A weak MAC is ripe for the taking for football


Some years the Mid-American Conference features a dominant team that can crack the national rankings and obliterate its conference schedule.

This is not one of those years.

With the Chippewas two senior playmakers in a young-looking conference, the time for winning is now for CMU.

The Ohio Bobcats were supposed to be one of the best teams in the MAC in 2014. Today? Not so much.

Bowling Green was supposed to be something special in 2014 after winning the MAC Championship over Northern Illinois last year. That was until their best player, quarterback Matt Johnson, suffered a hip injury that will keep him out for the year.

The Falcons haven’t lost in MAC play yet, but they are now forced to rely on a redshirt freshman and are looking frailer by the week.

The rest of the MAC East isn’t anything special, either.

And how about CMU’s opponent this weekend and its biggest conference test so far this season: NIU.

Sure, the Huskies have been better than most Big Ten teams over the past four years with a 46-10 (31-1 MAC) record. But their transcendent quarterback Jordan Lynch is gone.

That one MAC loss was to the Chippewas, by the way.

The Chippewas will challenge them Saturday. Either NIU or CMU has won the MAC West in each of the past six seasons. NIU will be tough, but CMU has proven it can hang tough with the Huskies in previous meetings.

Of course, we can’t forget Toledo. CMU’s only loss with both Titus Davis and Thomas Rawls in the lineup came to the Rockets.

It took overtime for the Rockets to beat the lowly boat-rowers from Kalamazoo last week all because WMU couldn’t make an extra point after scoring a touchdown in the first overtime.

Looking at CMU’s schedule, after this week’s test against NIU, the Chippewas are likely to be the favorites in every game for the rest of the season.

CMU plays three of the worst teams in college football: Eastern Michigan, Miami (OH) and Western Michigan, which combined for a 3-33 record in 2013 to close out the season.

Davis can cut a deficit fast. Rawls can chew the game clock with a lead.

This team has the talent to take advantage of a struggling conference.

Critics did not believe the Chippewas had a chance to be a serious contender in August—myself included. But things have changed, and changed quickly.

A win Saturday, and the conference-wide perception will change even faster.

Now is the time.

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About Taylor DesOrmeau

Taylor DesOrmeau is a senior at Central Michigan University, majoring in integrative public relations ...

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