Long Time Between Drinks Of Water
The MAC hasn't produced consecutive conference champions since
2011-12, and four different programs have claimed the league title over the
last four years. Northern Illinois enters the 2019 season as the defending
champion, but the Huskies have question marks on both sides of the ball and
6-year veteran head coach Rod Carey has left the program to take over the
Temple program. Meanwhile, Ohio U appears the team to beat in 2019.
Rivalries Abound
The MAC has its fair share of intense rivalries, including the
Battle of the Bricks (Ohio vs. Miami), the Michigan MAC Trophy (Central,
Eastern, and Western Michigan), the Battle of I-75 (Toledo vs. Bowling Green) and
the Wagon Wheel (Akron vs. Kent State). Rest assured, despite being Group of
Fivers, these rivalries remain intense.
Bowl Busts
The MAC has been a major disappointment in bowl games, especially
the past 11 seasons as they are just 16-46 SU and 20-38-2 ATS overall,
including 1-5 SU and 2-4 ATS last postseason.
Worse, in bowl games against foes coming off a loss the MAC has gone 3-22 SU
and 4-20-1 ATS since 2008, including 0-7 SUATS as either a pick or a favorite
(see Buffalo last year). Yikes.
Note: Team write-ups are excerpts from the 2019 PLAYBOOK Football
Preview Guide magazine on sale at newsstands nationwide. The numbers following
each team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and
defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*)
designating a returning quarterback. The RPR represents each team's overall,
offensive and defensive rankings in overall returning production experience.
2019 MAC CONFERENCE PREVIEW EAST DIVISION
AKRON
Off - *7/3 Def -
3/1
RPR: 101/55/115
TEAM THEME: WHIPLASH
The Zips No. 2 ranked Red Zone Offense in 2018 was not enough to
save Terry Bowden's hide. As a result, Bowden is gone after seven seasons in
the Rubber City and new head coach Tom Arth enters with a new playbook. Arth, a
Northeast Ohio native and former QB at Cleveland St. Ignatius and the
Indianapolis Colts, served as a head coach at John Carroll and UT Chattanooga,
where he was 49-21, including 5-3 in Division III playoffs. His Moccasins at
UTC had the top recruiting class in the Southern Conference. Arth insists that
Akron has no returning starters and that every position must be earned. Stay
tuned as he cracks the whip.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Zips have been outyarded in
29 of their last 39 games overall.
PLAY AGAINST: vs. Kent State (10/12)
BOWLING GREEN Off - *8/4 Def - 5/2 RPR:
98/43/120
TEAM THEME: NO MO JINKS
The Mike Jinx era in Bowling Green was doomed before it started.
After taking over a 10-win squad with heavy graduation losses, the Falcons won
only 9 games the next three seasons. Bill Connelly of SBNation.com called it
the "dumbest coaching search in college football" when they brought in Jinx, an
inexperienced former running back aide at Texas Tech (a school known for its
air-raid passing attack). The next savior up is Scot Loeffler, who coached-up
Tom Brady and Tim Tebow (sounds like an oxymoron if ever there was one). He's
also had big busts at Boston College and Virginia Tech. Even worse for Loeffler,
his starting QB Seth Doege decided to bail into the transfer portal. Uh-oh.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Falcons went 39-6 SU in
games where they won the stats, and 6-37 SU when they lost the stats over the
last seven years.
PLAY ON: vs. Toledo (10/12)
BUFFALO Off - 5/4
Def - 3/1 RPR: 127/122/112
TEAM THEME: WHERE HAVE ALL THE BISON GONE?
On the heels of a record-setting 10-win season in 2018, the Bulls
will have a new look in 2019. One of the biggest priorities heading into the new
campaign will be finding a replacement for Bulls' starting quarterback Tyree
Jackson, the 2018 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, who declared for the NFL
Draft. In addition, all-MAC receivers Anthony Johnson and K.J. Osborn have
departed. Head coach Lance Leipold can rely on the return of four starting
offensive linemen but make no mistake - Jackson leaves large shoes to fill. He
was the primary reason the SU stats winner in Bulls' games was 14-0 SU and 13-0
ATS last season.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Since joining the MAC in 1999,
Buffalo is 10-62 SU versus winning opponents.
