Northern Illinois

College Football: Western Michigan @ #15 Ball State Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:44:41 -0500

The undefeated Ball State Cardinals still have a bit of business to take care of in their regular season finale. Brady Hoke's team still hasn't clinched a spot in the MAC Championship Game, which would come with a victory over Western Michigan tonight in Muncie (7 PM ESPN2). The winner heads to Detroit on December 5th, while the loser would be at the mercy of the powers that be in regards to team selection for bowl games. QB Nate Davis has been explosive in leading one of the nation's best passing attacks, and the Broncos will most certainly have their hands full on defense. But Bill Cubit has an outstanding quarterback of his own in Tim Hiller, who a few weeks back lit up Illinois in Detroit to knock off the Illini. Both signal-callers will put up solid numbers, but Coach Hoke has the better team and will clinch the championship game berth.

Navy @ Northern Illinois 7 PM on ESPN Classic

While this game amounts to both an opportunity for a seventh win and a tune-up heading into their battle with rival Army next weekend for Navy, the objective for the Huskies is far more simple: a seventh win gives them a shot at a bowl berth. With NIU in a division with Ball State, Central Michigan and Western Michigan it'll be a tough proposition anyway, but with just six wins they'd essentially have no argument at all in regards to a bowl berth. Jerry Kill's team has struggled on offense, but thanks to the top defense in the MAC they still have six wins on the year. And that unit will have to be at its best to slow down the Midshipmen's high-powered rushing attack, led currently by RB Shun White and QB Ricky Dobbs. In last season's 35-24 win in Annapolis Navy ran for 360 yards. Expect more of the same in a close Midshipmen victory.

Coaching Changes

The following schools have relieved head coaches of their duties in the past few days:

Eastern Michigan (Jeff Genyk), San Diego State (Chuck Long), Utah State (Brent Guy) and Wyoming (Joe Glenn). Bill Snyder will return to Kansas State to replace the recently dismissed Ron Prince.

College Football: #17 Ball State @ Central Michigan Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:36:40 -0500

Before getting into a preview of the games on tap for Tuesday and Wednesday, there may be an important development in the BCS. Not who plays in it but which network televises the games. ESPN, according to may sources, is on the verge of acquiring the rights to the BCS from 2011-2014 with Fox unlikely to match their offer. If you're like me, you scratched your head the past few years and wondered why a network that devotes little time to college football during the regular season gets to show the season's biggest games. And you were probably celebrating when you heard the news, even though that means all BCS games other than the Rose Bowl (with a TV deal separate from the rest of the BCS) will be shown on cable. Now on to the two games on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday: Northern Illinois @ Kent State 7 PM (no TV)

A college basketball marathon takes precedence over this game between teams looking to end their seasons on a positive note. NIU still needs a win to become bowl eligible, but given the strength of the teams ahead of them in the MAC West Jerry Kill's squad has quite the hill to climb to receive an invitation. Kent State is essentially playing out the string even though they beat Temple last week. The Huskies have the best defense in the MAC, and should do enough to slow down RB Eugene Jarvis and get the victory on the road.

Wednesday: #17 Ball State @ Central Michigan 7 PM on ESPN2

This is the game of the year in the Mid-American Conference, with the Cardinals chasing an undefeated season and conference title. But they're on the road in this one, which is fitting since the road to the MAC crown should go through Mount Pleasant. Butch Jones' Chippewas are the defending champions, and they've got Dan LeFevour back at quarterback after he missed time due to injury. But in Nate Davis, the Cardinals have one of the nation's most prolific passers and the odd-on favorite to unseat LeFevour as conference Player of the Year. This is the first game of a tough two-game swing to end the year for the Cardinals, who host Western Michigan on the 25th. As powerful as Ball State has been on offense this season, this is the game where they get tripped up. Central Michigan wins this one and moves one step closer to defending their MAC title.

Houston named FWAA/Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week.

That tends to happen when you hang seventy on a ranked opponent. Thanks to their 70-30 win over then-#23 Tulsa, the Cougars were named National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Also nominated were Florida (56-6 win over South Carolina), Northwestern (21-14 win over Michigan) and Vanderbilt (31-24 win at Kentucky; bowl-eligible for the first time since 1982).

