Mid-American Conference East Division SNEAK PREVIEW

Young Sully (YS) & Old Sully (OS) met over popcorn to preview the Mid American’s East & West divisions . We agreed the two best teams in the league are Bowling Green & Northern Illinois, where we disagreed is on who is the best team in the MAC!

Read on to find out what we thought and as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Bowling Green

Non-Conference Games: The Falcons play Tulsa (C-USA) and Murray State (FCS /Ohio Valley Conference) at home in Perry Stadium and travel to Indiana (Big Ten) & Mississippi State (SEC) to complete their NC schedule. YS Thinks 1-3 as GB falls to Tulsa, Indiana & Mississippi State. OS says ‘not so fast my friend’, 2-2, BG finds a way @ home vs Tulsa and in both scenarios beat Murray State!

Divisional Games: Bowling Green plays 6 (not 5 like the West) divisional games, @ home the Falcons take on Akron, U-Mass, & Ohio while traveling to Kent State, Miami of Ohio, & Buffalo. YS  believes 6-0 for GB in divisional play, having Ohio at home is critical to that end. OS agrees, 6-0, the Falcons run the table in 2013 divisional play.

Conference Cross-Over Games: Two MAC teams in the East Division, GB & Ohio (7 teams in their section of the conference) play only two cross-over games. The Falcons host Toledo and travel to Eastern Michigan. YS thinks, 2-0, the Falcons survive Toledo and hammer Eastern Michigan; OS concurs, 2-0, BG battles Toledo in a tight win @ home & pound Eastern in Ypsilanti.

Overall Record: YS has BG @ 9-3 while OS thinks the Falcons finish the 2013 season at 10-2!

Ohio University

Non-Conference Games: The Bobcats play one NC game on the road, Louisville (AAC), while welcoming North Texas (C-USA), Marshall (C-USA), & Austin Peay ( FCS / Ohio Valley Conference) to Penden Statdium. YS has Ohio U going 3-1, falling to only Louisville, OS says ‘turn the lights back on’ the NC numbers for the Bobcats are 2-2, as Marshall find a way in Penden Stadium.

Divisional Games: Ohio U hits the road to take on Akron, Buffalo, & BG and battles Miami OH, Kent State & U-Mass @ home. YS thinks 5-1, losing to only Bowling Green. OS says, ‘not today’ its 4-2 for the Bobcats as they fall at Buffalo as well!

Conference Cross-Over Games: OU takes on the Michigan schools in their cross-over games, Central @ home (HC) & Eastern at Rynearson Stadium! YS believes the Bobcats handle both CM & EM, while OS thinks, yap, 2-0!

Overall Record:YS 10-2 in 013 for Ohio U OS has the Bobcats @ 8-4 in the coming season!

Buffalo University

Non-Conference Games: The Bulls play @ Ohio State (Big Ten), Baylor (Big 12) and battle Stony Brook (FCS / Colonial Athletic Association) , & U-Conn (AAC) both at home in UB Stadium! YS believes, 1-3, this schedule is an over-reach on the Bulls AD’s part, although he does have one of the BCS opponent, U-Conn, in their house, they fall to all three of these teams! OS agrees, 1-3 are the correct numbers, in the correct order, the Bulls beat only Stony Brook in their NC games!

Divisional Games: Buffalo, due to the in-balance of the divisions (6 in the West & 7 in the East) only play 5 of the 6 teams in their division, the Bulls do not play Akron. Three of the divisional games are @ UB Stadium, the Bulls home field, against U-Mass, Ohio , & BG! They play the other two @ Kents State & Miami OH. YS has the Bulls going 3-2, falling to Bowling Green & Ohio; OS thinks, ‘Not so fast’, 4-1  are the numbers, the Bulls beat U-Mass, Kent, Miami, & find a way against Ohio @ Home. 

Conference Cross-Over Games:UB battles Western Michigan & Toledo on the road and take on EM @ UB Stadium. YS says, 2-1 the Bulls lose to only Toledo on the road; OS thinks 2-1 as well, falling to only Toledo!

Overall Record: YS Has the Bulls 6-6 in 013, while OS has them one better @ 7-5!

