Chris Creighton can say that things are headed in the right direction. Last week EMU held a fourth quarter lead over Northern Illinois before Huskie touchdown runs from <span>Joel Bouagnon</span> and <span>Cameron Stingily</span> put away the Eagles 28-17. Regardless of what the records may read at the end of the season, one thing must be acknowledged, Eastern Michigan is a tougher out. Does that mean that I'm predicting the Eagles to run the table the rest of the way to get to 6-6? No, it does not. It does mean however, that I'm not prepared to accept that they are a two touchdown home dog against a lukewarm team like Central Michigan. <b>Saturday, give me the Eagles and the points.</b></p>
<h3>Western Michigan at Miami (+7)</h3>
<p>A bowl game seems like a very real possibility this season for the SS Fleck, though Western Michigan (5-3, 3-1) needs to ensure they don't fall victim to the dreaded "trap game" in the next couple weeks. The Broncos travel to Miami, are back in Kalamazoo to host Eastern Michigan on November 15th, then travel to Central Michigan before a home finale with Northern Illinois on November 28th. Program defining game against the Huskies? I'll bet that's how P.J. is selling it. SLOW DOWN. WMU is rolling though, winners of three in a row, with each victory more impressive than the last. A week ago the Broncos made short work of the Ohio Bobcats, cruising, 42-21. To date, Western Michigan has scored 40 or more points in four of five victories this season.</p>
<p>Miami (2-7, 2-3) will definitely be thinking upset on Saturday. The RedHawks may not have the wins to show for it, but they've demonstrated they can hang with the MAC's top tier. Their last two losses were to Akron and Northern Illinois, both on the road. The RedHawks trailed just 15-13 against the Zips at the half, before falling 29-19. A week later, at Northern Illinois, Miami stormed back from a 23 point first half deficit to pull within nine with six minutes remaining in the third before coming up short 51-41. <span>Andrew Hendrix</span> is the real deal under center, and Miami's 288 passing yards a game rank 26th in all of college football. That said, while I have no doubt the RedHawks make this a game until the very end, I do think that Western is able to pull away by more than a touchdown. Let's call it 10. <b>Saturday, take the Broncos, lay the 7.</b></p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/2014/10/31/7138325/college-football-odds-mac-football-week-10Keith Scheessele2014-10-29T17:00:02-04:002014-10-29T17:00:02-04:00Additions To The MAC?
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<p>Each week, the blogs of the MAC come together and discuss the comings and goings of the conference. After a two week hiatus, we return to answer some questions from Toledo blog Let's Go Rockets</p> <p><b>1. With UMass exiting the MAC at the conclusion of the season, is it in the conference's best interest to stay at 12 teams or pursue two teams, one to replace and one to even the divisions? If the MAC goes after two, which two teams fit well or what teams would you like to see join the conference?</b></p>
<p>I think the MAC would be better off with just 12 teams. It's a nice number to have for all sports and their tournaments (even with the funky basketball format), and 14 is just weird to me, even if it's working for the SEC.</p>
<p>However, let's say the MAC does decide to expand. Who to add? Firstly, I'd hope the MAC could somehow save UMass. They're looking decent in football and would vastly boost the basketball resume. However, that's not going to happen, so if we're looking for two new teams, I say target somebody solid. For the West, you could look for a team like Grand Valley State, Wayne State, or Indiana State. Maybe even Illinois State. All solid programs, all geographic fits. I'd say Wayne State most because that'd help EMU add a close rivalry that could get fierce quickly.</p>
<p>Out East, let's look to stay in the New England/East Coast region to help out Buffalo. Might I suggest New Hampshire? Maybe not a solid pick-up in basketball, but a good football program and if the MAC ever somehow developed a hockey conference, you could have some solid contenders there (even though New Hampshire would likely never leave the Hockey East, the SEC of college hockey). Others may say James Madison or Old Dominion, but I think that'd be going too far South.</p>
<p><b>2. If your respective team was destined to lose every remaining game on their schedule save for one that you could pick, which game would they win and why?</b></p>
<p>Again, we're looking at WMU. So if I could pick just one victory, it'd have to be against NIU. I'll give you a moment to pick your jaws up off the floor with both EMU and CMU on the schedule as well.</p>
<p>Firstly, let's just say WMU loses to Miami. It'd suck, but it'd suck the absolute least. It's not a rivalry, and it's not a home game. Then, you'd go with both rivalries, and here's why: one win doesn't do anything if you can't beat both in my honest opinion. That goes double when there's a physical trophy to win. Another loss to EMU would be brutal, so a win over CMU wouldn't do anything to numb the pain. Beating EMU wouldn't do anything confidence wise while losing to CMU would allow the Chips to at least retain the MAC Trophy.</p>
<p>So that brings us to NIU. I WMU hasn't beaten NIU since I started my schooling in Kalamazoo. That includes both home and away. Huskie fans still think the MAC West runs through them as well, so handing them a last game loss to (1) end a 3-game losing streak and a 5-game losing streak against NIU, (2) get bowl eligible, and (3) presumably end NIU's chances at winning the MAC West would just be awesome. But I'd hope that WMU wins at least two of their last four games, with the first two being easier than the latter two.</p>
<p><b>3. College football has seen some impressive fan displays this year with fan wearing a specific color (white out, blue out, etc.), striping the stands, checker-boarding the stands, etc. To what degree has your team embraced this trend? Has it been successful? What can be done to improve the fan participation and get more fans on board?</b></p>
<p>Western has pretty much just tried to get fans to the games. Winning helps, but there has been a big community push this year, and it's working. Waldo only had an announced attendance on Saturday of 20,225, but it looked more full than that. It was also the same-ish time as the Michigan vs Michigan State game, so 20,000+ is a victory attendance wise.</p>
<p>Going forward, continued expansion into the community will help, then you have to get the gimmicks out. The "White Out" or "Brown Out" games. The promotions. On and on. Once you get the fans, then you get creative to keep them.</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-football/2014/10/29/7083717/mac-blogger-roundtable-additions-to-the-macBrandon Fitzsimons2014-10-27T12:00:03-04:002014-10-27T12:00:03-04:00Where Were You When UMass Won the MAC Championship?
