MAC – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Vikings set to meet with Bowling Green DL Karl Brooks on top-30 visit

Brooks is a high-upside lineman who could make an immediate impact on the #Vikings’ defense in 2023

The Minnesota Vikings are set to meet with Bowling Green defensive lineman Karl Brooks on a top-30 visit ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. Brooks, who was a standout for the Falcons last season, is one of the more underrated linemen in the upcoming class.

Despite being a first-team All-American selection by Pro Football Focus and making the All-MAC first team in 2022, he has managed to fly under the radar of most fans who aren’t familiar with Bowling Green’s football program.

Despite this, the Vikings seem to be well aware of Brooks’ talent and upside and could target the promising prospect with one of their premium picks in the upcoming draft. Minnesota needs as much help as they can get on defense, and given Brooks’ versatile skillset as a pass rusher and run stuffer up front, he could prove to be a natural fit for the Vikings’ front four.

Time will tell if this pre-draft visit plays out in such a way that would become consequential to their strategy during the annual selection meeting, but the prospect of adding such a capable defender should excite Vikings fans who have clamored for defensive upgrades after the team’s early exit from the playoffs in January.

The Rhode Island Scumbag’s guide to betting the 2023 MAC men’s basketball tournament

The Rockets just keep winning. Don’t expect that to change with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.

The Rhode Island Scumbag is our resident prognosticator who thoroughly cleaned up last year’s postseason basketball slate as a bettor. As such, he’s back to take us through both a select group of conference tournaments as well as the big dance itself. He chooses to remain anonymous (for now) for reasons unknown, though they may be related to the fact “Rhode Island Scumbag — 2021 to present” isn’t a particularly appealing resume item. All text below are his words.

Vegas Baby! That’s right, I’m going back to Las Vegas — I broke down my last visit here around this time last year — but this time I’m going for a different type of March Madness: conference tournament weekend! I will be going from March 9 to March 12 and have isolated four conferences I have been following for a few weeks now. For this year’s betting guides, I’ll break down the MAC, MAAC, Big East and SEC.

The MAC will have eight teams playing for an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament where they will almost assuredly get humiliated on national television while simultaneously helping their respective institution build a new library with the money they will make. What is important for us though is that these teams will ONLY get in if they win their tournament.

Therefore, we are going to see all-out efforts from each team as they fight for a chance to play more basketball. What I also like about these small conferences is that they will actually have seniors on the team because they aren’t leaving to go play in the NBA.

These tournament games are extremely meaningful for these clubs. Teams will try to stave off elimination. Seniors will try to take the floor one more time. In these types of games, I like to play unders and take the points. This is my preliminary approach to this conference.

Notre Dame offensive analyst appears to be on the move

Taylor must have liked what he saw from him…

Former Notre Dame running backs coach [autotag]Lance Taylor[/autotag] was recently named the head coach at Western Michigan. This came after Taylor spent one season as Louisville’s offensive coordinator. He had previously worked at Notre Dame from 2019-2021, helping to improve the Fighting Irish backfield.

Taylor is working to assemble his first staff as a head coach and it appears one Notre Dame employee is about to be joining him. According to John Brice of Football Scoop, Taylor will be hiring Notre Dame senior analyst Trevor Mendelson. Mendelson played on Marshall’s offensive line before getting into coaching. He spent time at Wake Forest previous to Notre Dame and is said to have spent the majority of this season working with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.

Although not a glaring hole, it’s still one that will now looked to be filled by Marcus Freeman and Tommy Rees.

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Former Notre Dame assistant named head coach at MAC program

Great opportunity for a guy that was an excellent position coach with the Irish

It was just a year ago that [autotag]Lance Taylor[/autotag] was still the running backs coach and run game coordinator at Notre Dame. Shortly after Notre Dame’s bowl loss to Oklahoma last year, Taylor took the offensive coordinator job at Louisville.

Now after just one season calling plays at Louisville he’s got his first head coaching job. Western Michigan announced Taylor as their head coach on Thrusday morning. Taylor replaces Tim Lester who went 37-32 in six seasons since replacing P.J. Fleck.

Taylor was at Notre Dame from 2019-2021 but was responsible for helping boost the talent in the the running back room. Taylor helped develop [autotag]Kyren Williams[/autotag] into one of college football’s most complete running backs in 2020 and 2021 while being largely responsible for winning the recruiting battles for [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] and [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag].

