Forget the Pac-10 this football season.
Forget the SEC, Big Ten or Big 12.
I’m watching the Mid-American Conference this year.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ll still follow USC’s run for a third-consecutive national title. I’ll still watch Michigan and Texas among others as they try to once again bid for the crown.
The MAC is on the rise, though, and it’s finally getting the recognition and respect it deserves. That recognition is a result of several events that have occurred in recent years: improvement in the strength of schedule, earning more postseason Bowl bids, the talent level increasing and some of the best NFL players starting to come from MAC schools.
Perhaps the best indication that the MAC is garnering more notice and respect is its improvement in scheduling.
Although they didn’t win any games against BCS schools last season, MAC teams showed they could compete with the big boys. Northern Illinois suffered a respectable 23-20 loss to Maryland. Although Maryland isn’t a powerhouse, it is in the ACC, automatically making it the favorite against the Huskies.
Marshall lost to both Ohio State and Georgia by a combined 13 points.
MAC schools will take another shot this year at the Michigans, Ohio States and Auburns of college football. Will we win those games? Doubtfully, although the gap between mid-major and BCS schools certainly seems to be narrowing.
The improvement in scheduling BCS teams has resulted in a tremendous increase in the number of MAC representatives in bowl games. Five MAC schools competed in bowl games in 2004, winning two. That more than doubled the previous most from the year before.
Talent-wise, the MAC has greatly improved in recruiting — as evident by statistics that rank among the country’s best.
One of the country’s best quarterbacks is returning to the MAC. Bowling Green’s Omar Jacobs ranked fourth in the country last season in passing efficiency and led the second-best offense in the country statistically.
Four MAC quarterbacks finished in the top 10 in total offense. Jacobs was second in that category.
And the MAC featured four of the better wide receivers last season, again statistically, each ranked in the top 12 in the country for receptions per game. In fact, Ball State’s Dante Ridgeway led the country in receptions per game and receiving yards per game, and Eastern Michigan’s Eric Deslauriers was in the top five in both.
Ultimately, one of the most commonly used methods of measuring the quality of a conference is the quantity and more importantly quality of NFL players produced.
Two NFL stars in particular have made the most noise lately — sometimes literally.
The most recent example is former Miami star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, now playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last season, he threw 196 completions in 295 attempts for 2,621 yards, a 66.4 percent and led the Steelers to a 16-2 record.
Probably the MAC’s best-known NFL star (and certainly its most outspoken) is Randy Moss. Moss caught 49 passes last year for 767 yards, but he’s better known for being in the headlines for his antics on and off the field.
Others currently in the NFL include Chad Pennington (Marshall), Pro Bowlers Antonio Gates (Kent State) and Jason Taylor (Akron). Locally, Brad Maynard (Ball State) and Ryan Diem (Northern Illinois) play for the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts, respectively.
Write to Ross at
rrflint@bsu.edu
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