I'll chalk this up to the growing list of things that would never had been said on this board in 2005

 

That is becoming more true every year. In the days when there was only 12 bowl games it was a big accomplishment and only the MAC Champion earned a bowl. You needed a winning record to land in a bowl and it was all about how many tickets you could sell, not the conference arrangement. Making 5 straight bowls out of the MAC does say something because only 4-5 schools are bowling most years. In the Big Ten with 10 bowl games it doesn't say anything if you're making a bowl every year with so many of them. Its the same way in basketball. For a MAC school to be in the NIT, CIT, CBI or whatever its significant because you need 20+ wins out of the MAC to do that. 20 basketball wins in the Big Ten will land you a spot in the NCAAs. A 10-2 season in MAC football makes you a favorite in a lower tier bowl game. Go 10-2 in the Big Ten and it lands you a BCS bowl. 

 

One thing that hurts schools like Kentucky in a game against a school like Ohio is when you're a losing program you don't have confidence. I would put this game in the toss up category along with Marshall (we have their number), BG (looks like the class of the league but we have them at home), NIU (have them at home). Getting that win to start the season against Kent State is going to be a big factor in whether we end up 5-7 or 7-5 or better. For the first time in about a decade with BG there is a dominant team besides us. Temple had a nice run for a few years there but was never true MAC championship caliber. BG at homecoming is going to be a monster game. 

 

That first game against Kent is going to be big for us IMHO.  They have had our number for the past several years (have eaten our lunch frankly) and I think that a win over them will go a long way for our team psyche. While I am not a big fan of opening a season against a conference foe it's probably best to play them to start before our annual rash of injuries.