Toledo Rockets – RIVALS RUNDOWN

Thank you Baby Jesus that we made it to Week 5 of the College Football Season! With no major match-ups and with the best game of the weekend over with on Friday night between Fresno State and Boise State, we have made it back to a weekend of real games, most importantly, Conference Games! For the most part this weekend marks the beginning of Conference play, which marks the beginning of “who’s real and who’s faking it!”

As we found out last week, Arizona State is questionable Top 30 material, while Stanford proved they are Top 5 material. Look Wisconsin the week before, while the ran for 200+ yards on the Devils, if you subtract one home-run run of 70, ASU held Wisconsin to 130ish yards, statistically they are the best rushing team in the whole country. Stanford had no problems running, passing or causing disruption all over the field, this brings us to Week 5, so who this week will prove to be the Stanford and who will be the Sun Devils?

First, one note on the Fresno State vs Boise State Match-up: These two teams are Top 25 teams, no questions asked, Boise State might be the best two loss team in the Country, right in-front of Utah State. Derek Carr is a legit Heisman Candidate, he has proven himself as an NFL passer and clutch in two prime time games on ESPN. Fresno and Colorado have to make up their missed game and let’s hope the two (Boise, Fresno) teams win out the season and play for the Mountain West Title and a possible BCS birth. Think of it, Fresno State could finish with a better strength of schedule over Louisville, one big problem, they don’t have the ranking yet but we’ll see. Anyways, on to week 5 games!

We stay in the Mountain West!

Utah State at San Jose State

Normally we like home dogs on Thursday or Friday nights, something about the upset and national tv just works! Look up the numbers! This time, we think Utah State is finally licking their chops after losing very close games to Utah and USC, we think that the Aggies are going to come into Spartan Stadium ready to unload what some are calling, “The Poor Man’s Manziel” in QB Chuckie Keeton all over the field on an over-matched Spartans Defense. In a rare one, we are taking Utah State to Cover on a Friday Night!

Moving East

East Carolina at North Carolina

This is a must win for the North Carolina Tar Heels. After losing by 8 to a very tricking and tough to read Georgia Tech team, North Carolina enters this match-up at 1-2 and still the Tar Heels have to get through the heart of their ACC schedule before things get easier. For East Carolina, it’s not a must win as they still have to get into the depth of conference play but we like the Pirates to keep things close. Let’s take East Carolina and the points. Also the over deserves a second look.

Now for some Big Boys!

LSU at Georgia

These two teams are National Champions in the waiting, the stakes couldn’t be higher, blah blah, yada yada yada. Look, we know what’s going on here, this game is to take claim for a solid top 5 spot and for Georgia, it’s a must win to keep their outside shot of being the only one loss team with National Championship hopes alive. The main factors that we are all going to be watching fall to Georgia’s defense and LSU’s offense. The major difference we feel is that Georgia’s defense has been tested and has gained quick and important experience by already playing two top ten teams. They have the help of playing at home, which strengthens the defense and they have an offense that can keep up with anyone in the country. For LSU this is their first major test, yes we all felt going into the TCU game that that would provide the test but comparing TCU and Georgia isn’t fair, TCU has fallen short of our preseason hype, while Georgia is fitting into the mold we expected. We’re not buying the Tigers yet over the Bulldogs so we’re taking Georgia to cover.

And our Final Game:

Ball State vs Toledo

Bet you didn’t see that one coming! Look there are great games this weekend, Wisconsin vs Ohio State, Oklahoma vs Notre Dame and Ole Miss vs Alabama but everyone is talking about those. We want to talk about a game between two rising programs in the MAC that need some love. The importance of this game? The winner has a fast-tracked chance at competing against Northern Illinois for the MAC West Title. The key is that both of these teams can do it! We recommend that if you want to watch two teams put everything on the line in week 5, check this one out. We like Ball State in this one!

Side notes:

We like Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio State. We think that all three teams are going to come out with something to prove, all for different reasons. Look for Ohio State to expose the weak secondary of Wisconsin with a balanced run, option, throw attack. Look for Oklahoma to do the same actually to Notre Dame. Alabama and Ole Miss might be close at halftime but we see the Tide pulling away in the 4th Quarter.

Final Note-

Because we were late with this post, we had a chance to watch the Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech game. Virginia Tech’s defense is getting better every week and is going to give this Hokies team a chance in every football game from here til the end of the season. We’re standing by our prediction for Virginia Tech, for now, although we need that QB to step up the way that he should be in this season.

2013 MId-American Conference Top 5 Teams Rundown!

As the clock ticks passing the minutes and seconds by, moving us closer to kick-off of the 2013 College Football season, we find ourselves at the preview of one of our favorite conferences in all of College Football, The MAC! The MAC conference has been underrated for far too long and the level of football they play is on par with every other non-major and as we found out last year, they might be from top to bottom the best. This season the conference is looking at building off of the momentum of NIU’s appearance in a BCS game last year and while their performance is nothing to write home about, it was a sign of where the conference is heading. We are a little disappointed with the preseason love the MAC is getting from most of the preseason magazines and websites but don’t worry MAC fans, we are here to bring the MAC some love! In ranking this conference we see five, that’s right five teams that could be competitive to win the MAC title for 2013 and that means that this conference has depth! Not only do those six teams have a shot at the title, look for an upset against a major conference team by each of the six and while Vegas might not have it as a big upset the national media will pick it up that way. So without further delay let’s get to the Top 5 teams that our crack team have come up with…Here’s the MAC 2013 Preseason Rundown!!!

