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Topic: The MAC East race
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shabamon
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Posted: 10/7/2019 8:46 AM
So we've finished week six and we already have a lot to work with to determine how the division race will shake out. Basically, Ohio is in very good shape.

Bowling Green and Akron are bad. They are both in year one of total system rebuilds. Kent is not bad but not good either. I think their murderer's row OOC schedule does them no favors outside of paychecks. They were not walloped by Arizona St, but just how much does getting clobbered by Auburn and Wisconsin help you understand your strengths so you can build on them? Beating BG by 42 is nice, but again, BG is bad.

Buffalo is just about dead as disco. Losses to Miami and Ohio in the first two conference outings mean that even if they win out, they need Miami and Ohio to lose three games apiece to clinch the division. A very tall task as they have as bad of a MAC West crossover as you can get with games against Central, Eastern and Toledo remaining. Ouch!

I think this is coming down to Miami and Ohio. We share the same West crossovers and with the West being so strong this year, our slates are fortunately much easier than someone like Buffalo. NIU is in disarray. Ball State can score points but they give up a lot as well. I watched their FAU game and was not impressed; they lack the extra toughness to overcome if you force them into mistakes. That game in Muncie will be challenging, but I'm confident we are better. WMU is solid and will be in a bowl game to close the season. Miami plays them in KZoo this week and we get them at home later. The Broncos will be doing Ohio a huge service if they can beat Miami.

Can't take any game for granted, obviously, but November 6 in Athens is looming as a potential de facto MAC East championship game.
Last Edited: 10/7/2019 9:04:44 AM by shabamon
colobobcat66
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Posted: 10/7/2019 10:34 AM
shabamon wrote:expand_more
So we've finished week six and we already have a lot to work with to determine how the division race will shake out. Basically, Ohio is in very good shape.

Bowling Green and Akron are bad. They are both in year one of total system rebuilds. Kent is not bad but not good either. I think their murderer's row OOC schedule does them no favors outside of paychecks. They were not walloped by Arizona St, but just how much does getting clobbered by Auburn and Wisconsin help you understand your strengths so you can build on them? Beating BG by 42 is nice, but again, BG is bad.

Buffalo is just about dead as disco. Losses to Miami and Ohio in the first two conference outings mean that even if they win out, they need Miami and Ohio to lose three games apiece to clinch the division. A very tall task as they have as bad of a MAC West crossover as you can get with games against Central, Eastern and Toledo remaining. Ouch!

I think this is coming down to Miami and Ohio. We share the same West crossovers and with the West being so strong this year, our slates are fortunately much easier than someone like Buffalo. NIU is in disarray. Ball State can score points but they give up a lot as well. I watched their FAU game and was not impressed; they lack the extra toughness to overcome if you force them into mistakes. That game in Muncie will be challenging, but I'm confident we are better. WMU is solid and will be in a bowl game to close the season. Miami plays them in KZoo this week and we get them at home later. The Broncos will be doing Ohio a huge service if they can beat Miami.

Can't take any game for granted, obviously, but November 6 in Athens is looming as a potential de facto MAC East championship game.

Miami and Kent have both played killer schedules, so I don’t think their records show how good they will do in the MAC. I think it will be a three team race. We could win all the remaining games or easily lose all except maybe Akron and BGSU and who even knows about those with crazy weather or whatever. We haven’t played anywhere near a complete game yet and the question is - can we?
Lots still to work on and I’m equally concerned about both sides of the ball. I do see a little light at the end of the tunnel because of the second half defense at Buffalo and the way we were able to just run the ball at the end. We’re giving up too many sacks and not getting enough for my taste.
Every game is critical at this stage of the season. It can go either way rather quickly.
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 10/7/2019 12:47 PM
Good work. Agreed the Ohio/Miami game looms large as the tiebreaker that creates is huge. It is feasible we beat Miami but drop 2 others...Miami would have to go undefeated against everyone else in that scenario to get the East.
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Only one OHIO
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Posted: 10/7/2019 1:31 PM
shabamon wrote:expand_more
I think this is coming down to Miami and Ohio. We share the same West crossovers and with the West being so strong this year, our slates are fortunately much easier than someone like Buffalo. NIU is in disarray. Ball State can score points but they give up a lot as well. I watched their FAU game and was not impressed; they lack the extra toughness to overcome if you force them into mistakes. That game in Muncie will be challenging, but I'm confident we are better. WMU is solid and will be in a bowl game to close the season. Miami plays them in KZoo this week and we get them at home later. The Broncos will be doing Ohio a huge service if they can beat Miami.

