Perception of beating a MAC team

[texascpa]

If we're to believe that we should easily handle MAC teams, and if we don't there is something inherently wrong with our team, where does that leave these teams:

Oklahoma St 24 CMU 13
Maryland 27 Bowling Green 48
Arkansas 12 Toledo 16
Minnesota 10 Kent St 7
Iowa St. 10 Toledo 20
Ohio St. 20 Northern Illinois 13

All of these P5 teams, some of them ranked, struggled or even lost to MAC teams so far this season. The MAC is not the Sun Belt, or Conference USA. They are a good conference with teams that can play with P5 schools. And it's not an anomaly, it's every year.

 

[CNY in Miami]

If we're to believe that we should easily handle MAC teams, and if we don't there is something inherently wrong with our team, where does that leave these teams:

Oklahoma St 24 CMU 13
Maryland 27 Bowling Green 48
Arkansas 12 Toledo 16
Minnesota 10 Kent St 7
Iowa St. 10 Toledo 20
Ohio St. 20 Northern Illinois 13

All of these P5 teams, some of them ranked, struggled or even lost to MAC teams so far this season. The MAC is not the Sun Belt, or Conference USA. They are a good conference with teams that can play with P5 schools. And it's not an anomaly, it's every year.

CMU is a good team and the MAC Has been a very good Confrence for many years, it would have been easier if Dungey didn't get hurt.

 

[Ozcuse]

People remember 40-3 last year at their place. People know we aren't supposed to lose to MAC teams at home.

Who knows maybe CMU finishes the season ranked but when there is a clear breakaway of the P5 conferences from the rest the perception is a win is the only acceptable result.

 

[K Otto XLIV]

We have been lucky at home against non P5 schools OOC. We haven't lost in the last 7 years. If you don't count GRob, then 2003 was the last time we lost at home to a non P5 OOC (Louisville who went 9-4). Before that it was 1995 (ECU 9-3 ranked 23rd in coaches). Upsets happen. Thankfully they don't happen in the Dome very often.

The big concern this year is that we have zero margin of error. So if CMU upset us, we would have needed to make it up by upsetting someone better than us. Thus far under Shafer we haven't even been competitive with the good teams, so there wouldn't be much confidence in upsetting one.

At the end of the year if we lost to CMU but also beat Louisville, no big deal. It evens out. However if we lost to CMU and ended 3-9, it would be an issue.