Lebanon, TN – Having invested well for retirement and moving to Tennessee gives us plenty of time and puts us in proximity to seeing good MACtion clashes this season. With games televised over November weekday evenings, we can combine multiple games within two evenings to travel and build our resume’ attending competitive games and visiting new venues – in sync with our already great adventure. We look forward to some close, hard-fought battles.
MACtion competitively balanced?
In his College Football ’24 Preview, Phil Steele quotes Ball State HC Mike Neu. “He told me there is not so much difference from top to middle of the MAC (Mid-American Conference).” Well, we plan to find out. It gives us first-hand looks to see some teams that will eventually be playing in early December bowls – good for evaluating teams in those bowl pools we enter after the regular season! Through MACtion in person, we hope to have our finger on the pulse of this conference.
Below, we present our slate of MACtion games in chronological order. As a conference, with fewer games we’ve attended than most others, we will also report on our vivid memories of the Mid-Americans whose membership has basically remained intact over the years.
October 12: Ohio U at Central Michigan; Big Chippewa Tailgate Party
We begin with a Saturday game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, home of the Chippewas. We’ll enjoy our first game there with a good friend and former work colleague Mike Meyer and his family. Mike, his wife, Mother, kids and friends all attended CMU. Annually, they plan a big tailgate party there once every season. Mike invited St. Laurie and I to attend this game with about 40 die-hard Chippewa fans. We look forward to this!
Heading into the sixth game of their season following games at Illinois and home against San Diego State, we see the Chips play in their second MACtion game of the year hosting Ohio U. The Bobcats finished 10-3 a year ago. They defeated Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl and defeated CMU 34-20. The Chips will actually have chips on their shoulders for this one after the Bobcats upset them last season.
Central Michigan hopes to see some improvement at QB with Iowa transfer Joey Labas. Hard to imagine a QB from Iowa over the last few years being a solid selection to turn a program around. Soph Bert Emanuel will have to be ready to step in after two starts last season. Maybe both will improve under HC Jim McElwain, formerly at Colorado State and Floria. Top RBs from 2023 in Marion Lukes and Myles Bailey return. They were also among the top five receivers following Tyson Davis and Jesse Prewitt with 30 and 31 snags respectively. The OLine brings back three starters. The team needs to ramp up their 23.3 points per game (ppg). Defense returns six starters from their 5–7-mark last season led by three LBs – Donte Kent, Justin Whiteside and Dokata Cochran.
Bobcat momentum?
Ohio U. HC Tim Albin rebuilds with only two returning starters on offense and four on “D.” Junior Parker Novarro probably starts at QB. He led the Bobcats to a 41-25 victory over Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Only RB Ricky Hunt returns in the backfield, and Anthony Tyus of Northwestern transferred in. On defense, they build around two starting safeties in Austin Brawley and Adonis Williams. Albin has led OU to 10-win seasons the past two years after an initial record of 3-9. This season will attest to his recruiting and developmental program with a lot of new players stepping up.
In over 45 years, we have seen both teams play only once. We saw CMU toppled by Syracuse, 41-17, in the Carrier Dome in 1999. In 2005, we welcomed Ohio as our 100th team with a 34-20 win over our 101st team Buffalo in Amsterdam, NY. The Bobcats played then under their first-year HC Frank Solich.
November 5 (Election Day) – Miami (O.) at Ball State kicks off our weeknight MACtion
We descend upon Ball State’s Scheumann Stadium in Muncy Indiana for the first time. However, we’ll be seeing the Miami Redhawks, defending MAC champs, for the second year in a row. We witnessed their win over Buffalo, 23-10, on our first trip to Oxford for their ninth win last season. They went on to win the MAC title game over Toledo before falling to Appy State in the Cure Bowl, 13-9, to finish 11-3.
Senior QB Brett Gabbert (1,635 passing yards, 14 TDs, five INTs) keys their drive to win a second MAC title. He suffered an injury ending his season against Toledo in the title game. Kenny Tracy returns as their top back who will be relied on to replace Rashod Amos’s 1075 yards and 13 TDs. The Top D among MACtion teams a year ago held opponents to 15.9 points per game. Returning Senior LBs Matt Sapolek and Ty Wise return with 144 and 122 tackles respectively. This year, the Redhawks start off at Northwestern, vs. Cincinnati and at Notre Dame. They will have four MAC games under their belt against teams we will see play before they meet Ball State who they defeated at home last season, 17-15. Like BSU HC Mike Neu stated, there’s not much different from top to middle among MACtion teams.