Two more coaches were fired on Monday, and one unexpectedly resigned.

The unlucky two are Greg Robinson (Syracuse) and Brent Guy (Utah State). Neither was a surprise, given their records and the coals being stirred under their seats when the season began. That's the complete opposite of Rocky Long, who decided to resign as the head coach at New Mexico after eleven seasons in Albuquerque. Long leaves UNM with a record of 65-69, but that record doesn't tell the full story of what he did at his alma mater. The Lobos were traditionally a tough out under Long, with this season's 4-8 record being the exception rather than the rule.

College Football: #14 Ball State @ Miami (Ohio) Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:35:49 -0500

Another week another set of midweek games from the MAC, with the first featuring an undefeated Ball State team looking to work its way into the BCS. But with games remaining against Central Michigan and Western Michigan the Cardinals will have a hard enough time winning the MAC West let alone going undefeated. But tonight brings a trip to Oxford to take on the Redhawks of Miami (OH), who find themselves in the middle of a heated battle for the MAC East. Every team in the division has at least two conference losses, which could make for a serious mismatch (on paper) when the two divisional champs meet on December 5th. The game matching two of the preseason favorites can be seen at 7 PM EST on ESPN2, and look for QB Nate Davis to lead Ball State to a routine road victory.

Wednesday's Games

-Temple @ Kent State 8 PM EST on ESPN360

The Owls find themselves one game out of first place in the MAC East despite having the conference's worst offense. Kent State hasn't been much better, but with four league losses the Golden Flashes still can entertain thoughts of winning the division. Unless Akron, Buffalo or Bowling Green wins the division, there's a strong chance that the East representative could be either playing for bowl eligibility or looking to win the conference even though they wouldn't be bowl eligible. As for this game, look for the Golden Flashes to win at home and further muddle the divisional race.

- Central Michigan @ Northern Illinois 8 PM EST on ESPN2

A showdown in the west that is essentially an elimination game for Jerry Kill's Huskies. Thanks to their loss to Ball State NIU would need a lot of help to win the division, but given the status of the East they could very well be playing for a bowl game in this one. Central Michigan, on the other hand, hasn't missed a beat with Brian Brunner playing quarterback for the injured Dan LeFevour. LeFevour could be back for this one, but there shouldn't be much concern if he isn't. Northern Illinois has the best defense in the MAC, but this two-game stretch (Ball State and then CMU) can kill those numbers in a hurry. NIU will be competitive, but look for the Chippewas to take care of business and set up a showdown next week with Ball State.

FWAA Awards for this week:

- Iowa was named FWAA/Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week thanks to their 24-23 home win over then-#3 Penn State. Other nominees were #2 Texas Tech (56-20 win over Oklahoma State) and #8 Utah (13-10 win over TCU).

- Alabama safety Rashad Johnson was named FWAA/Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week due to his performance at LSU on Saturday. Johnson had three interceptions (one for a TD) along with four tackles and one-half sack in the Crimson Tide's 27-21 overtime win in Baton Rouge.

MAC Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:17:57 -0500

HTML clipboard

Conference Rank: 13th

10 year average: 13th

MAC Conference Page

All-MAC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Al Fisher	Kent State	Sr
G	Michael Bramos	Miami	Sr
G/F	David Kool	Western Mich.	Jr
F	Anthony Newell	Ball State	Sr
F	Jerome Tillman	Ohio	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans Michael Bramos Al Fisher		Points: Anthony Newell (Ball) 16.9 Tyrone Kent (Toledo) 16.9 Rebounds: Anthony Newell 8.0 Assists: Michael Allen (Ohio) 4.0

MAC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

41	Kent State	MAC	1	NCAA
73	Miami (OH)	MAC	2	NIT
97	Western Michigan	MAC	3
122	Central Michigan	MAC	4
129	Ohio	MAC	5
173	Akron	MAC	6
178	Toledo	MAC	7
196	Bowling Green	MAC	8
238	Eastern Michigan	MAC	9
256	Ball State	MAC	10
291	Buffalo	MAC	11
298	Northern Illinois	MAC	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the MAC?