Can't take any game for granted, obviously, but November 6 in Athens is looming as a potential de facto MAC East championship game.
I agree with that. Also, even though we play the same teams, Fiami has to come here and has Kent and Western on the road while we have both of them here.
OUcats82
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Posted: 10/7/2019 3:53 PM
Only one OHIO wrote:expand_more
I think this is coming down to Miami and Ohio. We share the same West crossovers and with the West being so strong this year, our slates are fortunately much easier than someone like Buffalo. NIU is in disarray. Ball State can score points but they give up a lot as well. I watched their FAU game and was not impressed; they lack the extra toughness to overcome if you force them into mistakes. That game in Muncie will be challenging, but I'm confident we are better. WMU is solid and will be in a bowl game to close the season. Miami plays them in KZoo this week and we get them at home later. The Broncos will be doing Ohio a huge service if they can beat Miami.

Can't take any game for granted, obviously, but November 6 in Athens is looming as a potential de facto MAC East championship game.
I agree with that. Also, even though we play the same teams, Fiami has to come here and has Kent and Western on the road while we have both of them here.
Definitely got the more favorable schedule flip having Western at home this year. They are maybe just a tad more stout than last year :)
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MonroeClassmate
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Posted: 10/7/2019 8:21 PM
We have an historic by Bobcat standards GREAT QB in his final season, but does he have a top squad to throw it to this year?

After one MAC game the top receiver is ranked 27th in the MAC (no better if including the non conference games). I listened to the radio broadcast of the Bulls game and one of our announcers said the receivers were having difficulty getting separation. Mr. Hooks is only a freshman so 27th is just fine for him but where are the seniors, juniors and sophomores on the Ohio roster? Can they run patterns to get open and shake those speedy defenders? Will Rourke be picked more often having targets that are covered more closely than the past two years?

Northern has three ranked ahead of our 27th and they are Sr TE ranked 4th (got to slow him down) sophomore WR ranked 9th and a junior TE at 20 and junior WR at #30.

Go Bobcats, beat the Huskies on Homecoming
Recovering Journalist
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Posted: 10/7/2019 9:06 PM
MonroeClassmate wrote:expand_more
We have an historic by Bobcat standards GREAT QB in his final season, but does he have a top squad to throw it to this year?
People on the board keep saying this and Rourke was certainly special last year. I guess you can blame the people around him, but he hasn't looked historically great yet this season. He's currently 69th in total QBR in the NCAA. Still plenty of season for things to change, but he's gotta keep improving for this team to contend.
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Posted: 10/8/2019 1:06 AM
I will be rooting hard for the Bobcats to win the East this year, but it's difficult to get excited about a "race" for a division that this season is probably the weakest in FBS. Whoever wins will win by default as a mediocre-at-best team.

I think Toledo is a strong favorite now to win the MACC.
Athens
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Posted: 10/8/2019 8:13 AM
Mediocre team is a team that can scratch out enough wins to make a bowl game but doesn't have anything on the roster to suggest a likelihood of winning a bowl game. This I don't think fits Ohio's definition since they have Rourke. He gives Ohio a chance in a MACC that goes beyond the computer ratings. Look at the parity out there. Georgia St defeats Tennessee and then is smoked by Western Michigan. Temple is 4-1 with a loss to Buffalo. Pitt a second division ACC team takes out UCF and only loses to Penn State by 7. There is a lot of parity but the distinguishing feature for a G5 program is the ability to win a bowl game and Rourke has done that twice so I can't see Ohio as mediocre.
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Athens
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Posted: 10/8/2019 8:22 AM
Recovering Journalist wrote:expand_more
We have an historic by Bobcat standards GREAT QB in his final season, but does he have a top squad to throw it to this year?
People on the board keep saying this and Rourke was certainly special last year. I guess you can blame the people around him, but he hasn't looked historically great yet this season. He's currently 69th in total QBR in the NCAA. Still plenty of season for things to change, but he's gotta keep improving for this team to contend.
He was the preseason #1 QB in the MAC and he's won 2 straight bowl games at Ohio. Regardless of the year he's having he can still do things that most MAC QB's can't do. I'd give Ohio a good shot at the MAC East, the MACC and the bowl game at this point because he's always a threat for a big game. Nothing is a done deal as we are sitting at 2-3 right now but a legit chance Ohio does have unlike Kent who would be very lucky at this point to win the division or a MACC.
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Last Edited: 10/8/2019 8:24:16 AM by Athens
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 10/9/2019 10:46 PM
Uncle Wes wrote:expand_more
Mediocre team is a team that can scratch out enough wins to make a bowl game but doesn't have anything on the roster to suggest a likelihood of winning a bowl game. This I don't think fits Ohio's definition since they have Rourke. He gives Ohio a chance in a MACC that goes beyond the computer ratings. Look at the parity out there. Georgia St defeats Tennessee and then is smoked by Western Michigan. Temple is 4-1 with a loss to Buffalo. Pitt a second division ACC team takes out UCF and only loses to Penn State by 7. There is a lot of parity but the distinguishing feature for a G5 program is the ability to win a bowl game and Rourke has done that twice so I can't see Ohio as mediocre.
+1
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Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 10/15/2019 11:51 AM
This is starting to feel like a tallest dwarf competition.
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OUcats82
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Posted: 10/15/2019 1:35 PM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
This is starting to feel like a tallest dwarf competition.
I was the fastest of the slow kids in 1st grade
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Posted: 10/15/2019 3:27 PM
Jeff McKinney wrote:expand_more
I will be rooting hard for the Bobcats to win the East this year, but it's difficult to get excited about a "race" for a division that this season is probably the weakest in FBS. Whoever wins will win by default as a mediocre-at-best team.