Where does Neu see his Cardinals?
Question is, does Neu see his team among the upper echelon here? Ball State finished 4-8 a year ago with close losses against Toledo and Bowling Green as well as Miami. However, with six starters returning on offense and only one returning on defense, Neu definitely has his work cut out for him going into his ninth season at Ball State.
QB Kadin Semonza returns as a redshirt freshman after only three starts. Four returning OL starters will be a strength for these Cardinals. The top RB looks to be Indiana transfer Charles Spegal (71 rushing yards in ’23). Top receiver Qian Magwood comes back to lead a passing attack that averaged only 18.3 ppg in 2023. LB Kente Newson who led in tackles with 81 returns. This year’s Cardinal crew of transfers includes several D-III players vying for starting positions on defense. Will much defensive improvement be derived with one starter returning that allowed 24 ppg last year?
Miami of Ohio stands at 2-1 in our history with last year’s win and a 14-13 win over Army at West Point in 1998. They fell to Temple, 24-21, in a Thursday night game at The Linc in 2011. Ball State fell hard on a blistering, hot day at Boston College in 2003, 53-29. However, we also saw them under HC Pete Lembo defeat the Cadets of West Point at Michie Stadium, 30-22, in 2012.
November 6: Northern Illinois at Western Michigan; Broncos have some making up to do in Kalamazoo
Our November MACtion action continues the very next night at Western Michigan’s Waldo Stadium to check off another FBS stadium toward this crazy goal. We were wondering where Waldo was. Northern Illinois returns 30 seniors under their HC Thomas Hammock. Games at Notre Dame and NC State precede our visit. One of three QBs could be starting for the Huskies by the time we hopefully see them. However, three top RBs from last season’s 7-6 team return including 1st Team MACtion RB Antario Brown. He rushed for 1,296 yards and ten TDs. Two leading pass catchers, Trayvon Rudolph and Grayson Barnes, come back with 951 yards and seven TDs between them. Four experienced linemen return up front for this O to take the pressure off the new Husky QB. Eight starters return on defense. DE Rashein Thomas and LB Jaden Dolphin tallied 72 and 61 tackles respectively.
Northern Illinois – Their future and our past
NIU could challenge for the MAC title this season. Toledo, Miami and CMU appear on their slate after this meeting against WMU. In our first NIU game in 2004, we watched the Huskies lose to a good Ralph Friedgen-coached Maryland team on the road, 23-20, despite the Huskies losing their starting QB in that game. They went on to a 9-3 record. We actually got to attend a game at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb in 2018 for a night game on a business trip out that way. They defeated Toledo, 38-15, on a cold night in front of a sparse crowd. We’ll prepare for MACtion weather traveling by car this season with all our winter gear packed!
Woe to Western Michigan
The Broncos not only lost the only game we ever saw them play in, but they hold our record for the biggest trouncing we ever witnessed. They fell to Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, 63-0, in 2004 on their first of ten straight losses that season. In addition, I actually got dumped on as well. We don’t anticipate a repeat of that happening this fall at Waldo in Kalamazoo. HC Lance Taylor’s Broncos come off their second season together with a 4-8 record.
NIU blanked them last season, 24-0, holding WMU to 206 yards of total offense. Bronco returning experience includes four starters on offense and eight on defense. QB Hayden Wolff improved their offense last season after starting halfway through the season adding 211 more yards per game on average. Soph Jalen Buckley returns at RB with 1003 yards and ten TDs a year ago. WR Kenneth Womack led WMU with 76 receptions, but WR Anthony Sambucci found the end zone more times with five scores.
Two keys for Bronco success in 2024
Four top tacklers return with each garnering between 65-75 stops. Among them, returning senior LB Damari Roberson broke up six passes and picked a pass. S Tate Hollock broke up five and intercepted twice. The defense is key for any Bronco challenge to claim the MACtion title. It seems wide open. The Broncos could be ready to make a move. After opening at Wisconsin and Ohio State, their slate looks very favorable to get to the title game. After they face NIU, their biggest MACtion challenges come in games at Bowling Green and at Central Michigan the next two weeks. Their biggest factor could be for Wolff to stay healthy at QB and to demonstrate continuous improvement over the course of the season. We will get a whiff of their direction against the NIU Huskies this evening.
