MDZip

If a team like Boise joined a conference like the Big-12, they surely wouldn't dominate it, but I'd bet they would be competitive after some time. Many schools in the BCS conferences aren't any "better" or more deserving than those in the non-BCS conferences. I don't think it's a matter of commitment, it's a matter of funding. In other words, I don't think it is a guarantee that someone jumping from non-BCS to BCS automatically dooms them to the bottom of the heap. We have a nice test case for that right now in Utah, I am interested in seeing where they finish in the next few years, they were 3-6 in the PAC-12 this year.

I think if everyone is honest about it, NIU absolutely didn't belong in that game, but I love that they were. They didn't have a great showing but they didn't completely embarrass themselves either. You can't make a judgement on one bowl game a year but I think it was assumed in the first years that non-BCS teams would get destroyed if they happened to luck into the BCS formula that they set aside to placate all of the non-BCS schools (and with a formula I'm guessing they thought would only rarely come to pass when they set it up rather than happening almost every year). That hasn't been the case, non-BCS schools have held their own. Removing the one case of Boise v. TCU, only NIU and Hawaii have lost in these contests (and they are the two teams who really probably shouldn't have qualified). So I do think that some schools, were they to be given the financial advantages of playing in a bigger conference could indeed at least hold their own in those conferences. If Boise joined the Big Ten, I think they could stay out of the Indiana category and at least be competitive in the conference. Other schools would simply become bottom feeders. Its simply not fair that a perennial bottom feeder in a major conference gets preference over schools that achieve in lower conferences. Would love to see how all schools would do under an NFL like revenue sharing plan, or I'm also intrigued by the idea of soccer style relegation.

But beating good ones do - one of the Zips wins is against #42 - MTSU.

SEC! SEC! SEC! Louisville (who is one of the reasons NIU made a BCS game) is putting a hurting on Florida. Maybe NIU just got the wrong Florida team. Non-BCS teams are now 5-3 all time in BCS bowls but one of those losses and one win should be discounted because TCU and Boise State were forced to play each other one year. A 4-2 record is pretty impressive.

And aside from the awful Coastal Carolina loss, the three other losses are to teams ranked 16, 21 and 98.

Nice job Dave. See, who says you can't do anything with statistical analysis?

Put up or shut up time. Would give the MAC a good boost if NIU can pull off the upset. And the Zips got some National Airtime, they showed this clip of Lynch running over Commack (an FSU transfer - omen?). They just mentioned that in 1998 NIU broke a 23 game losing streak. I had forgotten about that. Still think this is impossible for the Zips?

Well yeah, but he is seriously buoyed up by that 50% 3 pt percentage.

Looks like he is doing pretty well at Wyoming. Remaining Undefeated College Basketball Teams Wyoming (12-0) Difference-maker: Larry Nance Jr. The sophomore has played up in the big games for Wyoming, scoring 14 against Colorado, 19 in the win over Illinois State and 21 in a win over rival Denver. The Cowboys' staple has been their defense, as you'd expect from a Larry Shyatt-coached team, but it's their surprisingly-balanced offense that has been a pleasant plus.

Zips better blow this team out. When they first walked on the floor they looked like the size of my old intramural team.

Just as an aside, Zeke is only 16 blocked shots from setting the all time MAC record. At his current pace of 4.3 per game, he could break the record against Coppin State on January 2nd. So his defense is still pretty good too.

Sports Illustrated names #MACtion one of the top 112 sports stories of the year. It is at #82. 82. #MACtion! Nothing to watch on a Tuesday night? The Mid-American Conference has you covered. Entertaining, high-scoring football games were the norm as the MAC enjoyed a breakout year. Northern Illinois became the first MAC team to make a BCS bowl game, winning the conference title in predictably thrilling style (a 44-37 double-overtime victory against Can't State). Six MAC teams are in bowl games. It was all summed up with one Twitter-friendly buzzword: #MACtion. And in perhaps the biggest sign that the MAC has truly embraced being a part of big-time college sports, commissioner Jon Steinbrecher confirmed that the league has applied for a trademark. T-shirts will be available soon. And #9 in Stewart Mandel's wrap-up of the College Football Season. 9. #MACtion heads to South Beach. When I first started covering college football in the late '90s and early 2000s, the MAC was the most noteworthy of the non-BCS conferences. It produced stars like Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich and Ben Roethlisberger. Then it slipped into oblivion for about eight years. But starting midway through last season, when Toledo seemed to be putting up 63 points every Tuesday night, MAC football regained an identity -- and a hashtag. The league took things to historic heights this year, notching a record 16 nonconference wins over FBS foes (including Cincinnati, Rutgers, Iowa and Indiana) and seven over bowl teams. The zenith moment was Northern Illinois' 44-37 overtime win against Can't State in a conference championship matchup of 11-1 teams. The Huskies will now represent the league in the Orange Bowl, where quarterback Jordan Lynch (1,771 rushing yards) will enjoy a brighter stage than any of those previous stars ever did. But let us not forget my favorite MAC player in 2012, Can't State's indescribably fast Dri Archer.

Did anyone hear that the MAC got seven teams into Bowl Games this year?

Being the leading rebounder in the game doesn't hurt either, there are lots of ways to help your team on nights when you are not shooting well.

Six points in one minute of play? Why isn't this guy playing more?!?

An absolute beatdown by Dayton. They have definitely improved but have a long way to go before becoming a really good team.

MAC conference RPI is going to kill the Zips again anyway. Ken Pomeroy is usually a little more generous to the MAC than the actual RPI. Currently he has Ohio and Akron are at #46 and #60 respectively out of 337 teams, but no other MAC team is above 150. Including Akron and Ohio, the MAC composite would be at around 198. Ugh. Include only the MAC West and it's an even uglier 254. Zips would have had to have had a stellar OOC run, looks like March will be the determining factor again. but it should still be a really fun year.

If the Big-East non-FBS schools do break off from the rest of the Big East, that leaves UConn and UC floating untl the rest of the "Big East" football schools join. Since that makes a mockery of that league, the MAC ought to be proactive and extend an invitation to both as football only members for the MAC, and let them go off and join the the rest of the Big East for their other sports. UC is certainly in the MAC footprint and UConn would be a good partner with UMass. And then I'd go find one more to bring the league to 16. Temple, all is forgiven.

He would have to buy a vowel, because he'd need to remove the 'E".

Also impressive is that they only have one senior that they rely on, this team could be even better next year.

Nice reaction.

If I was Can't, I'd tell him the same thing Wisconsin told Bret Bielema when he said he wanted to coach Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, thanks but no thanks. As it ends up it looks like Barry Alvarez is going to come back and coach them for this one game.

One year and gone - back to Auburn.

I actually went to the game tonight to check them out since they were in my neck of the woods and I was impressed with what I saw. They do a lot of things fundamentally soundly like boxing out and playing defense with their hands up to force turnovers. One concern might be depth as the 5 starters probably got 80% or more of the available minutes. The Patriot Center would be an excellent facility if we could move it about 400 miles North and change the color scheme.

Please see troll posts earlier in the threads and perhaps you can understand this one particular instance.