Other MAC Content

Head Coach Q&A's

Charlie Coles: Miami

Conference Media Poll

Other

Rise & Fall: MAC

State of 08: Ohio

College Football: Miami (Ohio) @ Buffalo Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:17:59 -0500

I'm not going to even get into my opinion as to teams playing on Election Day (I sure hope the Miami (Ohio) and Buffalo players get to the polls), but there is football to be played on both Tuesday and Wednesday with all three games being MAC matchups. Could Ball State be a possible upset victim on Wednesday night? Who will take control of a muddled MAC East race after these two days? Here's a preview of the three games on the slate for Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Tuesday: Miami-Ohio (2-6, 1-3) @ Buffalo (4-4, 2-2) 7:30 PM EST on ESPN2

The Bulls are currently tied with Akron atop the MAC East standings, with the Redhawks just a game back in the standings. The division race has been every bit as wild as what's been going on in the ACC but without the same amount of national television coverage. But in QB Drew Willy the Bulls have one of the better signal-callers in the MAC. Miami will most certainly have their hands full with Buffalo, especially when you take into consideration the following two statistical rankings: Miami is tied for last in turnover margin and twelfth in total offense. Yes the Redhawks are second in the conference in total defense, but the fact that their offense struggles to put points on the board will cost them in this one. Buffalo wins and gives a little clarity to the East race.

Wednesday's Games

Northern Illinois @ #17 Ball State 8 PM EST on ESPN2

The race in the MAC West is wide-open in regards to the top four in the division, but thankfully for the conference those four teams are with either zero or one league loss. An NIU win in Muncie would throw the race for a loop and eliminate any small, correction miniscule, chance that the Cardinals would have to crash the BCS party. QB Nate Davis is arguably the best quarterback in the conference, but he'll have his hands full with the league's top-ranked defense. And if Brady Hoke isn't the unanimous choice for MAC Coach of the Year then don't be surprised if one of those votes went to Northern Illinois' Jerry Kill, who has the Huskies one win away from bowl eligibilty in his first year in DeKalb. But they don't get that sixth win here, for the Cardinals have too much offensive firepower to drop this one at home.

Toledo (2-6, 1-3) @ Akron (4-4, 2-2) 8 PM EST on ESPNU

It's been a tough year for the Rockets, who announced today that head coach Tom Amstutz would step down at season's end and take on a fundraising role within the athletic department. The problems for Toledo have been on offense, with the conference's eleventh-ranked attack struggling to establish a consistent passing game and failing to hold onto the football (11th in turnover margin). The Zips, on the other hand, find themselves tied with Buffalo atop the MAC East due to a ranking of third in the MAC in turnover margin and fifth in total offense. But the Rockets do have a shot at putting some points on the board due to Akron being one of the poorer defenses in the MAC (12th in total defense). So even though the Rockets would like to win one for their soon-to-be departed head coach, look for the Zips to pull out a close one.

- Phil Fulmer steps down at Tennessee.

Unless you've been away from a computer, radio or television all day then you know that Tennessee head coach Phil Fulmer will be stepping down come season's end. The main culprits in this: the eleventh-ranked offense in the SEC and recent struggles to beat rivals Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Add to this a decline in the quality of recent recruiting classes and you have all the makings for a departure. Fulmer is currently 150-51 at Tennessee and won a national title back in 1998. The Volunteers (3-6, 1-5) need to win out to reach bowl eligibility this season and host equally struggling Wyoming on Saturday.

-Texas Tech named FWAA/Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week.

Thanks to their exciting 39-33 home win over then-#1 Texas the Red Raiders were named National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Other nominees were Florida (49-10 win over Georgia) and Northwestern (24-17 win over Minnesota clinched with an interception return for a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining).

Seven Day Stretch: Few's Future & Officiating Issues

Rob Carpentier — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:30:39 -0500

The “Curse” seems to have finally been eradicated…at least for a week. Davidson, Marquette, American and even Indiana had pretty good news last week. Does that mean that teams can stop worrying about the Seven Day Stretch or will it be a double-strength whammy this week?