Kent State

Non-Conference Games: Kent challenges Penn State, LSU & South Alabama all on the road and meet Liberty at Dix Stadium, KS’s home field! YS thinks 2-2, Kent gets popped in the mouth by PSU and should bring body bags for their trip to Louisiana (metaphorically Speaking… of course) OS thinks 2-2 are the right numbers, but earned, in a battle royale in Mobile with USA.

Divisional Games: KS takes on BG, Buffalo, & Miami all @ home in the friendly confines of Dix Stadium. The Golden Flashes travel to Akron & Ohio to round out a 5 game Divisional Schedule (same as Buffalo’s divisional card… The Flashes do not play U-Mass) YS has the Golden Flashes at 2-3, Losing to BG, Buffalo & Ohio, while running away from Miami & Akron! OS agrees, 2-3 are the numbers!

Conference Cross-Over Games: Kent travels to Western Michigan & Ball State, while welcoming NIU to Dix Stadium! YS & OS agree 0-3, the Golden Flashes did not get a very good draw in cross-over games . NIU & Ball State are two of the three best in the West Division and WM is best of the rest!

Overall Record: YS & OS think it will be 4-8 in 2013 for the Flashes, with some very close games inthe MAC!

Miami of Ohio

Non-Conference Games: The Redhawk’s NC schedule, at least on paper, is more about the Money than the Wins, as they take on 3 BCS teams, two on the road, @ Kentucky (SEC) & Illinois (Big Ten) while hosting Cincinnati (AAC). Then they take on Marshall, in Huntington, WV; who many believe is the best team in C-USA! YS & OS concur Miami goes 0-4  in NC games, but earn their Athletic Dept. about 1.5 million!!!

Divisional Games: The Hawks hit the road to battle U-Mass, Ohio, & Kent State and challenge Akron & Buffalo in Miami, @ Fred C. Yager Stadium. YS has the Redhawks going 2-3 in Divisional play, beating Akron at home & U-Mass on the road! OS says amen to that, 2-3 are the numbers for Miami in divisional play!

Conference Cross-Over Games: Miami plays CM & BG at home and travels to Ball State to round out their three conference cross-over games! YS believes the Hawks go 0-3, falling to Bowling Green & Central Michigan at home and losing to Ball State in Muncie. OS  says ‘hold the presses’, The Redhawks find a way against CM and finish their conference cross-over @1-2.

Overall Record: YS thinks the Hawks go 2-10, while OS has the Redhawks finishing @ 3-9 in 013!

Akron University

Non-Conference Games: The Zips tackle Central Florida (AAC) & Michigan (Big Ten) on the road and welcome James Madison (FCS Colonial Athletic Association) & Louisiana (Sun Belt) to Infocision Stadium! YS: Akron falls to UCF, Michigan & Louisiana, beating only James Madison @ home; OS agrees, 1-3 are the numbers earned by Akron vs a very challenging NC schedule!

Divisional Games: The Zips play @ BG, Miami, & U-Mass and at home vs Ohio (HC) & Kent State! YS has the Zips @ 1-4 in divisional play, beating only U-Mass. OS thinks 1-4 is accurate, the Zips struggle vs BG, Miami, Ohio, Kent State!

Conference Cross-Over Games: Akron plays in three conference cross-over games, two @ home, Ball State & Toledo and one away from home vs NIU! YS & OS are in harmony, Akron has drawn the three best teams from the West Division & 0-3 is the result!

Overall Record: YS & OS agree 2-10 for the Zips in the 2013 season!

University of Massachusetts

Non-Conference Games: NC schedule is a slaughter house, @ Wisconsin (Big Ten), @ Kansas State (Big 12), Vanderbilt (SEC) @ home and finally, a winnable game, Maine @ home! YS & OS had little to no debate on this one, 1-3 and  clearly 2 wins is a ton less likely than 4 losses!

Divisional Games: U-Mass plays a 5 game divisional schedule, avoid Kent State within the division. YS & OS concur, 0-5 for the Minutemen in 013!

Conference Cross-Over Games: The Minutemen play NIU & WM at home and CM on the road. YS & OS agree, 0-3 in 2013, U-Mass is in for a difficult season in the second year in the FBS ranks!

Overall Record: YS & OS are all over this 1-11 looks to be a lock!      

Mid-American Conference, East Division vs Non Conference Opponents: 

YS:  The East Division goes 9-19 vs NC opponents; OS: agrees, 9-19!