I think Toledo is a strong favorite now to win the MACC.
And now even Toledo looks extremely flawed after losing to what previously appeared to be the worst team in the MAC.
Pataskala
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Posted: 10/16/2019 11:38 AM
Whoda thought that Kent and Ball St would be the last two unbeatens in the MAC this year?
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Sam bobcat
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Posted: 10/16/2019 2:04 PM
I think this is just proof of how close these teams are and the ignorance of fans to how hard it is to beat another D1 team. No matter who they are. These are all elite athletes going at it every week. That’s what drives me crazy about “educated” fans who think “we should beat them no problem!”
Robert Fox
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Posted: 10/16/2019 3:20 PM
Sam bobcat wrote:expand_more
I think this is just proof of how close these teams are and the ignorance of fans to how hard it is to beat another D1 team. No matter who they are. These are all elite athletes going at it every week. That’s what drives me crazy about “educated” fans who think “we should beat them no problem!”
+1
ExCat21
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Posted: 10/18/2019 2:38 PM
Sam bobcat wrote:expand_more
I think this is just proof of how close these teams are and the ignorance of fans to how hard it is to beat another D1 team. No matter who they are. These are all elite athletes going at it every week. That’s what drives me crazy about “educated” fans who think “we should beat them no problem!”

+10
OhioBobcat
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Posted: 10/19/2019 12:06 AM
Pataskala wrote:expand_more
Whoda thought that Kent and Ball St would be the last two unbeatens in the MAC this year?
I’m not surprised at all about Kent State based on who they played, but I am a little surprised about Ball State. But Kent State will for sure be dealt a loss tomorrow.
OhioBobcat
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Posted: 10/19/2019 12:10 AM
shabamon wrote:expand_more
So we've finished week six and we already have a lot to work with to determine how the division race will shake out. Basically, Ohio is in very good shape.
I agree. Ohio will win the East and go to Detroit, and will beat whoever makes it there from the West. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Athens
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Posted: 10/19/2019 11:46 AM
The bobcats have to take the next 3 MAC games (Kent, Ball, Miami) before I'm ready to think division & bowl game with any confidence. Drop even one of those games and its 4-5 with 2 MAC losses.
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Posted: 10/19/2019 4:25 PM
Of all the crossover games today...we really need NIU to beat Miami.
Athens
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Posted: 10/19/2019 4:34 PM
I was fairly impressed with Kent State's play calling today. This Kent team has a real possibility of making a bowl game out of the MAC this season which buys that staff more time to get a program established in there.
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Ted Thompson
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Posted: 10/19/2019 6:57 PM
I think it comes down to the Miami game. Ohio wins that and should finish 5-3 in the MAC which I believe will win the East.

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OhioBobcat
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Posted: 10/19/2019 9:41 PM
Ted Thompson wrote:expand_more
I think it comes down to the Miami game. Ohio wins that and should finish 5-3 in the MAC which I believe will win the East.
I simply can’t see Ohio losing to any East school. If so, if Ohio finished tied it would own the tiebreaker anyway. I’m 100% convinced Ohio will be in Detroit. So much so I’ve already booked a room.
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