MAC Championship

[OldRightHander]

I know that this was a who cares game last night, but did anyone else see the end of the MAC Championship between Akron and Northern Illinois. I had just gotten done watching the Blues beat the Blue Jackets and I switched over to ESPN figuring on catching some of Sports Center before I went to bed. Northern Illinois had this RB who was running all over everyone and they had the ball and a 6 point lead with under two minutes to go. Then Akron stopped them on 3 straight plays and burned all their timeouts, but got the ball back with about a minute and a half left. I was thinking that it would be something if they pulled off a winning drive, and they actually did it, scoring the winning TD on a long pass into the end zone with 10 seconds left. The announcer said that was the first time in the school's history that they will make it to a bowl game. Games like this are what make college sports so exciting. I didn't even have a horse in that race, and it was still exciting to watch.

[Yachtzee]

Yep, I saw it! I had the opportunity to get free tickets and a free bus ride to the game, but I wouldn't have gotten back until 3 am this morning. With work and my last Criminal Procedure class before finals today, it just wasn't in the cards. If only I were about 10 years younger and could still function on a few hours of sleep.

In any case, it was pretty exciting to watch. What stinks is that the Motor City Bowl is Dec. 26. I would really like to go to that, but we're supposed to be in Bath, NY, spending the holidays with the in-laws.

[RedFanAlways1966]

UGH!!!!! UGH!!!!!

I watched the whole thing until there was about 9:00 minutes left in the game. I thought N. Illinois had it wrapped up (their RB had about 240 yds rushing at that point). I turn on ESPN Radio this morning and get to hear the Akron radio team call the last play. My jaw dropped and I said a few choice words to myself for switching channels.

[LincolnparkRed]

I watched most of the first quarter from the gym last night, it looked like Northern would be able to run all night even after falling behind 10-0. I just can't believe that NI's safeties actually let a player get behind them with that little time left. It is either stupidity or bad coaching either way they are going to feel bad about that play for a while.

[OldRightHander]

Originally Posted by LincolnparkRed

I watched most of the first quarter from the gym last night, it looked like Northern would be able to run all night even after falling behind 10-0. I just can't believe that NI's safeties actually let a player get behind them with that little time left. It is either stupidity or bad coaching either way they are going to feel bad about that play for a while.

The QB was looking left the whole play and the safety bit and went to cover the outside receiver. By the time he realized his mistake and tried to recover, it was too late.

[Danny Serafini]

N. Illinois deserved to lose for how soft they played defense in the later part of the game, especially that last drive. How many times do coaches have to hear the cliche "The only thing the prevent defense does is prevent you from winning" before it finally sinks in?

[Caveat Emperor]

Or, as I termed it, the "Toledo choked, so somebody else gets to win" Championship.

[Danny Serafini]

How UT lost, at home even, to Northern is beyond me. Then again, it probably worked out for the best, since now they get to go to a real bowl game instead of just driving an hour and hanging out in Detroit for yet another Motor City Bowl.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by Danny Serafini

How UT lost, at home even, to Northern is beyond me. Then again, it probably worked out for the best, since now they get to go to a real bowl game instead of just driving an hour and hanging out in Detroit for yet another Motor City Bowl.

I was at the Northern game...there's a stiff wind swirling in the glass bowl, and every pass attempt looked like Cody Pickett special - even the stuff that was being completed was ugly. With the kind of precision/timing offense that Toledo runs, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

I'm actually considering making the drive down to Mobile with a couple friends from school to watch their bowl game. I've always wanted to hit up a bowl game, and feel that I got unjustly screwed in undergrad when Tulane was bowl-eligible my senior year, but ended up getting penciled into the Hawaii Bowl (which was a *wee* bit outside of my tavel budget).

The Rockets are a really fun team to watch, and I believe that there's a good chance Bruce Gradkowski could be a productive QB in the NFL as a late-round selection.

[reds1869]

Toledo vs. UTEP will be a fun matchup. I got to watch Jordan Palmer pick the Marshall defense apart earlier this year and can tell you his matchup with Gradkowski should be a real treat for any football fan.