PASS
KENT STATE Off - *9/4 Def -
6/0 RPR: 8/6/34
TEAM THEME: SEVEN DEAD IN OHIO
When the Flashes brought Sean Lewis in to replace Paul Haynes and
his 14-41 record with Kent, they were optimistic that the former Dino Babers
assistant at Syracuse would pick up the pace. The offense responded by
improving 91 yards and 11 points per games behind Lewis' new playbook. The
problem was, like Babers' defenses, the stop-unit couldn't stop a fart when
they allowed more than 500 yards in five contests (all losses). And therein
lies the dilemma. A once-solid defense has now regressed across the board for
three straight years. Seven road games, including visits to Arizona State,
Auburn, and Wisconsin, could have them guzzling Imodium by season's end. Gulp.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Flashes 1-28 SU and 9-20 ATS
in games in which they score less than 24 points.
PLAY AGAINST: vs. Bowling Green (9/21)
MIAMI OHIO Off - 5/3
Def - 5/2 RPR: 95/89/86
TEAM THEME: A BAD CASE OF ARRHYTHMIA
At first glance, a 6-6 record last year looked like another
disappointing season as the RedHawks have now gone 8 straight years without a
winning record. But a deeper look inside the numbers tells another story as
Miami won 5 of its final 7 games of the season while going 8-1 ATS and
averaging 34 points per game to conclude the campaign. Unfortunately, the
offense was gashed as 55.2% of the starts made last season (8th most in the nation)
were by 19 seniors. When the Hawks opened spring camp, there was not a single
quarterback on the roster that had ever thrown a pass in a college game. So
while the spirit is willing, the heart is fluttering.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Miami Ohio led the nation in Red
Zone Offense (.977) last season.
PLAY AGAINST: at Ohio U (11/6)
OHIO U Off - *4/2 Def -
6/2 RPR: 113/119/69
TEAM THEME: ALL BY MYSELF
For the second season in a row, the Bobcats squared off against
only two teams during the regular season that owned a winning record the
previous year. As a result, Frank Solich's troops notched 9 wins in 2017 and
2018. The question begs how will they fare this year against an itinerary
filled with no less than 6 foes that went bowling last year? We do know this:
OU has managed to win four MAC division titles while also going bowling 10 of
the last 11 years. With a boatload of experience suddenly gone (54.8% of last
years starts were by seniors), Solich is left to fend for himself in 2019.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Ohio U has played 26 games
decided by a TD or less the last five seasons.
PLAY AGAINST: vs. Kent State (10/19)
2019 MAC CONFERENCE PREVIEW WEST DIVISION
BALL STATE Off -
8/5
Def - 9/2 RPR: 18/56/10
TEAM THEME: NEU LOOK GROWING OLD
With 10 wins in three seasons, Cardinal head coach Mike Neu
realizes his job is suddenly on the line. For a team that retains most of its
two-deep, and with only two home foes with winning records last season, Neu couldn't
have asked for anything more. For nothing else, he has made numerous pit stops
as a head coach at minor programs, including the Augusta Stallions, Carolina
Cobras, and the New Orleans VooDoo. The former New Orleans Saints quarterbacks
coach also started 38-of-41 games at quarterback in his four seasons at Ball
State. A string of 6 straight bowl foes from Games Four thru Nine will likely
determine Neu's fate.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: BSU is one of only two FBS
schools to average less than 10,000 fans (UL-Monroe the other) - or 100K fewer
fans than Michigan.
