exit322

Monroe will drop to 1-2 as Arkansas gets a 45-43 win on the road. So Bowden's first game win might have been because Iowa is awful (they lost 74-22 tonight). We'll see how the last five games go

I missed updating here, good job 😐 Last weekend, the Greenheads lost 44-30 in their home opener to Nebraska (who through two weeks feels like a title contender). Tonight they're back at home against a decidedly not-as-contender Arkansas Diamonds squad. 37-26 Monroe midway through the third https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzJpkPNGK8k

This feels more likely. I could see a top team getting $1M but $12M feels excessive. If it's true, though, Sac State is getting $30M next year

https://www.threads.com/@thefieldrush/post/DZau3YtgfHA?xmt=AQG0i0GZnJoP1JQjVnbOL-nPS61iy-vl3uEaoqWS0I1gV9niYVBBWr5oLQrUUZk3mzRf-1cj&slof=1 If that's true, I wonder how much Akron got. They have to be a fairly popular dynasty play just because the team is in that "this'll be fun to try and win with Akron" level.

Look, I think we can all agree that the biggest winner of the 29-point Game 4 comeback is the Game 1 Cavaliers fourth quarter performance.

Congratulations!

Think we can get "We went 5-7!!!" merch?

Then we offer them to Senderoff

Oh no, it's definitely an "every little bit helps," with the emphasis on "little."

And that would be the reason not to do it.

The only issue is that NCAA rules limit the number of games, but otherwise that point of more games isn't wrong. And the Kent State Football scheduling method isn't necessarily an awful idea, either. The MAC champion is locked into a 12-13 type seed (noting that things will change with more P6s getting bids in the new 76-team format), so if you add a bunch of money games...maybe even win one somewhere...it's not going to change that seeding a whole lot.

Bowden - who let the assistants coach on the field in the second half - starts 1-0 with a 44-34 win in Iowa. With everyone on their first game of the year, hard to tell who's any good or not, but better to start with a win than a loss. Offense was good downfield, but anything short or running was a little iffy. Pretty good defense, 3 or 4 interceptions. Stats a little lacking, hopefully the league at least gets them out there.

You can watch the halftime on that link above, somehow the Iowa Woo got Red Panda for halftime. Greenheads up 38-34 early fourth (1/6 on two point PATs now)

Bowden did return for the second half, but he's staying on the sideline

24-20 at half Monroe 0/4 on two point tries so far or it could have been a bigger lead

Delay early in the second because Bowden got clobbered on a deep ball interception (one coach is on the field for both teams in the indoor game) Bowden getting stretchered, though he isn't happy about it. Probably testing for a concussion. Also he's 70 and was the only one in the play that didn't have pads and such. So...that went well In a little better news for his team, the Greenheads seem to have a pretty good downfield passing game in the early going. 24-20 Monroe with about 1:45 left in the first half.

The only thing I'd do would be to add the bottom four seeds and play first rounds again (probably at home arenas, why not? If it's good enough for the CFP...) But seriously, getting a way around those damn Tuesday/Wednesday football games is a bigger problem than this.

This. The basketball is absolutely fine (though moving to a 22-game league schedule would be fine). The football is closer to fine than we probably give it credit for, just for those midweek games that need to go the way of the dodo.

And to the surprise of no one, as soon as a couple teams weren't as competitive as they magically thought they would be sans Louisville, the EBC will be itself dead in a couple years.

What's wild is that not even 10 years ago, Marlington was even on a run where they were over .500 every year. I think 2015-2019 they were over .500 every year with a few playoff bids in those years. But, not a lot of playoff success, so it still feels like "not very good."

The Toledo/BGSU rivalry game got moved to a Friday night during Midweek MACtion. It's not Saturday, but Friday night will be a lot better than Tuesday. Hopefully this is a step towards killing the midweek stuff altogether leaguewide. Not ideal against HSFB, but it's regional finals so statewide there'll "only" be 56 schools left playing. In 2025 at least (obviously things change year-to-year), there were only a couple Toledo/BG area HS teams playing that weekend.

Bowden's Greenheads kick off on Saturday in Iowa. In their first two TAL seasons, the Iowa Woo (yes, Woo) have gone 2-8 and 4-5 (including playoffs), so probably an average opponent to see what's what for the expansion team. Almost assuredly, I'll be the only one here taking a peek haha (but that's more because I've followed indoor football for 26 years now). They've done a...reasonably poor job...of getting roster information out, but Monroe's defensive coordinator is a guy (James Shiver) who's been involved in indoor football coaching on and off since 2001. So, Bowden will at least have coaches that have worked with the walls before. Though Shiver was always an offensive coach indoors, but whatever. With the caveat that Iowa hasn't always produced stellar broadcasts, the game can be seen on YouTube on the TAL channel. Link below (though I think they embed on here)

Well, not "now." I've definitely said that before. I know I'm in the minority there, though YSU does generally outdraw Akron on the gridiron. But yes, I think best to agree to disagree.

I like this. I'd go as far as to say "giving the P4s the middle finger" is the only path mid majors can take.

Which is why scheduling home games against local teams that might interest a few people versus "maybe [insert SoCon team here] is good this year but no one knows what state they're in" is more important than worrying whether being in the fourth tier of mid-majors means we shouldn't play fifth-tier teams like Youngstown State or Cleveland State. None of it matters much if the athletic department doesn't significantly upgrade its marketing, but giving them as many bullets as possible to generate interest is all I'm asking for. And yes I am firmly in the camp of "YSU should be on the football schedule every year" as well.