Motor City Bowl Opponent

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The opponent in the Motor City Bowl will be the winner of the MAC Championship. As of now, however, that could be one of 4 teams: Ball State, Western Michigan, Central Michigan or Buffalo.

Buffalo has locked up the MAC East and is a confirmed participant in the December 5 MAC Championship.

As for the MAC West, here are the possibilities:

If Ball State beats Western Michigan on Saturday, they are in the MAC Championship.

A Western Michigan win against Ball State and a Central Michigan loss against Eastern Michigan (2-8) would put the Western Michigan in the MAC title game.

Wins by Western Michigan and Central Michigan would leave them and Ball State tied for the division title with 7-1 records.

They all would be 2-1 against each other in the first tiebreaker, which is head-to-head play. They would be even in the second tiebreaker, record against the other West teams. Tiebreaker No. 3 is awarded to the team whose cross-division opponents had the best MAC winning percentage. Central Michigan and Western Michigan played the same three East teams (Temple, Ohio and Buffalo). Those teams have a .389 winning percentage in MAC games. Ball State’s cross-division foes (Akron, Miami and Kent State) have a .333 winning percentage.

Central Michigan then would win the tiebreaker based on its 38-28 win against Western Michigan and advance to the MAC title game.

We'll know for sure Saturday who will be playing Buffalo in the MAC Championship.

Personally, I have mixed feelings. The opportunity to beat a #12-15 Ball State team would be very redemptive. I just don't like our odds right now, however, and might rather see Buffalo pull an upset in the MAC Championship so that we end up playing a more beatable team.

Of course, if the Big Ten sends 2 teams to BCS games, all of this is moot.
 


Motor City Bowl

I really hope that we don't have to spend a lot of time thinking about whether we'll play Ball State, Central Michigan, Buffalo or Western Michigan. That sounds like the worst conversation a team could have bowl-wise. To me that sounds like a conversation that Maturi should be having with Brewster about which cream-puff he wants for a non-conference home game in 2012 to fill out a schedule.
 

It'll be Motor City. If Oregon State beats Oregon at home this weekend, the Beavers get the PAC10 automatic BCS bid. That leaves USC as an at-large and the Trojans will get the nod over tOSU.

If you want the Insight Bowl, cheer for Oregon this weekend...
 

If we have to go to the Motor City Bowl - and we will, unless Oregon upsets Oregon State - I want to play the best MAC team possible. Ball State would at least give it a big game feel.
 






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