Lance Taylor named Western Michigan Football Head Coach.

Welcome to the Zoo!https://t.co/mbqKjyBMeq

— Western Michigan Football (@WMU_Football) December 8, 2022

All the best to Taylor in Kalamazoo!

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Tennessee football: Vols’ all-time record versus current MAC schools

Tennessee will kick off its 2022 season Thursday versus Ball State at Neyland Stadium (7 p.m. EDT, SEC Network).

The meeting is the first between the Vols and Cardinals.

Tennessee is 8-0 against current Mid-American Conference opponents all time.

Ball State is one of two MAC teams Tennessee will play this season. The Vols will host Akron Sept. 17 at Neyland Stadium.

The Vols have played Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Northern Illinois and Ohio throughout its history. Tennessee has never played Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami University, Toledo and Western Michigan.

Western Michigan announced the Broncos will play at Tennessee Sept. 19, 2026.

Tennessee’s records against current MAC opponents are listed below.

Coach Wins Against The Spread: Group of Five, Independent Ranked From Best To Worst

Coach Wins Against The Spread: Who are the best and worst Group of Five coaches when it comes to covering?

How good are all of the Group of Five and Independent head coaches against the spread? Going from best to worst, here’s who covers and who doesn’t.

How do all of the Group of Five and Independent head coaches do against the spread, and on the road ATS, and going over on the point total?

Here’s our breakdown of the coaches and what they’ve done with their respective teams – at least the ones they’re currently with.

Who covers – and sometimes more importantly – who doesn’t?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @RichCirminiello

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American Athletic Conference Coach Wins Against The Spread

With the exception of new SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee and Stan Drayton at Temple, these stats reflect how all the coaches have done on their current American Athletic Conference teams.

1. Philip Montgomery, Tulsa

ATS Record (since 2015)

ATS Overall: 48-35-1 (57.7%)
On Extra Rest: 12-4
vs. Ranked: 13-5
After Win: 19-13
After Loss: 23-18-1
Home: 15-23-1
Road: 30-11
Favorite: 18-18-1
Underdog: 30-17
Home Favorite: 9-15-1
Home Dog: 6-8
Road Favorite: 7-3
Road Dog: 23-8
vs. Conference: 33-22
Non-conference: 15-13-1

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 41-42-1
On Extra Rest: 5-11
vs. Ranked: 8-10
Home: 19-20
Road: 20-20-1
Favorite: 20-17
Underdog: 21-25-1
Home Favorite: 15-10
Home Dog: 4-10
Road Favorite: 5-5
Road Dog: 15-15-1
Conference: 29-26
Non-conference: 12-16-1
Preview | Top 10 Players | Schedule

2. Jeff Scott, USF

ATS Record (since 2020)

ATS Overall: 12-9 (57.1%)
On Extra Rest: 5-0
vs. Ranked: 5-1
After Win: 1-2
After Loss: 8-6
Home: 7-3
Road: 5-6
Favorite: 0-2
Underdog: 10-7
Home Favorite: 2-2
Home Dog: 5-1
Road Favorite: 0-0
Road Dog: 5-6
vs. Conference: 9-6
Non-conference: 3-3

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 12-8-1
On Extra Rest: 2-2-1
vs. Ranked: 5-1
Home: 8-2
Road: 4-6-1
Favorite: 2-2
Underdog: 10-6-1
Home Favorite: 2-2
Home Dog: 6-0
Road Favorite: 0-0
Road Dog: 4-6-1
Conference: 8-6-1
Non-conference: 4-2
Preview | Top 10 Players | Schedule

3. Willie Fritz, Tulane

ATS Record (since 2016)

ATS Overall: 41-31-2 (56.8%)
On Extra Rest: 6-6
vs. Ranked: 4-7
After Win: 14-13-1
After Loss: 22-17-1
Home: 23-11-1
Road: 16-19-1
Favorite: 23-13-1
Underdog: 18-18-1
Home Favorite: 15-7
Home Dog: 8-4-1
Road Favorite: 6-5-1
Road Dog: 10-14
vs. Conference: 25-21-2
Non-conference: 16-10

