A week after declaring Bowling Green and Toledo the best teams in Ohio, it would seem only fit to declare that the best quarterbacks in the Mid-American Conference to be BG’s Omar Jacobs and UT’s Bruce Gradkowski.

Both quarterbacks have taken different roads to their successful seasons.

Gradkowski, a 6-2, 210 pound junior is coming off an impressive 2003 campaign that saw him complete 71 percent of his passes while throwing for 3,238 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Coming into the 2004 season, he was viewed by many as the top quarterback in the Mid-American Conference.

Jacobs, on the other hand, had to wait out his 2003 season sitting behind Josh Harris, one of the finest players in BG history.

Jacobs made the best of his chances late in blowouts last year, completing 19-of-28 passes for 345 yards and four touchdowns.

Coming into this season, Jacobs was a question mark on a veteran BG offense.

But regardless of the paths these two have taken, they have ended up in the same place.

Gradkowski has compiled huge numbers this season, completing nearly 75 percent of his passes for 2,386 yards and 19 touchdowns.

He has thrown two interceptions this season, but they came in their second game in a loss to Kansas. In a normal season, he may as well make room in his trophy case for a MAC player of the year trophy.

Unfortunately for Gradkowski, the question mark at the BG quarterback position has been answered in a big way by Jacobs. He has not only stepped in to the role of quarterback, he may rewrite the books on playing the position in Bowling Green.

Jacobs is having one of the best seasons ever for a BG quarterback.

After a 41-16 win over Ohio saw Jacobs throw for a career-high 389 yards, his numbers are every bit as impressive as his Toledo counterpart’s numbers.

Jacobs doesn’t quite have the completion percentage Gradkowski boast, but you won’t see BG coach Gregg Brandon complain about his quarterback’s nearly-70 percent completion percentage.

On top of being precise on his passes, he knows how to pick up yards and has 2,200 of them through the air this season to go with 20 touchdowns a pair of interceptions.

Both quarterbacks play careful football, rarely turning the ball over, while making big plays look like something they were destined to do.

Both quarterbacks can score on the run. Jacobs has four rushing touchdowns this season, while Gradkowski has stretched his legs out for five scores on the run.

And both have made their marks on the national level. Gradkowski is sixth in the nation in quarterback rating (174.6) and fourth in yards (313.0) and points responsible for (18.8). Jacobs is sitting in the same boat. He is seventh in rating (164.5), second in yards (345.3) and first in points responsible for (20.6).

At this point, it is really difficult to find any chinks in these two players’ armor. Both have put up scary numbers this season and both are making their teams much better. This race is really to close to call at this point.

Again, if only their two teams played each other sometime this season …