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<figcaption>Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Like the Black Knight, the Massachusetts Minutemen have just suffered many flesh wounds, but they're not dead yet.</p> <p>"We're not going to a bowl game, we're not going to the conference championship. We're 2-7. It's all about us now for the rest of the year." <span>Blake Frohnapfel</span></p>
<p>Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Blake, but the conference championship isn't out of reach yet. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/umass-minutemen">Massachusetts Minutemen</a> will need some very lucky breaks, sure, but they most definitely can win the MAC East and go on to the conference championship game. Let's look at what needs to happen:</p>
<p><b>1) </b> Bowling Green has to win no more than one of their next four. That includes a matchup on November 12<sup>th</sup> against Kent State, so let's be honest and say that the Falcons have to lose to Akron, Toledo and Ball State.</p>
<p><b>2) </b> Akron, per above, has to beat Bowling Green. The Minutemen need to beat the Zips. The other two matchups don't matter as even if Akron goes 5-3, UMass will hold the tiebreaker.</p>
<p><b>3) </b> The winner of the Miami - Ohio game on November 25<sup>th</sup>, the last game of the season for each team, cannot win out.</p>
<p><b>4) </b> UMass has to win out</p>
<p>One of the killers for UMass is that the first tiebreaker is head to head, which means that Miami and Bowling Green already have a leg up. If three teams are tied and are all 1-1 against each other, the second tiebreaker is MAC East record, which UMass, at best, will be 3-2. That probably won't be good enough in most scenerios. I'm sure there's a scenario where every team goes 4-4, but I'm not touching that with a 10 foot pole just yet. "We'll keep playing these next three games and we're going to win," said Frohnapfel. If the Minutemen can do that, things might not be so far out of reach.</p>
<p><b>Other thoughts:</b></p>
<p><b>1)</b> Reading that second Frohnapfel quote makes me shiver, mostly because I remember Matt Hasselbeck also once stating that "We want the ball, and we're gonna score." Feels eerily similar, and the result isn't ideal. Also all quotes were taken from Dan Malone, because credit should always be given when its due.</p>
<p><b>2)</b> There's not much to take from this game besides what you already know. It was the quintessential UMass gonna UMass game. Frohnapfel, <span>Jean Sifrin</span>, and <span>Tajae Sharpe</span> all had games ranging from fantastic to good. The Minutemen pushed to a lead that they eventually relinquished in the closing minutes. The defense couldn't stop the opposing offense for long stretches. The kicker missed some kicks. I'm not going to bother going into anything specific here, besides reiterating what everyone reiterates every week: UMass really needs a kicker next year. You can't win close games without a kicker.</p>
<p><b>3)</b> Speaking of close games, UMass is now 0-5 in one score games. Some of that comes from the extenuating circumstance of not having a high school level kicker on the team, but usually teams hover around .500 in one score games, so expect some regression to the mean between the end of this season and next. That doesn't mean they'll win their next five, but it does mean they'll probably go around .500 in future games.</p>
<p><b>4)</b> Now's the time when everyone worries about Sifrin or Sharpe going to the NFL next season. I'm not really buying it. Another season of production like this might actually push them into one of the top rounds, but neither can probably do enough in just one season (multiple for Sharpe, but one with a competent quarterback) in the MAC to be worth anything but a 6<sup>th</sup> or 7<sup>th</sup> round flier. I expect both to stay another year and improve their draft stock.</p>
https://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-football/2014/10/27/7078189/umass-in-the-mac-championship-gameJesse Allen