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 36-38
On Extra Rest: 6-6
vs. Ranked: 7-4
Home: 16-19
Road: 18-18
Favorite: 19-18
Underdog: 17-20
Home Favorite: 12-10
Home Dog: 4-9
Road Favorite: 5-7
Road Dog: 13-11
Conference: 21-27
Non-conference: 15-11
Preview | Top 10 Players | Schedule

4. Mike Houston, East Carolina

ATS Record (since 2019)

ATS Overall: 18-14-1 (56.1%)
On Extra Rest: 4-1
vs. Ranked: 3-2
After Win: 7-6
After Loss: 10-6-1
Home: 8-7-1
Road: 10-6
Favorite: 4-5
Underdog: 14-9-1
Home Favorite: 3-2
Home Dog: 5-5-1
Road Favorite: 1-3
Road Dog: 9-3
vs. Conference: 15-9
Non-conference: 3-5-1

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 15-18
On Extra Rest: 3-2
vs. Ranked: 4-1
Home: 6-10
Road: 9-7
Favorite: 2-7
Underdog: 13-11
Home Favorite: 0-5
Home Dog: 6-5
Road Favorite: 2-2
Road Dog: 7-5
Conference: 13-11
Non-conference: 2-7
Preview | Top 10 Players | Schedule

5. Luke Fickell, Cincinnati

ATS Record (since 2017)

ATS Overall: 34-29 (54.01%)
On Extra Rest: 5-5
vs. Ranked: 9-6
After Win: 24-21
After Loss: 7-6
Home: 18-14
Road: 14-13
Favorite: 23-21
Underdog: 11-8
Home Favorite: 16-12
Home Dog: 2-2
Road Favorite: 6-8
Road Dog: 8-5
vs. Conference: 20-21
Non-conference: 14-8

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 25-38
On Extra Rest: 5-5
vs. Ranked: 3-12
Home: 16-16
Road: 8-19
Favorite: 22-22
Underdog: 3-16
Home Favorite: 14-14
Home Dog: 2-2
Road Favorite: 7-7
Road Dog: 1-12
Conference: 17-24
Non-conference: 8-14
Preview | Top 10 Players | Schedule

6. Ken Niumatalolo, Navy

ATS Record (since 2007)

ATS Overall: 100-87-3 (53.4%)
On Extra Rest: 21-17
vs. Ranked: 12-10-1
After Win: 57-45-2
After Loss: 34-35-1
Home: 42-38-1
Road: 43-36-1
Favorite: 52-51-2
Underdog: 48-36-1
Home Favorite: 29-27-1
Home Dog: 13-11
Road Favorite: 15-17-1
Road Dog: 28-19
vs. Conference: 44-26-2
Non-conference: 56-61-1

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 87-100-1
On Extra Rest: 17-21
vs. Ranked: 9-14
Home: 39-40
Road: 41-38-1
Favorite: 46-56-1
Underdog: 41-44
Home Favorite: 27-28
Home Dog: 12-12
Road Favorite: 18-14-1
Road Dog: 23-24
Conference: 38-34
Non-conference: 49-66-1

7. Dana Holgorsen, Houston

ATS Record (since 2019)

ATS Overall: 17-17 (50%)
On Extra Rest: 1-5
vs. Ranked: 4-6
After Win: 8-9
After Loss: 7-6
Home: 6-8
Road: 9-7
Favorite: 9-9
Underdog: 8-8
Home Favorite: 4-3
Home Dog: 2-5
Road Favorite: 4-4
Road Dog: 5-3
vs. Conference: 11-12
Non-conference: 6-5

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 19-14-1
On Extra Rest: 3-3
vs. Ranked: 7-2-1
Home: 8-5-1
Road: 11-5
Favorite: 8-10
Underdog: 11-4-1
Home Favorite: 3-4
Home Dog: 5-1-1
Road Favorite: 5-3
Road Dog: 6-2
Conference: 14-8-1
Non-conference: 5-6
Preview | Top 10 Players | Schedule

8. Gus Malzahn, UCF

ATS Record (since 2021)

ATS Overall: 5-8 (38.5%)
On Extra Rest: 1-1
vs. Ranked: 0-1
After Win: 3-5
After Loss: 2-2
Home: 3-4
Road: 1-4
Favorite: 4-6
Underdog: 1-2
Home Favorite: 3-4
Home Dog: 0-0
Road Favorite: 1-2
Road Dog: 0-2
vs. Conference: 2-6
Non-conference: 3-2

