Mid-American Conference ‘not to be overlooked’
“Make sure you look both ways before you cross thestreet.”
I can almost hear my mom yelling from the porch.
It wasn’t that she was trying to nag me to death, she justdidn’t want to see me get hit by a car.
Apparently, Pittsburgh and Kansas State don’t understandthis rather simple principal. The Wildcats didn’t look beforefocusing on next week’s Texas game. Texas A&M was toomuch on the mind of Pitt to warrant a glance.
They both teams got hit by a MAC truck.
The Mid-American Conference showed K-State and Pitt who’stheir (MAC) daddy.
The Marshall Thundering herd stormed into Manhattan and leftwith a 27-20 victory. The loss ended the Wildcats’ string of41 consecutive non-conference home victories. Bye-bye nationaltitle.
Pittsburgh had previously gone 21-0 against MAC schools, surelythey couldn’t fall victim to the wrath of the Toledo Rockets.Larry Fitzgerald hauled in 201 yards worth of passes; no way couldthey lose.
Toledo put up a 14 spot in the fourth quarter and pulled off the35-31 upset. Panthers head coach Walt Harris can still be heardwaking up in the middle of the night saying, “BCS, pleasecome back. BCS. BCS. Where did you go?”
When will the rest of the nation learn what the Big Ten hasknown for years: The MAC is a legitimate conference not to beoverlooked. Glimpse one week ahead of a team like Marshall, BowlingGreen, Toledo, Northern Illinois or Central Florida and you willwake up the next morning with a terrible hangover wondering whathappened yesterday.
“What happened to the national title? Where is the BCS? Ican’t remember anything.”
Even last year’s national champs, the Ohio State Buckeyes,needed a last second interception (again) to avoid being upset byBowling Green. As it was, they escaped with a 24-17 victory.
Heisman Watch
Since the only two ranked teams playing each other this week areWashington State and Oregon and no one east of the ContinentalDivide cares, (If two ranked teams play and nobody watches it, didthe game really happen?) now is the perfect time for the midseasonHeisman trophy update.
The Front Runner
Phillip Rivers-QB-N.C. State — Rivers has already thrownfor 1,325 yards in only four games, which ranks second in thenation. His 168.4 QB rating is also good enough for sixth. If theWolfpack come in second place or better in the ACC, Rivers islikely to take home the hardware; a win at Florida State onNovember 15th would all but assure it.
The Followers
Kevin Jones-RB-Virginia Tech — Jones exploded last weekfor 188 yards on national TV. Playing against an allegedly stiffTexas A&M defense, Jones looked like the second coming of EricDickerson. He has a similar straight up running style to Dickersonas well as an element of grace. Oh yeah, and a 4.2 40 doesn’thurt either. If Jones has a big game against Miami on Nov. 1, TheDowntown Athletic Club might be calling his name at the end of theseason.
Larry Fitzgerald-WR-Pittsburgh — All Fitzgerald has doneis caught 25 passes for 448 yards and six touchdowns … inonly four games. He has clearly separated himself as the bestreceiver in the country, and this in a year that is considered bymany to be the most talent rich in ever for receivers. However, thePanthers loss to Toledo last week really hurt; a win in the seasonfinale against Miami might be necessary if he is going to have achance.
Chris Perry-RB-Michigan — Before last week’s abysmalperformance against Oregon, Perry was clearly the front runner.However, in the Wolverines loss Perry had only 11 carries for 26yards. Not only does that hurt Perry’s chances, but it isunacceptable for a Michigan offense that is predicated upon therun. Look for the Wolverines to start feeding him the ball again.Perry will be a factor in the voting at the end of the year.
On The Radar
Eli Manning-QB-Mississippi —- Manning has had a very solidseason so far averaging over 300 yards per game; it is his teamthat has been the disappointment. The Rebels nearly lost toVanderbilt in their opener and then did lose to Memphis the nextweek. If they continue to lose Manning can forget about it.However, he will get a chance to prove himself with big gamesagainst Florida, Arkansas and LSU. If Manning plays well in thosecontests he stands a chance.
