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AKronMaction


Ham

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Z.I.P. coined this in the realignment thread, but I thought it deserved more attention. BowdenBall was a good idea for this season, but somethoing new will be needed for the future. I think AKronMaction could gain some traction, and help us feed off the Mac's success particularly if the Mac has a good bowl season.

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I think AKronMaction could gain some traction.

Now how did I not think of that?? :P

A fraction of the Nation is amazed that you did not, while another faction isn't.

Actually, AkronMACtion is partially responsible for the outstanding records of many MAC teams this year. Other contributing factors were BuffMACtion and MassMACtion.

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Is being a part of the MAC something to be proud of?

This year, the quality of MAC football was better than the WAC, the Sun Belt, the Mountain West, Conference USA, and even the Big East. The MAC is also the only stable and still truly regional (the way college conferences should be) conference in the country. I think being in the MAC in 2012 is something to be proud of, and that carries over into basketball too. Hopefully attendance will begin to match the quality of play throughout the conference if this level of play continues. Of course, we were here in 2003, and the conference took a nose dive, so we'll see.

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Is being a part of the MAC something to be proud of?

Good question. I'm not sure why any school has to be proud of the league they are in. Should ACC schools be proud of playing football in the ACC? It is a pretty terrible league, so I don't know.

I do know this, MAC fans should be very impressed with the year the league has had in football. At least three wins against BCS level teams, two teams in the Top 25, one team going to a BCS Bowl, coaches getting plucked out to go coach at bigger name schools, etc. Could be more to be impressed with by the end of bowl season.

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I do know this, MAC fans should be very impressed with the year the league has had in football. At least three wins against BCS level teams, two teams in the Top 25, one team going to a BCS Bowl, coaches getting plucked out to go coach at bigger name schools, etc. Could be more to be impressed with by the end of bowl season.

Apparently, the MAC will need to win a few of these bowl games or else people will go back to thinking "same old MAC". I see that not a single MAC team is favored and all are at least 4 point underdogs. Granted, there are no easy outs for the MAC this year. Several of the opponents have a quasi-home field advantage. I think a 3-4 record might be a pretty decent showing. Of course, an NIU upset victory would make up for any of the other losses. I look forward to watching. I'd even watch if I was in TRACTION.

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Apparently, the MAC will need to win a few of these bowl games or else people will go back to thinking "same old MAC".

The reasons I use the word "could" in my post is regardless of what happens in our bowls, I will still be impressed. I don't put a lot of weight into bowl results defining the quality of a conference unless that conference falls in its face or exceeds expectation by winning 80% or more in a minimum of five games. Bowl games are exhibition games and it isn't unusual for a team to take a more casual approach to the games. Fans don't like to hear that, but is often the case.

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The reasons I use the word "could" in my post is regardless of what happens in our bowls, I will still be impressed. I don't put a lot of weight into bowl results defining the quality of a conference unless that conference falls in its face or exceeds expectation by winning 80% or more in a minimum of five games. Bowl games are exhibition games and it isn't unusual for a team to take a more casual approach to the games. Fans don't like to hear that, but is often the case.

So how do you gauge how good a conference is or isnt if nobody cares (BS), like you say?

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So how do you gauge how good a conference is or isnt if nobody cares (BS), like you say?

It's not BS. If you aren't playing in the national championship, most teams take a very casual approach to bowl games. It's viewed as an end of the season reward for your team for whatever success you had. Teams arrive in the bowl city 4 or 5 days early, with the daily schedule once they arrive looking like this: get in a light practice in the morning, bowl-sponsored team activities/promotionals in the afternoon, and then the players and coaches go out and enjoy the local nightlife till about 3 AM. Next day, hit reset and repeat.

Granted not all coaches take this approach. JD took the Motor City Bowl very seriously in '05. He had his guys back on campus early for two-a-days before they left, and once in Detroit there was no partying whatsoever, as the guys had a strict curfew of around 10 every night. Contrast that with Memphis, who's players spent every night across the bridge drinking, gambling, and carousing till the sun came up. Given the result, JD should've just let his guys enjoy the trip.

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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.

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