A look at the Mid American Conference

Mid-American Standings

East

Temple 3-2 5-3

Ohio 2-2 5-3

Bowling Green 2-2 4-4

Miami (OH) 1-2 2-5

Buffalo 1-3 2-6

Akron 0-3 1-6

Kent State 0-3 1-6

WEST

Toledo 4-0 5-3

Ball State 3-1 5-3

Eastern Michigan 3-1 5-3

Northern Illinois 3-1 5-3

Western Michigan 2-2 4-4

Central Michigan 1-3 2-6

Temple—The Owls are 5-3 on the season and lead the east division of the MAC standings. The Owls are a rushing team and have the 9^th best rushing attack in the country averaging 252.1 yards per game on the ground. Bernard Pierce is 4^th in the nation in rushing with 951 yards on 181 carries and Matt Brown has put up 100 yards in each of the last three games. The Owls have a great defense with the #2 scoring defense in the nation. The biggest question mark for the Owls is whether or not they can beat a team with a winning record. Temple has a chance this week with a game versus fellow 5-3 MAC team, Ohio.

Ohio—The Bobcats come into this week losing 2 of their last three games to Buffalo and Ball State. The Bobcats are good statistically putting up nearly 450 yards of offense per game with a +11.5 points per game average. Ohio seems to have trouble putting everything together in the same game with the offense clicking but defense struggling versus Buffalo then the offense being held to a season low 20 points the very next week in the loss to Ball State. If Ohio finds a way to get the offense and defense going at the same time, they will be a hard team to beat. With a trip to Temple and 1^st place in the east on the line, it will take a great game on both sides of the ball to be in the driver’s seat for the conference title game.

Bowling Green—After a 2-10 season last year, the Falcons have bounced back and have a real shot to make a bowl game in 2011. A surprising upset win over Temple ended a 3 game losing streak to West Virginia, Western Michigan and Toledo. Quarterback Matt Schilz has been efficient as a sophomore in leading the Falcon attack this season. He has five 200 yard passing games on the season with a high of 437 in a one point loss to Wyoming. With 2 of the final 4 games very winnable, it looks like BGSU is back to its winning ways and Coach Clawson may have saved his job. The work is not done and the Falcons must finish strong to avoid a collapse that would leave them under .500.

Miami (OH)—Life after a big turnaround season and a bowl win has not been easy for the RedHawks. Miami (OH) has been excellent in the air with just over 270 yards per game passing including three 300 yards games on the season. Quarterback Zac Dysert has struggled to throw for touchdown passes this season with only 9 in seven games but there s hope on the horizon as 7 of the touchdown passes have come in the last 3 games. The RedHawks must start to run the football to keep teams from selling out to stop the pass. They are currently the worst rushing offense in the nation with a mere 58.9 yards on the ground per game. The hopes for a bowl game are still there but flickering with games at Ohio and Temple left on the schedule. Miami (OH) must win 4 of its last 5 games to be even eligible for a bowl.

Akron—A lone win versus I-AA Virginia Military Institute is sandwiched between two 3 game losing streaks that make up the six losses for the Zips in 2011. The problem for Akron is that the closest they have played a I-A opponent was a 31-23 loss to Eastern Michigan. The Zips have lost by 17 or more points in 4 of the 6 losses. The bright side for the Zips is that none of the remaining opponents have a record better than 4-4. There is a possibility for a 2^nd or maybe 3^rd win this season which would be welcome after the disastrous start to the season.

Kent State—You scour teams up and down looking for something nice to say about them and I have to admit, it is hard to find something to like about this team. With a passing offense, rushing offense and points per game among the worst 2 in I-A football, it will be difficult for the Golden Flashes to score enough to win any more games. In their one win versus I-AA South Alabama, Kent State scored 33 points. In all of the other 6 games combined, Kent State scored 42 points. Things have a chance to change with games versus Central Michigan (2-6) and Akron (1-6) coming up.

Toledo—The Rockets may be the best kept secret in all of college football. With a NFL ready wide receiver in Eric Page leading the offense, Toledo could just as easily be 7-1 as they are 5-3. Toledo gave Ohio State everything they could handle before giving up a late score and losing 27-22. The Rockets lost to Big East foe Syracuse after the Orange was helped on a botched referee call on an extra point attempt. Toledo has been dominant in their 4 conference games winning by an average of 22.5 points. The west division could easily be decided this week in a matchup at the Glass Bowl versus conference power Northern Illinois University.

Ball State—The Cardinals have remained near the top of the west division due in large part to beating the teams that they should beat and losing to the teams they should lose to. In their 3 losses, Ball State has been beaten by at least 30 points per game and only scored a total of 13 points in those games. It is put up or shut up time for the Cardinals with 3 of the final 4 teams in conference play having winning records. It is time to see if Ball State is a good team or a benefit of an easy schedule.

Eastern Michigan—The Eagles are 5-3 on the season after winning a total of 5 games in the previous three seasons combined. They are a program that seems to be on the uptick finally under Coach English. The offense is led by a rushing attack that is #16 in the country averaging 226.1 yards per game on the season. A division title is probably out of the cards although the Eagles hold their chance at 2^nd in their hands with games versus Ball State and NIU left on the schedule. The likelihood of at least a 6-6 record has got to be around 90-95% with games versus Kent State and Buffalo the other 2 games to finish up the schedule.

Northern Illinois—The offense is there for the Huskies in 2011 but the defense seems to still be lagging behind badly after escaping with a 31-30 win over Buffalo after a missed extra point late in the game by the Bulls. Chandler Harnish is pretty much the whole offense throwing for 1697 yards and 12 touchdowns while also being the team’s leading rusher with 738 yards and 9 touchdowns. The defense must show up and play its best game of the season in a huge game at Toledo that will likely decide who wins the west in the MAC.

Western Michigan—After a 4-2 start that nearly included an upset over Illinois, the season has come crashing down on the Broncos with 2 straight losses (NIU and EMU). Wide receiver Jordan White is the nation’s leading receiver with 74 catches and comes in at 6^th in receiving yards. The Broncos have a chance to get back on track with division games versus Ball State and Toledo in the next two weeks that will go a long way in determining how the conference plays out.

Central Michigan—For a team that is 2-6 and has lost 4 games by double digits, the Chippewas may have pulled off the conference stunner of the year in defeating NIU on October  1^st. Other than a win over NIU and a season opening win over South Carolina State, there has not been much to cheer for in CMU country. The one bright spot for CMU has been the play of quarterback Ryan Radcliff. The junior has thrown for over 350 yards in 3 of the last 4 games. The Chippewas have a chance to play spoiler with games versus Ohio and Toledo to end the season.