MAC Bowl Projections Roundup: Week 11
by Mike Breese on Nov 15, 2009 3:53 PM CST
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The main fault of all of these projections is the failure to realize that Central Michigan has played in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (Then the Motor City Bowl) THE LAST 3 YEARS! I doubt they'll be going there again considering the dramatic drop in attendance last year.
Also, almost nobody takes in to fact that Bowling Green will likely make it 7 wins by defeating dregs Akron & Toledo at home in their next 2 games, furthering the chaos in the Bowl universe. CBS is the exception.
There are only 7 ACC teams available for bowls now, so that becomes a double-edged sword for the MAC. It means we don't get an ACC opponent in the GMAC, but does open up a spot in the EagleBank Bowl for the #4 team in the MAC. Apparently the ESPN predictors don't realize this.
It also looks like the Big 10 won't be able to fill their 7th bowl spot for the Pizza Bowl unless Minnesota wins @ Iowa AND Michigan State beats Penn State at home. Not gonna happen.
The result? Sun Belt & Conference USA opponents galore. YAY.
Since I don't want to all the way to D.C. to play a C-USA team, the Ohio game Saturday becomes just that much more important if we want our pick of the litter. Especially with Bowling Green still in bowl contention. My ideal choice would be the International Bowl against the Big East #4.
The most interesting projection? ESPN's Mark Schlabach has Central Michigan taking on Notre Dame in the GMAC Bowl. Imagine the opportunities if we manage to win the MAC somehow.
Click through for the predictions
CFN:
GMAC Bowl
January 6, Mobile AL 7 pm ESPN
ACC vs. MAC
Projection: Middle Tennessee* vs. Temple
*No ACC team projected availableInternational Bowl
January 2, Toronto, Canada, Noon, ESPN2
Big East vs. MAC No. 4 or 5
Projection: Rutgers vs. OhioLittle Caesars Pizza Bowl
December 26th, Detroit MI, 5 pm, ESPN
Big Ten No. 7 vs. MAC
Projection: Connecticut* vs. Central Michigan
*No Big Ten team projected availableEagleBank Bowl
December 30th, Washington DC, 4:30 pm ESPN ACC No. 8 vs. Army or C-USA
Projection: Northern Illinois* vs. East Carolina
*No ACC team projected available
CBS:
GMAC: Temple vs MTSU
International: Pittsburgh vs Ohio
Pizza: Central Michigan vs Marshall
EagleBank: Northern Illinois vs Tulsa
New Mexico: Bowling Green vs Nevada
GMAC: Temple vs UL-Monroe
International: Rutgers vs CMU
Pizza: MTSU vs Northern Illinois
EagleBank: Ohio vs UCF
GMAC Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. UAB*
International Bowl: Rutgers vs. Temple
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Middle Tennessee State*
EagleBank Bowl: Ohio* vs. Marshall*
GMAC Bowl: Northern Illinois vs.
ACC
International Bowl: Temple vs. Big EastLittle Caesars Pizza Bowl: Central Michigan vs.
Big TenEagleBank Bowl: Ohio vs. C-USA
GMAC: Notre Dame vs Central Michigan
International: South Florida vs Northern Illinois
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Temple vs Louisiana-Monroe
GMAC: Southern Methodist vs Central Michigan
International: West Virginia vs Temple
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Northern Illinois vs Iowa State
GMAC Bowl: Middle Tenn. State vs. Central Michigan
International Bowl: USF vs. Northern Illinois
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Louisiana-Monroe** vs. Ohio
Eagle Bank Bowl: Temple vs. Marshall
GMAC: Ohio vs Louisiana-Monroe
International: USF vs Temple
Little Caesars: Central Michigan vs Connecticut
New Mexico: Northern Illinois vs Nevada
GMAC: Louisiana-Monroe vs Northern Illinois
International: Rutgers vs Temple
Pizza: Middle Tennessee vs Central Michigan
EagleBank: Marshall vs Ohio
What bowl do you want to go to?
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Hey, thanks the for the link. I was a little iffy on what would happen with the at-large bids. I had NIU vs. MTSU in the GMAC for the longest time. But with the ripple affect of the Big 10 getting two teams into the BCS, I think 8-4 Middle Tennessee would go to the Motor City Bowl. I actually don’t know about the bowl selection process, but I have UAB going 6-6, UL Monroe going 7-5, and MTSU going 8-4. I just listed them based on proximity to their bowl locations, so I could be wrong about UAB getting into the GMAC Bowl. I think Ohio vs. 6-6 Marshall would make an interesting matchup since they used to be conference rivals.
I don’t know why people think Temple will ultimately go to the GMAC Bowl. I know it’s reserved for the second-place MAC team on most occasions, but it would seem like the International Bowl would be more of a fit against a team like Rutgers so they have more of a Northeast feel. EagleBank could definitely take them being from Philly.
I think if the Motor City Bowl could get their hands on Michigan State or Michigan (not happening for the Wolverines, possible for Spartans) that they would pass on CMU this year. If they were able to get one of those two schools, they wouldn’t have to worry about attendance, so they would likely go with Temple or possibly Northern Illinois. Central Michigan fans could take the 2.5 hour trip to Toronto if they had to (at least I think it would take that long to get there lol).
About Bowling Green...
I actually have the Falcons at 6-6 this year. They’ll beat Akron, but Toledo is a rivalry game and even though they’re really cold, I think an upset could be in the works there…
Its great how the schedules have fallen.
The Ohio / NIU game has become one of the most meaningful of the season..
let's win out
Yeah, it’s tough, but my mouth is watering at a potential matchup against Notre Dame in the GMAC Bowl. I always think the bowl game shirts and posters with the two teams helmets on them are rather cheesy, but if we get matched up against ND, I will want two shirts and two posters.
Ultimately I want a big name team to compete against, wherever the bowl may be. The International Bowl may be the best chance for that. The Big East teams are the least attractive to me of all the BCS conference teams, but any of them is still better than any C-USA or Sun Belt matchup.
I was hoping for a shot against Northwestern in the Pizza Bowl, but they look like they will be in a more prestigious bowl. Plus like Mike says, it doesn’t seem too likely that the Big 10 will fill out its bid for the Pizza Bowl, so that game is looking less attractive.
In an ideal situation, Notre Dame would be my preferred team, and the Pizza Bowl would be my preferred game, but that combination isn’t going to happen. I’m holding out for the first half of the equation.
Let’s win the MAC. I think if we win the MAC, a GMAC Bowl vs. Notre Dame or another name opponent is likely. The GMAC bowl is the night before the national championship. If we secure that game, and man o man get ND, we will be playing in a packed house in front of a very large television audience. Imagine what that could do for our program. A bowl game against ND would be historic. We would need to go undefeated, and perhaps score a BCS bid, to top a bowl game vs. ND.
I really want to push NIU and the whole MAC up a notch. This could be the year to do exactly that. GO NIU!
PS – Since this is my first post, I’d like to thank Mike for the blog. This page is better and much more fun that the official Huskie page. Please keep up the great work!
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