The Bowl Challenge Cup is a competition between all FBS conferences to see which conference has the best record in bowl games by winning percentage. The PAC 12 had to have both USC and UTAH win to beat the MAC out. With the stunning win by Tulane over USC, the MAC clinched the bowl challenge up with a 4-2 record. The two losses (our game and BG) were by a combined total of 9 points.
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Does the MAC get any money for this accomplishment?
New podium
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Yes! I can see it in my mind. It’s lucite. Nice speaker height to arm ratio. Has all the latest technology plugged in. And on the side, there’s a pirate flag. Every so often, it lights up as a disembodied voice softly yells “arrrg”
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Most of the disparaging comments I hear about the MAC are on this forum. I enjoy MAC games and find them highly competitive. Not surprised at their bowl success at all.
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@Ballcoach1 Of course you aren’t. All of us enjoy MAC games. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be on this forum. But the MAC’s .approximate 250 OOC record really couldn’t have been a predictor of a 4-2 bowl record. The lower quality of teams we played in the bowl season probably had something to do with our success…no power 5 teams and especially no Washington, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, etc. We seemed to have matched up pretty well against mid-level G-5 teams in December. Next year’s OOC schedule isn’t as challenging as 2022’s so perhaps the MAC will fare a bit better.I’d like to see us - especially Miami - start matching up well with top level G-5 programs.
The MAC did over achieve in bowl games I was pleasantly surprised
2-0 vs MWC
1-0 vs Sun Belt
Beat Liberty which is a big name G5
Losses vs CUSA and New Mexico State were close games
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This is why program funding is so important. The conference could be showing it’s better than the CUSA and MW, and can complete with the SunBelt, but instead we have programs taking 3 buy games.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the amount of buy games in the conference really hurts interest. Personally, Toledo schedules about as well as anyone in the MAC. They have some interesting G5 OOC games and one buy game. Next year they play at Illinois (maybe a bit tougher than when it was scheduled) and UMass (very winnable), while hosting Texas Southern (FCS team with a brand) and San Jose State (winnable G5 game). They could easily walk out at 3-1, with a shot at 4-0.
Contrast that to Western: host St. Francis U, then at Syracuse, at Iowa, and at Mississippi St. You really feel motivated to go watch a team that just lost 3 straight? And do you really know if they can beat an OOC G5 team?
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I don’t totally agree that Western is 0-3 in that stretch. Syracuse is absolutely winnable. And historically MSU used to be (see exhibit A from when good ole MU lost 16-17 in the St. Petersberg (formerly Beef-O-Brady) bowl. I would imagine Iowa is a loss. Now, I think your point is valid when looking at the Coles-style gauntlet the state of Kent played this year. That was maybe too much hot lava.
Excellent point. Ohio generally follows that Toledo model, too and has tried to bring G5 and mid level P5 teams like Iowa State and Syracuse to Athens. I wish funding and fan support would allow the MAC to generally follow the one buy game, one FCS name program home game, one road G5 game, and one mid-level P5 or G5 home game model.
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I think you guys make great points about fan support and records. I do think it helps to build up fan support to have wins even if it is vs fcs. I also think making a bowl is beneficial and much easier with a 2-2 or better OOC
But on the other hand playing a schedule of two G5s, one p5 and one fcs can be sort of meh. I sort of view Western Kentucky as similar to WKU.
From a fan point of view if we could play fcs, uc (current home and home model), 2-1 p5 (like a Pitt/Syracuse type) and major p5 (sec or big 10) that is much more interesting with one caveat - the team is good enough to compete with UC and Pitt/Syracuse type
Our OOC wins of the 1990s -2000s really did a lot to make me excited about Miami football
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For what it’s worth, I view Western Kentucky and WKU as identical.
(Cue irony in 3…2…1
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Shoot I mean WMU
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I think I’m aligned with what you’re saying. My ideal schedule gives you an opportunity to go into conference play with a 3-1 record, but no worse than 2-2. IMO, to get to that point, the conference philosophy probably needs to be 1 FCS, 1 P5, then 2 G5 teams. Get some consistent wins over CUSA and SunBelt, show the MAC is a competent G5 conference, then start adding bigger schools into the mix. I think a few basketball conferences have made a huge jump in reputation by doing something similar; just buying a bunch of wins against mostly similar and inferior opponents.
While it’s less interesting for serious observers, the casual fan just sees a winning record.
I figured as much!
4-2