1. Ohio Bobcats 10-2

The 2012 season for the Bobcats was set up to be a special one until a series of injuries took the wind out of their perfect season sails. It was a season that had everyone looking at them to be the BCS busters after an opening day victory at Penn State and an 8-0 starting record, this year we don’t see the upset in week one as they face Louisville but from there, we see them running off 8 wins and putting them in familiar territory as we approach November and games with the two other teams who will be battling for the East title in, Bowling Green and Kent State. This year we expect a different result and see them winning at least one of those two, providing them the opportunity to play for a MAC title. Ohio brings back 11 starters from last year and while the majority of those returners are on offense, we like the way the schedule will provide enough time for the defense to come together before their toughest conference games. On offense, they are led by QB Tettleton, RB Blankenship and an offensive line featuring three seniors, while on defense the don’t have the same in-game experience, they do have talent in every section. Coach Solich and his coordinators have built a program that is ready to prove that they are the best in the MAC East after a disappointment last year.

2. Northern Illinois 9-3

Northern Illinois and their QB Jordan Lynch took advantage of a very strong MAC Conference last year, closed the season out, got lucky a couple of times and turned that into an appearance in the Orange Bowl. This was the conference’s first appearance in a BCS game and rightfully it was Northern Illinois, the Huskies had just come off two straight 11 win seasons and put together the whole package taking it down to the last play of the MAC Title game to make it to Florida. The problem with all of this, was once they made it to the Orange Bowl, they met a very hungry Florida St team, that if things would’ve fallen in FSU’s direction could’ve easily met up with Alabama in the Championship game. This years campaign, as last years, will come down to the leadership of Lynch and some playmakers on defense. Their major weakness is the left side of the offensive line but if they come together, the season will rest on back to back games with Toledo and Ball St. We are going to take the Huskies to the MAC Title, were they will lose to Ohio. Take note, we here at the Rundown, aren’t saying they are a lock. Watch out for Toledo and Ball State and read below!

3. Ball State Cardinals 9-3

Every now and then, you have to look for a team that was so close all year the year before and are finally ready to make a special run. We feel that this is the year for Ball State! Last year Ball State had a ton of question marks and most thought that a schedule would get the best of them, after a 3-3 start, which featured losses to Clemson, Northern Illinois and Kent State, it also featured wins against South Florida and Indiana. From there the Cardinals went on a six game win streak before stubbing their toe in the bowl game against UCF. This year, Ball State features an amazing 14 returning starters but are going to have to replace 4 of their offensive linemen and all of their linebackers on defense. The plus side, double digit senior starters throughout the team and with the leadership intact on offense, Ball State is set up for a schedule where their toughest out of conference game is Virginia on the road and in conference Toledo and Kent St at home with NIU on the road. If the pieces that are new this season can get comfortable by week five look for Ball State to have a chance on November 13th at Northern Illinois to play for a MAC West Championship.

4. Bowling Green Falcons 8-4

Bowling Green was hot down the stretch in 2012, they were riding a six game winning streak when they met Kent State at home with a chance to play in the MAC Championship hanging above them. As history shows us, the lost to Kent State was painful but the season for Bowling Green was still a huge move in the right direction for Dave Clawson, who is now entering his 5th year as coach for the Falcons. Bowling Green fans hope that the momentum built last season will carry over to Bowling Greens opening game of 2013, when they face Tulsa at home. This game could blow-up our other conference predictions and is a complete trap game for Tulsa. We like Bowling Green but not in that upset, we do like them beating Kent State the next week on the road to establish an early position in the MAC. THe schedule is not set up for a six game streak with games against an improved Indiana team, Mississippi State on the road, home against Toledo and Ohio before two easy finishers. If they had Ball State’s schedule we would call for them to be looking at an undefeated season but with the tough games spread out and a hard enough out of conference line-up, unlike most of the publications out there, we don’t see Bowling Green playing for the MAC title but we do see them bowling in December.

5. Toledo Rockets 7-5

The Rockets are going to be explosive of offense in the 2013 season, ok that was an easy one. In joking aside, Toledo is returning all conference playmakers led by a senior QB in Owens but will have to score and score often with a defense that is only returning two starters and have no time to adjust playing Florida and Missouri right out of the gates. Last year, Toledo won eight in a row sandwiched between an opening day loss against Arizona in OT and losing to Ball State on Nov. 6th by a touchdown. Things in Toledo are moving in the right direction on offense but a defense that was one of the worst in the MAC last year is going to hold Toledo back this year from making it to the title game in 2013. The Rockets are going to be fun to watch and the offense will keep them in most of their games but we look for a step back in the win column albeit a small step.

Tag: Toledo Rockets

Week 5 College Football Games to Watch

The @MACSports 2013 Preseason Top 5 Rundown!!!