MAC Power Rankings: Week Seven

Four conference games. Four underdogs that not only cover the spread, but win the game outright. That’s the kind of week it was in the MAC, and it has our power rankings turned upside down. Remember, these refer to how good I think the teams are right now, not how they’ll finish in the conference. Let’s check it out.

1. Central Michigan – After a rocky non-conference start, the Chips have found their groove, and put it on display with a 58-38 beat down of Ball State in Muncie. CMU put a walloping on the Cardinals, rolling up 658 yards of offense, 32 first downs, 300 yards on both land and air, and 51 points in the first three quarters. QB Dan LeFevour leap-frogged everyone in the player of the year race with 360 yards passing and a career high 146 yards rushing. This is a Chips squad playing like dynamite right now, and thanks to the divisional record based standings this year, their 3-0 MAC West record has them just 2 wins away from locking up a MAC title game slot.
2. Ball State – Wha happened??? The Cardinals, who had been playing so well, laid an egg in the worst way Saturday, to the worst possible opponent. The defense was shredded all day, and Frank Edmonds (14 carries, 41 yards) and the running game weren’t able to generate enough ground attack to keep up or keep the Chips attack off the field. BSU now has both a run and pass defense ranked in the bottom 10 nationally. I’ve got to call out the fans on this one, as well. Cardinal fans – you’ve got a team dominating the MAC that almost beat Nebraska and only 9,617 of you show up on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon? Shame on you.
3. Bowling Green – We didn’t get a lot of information about the Falcons this Saturday, as they went to Chestnut Hill and got whomped by a Boston College team that is playing as well as any team not from Baton Rouge or Columbus right now. Now, its two MAC East road dates in a row, at Oxford and Kent. At 2^nd and 4^th in the MAC in catches, Corey Partridge and Freddie Barnes are as good a 1-2 punch at WR as there is in the conference. It would really help this offense if the scheme included better ways to free up sophomore RB Chris Bullock in open space. At 86 yards a game, the rushing attack is one of the worst nationally.
4. Akron – Wow. The Zips got a win for the ages in Kalamazoo this weekend, getting a safety with 15 seconds to go and a free kick return all the way as time was expiring to stun, and I mean stun, Western Michigan. This is a team you want with you in a bar fight – somehow the Zips have found ways to win games they have no business winning (WMU), games they get dominated between the tackles (Kent State), and games where the offense doesn’t show up at all (Army). QB Chris Jacquemain had a big day at WMU, but this team will continue to ride the defense, which is sitting at 5^th in the MAC in yards and 4^th against the pass. Time to start stopping the run, too.
5. Miami – Teams with Guts, Part 2. The Redhawks took one body blow after another, losing three offensive starters to injury in the first half at Kent State. But Daniel Raudabaugh took care of the ball, and the Miami defense contained a KSU attack that didn’t feature as much Eugene Jarvis as they expected, getting a 20-13 win. The three victories to date are by a combined 12 points, but Shane Armstrong isn’t complaining, as the ‘Hawks are 2-0 in the MAC with two road wins. Miami is down to their third string tailback, second string QB, and a host of other backups, so they’ve got to get a little better at limiting and creating turnovers. Their -.83 margin per game, 11^th in the conference, leaves almost no room for error.
6. Kent State – The Golden Flashes had the East right where they wanted it, but couldn’t get a win over Miami, and now face an uphill battle to get back in the hunt. For my money, the most talented squad in the East got two costly interception tosses from experienced QB Julian Edelman, and couldn’t score on the feisty Miami defense late. Edelman got shoved out at the 1 yard line on Kent’s last play, but he shouldn’t have had to run 17 yards to get there. The Flashes were brutalized by penalties all day, and committed two backbreakers on their last series. Their punishment: a date with the Buckeyes in Columbus.
7. Western Michigan – The Broncos might be the biggest beneficiary of the abbreviated schedule; after an awful start against great competition and this week’s gag against the Zips, WMU is still 1-0 in games that count, and gets both Ball State and CMU in the ‘Zoo. The next four weeks are the rest of the MAC West schedule for WMU, so its now or never for the Bronco secondary that got plenty of love preseason to rise to the occasion. There isn’t a single portion of the WMU D that is above 7^th best in the MAC in their category, and they haven’t held a D-1 squad below 28 points yet. Now is the time.
8. Buffalo – The Bulls got another big league win Saturday, besting Frank Solich’s Ohio squad by 21, giving Buffalo its second win of the year, and a great chance for a winning streak this week against Toledo. Up until about a year ago, Buffalo hadn’t been favored against a D-1 opponent in 9 years. That’s changing now, with the Bulls laying 4 points against the Toledo Rockets. I don’t think the Bulls have quite enough firepower to win the East, but at 2-0 in the division, are you going to tell them they’ve got no chance? I’m not.
9. Eastern Michigan – In a league dominated by scary passing offenses, EMU is bucking the trend, putting a tough, competitive defense out on the field every week. You’ve heard enough from me about Daniel Holtzclaw (1^st in league in tackles, 11.33 per game) and Jason Jones (1^st in league in TFL, 2.08 per game), but what about Ryan Downard (4 INT) and Darran Matthews (9.33 tackles per game)? This is a good enough defensive unit that EMU will get another MAC West win.
10. Toledo – Life’s never boring when you’re a Rocket fan. Toledo got another 1-point win at the Glass Bowl, besting FCS squad Liberty, 35-34. Toledo’s third string QB, DJ Lenehan, performed admirably, but made a few crucial mistakes that kept Liberty closer than they should have been (Toledo outgained Liberty by over 200 yards). Just like he seems to in any given game, the Rockets’ Jalen Parmele is getting stronger as the year goes on, earning 169 yards and 3 TDs on 30 carries. For the Rockets to have a shot at .500, the D has to force more turnovers – the secondary has been hit hard by the injury bug, but the new guys need to take more chances; 1 INT in 6 games isn’t giving the offense a chance.
11. Ohio – The Bobcats have fallen far and hard since last year’s MAC East title. After winning their first couple in 2007, Ohio has dropped 4 straight, including two in a row in the East, to find themselves virtually out of contention before the leaves on the Plains have changed color. Wasn’t this defense like, good last year? The Bobcats are getting pounded on the ground, at 108^th in the nation against the run, and even though the front four has been excellent at getting in to the backfield (1^st in MAC in sacks, 2^nd in TFL), once opposing running backs get to the linebackers, its an adventure. This team can’t be as bad as they look right now…can they?
12. Temple – What do you do when your offense is on life support? That’s right, you get a TD from your defense, add three field goals, put it on puree, and get your first win of the year. On the MAC’s Upset Saturday, the Owls beat a struggling NIU squad despite having to overcome 127 yards in penalties. How often will a team get two less offensive TDs than another team and win? Temple’s not complaining – the win was only their 2^nd in the last 29 games, and the team might be dangerous enough to get another.
13. Northern Illinois – Where do they find these guys? NIU back Justin Anderson is putting up huge numbers, as yet another super-talented feature back in the long-time Husky stable of downhill runners. After getting just three carries in the opener against Iowa, Anderson is now a cornerstone of the Husky offense, averaging 30 carries and 168 yards over the last four games. Unfortunately, the passing game is in disarray, and NIU hasn’t scored 20 points yet in three MAC derbies. Sackmaster Larry English might be the baddest man in the conference; his 7 sacks in 6 games ranks 4^th nationally.