Alright, that may be a pretty bold statement, but it certainly is at least close. Yes, the Big Ten has a 9-4 record over the Mid American Conference, but when you consider that only 1 of those games was at a MAC field, plus the fact that Michigan and Ohio State barely eeked by Miami OH and Ohio U respectively, it certainly is something to brag about as a MAC fan.

And as a Big Ten fan, if this isn’t evidence that the conference is struggling mightily, I don’t know what is. I’m not downplaying the MAC or totally getting away from the idea of college football parity, but when you consider that a conference that has put a nation title contender in the last two year’s bowls and had Penn State (until today) in the top five, to have a record like that is not certainly anything to write home about or be prood of. It’s not like the SEC versus the Sun Belt which is almost laughable.

Yes, two of those wins by the MAC came against Indiana and none of the “top tier” teams in the conference have lost to the MAC, but when you consider that Ball State is very much in BCS contention and Central Michigan as well as Western Michigan should get bowl bids, that is a great victory for this conference overall and should do wonderfully for recruiting.

On the other hand, the Big Ten needs to look at this as a learning experience and continue to be humble about the performance (or lack thereof) of their teams on this playing level this year. And get better–quick.

Ohhh the drama! Both of these teams experienced high levels of dramatics last weekend, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers needed a touchdown in the waning seconds to upend fiesty Northern Illinois in the season opener at home. Bowling Green shocked previously ranked Pittsburgh 27-17 in what many dubbed one of the better games of the opening week of college football. So, can they create more drama this week? If last year’s game was any indication, the answer is YES! Read the rest of this entry »

I think in order to make things more streamlined and formative, I am going to start doing some frequent posting that encapsulates different items on certain days in order for fluidity to the site. That being said, here is what my schedule will be going forward per conference:

Monday-Big Ten

Tuesday-Pac 10

Wednesday-ACC

Thursday-Big East

Friday-Big 12

Saturday-SEC

Sunday-All others

In these daily capsules, I will have different posts discussing the previous week’s events, news, and future discussions about the teams and conferences themselves (not limiting to specific sports). I will also post on news events as they transpire with my two, or three cents, maybe even a dollar’s worth. For those of you out there that would like to have a discussion on a certain topic, shoot an email my way and I’ll be happy to give it a shot.

Thanks for your support of the site and I look forward to getting started on this!

Tim AKA “The Athletic Supporter”

The game before THE GAME. With NFL Playoffs and the national title game looming tomorrow night, we’ve got one more football game for those of you who haven’t gotten quite enough indigestion from all of the beer and thumbaches from pressing the remote buttons. It’s the GMAC Bowl where Tulsa and Bowling Green match offensive juggernauts for a battle to the finish for supremacy.

Wait, where are you going? Hey–come back here!

I know, I know, as much as we all would like to admit that Tulsa and Bowling Green are not the football hotbeds of…well, even the junior high circuit…this is still should be an exciting game of offensive firepower. The GMAC has historically been a game of scores that indicate more high blood pressure scores than football, and defense seems to be mainly optional. So, the question is, who scores the most? If you answered Wilt Chamberlain…well, you’re right, but that’s another time and place to discuss.

Chamberlain showing how many points women he bagged on one night.

BG must throw the ball a lot more than usual to keep up with Tulsa’s Paul Smith, who should throw for at least 300 and may even eclipse 400 if his arm doesn’t fall off first. Tulsa is a 4.5 point favorite in this game, and if the Golden Hurricane can get going early, they may score 50. However, if Bowling Green can blitz early and force Smith out of the pocket, where isn’t exactly the best under pressure, they could really move the momentum and pull the upset.

But Smith is just too good, and he has an arsenal of receivers, and unlike Bowling Green, Tulsa can turn to RB Tarrion Adams for good ground support if necessary. My pick is the ‘Cane in a wild and scorekeeper’s nightmare, 42-35.

Purdue has always been known for its offensive prowess, especially under head coach Joe Tiller. Central Michigan boasts what the media calls the “poor man’s Tim Tebow” in Dan LeFevour, who has passed for more than 3000 yards and has run for more than 1000 yards.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to surmise that the game will be high scoring. And–what’s even more of an odder fact is that this game is actually a match up of an earlier nonconference game in which Purdue ran away with the game early in lieu of a 45-22 win.

The Boilermakers are an overwhelming favorite, and even in looking at Yahoo! Bowl Pickem, over 86% have picked Purdue to win. Considering the earlier win and also that Purdue has never lost to CMU, it does seem like the thought would back these numbers up. However, you can’t discount the scoring power of the Chippewas, and Purdue has had a tendency to sometimes fizzle a bit from time to time, and after starting out 5-0, they’ve gone 2-5 since, losing to their in-state rival Indiana at the end of the year.

And the Chippewas have been the opposite-finishing 7-2. LeFevour has been sensational, but the defense has been swiss-cheese against quality competition. If there’s any coach that will have a team ready, it will be Tiller, and Cory Painter could throw for as many yards as he did in the previous game (360). While it won’t be a blowout, it will be closer than most think. Still, I’ll go with the populace to select Purdue in a 41-35 win.