Welcome to MAC Conference
By Rastamon420, COMISSIONER
Welcome to DaONE league MAC Conference page.

MAC Owners Excited to Test Skills with Low-Ranked Teams
By BDawg35, SPORTS WRITER
Assemble an all-star team from the 14 members of the Mid-American Conference and you’d still have trouble butting heads with the big boys of NCAA 2004.

The theme for the MAC this season? Try “We’re Slow … What of it!”

Out of approximately 750 players on MAC rosters in NCAA 2004, only four possess speed ratings of 90 or higher. Central Florida has half of those players in receivers Luther Huggins (93 SPD) and Tavaris Capers (92 SPD). Of course, Huggins has only a 65 catching rating … something had to give.

Marshall receiver Darius Watts (91 SPD) and Toledo cornerback Brandon Hefflin (90 SPD) are the only other speed burners in the MAC.

Compare that, now, to powerful Miami. Not Miami of Ohio, Miami of Florida. The Hurricanes have 15 players with 90 SPD or higher and 10 players with 90 overall ratings or higher. The MAC has only six 90 OVR guys as a group.

This would be distressing for the MAC coaches in DaONE except for the fact they’re all ballin’ on a level playing field when they play within the conference. For Madden Mania legend Blacklover, this is as good as it gets. He’s as passionate about his Toledo Rockets as any Michigan, Ohio State or Florida State fan is about his beloved team.

“It’s football without all the hype surrounding the larger conferences,” Blacklover said. “Nobody cares about anything other than squaring off on a Saturday and getting it on.”

Coach Godspeed of Northern Illinois enjoys rolling in a conference with lower-ranked teams because it puts a premium on the human player’s skills.

“Playing in the MAC will be better,” said Godspeed, a.k.a. Warriors2003. “It’s really not that fun playing a Top 25 team, even with a Top 25. The players are so juiced up on EA ratings that the CPU will make some crazy plays for the Top 25 teams, just because the player ratings on those teams are so skewed. (With low-ranked teams) much of the gameplay control relies on the person with the controller in their hand.”

Marshall has carried the MAC’s banner ever since becoming a Division I-A school and joining the conference. The Thunder Herd lacks a big-name quarterback after the likes of Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich called signals, but Marshall is still the elite team in the MAC. Coach jms493 will run a Marshall squad which has an 84 OVR team rating, according to Prima’s strategy guide. That’s a rating that would stack up well with the second-tier teams in the major conferences and one which could overwhelm the MAC. But JasonOfTheTower’s Central Florida Golden Knights aren’t far behind with an 82 OVR and Godspeed’s Northern Illinois team is 81 OVR.

After Toledo checks in with a 79 OVR, the pack begins to thin out. The rest of the group ranges from Akron and Bowling Green at 75 OVR to Central Michigan at 66. There are I-AA teams that would stand a better chance than the Chippewas and 67 OVR entrants Eastern Michigan and Ohio.

“It’s more of a challenge to try and win it all with a MAC team,” JasonOfTheTower said. “I realize I probably will not have much of a chance, but I have set my goal for the season to win the conference and qualify for the season-ending tournament. If I get there with UCF, then who knows?”

Most of the coaches in the MAC had other preferences as far as teams to roll with. But now many of them are warming up to the idea of matching up low-ranked teams against each other.

“I got stuck with them,” Davon904 said of his Ball State Cardinals. “Most of my team picks were Big Ten schools. … Now I am focused on winning the MAC with Ball State.”

Dward71 had the Bowling Green Falcons as a secondary choice, because he’s a big fan of the Atlanta Falcons. Hey, it works for him.

“After being assigned to this team, I am glad I got it,” Dward71 said. “Overall, I’m stoked to have a MAC team.”

CKSooner will have the top-rated player in the MAC at his disposal in defensive end Jason Babin, a 95 OVR stud. The league features two great quarterbacks in Bowling Green’s Josh Harris (92 OVR) and Miami of Ohio’s Ben Roethlisberger (90 OVR). Any team in the NCAA would love to have Northern Illinois’ Michael Turner lugging the rock for them, as he boasts a 93 OVR rating.

The other coaches in the MAC are Sipe1981 with Akron, MMJabbar with Buffalo, The_Linebacker with Central Michigan, TheTallMan with Eastern Michigan, my5nakeeye5 with Kent State, Coolchip with Miami and MMEricBundy with Ohio.