MAC Power Rankings: Week Ten

We’re heading full bore down the stretch in the 2007 MAC season, and the leaders are an even mix of surprises (Buffalo, Temple) and favorites (CMU, Ball State). Miami, Bowling Green, and E. Michigan are still in the mix, too. Will the real thoroughbreds please stand up?

How do I think these teams would fare if the played tomorrow on a neutral field? Let’s take a look:

1.Central Michigan – The Chips are still the clear cut MAC favorite, although I was a bit disappointed in their defense giving up 32 points to the Giorgio Martin-led Kent State attack. I’ll give CMU a pass, however – Martin is probably a better downfield thrower than Julian Edelman, and Eugene Jarvis is a load to bring down, no matter the circumstances. It’s going to take a major hiccup for the Chippewas to give away the MAC West to Ball State. No chance they lose to both WMU and EMU.

2.Ball State – The Cardinals were good against Illinois, but not good enough. The Cards led the Illini 10-7 early in the third quarter, courtesy of a Mike Dorulla INT return for a score, but ultimately couldn’t stop Rashard Mendenhall and got beat by the better team. No shame in that, and the oddsmakers see this week’s clash at Indiana as being much closer, with the Hoosiers opening as just a 6.5 point favorite. Is it too late to ship Nate Davis to Ypsilanti to help EMU beat the Chippewas?

3.Buffalo – I finally saw the Bulls in person this weekend and trust me, these Bulls are for real. Buffalo is playing tough, tackling hard, bringing emotion and finishing games right now. If every remaining contest were played on a neutral field, I have to think Buffalo should be the East favorite. Unfortunately, they head to Miami, where they’re a 7 point dog this weekend. The Bulls are 4-1 at UB Stadium and 0-4 on the road; a win this weekend clinches no worse than a tie for the East.

4.Miami – It’s go time for the Redhawks this Saturday. For all intents and purposes, they’re locked out of the East race with a loss, and the favorites with a win. Miami brought no running game whatsoever to Vanderbilt last Saturday, but Raudabaugh did throw for 200+ yards and a couple scores. How will the Miami D fare against the 1-2 punch of Starks and Henry? On a neutral field, I think Buffal wins by 3. In Oxford, Miami has to be the favorite.

5.Bowling Green – BGSU played itself clean out of the East title hunt with a disappointing outing against Ohio Saturday. Falcon defenders were allergic to Kalvin McRae, and the big back punished the D again and again to the tune of 200 yards on 42 carries. The East is still not mathematically out of reach, but the Falcons need a lot of help. They probably won’t get it, so now the focus turns to bowl eligibility and keeping the Willie Geter machine humming.

6.Temple – I’m rethinking last week’s call of Temple at 3C despite the Owls’ bye week this week. Adam DiMichele was just too monumental in Temple’s early season success for the Owls to keep getting wins at season’s end. However, beware of the Owls this weekend at Peden Stadium – Temple, on 13 days rest, gets a Bobcat squad on just 6 days rest since Kalvin McRae’s 42 carry performance Saturday.

7.Eastern Michigan – The Eagle defense, sick of getting no help from the offense, did the job all day long against WMU, and got EMU a big, big win against the in-state rival Broncos. The linebacking corps did a number on Brandon West and Mark Bonds while EMU’s Pierre Walker ran wild for 151 yards on 33 carries. Can EMU win the West? They’ve got to beat Toledo and CMU to earn a three-way tie for the division lead. It’s going to be very tough – can Walker keep it going?

8.Western Michigan – The Broncos had been a little overrated all year, and the bottom finally fell out at Eastern in an embarrassing 19-2 loss. What went wrong for the preseason West favorite? They’re still 106th nationally in turnover margin, and they haven’t protected Hiller (95th nationally in sacks allowed). Now, they get to play spoiler against the hated Chips next Tuesday at Waldo.

9.Toledo – 70 points? 70 freakin’ points? Aaron Opelt and the passing attack went positively berserk against Northern Illinois Saturday. Opelt threw 4 TDs and 387 yards, while two Rocket backs (DaJuane Collins and Jalen Parmele) topped the 100 yard mark. 430 yards passing, 382 yards rushing, three TDs in each of the first three quarters. Egads, what an outing.

10.Ohio – The Bobcat offense was All Day Kalvin McRae against Bowling Green Saturday, bringing some respectability back to a season that had fallen apart. Could Ohio still make a bowl game? At 4-5, it’ll take a sweep over Temple, Akron and Miami to get it done. But the Bobcats get 2 of those three at home, so 3 for 3 is possible. However, Akron will be the ‘Cats third game in 12 days; we’ll see how they hold up.

11.Akron – The Zips ran in to a buzzsaw in Buffalo, with the weather getting really nasty just as the Bulls iced a fourth quarter lead. The Zips defense is still capable (3rd in the MAC in total yards), but the offense just can’t get enough going on the ground, and Chris Jacquemain isn’t good enough to carry the load by himself. Oh well – Akron’s holding that Wagon Wheel for another year.

12.Kent State – Future met present in Kent Saturday as Giorgio Martin looked pretty doggone good in his first collegiate action, throwing for 247 yards and 3 scores against CMU. Neither defense really wanted to do anything; it was 21-13 at the end of the first quarter. KSU was in it late, trailing by just 6, but couldn’t get the ball rolling in the fourth quarter.

13.Northern Illinois – The Huskies got absolutely torched at Toledo to the tune of 70-21, and it’s really looking like this team lost some heart when they lost any hope of a winning season. Justin Anderson hasn’t gotten nearly enough praise in MAC circles this year for his rushing performance, but when you’re following Garrett Wolfe, I guess that’s bound to happen. Another bright spot continues to be Larry English, who had two more sacks on Aaron Opelt.