Seven Day Savior (Team): Indiana Hoosiers

Considering what the players on this team went through over the course of the past ten days, the fact that they have gone 4-0 since the Kelvin Sampson/NCAA news broke is highly commendable. The Hoosiers defeated three of the top five teams in the Big 10 Conference, and even though those victories took place in the cozy environs of Assembly Hall in Bloomington, it was and is impressive, nonetheless. Indiana was able to beat both Purdue and Michigan State as the Sampson issue was front page news. That says a great deal about the character of the kids on that squad, many of whom Sampson recruited or had to talk into staying when Mike Davis was fired. Let’s remember that these are, at best, young men in their early 20’s, with many of the players on the squad under 20. It took a lot of maturity to get past the controversy swirling around the team and to focus on the business of actually playing the games. While it’s true that some of the players threatened to miss the game against Northwestern last Saturday, the bottom line is that they didn’t. Kudos to the Hoosiers.

Admittedly, there is a close second this week; the Kent State Golden Flashes. Their win over St. Mary’s in their BracketBuster game last Saturday night was a huge boost to Kent State’s at-large bid should they not win the Mid-American Conference Tournament. There are more than a few bubble teams from the “power” conferences that are hoping that Kent State wins the Mac Tourney.

Seven Day Savior (Player): Al Fisher, Kent State

If I don’t give the team award to Kent State, I can certainly give the player award to one of its players. Fisher, a junior guard, scored 28 points in the win over St. Mary’s and won the MAC Player of the Week award for the second week in a row. Fisher, who started his collegiate career at Siena, is a quick and smart point guard who plays a pass-first game, but knows how and when to score when the Golden Flashes need someone to step up. While he leads the team in both scoring and assists, Fisher’s biggest games have come in some of Kent State’s biggest wins, including St. Mary’s, George Mason and Illinois State. Fisher has all the qualities of a young man who will step up in the NCAA Tournament and break the heart of fans of a big school.

News of the Week: Northern Illinois Returns to Competition

The Huskies returned to game action this week for the first time since the disastrous shooting at the school that took place on Valentine’s Day. Six students died in the attack, including the shooter, and the campus has been struggling with the event ever since. Although the scope of the shooting was much less, in terms of numbers, than what happened at Virginia Tech, the strain on the school community was enormous and will be for some time to come. While athletics aren’t all that important in the grand scheme of things, they can provide a necessary distraction in times of stress as well as a rallying point for a community in need of something to get its mind off of a tragedy. The Huskies lost their home game against Western Michigan, but chances are that many NIU supporters don’t care. For Northern Illinois and the people directly related to the school, it probably was more important that the team simply played the game. As with any difficult situation, a return to normalcy helps to get past it. This week, the lives of those people at NIU became a little bit more normal.

Game of the Week (The one you DON’T know about): Pittsburgh at Syracuse

Once again, Jim Boeheim’s Orange find themselves skirting dangerously close with the wrong side of the bubble. Unexpectedly, now Pittsburgh is getting to the point of having to worry about the bubble, albeit not very much. In Syracuse’s case, the struggles the Orange have endured were somewhat expected considering the injuries that Syracuse has had to deal with this season. Pittsburgh also suffered injuries, losing starter Mike Cook for the season and guard Levance Fields for a large portion of the season, however Pitt has lost their last two games with fields back in the line-up. The Big East will probably get up to eight bids come Selection Sunday and Syracuse, (definitely), and Pitt, (maybe), will be fighting for one of the final ones. The game at Syracuse on Saturday will go a long way towards either team feeling much more comfortable about which side of the bubble they will come down on. Pitt is looking for a decent victory, especially on the road, while Syracuse needs wins badly. In the case of the Orange, their profile is looking quite a bit like last year’s and last season they missed the NCAAs.

