Our preview of the Mid-American Conference continues with the MAC East Division. Once again, teams will be discussed in order of their anticipated divisional finish, starting at the top. You can find the LWOS NCAAF MAC West Preview here.
2014 MAC East Division Preview
Bowling Green Falcons
New head coach Dino Babers replaces Dave Clawson, who parlayed the Falcons’ 2013 MAC Championship into a move to the ACC with Wake Forest. From the standpoint of quarterback development, Bowling Green hit the jackpot. Babers worked with Jimmy Garappolo as head coach at Eastern Illinois and Robert Griffin III while at Baylor as an assistant under Art Briles.
Junior Matt Johnson is the undisputed starter after leading Bowling Green on its championship run. He’ll need to adapt to the fast-paced tempo associated with Babers’ “Falcon Fast” offensive philosophy that should leave opposing defenses gassed late in drives. Johnson has plenty of weapons to turn to on the ground and in the air. Running back Travis Greene returns after amassing 113.9 yards/game along with 11 rushing TDs last year. Diminutive 5’9” receiver Ronnie Moore should pick up right where he left off his freshman year, finishing the season with 7 TDs.
Bowling Green boasted one of the nation’s stingiest defenses in 2013, allowing the fifth fewest points/game in FBS (15.9) and tenth fewest yards/game (321.4). They should be able to pick up right where they left off, with the team’s top two tacklers, linebacker D.J. Lynch and free safety Ryland Ward, returning as seniors. Lynch also led the team with eight tackles for loss.
The kicking game is a mixed bag. Tyler Tate should resume his duties on field goals, while redshirt freshman punter Joe Davidson replaces Brian Schmiedbusch, who had a respectable 41.3 yards/kick last season, fourth in the conference.
Prediction: If the Falcons can adapt quickly to the new style of offense, particularly its overall tempo, this team could be tough to beat, especially in-conference. They will be looking to upset their two Big Ten opponents early on, hosting Indiana then traveling to Wisconsin the following week. Regardless of the results in those games, Bowling Green looks primed to repeat as MAC Champions. 9-3 (7-1)
Akron Zips
Head coach Terry Bowden has a proven track record turning programs into winners, including Auburn in the 1990s. This may be his toughest job yet, though he has Akron trending in the right direction going into his third season. Last year’s 5-7 campaign was a four-win improvement from 2012 when Bowden took over.
The Zips return practically every starter from the skill positions, including quarterback Kyle Pohl, running back Jawan Chisholm and receiver Fransohn Bickley, who may be the smallest player in FBS college football at 5’6” and 147 lbs. The offensive unit as a whole will need to improve their overall output if they want to make a legitimate push towards .500. Last year, Akron was among the nation’s worst teams in scoring (20.2, 108th) and total yards (342.0, 106th). Pohl will also need to take better care of the football, having thrown ten interceptions in 2013.
Ohio State transfer Se’Von Pittman enters his first year of eligibility, and most likely will get significant playing time at defensive end. Linebacker Jatavis Brown was among the conference leaders in tackles last season, and should get help from Justin March who has looked solid in fall camp so far. The secondary could have issues, and is the component of the defense that will need to improve the most going into the season opener.
The kicking game lacked consistency in 2013, with Robert Stein converting only 9 of 16 field goals. It’s possible that punter Zach Paul, who finished third in the conference with 42.9 yards/punt could also assume placekicking duties.
Prediction: Akron did themselves no favors with their non-conference opponents, which includes road games with Penn State and Pittsburgh. Getting to six wins and bowl eligibility will be a challenge, but their MAC schedule sets up favorably. 6-6 (5-3)
Buffalo Bulls
Between running back Branden Oliver along with pass catchers Alex Neutz and Fred Lee, Buffalo loses 3,493 yards of combined offense from 2013. If the Bulls want to have consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the program joined college football’s top tier in 1999, a plethora of unproven names at the skill positions will need to step up. Those players will have a seasoned signal caller in junior quarterback Joe Licata and a veteran offensive line that returns all five starters.
Buffalo loses not just their star linebacker, but undoubtedly the most transcendent player in school history with Khalil Mack moving on to the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. Fortunately, all three of their anticipated starters in the linebacking corps are seniors including Lee Skinner and Adam Redden, who trailed only Mack in team tackles last season. The other components of the defense are relatively inexperienced, with nose tackle Kristjan Sokoli and cornerback Cortney Lester the only returning starters.
Senior kicker Patrick Clarke was perfect from 50+ yards, but was horribly inconsistent from 40-49 yards out, making only three of eight field goals from that distance. The last thing you want in close games with a dearth of experience on offense is lack of confidence to get even three points out of a possession.
Prediction: The schedule is set up for this team to realize the aforementioned goal of back-to-back winning seasons. Though it will be difficult for UB to contend for a division title given the attrition at certain positions, bowl eligibility is feasible given the relative ease of the non-conference slate and the fact they avoid Northern Illinois and Toledo in MAC play. 7-5 (4-4)
Kent State Golden Flashes
Two years removed from winning the MAC East, the rebuilding project continues as both head coach Paul Haynes and starting quarterback Colin Reardon enter their second season. The Flashes lose a brilliant multi-faceted playmaker in Dri Archer, who accounted for six touchdowns on the ground as well as four in the air in 2013. Senior tight end Casey Pierce figures to be a favored target for Reardon down the middle, especially in red zone situations.
