Independent student content

BG Falcon Media

Independent student content

BG Falcon Media

Independent student content

BG Falcon Media

Support BG Falcon Media!
As part of BGSU's One Day fundraising effort, every dollar you contribute to Falcon Media will go directly to helping us continue to produce quality content. Every dollar helps. Donate here
The BG News
Follow us on social
BG24 Newscast
March 21, 2024

  • Visiting Author: Sheila Squillante
    Last week, the visiting author, Sheila Squillante, presented the art of creative non-fiction at BGSU. Last year, her memoir came out. From Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA, Squillante visited BGSU, last week. Previously, she has published collections on poetry, but most recently, her memoir, All Things Edible, Random and Odd  was published in 2023. “I […]
  • Petrofiction Review: Oil on Water
    Here’s my review of Oil on Water by Helon Habila – a petrofiction novel which won The Commonwealth Prize and Caine Prize. For context, petrofiction stems from petroleum and fiction. A specific text that focuses on petroleum culture in political economics and environmental impact. Although Habila’s novel begins with a journalist investigating a kidnapping, the […]
Spring Housing Guide

It may be time for BG to move on

Dead ends, for lack of a better word, suck.

There’s very few things in life that are more frustrating than reaching a dead end when you’re trying to find a friend’s apartment. MapQuest tells you to go left, but by the time the road ends, turning left is not an option. The only option available is to somehow find a way to turn around and head back the same way you came.

The frustrations are two-fold. Undeniably, it can be frustrating that you are not in the right area and have to literally backtrack your steps to figure out where you got lost. Who knows where you made a wrong turn? The possibilities are endless, but one thing is for certain ” MapQuest can’t help you figure out where to go; you’re on your own.

Perhaps even more nerve-wracking than not knowing where you are is the idea that you were so close to where you needed to be. In my personal experiences, MapQuest is the least accurate when I’m within half a dozen miles of where I need to be. I did everything else right, but when I got to the very end of the trip, I realize that figuring out the first part of the trip doesn’t help; I’m still lost. An hour of traveling doesn’t help when, at the end of the day, I’m still up a creek without a paddle.

Welcome, everyone, to the story of the Mid-American Conference” or, as I like to call it, college football’s proverbial dead end. Essentially, as a member of the MAC, your chances of making it to the National Championship Game is practically impossible, despite the success a member might obtain in a given year.

Some people might say that the MAC’s involvement with three different bowl games (the Motor City Bowl, the GMAC Bowl, and the newly-created International Bowl) exists as a championship game to the top contenders in the Mid-American Conference. But in all fairness, who remembers who wins these bowl games? It seems like there are hundreds of them, and in a given year, the Big Ten can send up to 64% of their conference to some sort of post-season game. So we win the Motor City Bowl, what does that even mean?

It’s difficult to prove that the Mid-American Conference is the real reason because teams like BG and the University of Toledo never have undefeated seasons. To say that BG would be barred from the NCAA championship game if they had an undefeated record is a theory. However, if teams like USC and Auburn didn’t make it to the championship game, what chance does BG have?

The problem is that the MAC groups together 12 mediocre teams and disables their programs from really developing. They’re not bred to defeat challenging teams. This is constantly proven when, in the first two weeks of school, the Big Ten teams wipe the floor with their MAC opponents. Penn State, for example, annihilated Akron, our current conference champions.

How about Ben Roethlisberger’s alma mater, Miami? They were almost shut out by a Northwestern team that went on to lose to Division I-AA’s New Hampshire. This isn’t to speak poorly of Akron or Miami, but it does help paint a picture that MAC teams seem to pose little threat to bigger schools.

If you’re a sports fan, chances are you know the many structural flaws of the Bowl Championship Series and the way national champions are chosen.

My solution is one that would selfishly assist Bowling Green State University while helping no one else in the long run: leave the MAC.

Right now, Bowling Green is still riding high on the successes of Josh Harris and Omar Jacobs. Before the rest of the world forgets about our glory days, perhaps it’d be in our best interest to ride the wave of their success into the Big East or the ACC. (Central Florida was in the Mid-American Conference, so don’t get hung up on geography.)

Instantly, we go from playing against Buffalo and directional Michigan teams to playing against Pittsburgh, Florida State or Virginia Tech. Even if we dwell in the basement of a given conference for a number of years, mere exposure will give us more exposure to national media outlets and attract money to the University. High school students will be able to say, “did you see that BGSU/Clemson game?” not just in the Midwest, but all around the country. Essentially, being in a conference where a national championship is feasible instantly puts us in a better situation then we’re in now from a publicity standpoint alone.

Easier said than done, right? Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m sure every lesser-conference, Division 1-A school and every Division 1-AA school wishes they could jump right out of their less-than-phenomenal football schedule and enter a world where Lee Corso knows the name of their mascot. Sadly, it’ll take a miracle (or an uncountable amount of money) for most schools to get the shot they probably really want.

Ultimately, we’ve got to get out of the MAC. Winning a bowl game at the end of the day means more money for the school, and for that I’m appreciative. However, the proverbial dead end that the MAC unfortunately creates doesn’t do much for any national championship dreams.

And by subjecting ourselves to the worst teams in Division 1-A football does very little to help move these proverbial road blocks out of our way.

Leave a Comment
Donate to BG Falcon Media
$825
$1500
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Bowling Green State University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to BG Falcon Media
$825
$1500
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All BG Falcon Media Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *