Posts Tagged ‘Buffalo’
A.P.R. Scores Viewed at 2014-15 Level
By Paul Myerberg // Jun 21, 2012
The latest Academic Progress Rates, released yesterday by the N.C.A.A., uses the baseline of a four-year score of 900 for postseason eligibility. By that standard, all 120 F.B.S. programs – not yet 124 when this data was compiled – earn a passing grade.
But beginning with the 2014-15 academic year, the baseline to avoid penalties will increase to 930, putting a few F.B.S. programs in danger of suffering one or more of several potential penalties: a postseason ban, a loss of scholarships or a loss of practice time, for example.
According to the N.C.A.A., an A.P.R. score of 930 equates to a graduation rate of roughly 50 percent. While the current rate of 900 remains in place for the next two years, the increased standard has the potential to impact a handful of B.C.S. and non-B.C.S. conference programs.
Tags: Academic Progress Rates, Boise State, Buffalo, Houston, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, N.C.A.A. rulebook, New Mexico State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, UTEP
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Comparing Lembo to MAC’s Recent Past
By Paul Myerberg // May 10, 2012
A brief history of the MAC. As it pertains to quick turnarounds, to be more specific. Pete Lembo went 6-6 in his first season at Ball State, matching the Cardinals’ combined win total over the previous two years — a period otherwise known as the Stan Parrish era. If this sort of development continues, it stands to reason that Ball State will at least make a strong challenge for the MAC West title in 2012. But rarely does this sort of progression occur in the MAC; instead, it often takes at least two full seasons before a once-moribund program can surpass the rest of the pack.
Tags: Al Golden, Brady Hoke, Brian Kelly, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Frank Solich, Jerry Kill, MAC, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Pete Lembo, Temple
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No. 110: Buffalo
By Paul Myerberg // May 2, 2012
It’s not necessary to go into great detail explaining how Buffalo won the MAC title back in 2008, because the answer is simple: the Bulls won because they had a multiple-year starting quarterback in Drew Willy, a senior; the MAC’s best running back in James Starks; the MAC’s best receiver in Naaman Roosevelt; one of the most opportunistic defenses in all of college football; and the ability to win games in the fourth quarter. The first four qualities are simple, at least, if difficult to replicate – if not impossible for Buffalo to replicate on an annual basis. The final positive, the ability to stay calm and cool in the eye of the storm, has everything to do with confidence: Turner Gill was somehow able to convince one of the nation’s weakest programs that it was supposed to beat teams it had failed to beat with any consistency since joining the MAC in 1999. This achievement is Gill’s lasting legacy with the Bulls.
Tags: Alex Davis, Alex Neutz, Alex Zordich, Branden Oliver, Buffalo, Colby Way, Cortney Lester, Fred Lee, Gokhan Ozkan, Jaleel Verseer, Jeff Quinn, Jerry Davis, Joe Licata, Khalil Mack, Lou Tepper, MAC, Najja Johnson, Steven Means
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Mega Millions-Level National Title Odds
By Paul Myerberg // Apr 4, 2012
As you may have heard, the odds of pulling the winning ticket in a Mega Millions jackpot is 175,000,000 to 1. You are far, far more likely to win a gold medal at this summer’s Olympics than you were of picking six correct numbers last Friday. Not that the odds stopped me from buying a $5 ticket at my local convenience store, or prevented another risk-taker – as I witnessed while waiting in line – from stepping up to the teller and plopping down five crisp $100 bills. Do you have any idea how long it takes to print out 500 lottery tickets? To put the Mega Million odds in football perspectives, let’s consider one scenario: What odds would you give Hawaii to win every game for the next decade?
Tags: Akron, Army, Boston College, Buffalo, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Hawaii, Indiana, Memphis, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon State, South Florida, Texas-San Antonio, U.C.L.A., U.N.L.V.
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At Long Last, the MAC’s 2012 Schedule
By Paul Myerberg // Mar 30, 2012
@PeteThamelNYT @PreSnapRead Mid-week MAC is vital to me avoiding spending weeknights with my family. A lot riding on this.
PaulPabst
The MAC would have released its conference schedule sooner — a month or so ago, in fact — had it not been for Temple, which left for the Big East on March 7. If you remember from earlier this month, the move was fairly devastating to the MAC, which was planning on entering the fall with 14 teams, seven in each division. Temple’s bolt returns the MAC to its customary 13-team layout, with Massachusetts the new face, but the move had another, largely untouched ramification: Bowling Green was pegged to be part of the MAC West with the addition of the Minutemen, but the Falcons will instead remain part of the East. That’s good news for Bowling Green.
Tags: Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, MAC, Massachusetts, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Temple, Toledo, Western Michigan
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MAC the Best QB League in the F.B.S.?
By Paul Myerberg // Feb 6, 2012
More often than not, former B.C.S. conference quarterbacks win Super Bowls. Mississippi won its second in five years last night; Michigan lost its second in five years. California took home the hardware last February. It was Purdue lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy at Tennessee’s expense in 2010. It’s a new era, but the story remains the same. Alabama quarterbacks won the first three Super Bowls – Bart Starr and Joe Namath – followed by Purdue and Louisville; a former Boilermaker, either Len Dawson or Bob Griese, won three rings over a five-year span from 1970-74. Over the last decade, only one non-B.CS. conference has put a Super Bowl-winning quarterback into the N.F.L.: the MAC, Ben Roethlisberger, twice.
Tags: Alex Carder, Alex Gillett, Alex Zordich, Austin Dantin, Buffalo, Chris Coyer, Jordan Lynch, Keith Wenning, Kellen Pagel, MAC, Matt Schilz, Northern Illinois, Ryan Radcliff, Spencer Keith, Terrance Owens, Tyler Tettleton, Zac Dysert
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Forecasting the MAC in 2011
By Paul Myerberg // Jul 12, 2011
Finding the MAC favorite in August is never an issue: Temple played this role to perfection last fall, but ended the year third in its own division and home for bowl play. Projecting the end-of-year MAC champion has always been far more difficult, perhaps more so in this conference than in any other league in the country. A.C.C.? It may not be Virginia Tech every year, but taking the Hokies in August is typically a pretty safe bet. Big 12? Easy: Texas or Oklahoma. WAC? Well, Boise State has run that show for years; the conference opens up a bit more beginning in 2011. Even the Sun Belt, the one conference that the MAC can trump in terms of top-to-bottom talent and coaching, has Troy as the clear top dog followed by a revolving cast of would-be contenders.
Tags: Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Dan Enos, Eastern Michigan, Eric Page, Kent State, MAC, Miami (Ohio), Noah Keller, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Pete Lembo, Temple, Tim Beckman, Toledo, Western Michigan
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The Bottom 10′s Common Traits
By Paul Myerberg // May 12, 2011
It’s not a good place to be, not that it means anything to be thought of as one of the 10 worst teams in the country. Games are played on the field in September, not on paper in May, and as we saw just last season in the cases of Miami (Ohio) and Florida International, it’s possible for a non-B.C.S. conference program to rise from rock bottom to the penthouse in the span of a single season. By and large, however, teams that are down stay down, often for longer than just a year or two – Kent State has been down for decades, as has New Mexico State. So now that the bottom 10 are in the books, what can we say these specific teams have in common?
Tags: Akron, Bob Toledo, Bobby Hauck, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Dan Enos, Darrell Hazell, DeWayne Walker, Kent State, Larry Porter, Louisiana-Lafayette, Mark Hudspeth, Memphis, Mike Locksley, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Rob Ianello, Tulane, U.N.L.V.
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