November 12: CMU at Toledo; Two games in Ohio in two nights
We will see the Chippewas play for the second time in 2024 MACtion. This time, they’ll visit Toledo at the Glass Bowl for our first visit there. We’ve seen the Rockets (and Buffalo Bulls) play the most games among all Mid-American Conference teams thus far –four each. However, TU comes away with the most wins. In 2000, we saw them defeat Navy in Annapolis on a wind-swept day, 35-14. In 2011, they defeated Air Force in Washington DC at the Military Bowl in an exciting game to the wire, 42-41. Last season, we saw them defeat archrival Bowling Green in a 32-31 comeback victory. Only loss came at NIU mentioned previously.
At this stage of the 2024 MAC season, whoever remains healthiest and demonstrates good QB play among all these contenders will probably decide the outcome. Will the Chippewas still be relying on Joey Labas at QB, or will they have replaced him by now based on his effectiveness? How well does his replacement perform?
Toledo 2024
Rocket HC Jason Candle welcomes eight starters back. He’ll rely on QB Tucker Gleason to step in full-time to compensate for the transfer of last season’s QB surprise, Dequann Finn. RB Jacquez Stuart returns with 604 rushing yards and six TDs. Four top receivers return with 18 TD catches among them, but four new transfers come in to block upfront with little experience. Big learning curve, but in November, they may have jelled quite a bit as a unit. The Rocket defense is considered its strength with MLB Daniel Bolden, S Maxon Hook, DT Darius Hook and S Emmanuel McNeil Warren solidifying this unit right up the middle.
A game against Mississippi State will be a barometer early in Week 3. Their MACtion opener at home versus Miami and later at home against archrival BGSU, will be their biggest tests before we see them play. They can get a leg up for a title shot early in a very wide-open conference this season.
November 13: Eastern Michigan at Ohio U – November MACtion in the other FBS Athens
We’ll add Ohio U’s Peden Stadium in Athens as our fifth Mid-American venue attended this year. Among the MAC, that will bring us up to nine of twelve stadiums attended. Only Akron, Eastern Michigan and Kent visits remain. Overall, this season, we will add 11 or 12 new FBS campus stadiums in the end. With possibly 99 in total at season’s end, about 36 remain on our Bucket List. Plenty of travels still ahead. It’s a moving target though. How many other programs are going to join the FBS with all the money being thrown at these schools? The bubble has to burst at some point.
The Ohio Bobcat’s experience should be bolstered by the time we see them again with ten games under their belts. The EMU Eagles will only be on our slate for the second time. In 2002, we watched EMU get blasted by Maryland in Byrd Stadium, 45-3. And it wasn’t even that close. At our upcoming game against OU, we look forward to seeing this team in action under their venerable HC Chris Creighton.
Fly Eagles! Fly!
Despite his 52-68 recorded over ten seasons in Ypsilanti, he’s brought respect to a very beleaguered program. In eight seasons prior to his arrival, the Eagles won only 20 games. Their only bowl appearance ever was in the 1987 California Bowl. Despite the expansion of post season college football games, Creighton has gotten the Eagles into six bowls in the past eight seasons. In most seasons prior, Eagle teams were well below the .500 mark. He’s done great things for this program. They generally hold their own now against the lower half of the MAC. However, they’ve pulled some stunning upsets under Creighton over the years. He can always do more.
Like Ohio, EMU looks to find improvements under new QBs from elsewhere. Creighton brought in Cole Snyder who played for three seasons at Buffalo and Drew Viotto from Minnesota to compete with him. At RB, Delbert Mimms from NC State and Dontae McMillian from FCS Weber State with 1,683 yards over four years should jump-start the Eagle running attack. Creighton also relies on five new transfers to add depth to his receiving corps. Transfers shore up the two returning OL starters in 2024. Lots of question marks and team-building ahead for this EMU offense.
Creighton is Key
Seven starters return on defense led by NT Peyton Price and DE Justin Jefferson. JT Killen from Coastal Carolina steps in to replace a big void where the best players on defense a year ago played at Linebacker. S Quentavius Scandrett and Daquan White who totaled 9 pass break-ups will lead a good secondary. The key to the success of this team though will once again fall on its HC Chris Creighton. His capabilities to pull talent together quickly and effectively will most likely keep this team around the bowl eligible mark.
Tough sledding out of conference begins at Washington followed by Jacksonville State the following week. Miami and the week before the Ohio game, Toledo visits Ypsilanti to be the greatest MAC challenges Eastern will face. Our final MACtion game of the season will leave a few games left for each squad to determine the two top teams that will play for the conference title. Most likely we will see one, but possibly to both of these teams during the month of November. It’s something we really look forward to attending these games to witness great competition among teams close in talent to one another.