Seven Days Under the Radar: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

This is a team that is truly under the radar. In the last twenty years, how many teams that have gone 22-3, including a win over Oklahoma, and have had an RPI of 47 or better been this inconspicuous? The Jacks aren’t in first place in their conference, but they have defeated the conference leader, (Lamar), in their only meeting this season. They have won at SMU and San Diego, the latter a pretty difficult victory for any team, as well as the win in Norman. They have two solid “go-to guys” in junior guard Josh Alexander and junior forward Matt Kingsley, both of whom average around 16 points per game. If you think the Jacks are good now, they lose only one senior of consequence and only three players overall. This team is going to be tough if they make the Big Dance, and they will be even tougher next season. Imagine the sleeplessness in Big East, Big 12 and Pac-10 countries if the Jacks go 24-4 and lose in the Southland Conference title game. That will make for a very interesting Sunday night.

Seven Days on the Hot Seat: Mark Few, Gonzaga Bulldogs

Alright, so Few isn’t really on the hot seat, but there is now a very real possibility that he will leave Gonzaga at the end of the season. Here’s the deal; right now the heat on Oregon’s Ernie Kent is enormous, especially after his Ducks blew both games on their L.A. road trip last week. Oregon had double-digit leads in the second half of both games. The likelihood of Kent’s dismissal after the season is quite high. Multiple big money donors have already made it clear to the Oregon athletic department that they want and expect Kent gone. The newspapers in Oregon are now openly talking about replacements for Kent. The name at the top of the list is Few’s. Few is obviously a good coach and recruiter. He knows the kind of players he needs for his system and he knows the recruiting scene in the Pacific Northwest. Few has stated in the past that Oregon would be one of the very few, (no pun intended), jobs that would get him to leave Gonzaga. The reason that this hasn’t garnered more attention yet is because Kent does have an opportunity to save his skin. If Oregon gets to the NCAA’s, then he will gain a reprieve. It doesn’t matter if he gets there as an at-large or by winning the Pac-10 Tournament, (which the Duck accomplished last season), just as long as he gets there. If he and the Ducks see their bubble burst, expect Gonzaga to be looking for a new coach in the spring.

Seven Days of Head Scratching: Officiating

It started long before the blown call by the Big East officials at the end of the Villanova/Georgetown game; a call that handed the Hoyas the victory. It started long before the inconsistency that was seen throughout many of the BracketBuster games last weekend. The officiating this season has been among the most inconsistent that I have seen in the last decade. There was a time not so long ago when I would watch a full week’s slate of games and be shocked to see one or two blatant screw-ups on the part of the zebras. Now it seems as if I see at least one per game. Even certain conferences seem to have more of an officiating issue than others. The Pac-10 is notorious for having the most inconsistent set of refs in any of the “power leagues”. The joke around the Pac-10 is that you’ll know what kind of game you’ll get from the refs if you know what “mood” they’re in before the game. Say what?!? These goofs on the part of the officials go beyond simple blown calls; calling a charge when it should be a block or missing a travel. Now officials are starting to make calls against the rule books of various conferences. That came to a head this past weekend when the officials in the Big Sky contest between Montana State and Idaho State refused to use video monitors to determine when a time-out had been called at the end of a key conference game. If the officials had gotten the rule right they would have awarded two technical foul shots to Idaho State. There would have been barely enough time for Montana State to have gotten a shot off to tie or win the game if ISU had made even one of the free throws. As it was, Montana State won in overtime. The Big Sky Conference noticed the blunder and called the officiating crew to the carpet, suspending each official for one game. This should be used more by conferences to be sure that the officials are at the top of their games. Nothing needs to be said about specifics when it happens, and I understand that conferences are reluctant to do this sort of thing because it admits error. However, as time has gone by, officials have become more and more emboldened to become part of the game focus rather than calling the game. Remember, the best officiated games are the ones when you don’t remember the refs.

