Sticks and stones may break my bones but linebackers will never hurt me.
Readers of my site know I have a soft spot for mid-major conferences and it goes double for the Mid-American Conference as I went to Ball State. So it’s pretty cool when the MAC tries to advertise itself or rebrand the schools in the league.
That’s pretty much the goal of the ad developed by 160over90. First, lets take a look at how the MAC tried to portray itself in the past. Most little commercials for the conference have tried to focus on sportsmanship pr unspecified traditions. Just like this ad for example.
Yep, nothing says #MACtion like a breakfast diner. Still, it’s a lot better than this throwback gem from 1998. Just hit it.
Now that you have a baseline you can see why the MAC could use some help here. Check out the finished result.
The ad taps into the Midwest angst and feeling of invisibility giving it an edge. MAC fans are used to being the underdog and that will probably never change. We kind of like it that way. The site explains the perceptions a little further.
While this campaign emphasizes the MAC does not need spotlight, it’s obvious some spotlight will help. MAC football has generally struggled in the attendance category, especially in November when schools play games during the week in frigid temperatures. Fan passion varies from school to school as Northern Illinois and Western Michigan have passionate bases. Eastern Michigan not so much.
MACtion may speak louder than words but people have to see the MACtion first. Anything that can assist with being seen is a plus but the only success on the field will ultimately change perceptions. And we all know the latter is the hard part.
I hope you enjoyed the appetizer of the ESPYS because it’s time to recognize the more important stuff. The social media masters in our NCAA bubble.
Last year, my post was a big hit and I went all out this time. No I didn’t see everything on Twitter and Facebook and if I did I would be a synthetic on Humans. Trust me, I saw enough, but feel free to let me know if there was something you think I should have recognized. Now let’s take a look at these manufactured awards.
Best way to embarrass your players: Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt had a great spring sports season with baseball and tennis, so with all the excitement can you blame the track team for taking a nap to recharge? Apparently, their own teammate could not. Anchor down means staying on the internet forever.
Worst use of a statistic: UConn Football
I get it UConn football, you are constantly trying to get your team out of the shadows of the best basketball programs in the country. The countdowns though are coming across as desperate.
That’s right, we are counting down to play a FCS team! Not Rutgers, not Boston College, not even Temple but FCS Villanova. Get your tickets now!
Even worse was the punting statistic. In a 12-game season 66 punts is 5.5 punts a game. That’s a problem as UConn gave up the third highest points in American Athletic Conference play last season. Roughly 30 points per contest. Don’t brag about forcing punts when you are being scored on every other possession.
Best use of democracy: Georgia Tech
Who knew the Yellow Jackets would go to the public for fashion advice?
YOU PICK IT, WE WEAR IT! Which jersey should we wear for Tuesday night’s HOME game versus Kennesaw State? https://t.co/Ie20bubpjc
Best presentation of starting lineup: Missouri
There were plenty of great designs out there for starting lineups in basketball but I like what Missouri did here with the black and white contrast. Now that’s some good layering in the photo edit.
Best soccer starting lineup: East Tennessee State
While I liked what Missouri did for basketball I have to give ETSU credit for their soccer efforts. I gotta have more tactical lineups like these.
Most insecure: North Dakota State
I seriously don’t know what I did. I was a big fan of the Bison winning numerous FCS titles and getting on College Gameday too. This hurts NDSU.
No longer on the Christmas card list.
Best prognostication: Georgia State
In what ended up being the most entertaining game of the NCAA Tournament, the Panthers knew that an upset was in order thanks to an official box score. Sorry Baylor.
Best at making announcements: Northern Illinois
NIU is developing a tradition of making a big deal about future football games. And I have to say #SchedulePalooza is pretty cool. The Huskies drop hints making fans work a digital scavenger hunt to determine the teams NIU will play in a few years.
Worst logo placement: Siena
You may accuse me of having my mind in the gutter but a woman’s waistline should never be used for branding. Or a man’s for that matter. Siena is a great follow but this post was not one of the best.
Best costume by a media member: Shae Peppler
Going back to a Miami school with Shae Peppler of Campus Insiders somehow pulling off an Al Golden for Halloween. Didn’t know his tie was so iconic.
Best female media personality to follow: Nicole Auerbach
Auerbach is one of the few who covers college basketball and football equally. She is also one of the few women to be on television as a college football expert for the Big Ten Network. Plus she retweeted me last year. So all the power to her.
60 of Duke’s 68 points were scored by its freshmen.
Best social media rivalry: MAC vs. the Sun Belt
A great way to have the other bowl games be more impactful is to have the conferences duke it out Twitter. Well done MAC and Sun Belt. Well done.
Best tweet: Jacksonville State
Now this photo demonstrates what college sports should be all about. Playing for your school, having fun and getting that degree. You can stop advertising NCAA. We have found your marketing tool.
Best team selfies: Niagra Women’s Basketball
Have you ever been stuck on the interstate for 24 hours because of a snowstorm? No? Well here is what it looks like.
Best video series: American Athletic Conference
American Rising hosted by Hali Oughton became the most informative regular on my news feed this year. The AAC is still new and an odd mix of schools so this media effort helps get it organized for fans.
Best conference on Facebook: Mountain West
For Facebook, I want to see photo galleries. The Mountain West does a tremendous job of providing exactly that for most of its games. This Facebook banner is pretty good too.
Best conference to follow: Big West
The Big West celebrates every holiday, offers plenty of photos for every sport and how can you beat this?
Best video by a school: South Florida
A great way to promote a sport like volleyball. This promotion idea was cute and I hope that more videos like these will increase interest for the volleyball program at USF.