PLAY AGAINST: at Western Michigan (11/5)
CENTRAL MICHIGAN Off - *8/3 Def - 3/1
RPR: 76/10/124
TEAM THEME: CHIPS ANNOY
Ouch. After winning 7, 6, 7, 7, 6 and 8 games each of the previous
six seasons, the Chippewas fell off the map last year with just one win. The
culprit was an offense that ranked dead last in the FBS, and whose failure led
to the annoying departure of one of our favorite coaches in John Bonamego who
managed to beat cancer while coaching CMU. Thus, as a four-year bowler, the
Chips become a 'mission team' in 2019 under new head coach Jim McElwain, the
former head honcho at Florida. He immediately signed seven 3-star offensive
recruits, which should be good news with the Chips being ranked in the Top 10
in return production.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Chippewas are 5-0 ATS as
dogs of 20 or more points since 2013.
PLAY ON: at Ball State (11/16)
EASTERN MICHIGAN Off - 6/2 Def - 4/1 RPR: 117/100/107
TEAM THEME: FLIGHT SCHOOL IN PROGRESS
It's been a slow but steady rise for the Eagles in five seasons
under head coach Creighton, whose troops have witnessed defensive improvement
for three straight years. Closer inspection finds 11 of the 13 losses they
suffered the past two seasons came by a touchdown or less, a sure sign this
team is aching to breakthrough. In order for Creighton to keep his troops on
track, he'll need to overcome an inordinate 7 away games dotting this year's
itinerary. Given EMU's 11-49 record in seasons they've been forced to play 7
away games, the task could prove tricky. But we're not betting against
Creighton. Not with five JUCOs coming in to fill holes on defense this season.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Eastern Michigan has allowed the
fewest points in school history last season each of the last two seasons.
PLAY AGAINST: at Northern Illinois (11/19)
NO ILLINOIS
Off - *6/3 Def - 7/2 RPR: 37/61/29
TEAM THEME: KEEP CALM AND HAMMOCK ON
On the heels of winning its fifth MAC championship last year, for
the first time since 2013 NIU will open the season with a new head coach,
Thomas 'Easy Breezy' Hammock, a former running back with NIU and an assistant
coach with Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Baltimore Ravens. The good news for
Hammock is the Huskies return QB Marcus Childers, who threw for 2,175 yards on
234 completions on 397 attempts. In addition, their top four rushers are back,
as well as the top four tacklers from a defense that allowed a mere 2.7 yards
per rush in 2018. The big test will come with three consecutive road games at
Utah, Nebraska, and Vanderbilt in September.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Huskies are 35-13 SU and
32-15-1 ATS in their last forty-eight road games.
PLAY ON: at Miami Ohio (10/19) - *KEY
TOLEDO Off -
*6/3 Def - 5/2 RPR:
107/57/82
TEAM THEME: ROCKETS RED GLARE
Mark it down. Like his predecessor, Jason Candle will be the next
Toledo head coach to move on to a Power 5 conference. For the past nine years
with the Rockets, Candle has been instrumental in UT's success. First as an
assistant, and then as a head coach, his teams have gone 79-37 while appearing
in 8 bowl games over that span. With 13 seasons under his belt as an assistant,
Candle was just 27 years old when he was named an offensive coordinator at
Mount Union. It didn't hurt that UT scored at least 50 points six times in
2018, a school record, as well as eleven times in Candle's three years as the
lead Rocket.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Rockets were one of four
teams that did not start a single freshman last season.
PLAY ON: vs. Northern Illinois (11/13)
WESTERN MICHIGAN Off
- *8/3 Def - 10/4 RPR: 1/9/6
TEAM THEME: YOU AGAIN
Meet America's most experienced team. According to SB Nation's
Bill Connelly, as confirmed by the RPR numbers above, the Broncos bring back
more playing experience this season than any FBS squad. And after head coach
Tim Lester lured the second-best class in the MAC with 19 three-star recruits
in his first year, he didn't stop there: eight 3-star WRs and TEs, four 3-star
OL and a pair of 3-star RBs dotting the roster. And we didn't even mention the
return of QB John Wassink, who broke his ankle in the Toledo game (WMU was
riding a 6-game win streak prior to the injury). Look for the Broncos to kick
up a storm this year.
STAT YOU WILL LIKE: As many as 14 seniors will be starting
for the Broncos in 2019.
PLAY ON: at Syracuse (9/21)
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