If Kent State wants to finish 2014 with a better win total than last season, they will need to force more takeaways. Only six teams in FBS fared worse in terms of turnovers gained, with the Golden Flashes creating only 13 turnovers all year. They also lose defensive tackle Roosevelt Nix, who finished third in the MAC in tackles for loss in 2013. Two capable interior defensive linemen return, with Nate Terhune and Chris Fairchild looking to improve the unit’s ability to stop the run, which ranked 94th nationally last season, giving up almost 200 yards/game.
Anthony Melchiori will most likely handle placekicking and punting duties. He led the MAC in net punting last season but his 64.2 percent field goal percentage left a lot to be desired. Look for the athletic Melchiori to take the ball himself on fakes every once in a while.
Prediction: MAC teams rarely have the ability to reload year in and year out like college football’s big boys. Kent State was a perfect example of that, going 4-8 one year after nearly crashing the BCS party as an at-large selection. Though they travel to Northern Illinois and Bowling Green, they should be favored in at least four of six games at Dix Stadium. 6-6 (4-4)
Ohio Bobcats
Few teams in the country will experience as much attrition on offense going into 2014 as the Bobcats do, who have to replace the school’s all-time leading passer in Tyler Tettleton in addition to multiple skill position players such as running back Beau Blankenship and receiver Donte Foster. Throughout preseason camp, J.D. Sprague and Derrius Vick have been dueling for the right to start in Week 1.
As bereft of experience as the offensive unit is, the defense is quite the opposite, returning eight of 11 starters. Three of the four leading tacklers from 2013 are back, including Ben Russell whose eight tackles for loss also led the team. The problem lies in the secondary where Travis Carrie and Xavier Hughes move on after combining for eight interceptions last season as seniors.
Josiah Yazdani will look to pick up where he left off in the kicking game, missing only one of 15 field goals he attempted last season. Junior punter Mitch Bonnstetter will take the reins from the now graduated Grant Venham.
Prediction: It has been an impressive run for the Bobcats under Frank Solich, who enters his tenth season in Athens having taken Ohio to six bowl games in seven years after the program went 39 years before that without a bowl. Unfortunately, multiple factors will hinder this team from a postseason appearance to close out 2014, including three straight non-conference road games to open the season in addition to the aforementioned offensive losses. 4-8 (2-6)
Miami (OH) Redhawks
Notre Dame transfer Andrew Hendrix follows new head coach Chuck Martin from South Bend to Oxford and will most likely start at quarterback. The offensive production numbers have nowhere to go but up considering this team finished near the bottom of college football in practically every major statistical category. That included a shockingly bad scoring average of 9.8 points per game. Senior wideouts Dawan Scott and David Frazier should prosper in Martin’s system.
Opposing teams had little to fear from the Redhawks in terms of getting pressure on the quarterback. The defensive unit tallied a paltry 14 sacks in 2013 that ranked fourth worst nationally. The two bright spots on this side of the ball was defensive end Bryson Albright, who finished fifth in the conference with 11.5 tackles for loss, and linebacker Kent Kern who led the team in tackles (98) and finished ninth in the MAC in that category.
Christian Koch has a tough act to follow replacing one of the nation’s best punters in Zac Murphy. He boasted a 46.6 average and even nailed an 84-yard bomb against Cincinnati.
Prediction: Martin’s decision to leave a relatively stable offensive coordinator spot at Notre Dame to take over a completely moribund situation in Oxford certainly raised eyebrows. That said, this is an immensely proud program known as the “cradle of coaches” where legends such as Woody Hayes and Ara Parsegian got their start. It’s always darkest before dawn, and things can only get brighter for a team on a 16-game losing streak. 3-9 (2-6)
Massachusetts Minutemen
Of the 13 teams in the conference, four will enter 2014 with quarterbacks who transferred from other schools. Blake Frohnapfel rounds out these players, coming into the UMass program from Marshall with two years of eligibility remaining. With a new coach in Mark Whipple and only four returning starters from a team that only won one game in 2013, Frohnapfel will be drastically short on weapons. The two returning skill position players, running back Lorenzo Woodley and receiver Tajae Sharpe, combined for only six touchdowns last season.
The defense converts to a 3-4 scheme under new coordinator Tom Masella. The linebacking corps returns a wealth of experience, including Senior Stanley Andre who had 111 tackles last season, tied for sixth best in the MAC. The secondary is full of seasoned juniors and finished 42nd in the nation in pass defense (217.8 yards/game).
Junior kicker Blake Lucas returns, but his field goal percentage of 30 percent was abysmal. He was replaced late in the year by senior Brendon Levengood who finished the season perfect. It’s likely freshman Matthew Wylie will get a look as the starter.
Prediction: If the Minutemen were national title contenders, their non-conference opponents might impress the Playoff selection committee if they were in the mix. The problem is that this team could be the weakest in FBS coming off consecutive one-win seasons. Whipple coached UMass from 1998-2003 and won the I-AA national title during that time, but wins will be extremely difficult to come by as he returns for his second go-around with the program. 0-12 (0-8)
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