2012 was a watershed year for MAC football in the regular OOC season: a respectable 9-19 vs AQ teams and an outstanding 9-3 vs 1A non-AQ schools.

2013, ehhhhh. 

Only 1-17 so far vs AQs, including blowouts against nearly all the MAC teams, and the remaining prospects aren't good.  Only four real possibles for wins:  NIU at Purdue and Buffalo at home vs UConn next week; BSU at UVA in two weeks; and BG at Miss St on 10/12.  But Saturday doesn't look promising (Kent may have a shot at Penn St if Archer plays, but WMU will have to put a lot together to beat Iowa, and there's little hope for UMass vs Vandy and Fiami vs Cincy), and CMU doesn't have much of a chance at NCSt next week.  So the best the MAC can probably hope for is 5-22 vs AQs.  Better than some years, but a real comedown from last year.

Only 5-3 so far vs non-AQs.  Most of the remaining games are winnable, tho: La-Laf @ Akron; Navy @ Toledo; and Kent @ S. Alabama.  Even EMU may have a shot at Army -- EMU won last year at home.  But the MAC teams will have to win all four just to match last year's non-AQ record.

The MAC does well vs non-AQs.  But until it shows it can consistently beat the AQs (Omegas, starting next year) year-in and year-out it'll struggle to get respect from the media and some of the other conferences.

When the realignment happens and the MAC is either in a new, third division in between the current BCS and FCS levels, or else becomes FCS, the "struggle for respect" won't matter nearly as much as it does now. 

Amen.

or we could make it an All-Ohio conference and drop everybody else. You're right on EMU, but I see nothing wrong with moving out of state and have folks like UMass and Buffalo.

Why don't we just drop to D-III and join the Ohio Atheletic Conference where every team we play would be an easy drive in-state.  We could tear down both the Convo and Peden so as not to spend needless dollars on those dinosaurs and just use Athens High School for all our football and basketball needs.  Think of the money the University would save.  Also, all of you who want to keep the program "small time" would be thrilled because D-III is about as low as we can go. 

I checked out the schedule of Northern Iowa, a good FCS program.  They have four non conference games.  They opened at Iowa State and beat them.  Next, they played Drake, the weakest team they'll play all season--they are non scholarship Div. I--they drew 16,000 for the least attractive game of their season.  A lot more a draw than a Urbana or Ashland.  Then, they have Northern Colorado and McNeese State, two respectable large universities.

Plus, remember that when the realignment happens, we will be joined by Sun Belt and most CUSA teams.  We can schedule those schools.  

One of the main differences is that we will be competing to qualify for a post season national tournament.  To me, that's more interesting than playing Utah State in Idaho in a Potato Bowl. 

I'm not sure if we are in presence of Joe Namath ("of guaranteed win fame") or the God of Football.  The last time I heard a statement made with that much certainty and self-righteousness it was a former president saying he didn't have sex with a certain White House intern.  I believe the credibility of both sources to be the same; however, Jeff is an honest man, which is one important difference! 

I won ten dollars on that game, on a one dollar bet with 10-1 odds.  My wager was made before the NFL season started, actually, when I mouthed off at a BBQ in Cowtown and said, I think the AFL is going to win the Super Bowl this year, whereupon a fellow graduate student asked me to put my money where my mouth was and gave me 10-1 odds.  I bet him a dollar.  To his ever-lasting credit, the very next time after the game that I saw him on the bus we both took to campus he came up to me and gave me a nice crisp 10 spot.  I didn't even have to remind him of the bet.  Now, that's an honest man!   

This is actually counter to what some pretty wise people are saying...I want to say Dennis Dodd, but my mind might be mistaken on that. He also hears/feels that a formal splitting of Division 1 is coming, but not between AQ/non-AQ. Rather, he alleges that the formal split will be between Division 1A and 1AA (the new division monikers are dumb, and I try not to use them). That financial gap between AQ and non-AQ is far smaller than the gap between non-AQ and 1AA, while such a split would also provide the necessary opponents for the AQ schools to continue to play 8-9 home games a year and would at least provide the possibility of maintaining the current bowl setup.

And when it does happen, the MAC office is going to either look like geniuses by standing pat and not realigning anyone, or really stupid by standing pat and not realigning anyone.

I would not say we should give up but I do say that OHIO and other teams will have to decide whether to step up (and then figure out how to get the resources to do it) or decide to make a competitive system at a different level.  The hazard is certainly there that tOSU will creep back into the campus and court street but  I would suggest that it has never slipped out and that all things tOSU will be bigger that we will ever have the resources to overcome.  
 Call me a cynic but the move for a playoff is not as much about naming a "true" national champion as it is about putting as money into the pockets of those that are already collecting the most revenue.  They are not interested in sharing the wealth to build up those who are not already there.  

There is wishful thinking and then there is reality.  Are we coming close to selling out just because we are more competitive now?  Maybe it is because the students get in for free and many of the season tickets sold are the family package tickets with a cost of less than $5 per  ticket per game.  Kids day? Veteran's Day, Band day?  Getting more people to Peden is a start but eventually the athletic department will have to try to get more money per ticket.  Will they have done enough to keep those people who have bought tickets on the cheap?  I am not convinced.  I think OHIO is getting the excitement and support it gets because we are "Good for what we are".  Not my words but the words of those who think it is a travesty that I do not fly a scarlet and gray flag because I live in Ohio. 

I disagree with these people but I am in the minority as are most people who are on this board when it comes to how strongly we support and feel about OHIO.  Just my Humble Opinion