MAC Recap: 11-15

Ryan Molnar — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 09:52:44 -0500

Once again there were only two MAC teams in action tonight but they both faired a little better than their counterparts did a night ago. Miami took on Kentucky in Rupp arena and was looking to get back on track after a tough home loss to Wright State to open the season. Northern Illinois was looking to open the season on a good note by opening at home against a Division-III team. On to the recaps. Miami got out to a surprisingly good start against the 22nd ranked Wildcats, leading by as much as 10 in the first half. Kentucky pulled back with the RedHawks with a 22-3 run in the second half. Kentucky eventually won the game 57-46. The final score was not indicative of how close a game this really was. Miami stayed tough on the glass against a taller Kentucky squad as the Wildcats finished with only a 32-30 edge in rebounding. The RedHawks were paced by their big senior in the middle, Nathan Peavy. He finished with 17 points and six rebounds. The loss moves Miami’s record to 0-2 but they hope to change that to 1-2 when they take on Florida A & M on Friday at 8:30. The other MAC game of the night pitted Northern Illinois against St. Mary’s (MN) a Division III school. The Huskies shot almost 60 percent from the field on route to a 84-69 in their home opener. Mike McKinney led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field while James Hughes and Zach Pancratz both added 17 points. The only thing that NIU really wasn’t impressed with in this game was their defense. They allowed St. Mary’s to hit 11-of-20 three pointers and to hit 46.6 percent overall from the field. Northern Illinois has a couple of days off until they play Duquesne in Pittsburgh on Monday. Tonight has only one MAC team in action with Bowling Green at 1-0 travels to Arkansas State who is 0-3. Look for the Falcons to continue to stay unbeaten in their unimpressive non-conference schedule thus far. Predicting Power on the season: 2-0

MAC Recap: 11-14

Ryan Molnar — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 15:47:36 -0500

Last night there were only two games in the MAC as Akron was pitted against Gardner-Webb in the consolation game of the College Basketball Experience Classic and Western Michigan was on the road against Indiana State. Akron beat Gardner-Webb to start the season 1-1 while Western Michigan lost a tough one to the Sycamores. On to the recaps. The story of the game in Akron’s big win over Gardner-Webb, 89-61, was the play of its two forwards, Romeo Travis and Jeremiah Woods. They combined for 15-of-23 shooting and 35 points as the Zips bounced back from a tough loss to Arkansas-Little Rock the night before. Wood also nabbed 12 boards on route to his seventh career double-double. The Zips also used defense to hold off the Bulldogs, as Gardner-Webb managed to shoot just 36 percent. Akron finished the night shooting 51% from the field. They will be back in action on Sunday for their home opener against Tiffin. The only other game involving a MAC team was a rematch of one of last year’s BracketBuster games. Western Michigan went on the road and lost 73-71 to Indiana State. This was an especially bad loss for the MAC in general because Indiana State is picked to finish near the end of the Missouri Valley Conference while the Broncos are expected to finish near the top of the MAC. Junior center Joe Reitz recorded his 10th career double-double finishing with 16 points and 12 boards. Western Michigan shot 46% from behind the arc but only shot 33% overall from the field with contributed to their loss. Tonight in the MAC the game of the night is undoubtedly Miami on the road against Kentucky. After losing to Wright State in their first game I’m not sure that Miami will be able to pull it together on the road and beat Kentucky. In the other game tonight St. Mary’s (MN) takes on Northern Illinois in DeKalb. NIU should be able to pick up their first win of the year.

Northern Illinois Signs 7-footer

Ryan Molnar — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 16:00:29 -0500

Northern Illinois Coach Rob Judson announced on Thursday, that the Huskies have signed seven-foot, 220 pound Zach House (Rock Falls, Ill. / Rock Falls) to a National Letter of Intent to play for the Huskies, beginning in the 2007-08 campaign. As a junior, House played a key role in helping Rock Falls to a berth in the Class AA Supersectionals and a final record of 29-3, averaging 6.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.9 blocks-per-game on a balanced scoring team.

MAC Preseason Rankings

Ryan Molnar — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 20:02:03 -0500

In the MAC East, the Akron Zips were voted to finish first this year. The Ohio University Bobcats were picked to finish right behind them in what should be a very competitive division. The Kent State Golden Flashes and the Miami (OH) RedHawks were picked third and fourth respectively. Rounding out the MAC East were the Buffalo Bulls and the Bowling Green Falcons. In the MAC West, the Toledo Rockets were picked to finish first. Coming in second are the Northern Illinois Huskies. Third and fourth are the Western Michigan Broncos and the Ball State Cardinals. Rounding out the MAC West are the Eastern Michigan Eagles and the Central Michigan Chippewas.