This fall the team will be much more experienced than they were last year, and we should see a big improvement. I see no reason they shouldn't be competing for Monroe's MACC. They do have a tough schedule, playing BG on the road, and 3 of the best teams from the West. They obviously can't afford to lose more than 2 of those 4 games, and they need to win all the rest. Will 6-2 be good enough to win the East? Perhaps not, if they lose to BG, since BG will have the tiebreaker, so they may need to go 7-1.

I don't expect the Bobcats to be blown out in any game, and I expect all 4 games to be close. To me the key question is, can they win the close ones? In 2006 AE seemed to will the team into the endzone at times, and won the close ones. T3, in 2009 won the key games. TT won them in 2011. Can Vick win them? How did they do in close games last year? Here are the games from last year decided by less than 2 TDs:

Kent - 17-14 win (3 points) - Vick, Bobcats score with 0:00 left
Akron - 23-20 win (3 points) - Sprague, Bobcats score with 1:55 left
Miami - 24-21 win (3 points) - Vick, Bobcats score with 0:00 left
NIU - 21-14 loss (7 points) - Vick, Bobcats can't score with 6:00 left
Idaho - 36-24 win (12 points) - Vick built early lead, Sprague pulls away 2:09 left

Based on this, I'd say that these did pretty well last year in close ones. This fall, they need to keep in all the tough games, and then continue to win the majority of close ones.

I talked before about teams that beat them by 25, now let's look at the reverse, teams Ohio has beaten by 25 (not counting FCS):
2014 - none
2013 - 4 (Akron, EMU, Miami, U.Mass)
2012 - 3 (New Mex St, EMU, La-Monroe)
2011 - 1 (Marshall)
2010 - 1 (Akron)
2009 - 0
2008 - 0
2007 - 0
2006 - 1 (Buffalo)
2005 - 0

As you can see, early in the Solich years the team never was able to demoralize foes, and totally blow them out. These games are important because they let the starters get some rest, and the backups get some playtime. The Bobcats started to get a fair number of these games in 2012 and 2013, but then they got none again last year.

I agree with you, 105. Besides winning the close games, I want to see them blow some others out. I think that to win the MACC, they need to do both. We'll have a better idea of this team's potential after the Idaho game. I'd love to see them show what they can do, and take Idaho out of the game early.

I think the fact that we can usually beat the teams that are pretty bad is a sign of the stability of the Solich regime. This will be a very challenging year with the addition of the big dogs from the west. I don't think we have the firepower on offense to beat those guys or BG so I'm hoping for a breakout season for the defense-one that can actually stop teams on third down, among other things. If we can't do that, IMHO, we can't win the MAC this year.

Offensively, I really want to see Irons become the feature back. Nothing against AJ, but I think Irons has more upside potential. I'd love to see AJ more in a bulldozer role when we need 2 yards or less. Nothing against Daz or Papi either...they have a specialized set of skills that should be utilized in a specialized way.


Defensively, I just want the D line to hold its own. Our LBs should be solid to awesome, and there should be a step up in athleticism in the secondary. But man, if the D Line gets pushed around, it could be a loooooooooong year.

BG could have a tough time winning six this season. They won the division with 5-3 last year, and will likely have many of the same D problems as last year. Plus their last four games are vs teams that were at least 4-4 last season and should be formidable this season (Ohio, @WMU, Toledo and @BSU). And they have Buffalo (road) and UMass (home), both of which could be tough.