And therein lies the problem with MACtion. It's unbelievably watered down. There used to be a couple good matchups per week, maybe even one. Now it's all conference, all November, all the time. I know that's the contract the league signed, I'm just ranting because I hate it.

Correct.

It's in absolutely no way shape or form a bad thing to be playing on espn during the week.

I think it is good for the school as it makes us a little more visible to an audience we might not reach. I have had quite a few people tell me they love the midweek games and actually started following the MAC because of it.

Kent has been one dimensional in MAC games this season. They have a decent passing attack -- 6th in the MAC at 232 ypg. But their running game is 11th at 101 ypg. Ohio's pass defense is 3rd (190 ypg) and its run defense is 2nd (104 ypg). Ohio has the 3rd best rushing offense (203 ypg, 10 TDs) while Kent's rushing defense is dead last (235 ypg, 14 TDs). Ohio's pass offense is 10th in the MAC (190 ypg) while Kent's pass defense is 7th (240 ypg).

Their real problems are turnovers and sacks. In four MAC games they are -10 in turnover margin and have given up 17 sacks, worst in the MAC.

And as I constantly say, we don’t have that many cards to play - midweek MACtion… this is one.

We can’t give you diamonds and gold. What we can do is give you at least 4 games a year on espn with no other competition to showcase your skills. Perform and perhaps those riches may follow.

And if you’re a kid from out of state and your parents can’t see you play much… ESPN2 at 7PM. That is something we can offer that generally the Sun Belt or something cannot.

Those games are lucky to get 300,000 viewers. They would do better if they only had one game rather than having three cannibalizing each other, but again, how do you do that!? Heck, the MAC Championship only gets about one million. To your point, it's better exposure for the MAC if those 300,000 viewers were getting a good game, but that's impossible to procure one year before. It's why the NFL has flex scheduling.

Ohio -17.5 O/U 53.5 Implied score Ohio 35.5, Kent State 18.

Well said. Don't underestimate Kent State with nothing to lose. They're gonna come after Parker hard. I think he has another 100 yard rushing game because he'll side-step a lot of the rush, but I bet he takes a higher number of sacks. I'll rephrase, I HOPE he takes some sacks and doesn't try to throw out of it causing turnovers.

If we can run it down their throat, I think we could clear that spread. If we try to be cute - might be a long Wednesday night on a cold day in Kent in front of 3,000 people.

Most G5 games are lucky to get 100,000 viewers even on a weekend. For example, on Oct 12 the North Texas-FAU game in prime time on ESPN2 managed only 82,000. The Toledo-Buffalo noon game on ESNU had 40,000 and our game vs CMU at 4:00 drew only 24,000. That same week, a Thursday prime time JMU-Coastal game on ESPN2 had 390,000 viewers and a Wednesday NMSU-J'ville St game on ESPN2 in prime time had 310,000. But the UTEP-WKU game airing opposite the JMU game on ESPU had only 81,000. https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/college-football-tv-ratings /. A lot probably depends on what else is on.

Bit of both, I imagine. MACtion has gained a bit of a cult following, in some part due to Barstool as well.

Everyone likes free football, especially during the weekday when your options are limited. Something else for the betting crowd to get involved in.

P5 football has turned into who can generate the most money and recruit the highest paid players, the MAC is as close to old school football as you can get and a lot of people like that. Ohio State vs Penn State was fun, but dudes who have to go to class on Wednesday afternoon and then put on their uniforms Wednesday night is a whole different vibe. I think there will always be a place for that, and mid-week MACtion is a big part of keeping it alive.

So I’ll be a contrarian. Mid week football for the MAC is not good.

The MAC even with it being the only game in town still gets way less money than everybody else. So what if some dudes in a gym in Pasadena or some bar in Green Bay is watching because there is nothing else on and they want to bet on something . There’s lot of other stuff on, just not college football.

The attendance stinks and there is no logical argument that it is more than the same game would have on a Saturday afternoon.

The lodging/restaurant business loses big time on a weeknight game-does anybody care about that? I just checked a couple days ago, the OU INN had rooms for $168-still available for the EMU game less than 2 weeks out. There’s lot of money out the door.

Folks argue that the parents can watch - well every other game is on ESPN+ so they can watch anytime and much more able to go to a weekend game that’s midweek game(true for us all)

How much does OU lose on concessions, ticket sales and parking for midweek games?

There may be cult followers of MAC football, but the MAC is more of a laughingstock rather than something to be followed with 2000-3000 in the stands if we’re lucky. Do recruits really love to see that. Can that beat a weekend on campus. They sure can’t attend these games.

Lastly, I hear a lot about it opening up the MAC recruiting possibilities. Can anyone honestly say that the MAC has improved since MACtion started? (Even leaving the last couple years of NIL/transfers)

There’s really almost no one on here saying that it’s not a good thing, and I’m having trouble with that. End of rant.

OU has had a huge pipeline from Florida for years. I wouldn't discount being able to have your friends and family see you play on TV at least four nationally televised games a year.

It's a marketing tool like anything else. You want any available eyes on your program. Luckily for OU, we've been pretty good the last two decades or so, so I do believe there is some benefit that greatly exceeds ticket revenue.

When I was in Hawaii a few years ago I sat at a bar in Waikiki and they had on OU football. I even ran into another couple who went to OU way back in the day. The bartender was from Ohio, he went to Ohio State, but he was excited to see Ohio football on TV - bc it's mostly west coast games. Now I'm not saying Ricky Hunt saw OU on TV two years ago and was like YESSSSS, but it's never a bad thing to have people see your team on TV - even if its in a bar in Green Bay or a gym in Pasedena. We exist. We deserve the screen time.

Point is you never know who is watching. You never know who is engaged. It's a commercial for the whole university and again - any perceived negatives don't outweigh the potential eyes.

Dont bring your facts and a positive attitude in here.