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 7-5-1
On Extra Rest: 1-1
vs. Ranked: 1-0
Home: 2-4-1
Road: 5-0
Favorite: 5-4-1
Underdog: 2-1
Home Favorite: 2-4-1
Home Dog: 0-0
Road Favorite: 3-0
Road Dog: 2-0
Conference: 4-4
Non-conference: 3-1-1
Preview | Top 10 Players | Schedule

9. Ryan Silverfield, Memphis

ATS Record (since 2020)

ATS Overall: 8-15 (34.8%)
On Extra Rest: 4-1
vs. Ranked: 1-2
After Win: 2-9
After Loss: 4-5
Home: 7-6
Road: 0-9
Favorite: 4-9
Underdog: 4-6
Home Favorite: 3-6
Home Dog: 4-0
Road Favorite: 0-3
Road Dog: 0-6
vs. Conference: 4-12
Non-conference: 4-3

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 8-13-2
On Extra Rest: 2-3
vs. Ranked: 1-2
Home: 4-7-2
Road: 4-5
Favorite: 5-6-2
Underdog: 3-7
Home Favorite: 3-4-2
Home Dog: 1-3
Road Favorite: 2-1
Road Dog: 2-4
Conference: 6-8-2
Non-conference: 2-5
Preview | Top 10 Players | Schedule

NEXT: Conference USA Coach Wins Against The Spread

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CFN Preseason All-MAC Football Team, Top 30 Players: Preview 2022

Who are the best players in the MAC going into the 2022 college football season? They’re highlighted in the CFN 2022 Preseason All-MAC team and top 30 players.

Who are the best players in the MAC going into the 2022 college football season? They’re highlighted in the CFN 2022 Preseason All-MAC team and top 30 players.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews

2022 Preseason CFN MAC Offensive Player of the Year

RB Lew Nichols, Soph. Central Michigan

Coming off a strong 2020 averaging close to seven yards per carry with over 500 rushing yards, he was all but unstoppable in 2021.

The 5-10, 220-pounder led the nation with 1,848 rushing yards and over 142 per game with 16 rushing scores and two receiving touchdowns. Steady, he came up with over 130 yards in each of the last eight games, and once again he’s going to be the featured star of the attack.

2022 Preseason CFN MAC Defensive Player of the Year

LB Jamal Hines, Sr. Toledo

The three-time All-MAC defender – First Team last season – is a true hybrid who can do a little of everything right. He’s an outside linebacker, but he’s really an edge rushing defensive end who’ll live behind the line for stretches.

The 6-3, 250-pounder made 88 tackles with ten sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and broke up eight passes. With all his experience and all his skill, he’s about to be an all-star gamewrecker again.

College Football News 2022 Preseason All-MAC Team: Offense

QB Dequan Finn, Soph. Toledo

RB Lew Nichols, Soph. Central Michigan

RB Sean Tyler, Jr. Western Michigan

WR Dante Cephas, Jr. Kent State

WR Trayvon Rudolph, Soph. Northern Illinois

TE Joel Wilson, Jr. Central Michigan

OT Brian Dooley, Jr. Eastern Michigan

OG Sidy Sow, Sr. Eastern Michigan

C Jake Gideon, Soph. Western Michigan

OG Logan Zschemitz, Soph. Northern Illinois

OT Nick Rosi, Jr. Toledo

College Football News 2022 Preseason All-MAC Team: Defense

DE Karl Brooks, Sr. Bowling Green

DT James Ester, Soph. Northern Illinois

DT Daymond Williams, Sr. Buffalo

DE Jose Ramirez, Jr. Eastern Michigan

LB Jamal Hines, Sr. Toledo

LB Corvin Moment, Sr. Western Michigan

LB James Patterson, Sr. Buffalo

CB Jordan Gandy, Jr. Northern Illinois

S CJ Brown, Soph. Northern Illinois

S Maxen Hook, Soph. Toledo

CB Donte Kent, Soph. Central Michigan

College Football News 2022 Preseason All-MAC Team: Special Teams

PK Andrew Glass, Soph. Kent State

P Luke Elzinga, Soph. Central Michigan

KR Trayvon Rudolph, Soph. Northern Illinois

PR Jhaylin Embry, Soph. Bowling Green

College Football News 2022 Preseason Top 30 MAC Players

30. Karl Brooks, DE Sr. Bowling Green

29. Bryce Houston, LB Jr. Ohio

28. Jordan Gandy, CB Jr. Northern Illinois

27. Jeslord Boateng, LB Jr. Akron

26. Jordan Anderson, S Jr. Bowling Green

25. Mac Hippenhammer, WR Sr. Miami University

24. Daniel Richardson, QB Soph. Central Michigan

23. Brian Dooley, OT Jr. Eastern Michigan

22. Yo’Heinz Tyler, WR Sr. Ball State

21. Tariq Speights, LB Jr. Eastern Michigan

20. Daymond Williams, NT Sr. Buffalo

19. La’Darius Jefferson, RB Sr. Western Michigan

18. Matthew Salopek, LB Soph. Miami University

17. Maxen Hook, S Soph. Toledo

16. Trayvon Rudolph, WR Soph. Northern Illinois

15. Desjuan Johnson, LB Sr. Toledo

14. Marquez Cooper, RB Jr. Kent State

13. Kurtis Rourke, QB Jr. Ohio

12. Sean Tyler, RB Jr. Western Michigan

11. Sidy Sow, OG Sr. Eastern Michigan

10. Dante Cephas, WR, Jr. Kent State

9. Brett Gabbert, QB Jr. Miami University

8. Darren Anders, LB Sr. Bowling Green

7. Brandon Martin, LB Sr. Ball State

6. Dequan Finn, QB Soph. Toledo

5. CJ Brown, S Soph. Northern Illinois

4. James Patterson, LB Sr. Buffalo

3. Corvin Moment, LB Sr. Western Michigan

2. Jamal Hines, LB Sr. Toledo

1. Lew Nichols, RB Soph. Central Michigan

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Full worst-to-first preseason SP+ conference power rankings

Where does the Big Ten stand nationally in comparison to all other conferences in ESPN’s final SP+ preseason projections?

The Big Ten is generally regarded as one of the nation’s premier conferences. It makes perfect sense, too. In addition to boasting some of the country’s top brands, the actual football being played on the gridiron is pretty dang good as well.

In fact, ESPN’s final SP+ preseason projections rank five Big Ten teams inside the nation’s top 17 and eight teams inside the country’s top 34. Iowa checks in No. 27 nationally according to the final SP+ ratings. Suffice it to say, the predictive model expects the league to feature plenty of the nation’s top teams once more in 2022.

On the surface, those numbers sound great for the Big Ten. How does the Big Ten stack up nationally, though? Where do all of the conferences rank according to Bill Connelly’s final SP+ preseason projections?

Here’s a worst-to-first breakdown of where each conference stands in terms of overall strength per ESPN’s final SP+ rankings.

College Football Rankings, Season Predictions: MAC Spring Version 2022

MAC college football rankings and predictions with realistic best and worst case records and quick analysis – the 2022 spring version.

MAC college football rankings and predictions with the realistic best and worst case records and quick analysis – the 2022 spring version.

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It’s the MAC. It’s the conference where worst-to-first is the norm, with 2020 winless Northern Illinois winning the MAC championship in 2021, everyone can beat anyone else, and Toledo will end up somewhere in the middle of it all.

It’s about as settled as the league has been in a long time with the strength still in the West, Buffalo about to be better in the East, and with Akron and Bowling Green still questionable.

Again, though, it’s the MAC. The Zips or Falcons could end up in Detroit in January playing for the title.

The rankings are based on how good the teams should be and not the final projected records. Keeping in mind that this all could/might/will change when we make the final calls in August …

– 2022 College Football Schedules By Teams: All 131 Schools

Notre Dame defensive back finds new home out east

Best of luck to him with his next step

Notre Dame has been busy in the transfer portal both in additions and in subtractions of late. Rising sophomore Caleb Offord was one of the latest Fighting Irish players to enter the portal and the cornerback has announced he’ll be moving on to Buffalo to play collegiately.

Offord was rated as a three-star recruit out of high school and was Notre Dame’s first Mississippi-based football player to receive a scholarship since Jarious Jackson.

Offord didn’t see meaningful time for Notre Dame in 2021 after he chose the Irish over the likes of Purdue, Vanderbilt, Duke, Arkansas, and others.

All the best to Offord at Buffalo.

Notre Dame football coaching staff tracker