Best game show by a team: Florida State Sand Volleyball
On the other side of the state, FSU tried some video ideas of its own with a game show theme. I’m all for getting sand volleyball more attention even in cheesy ways like this, but I don’t think you need two parts here. Still, the effort is to be applauded.
Best school to follow on social media No. 5: Georgia Southern
Now to the top five schools to follow on Twitter. The Eagles made some nice info graphics for their teams this year. Here is a look at a soccer example.
Best school to follow on social media No. 4: Western Kentucky
WKU promoted their sports equally with photo shoots and other promotional graphics. The Hilltoppers had fun too with this color coordinated seating chart.
Best school to follow on social media No. 3: Oregon State
No school made better use of its color scheme on social media than the orange and black of Oregon State. Their posts were hard to miss.
Best school to follow on social media No. 2: Colorado State
Colorado State did an excellent job using photography. It always seemed to grab my attention with the bold colors the Rams would use.
Best school to follow on social media No. 1: Kansas State
The best combination of game updates, photography, promotions, statistics and design has to be Kansas State. The Wildcats were active promoting every game from every team and every result. I feel like I’m in the know about K-State despite living a few states away.
CATS WIN! The Cats defeat Youngstown State 3-1. Your #KStateVB team will face Baylor on Sat., September 27th at 7pm. http://t.co/WYzxPkMXfu
Soft scheduling is a bit of an epidemic in the second week of the season. Only two games are between Top 25 teams and eight of the Top 25 scheduled a FCS school. Here is a look at some of the games that can put a member of the autonomous five in jeopardy.
Eastern Washington at Washington
Washington dropped out of the Top 25 despite defeating Hawaii last week 17-16. That’s how vulnerable the Huskies looked against a 1-11 team and in comes the No. 2 FCS school in country this Saturday. Eastern Washington posted 625 yards of offense in its win over PAC 12 Oregon State last season and that was second highest total OSU allowed all year. Washington will have to have a solid performance to avoid the upset. I don’t think it will as the FCS will get its third win on the season against a FBS school. Hawaii outgained Washington last week and that is a giant red flag.
Oregon State at Hawaii
To the school that nearly defeated Washington as Hawaii gets another crack at a PAC 12 team this week at home. The Rainbow Warriors are better than last season’s 1-11 team and look for them to come out wanting to prove it. FCS Portland State actually had a 14-13 lead at the half last week against Oregon State before the Beavers pulled away in the second half for a 29-14 win. I’ll pick Hawaii since I don’t think Oregon State is stronger than Washington. Plus, this pregame Hawaiian chant is just too cool.
Missouri at Toledo
A MAC frontrunner hosting a SEC team that’s in for a bit of a regression year. Now we’re talking. Toledo pulled away from a very good FCS team in New Hampshire Saturday and has an experienced team. The Tigers defeated the Rockets last year 38-23 but it was only 24-23 in the third quarter. Toledo is going throw everything into this game and that’s why I’m picking them.
Western Kentucky at Illinois
This is a slam dunk, Illinois nearly lost to FCS Youngstown State last week. Now comes CUSA Western Kentucky, who trashed the defending MAC champion Bowling Green State 59-31. The Hilltoppers scored over 30 points per game last season and the Fighting Illini could only do 28 against a FCS squad. Not good. I’m taking WKU.
Central Michigan at Purdue
Purdue is coming off a 1-11 year and showed little improvement against Western Michigan last Saturday who was also 1-11. While the Boilers won 43-34 they are going up against a stronger MAC school in the Chippewas this week. I knew Central would struggle against a quality FCS team in Chattanooga but its defense held a good offense to just 16 points. Honestly, I think Chattanooga’s offense is better than the Purdue squad Central Michigan will face. Purdue has to prove to it can beat an average team before I feel comfortable picking them.
Northern Illinois at Northwestern
This one is also obvious as Northern Illinois has a history of devouring weak Big Ten teams. It beat Iowa and pummeled Purdue 55-24 last season and Northwestern is a sitting duck. The Wildcats have lost eight of their last nine games so it’s insane to see them as a favorite against anyone. My main concern is that NIU winning is not really an upset. Maybe the Huskies will take this game lightly while the Wildcats will be in redemption mode? Until Northwestern shows some life I have to go with NIU.
NC State will always be on upset alert when it plays a team from the group of five. CUSA Old Dominion hung in there against Pittsburgh last season in a 35-24 and returns most its team. NC State barely survived Georgia Southern of the Sun Belt last week 24-23 and lost its last eight games of 2013. This is a coin flip and always go with the underdog in that case. Look for ODU to get a big win over an ACC school.
Other upset alert games: Texas Tech at UTEP, Stony Brook at Connecticut, Alcorn State at Southern Miss, Washington State at Nevada
I did something Saturday that I probably shouldn’t have. I returned to my alma-mater, Ball State, to watch a basketball game.
That may not sound like much of a regret but it is when your basketball program is finding every way it can to hinder itself. Just like Michael Bay when he makes a Transformers movie.
Ball State’s problem is more than the 4-15 record of its mens basketball team. It’s more than the fact the football team lays an egg in seemingly every big game. It’s more than the poor finances of the Olympic sports like field hockey, swimming, volleyball and tennis. It’s the fact the athletic department has no identity.
This is a common problem for schools in the MAC, Sun-Belt, Conference USA and Mountain West. They can’t figure who they are.
My sports editor at the Ball State Daily News explained it perfectly to me when I covered the school’s mens volleyball team. Mid-majors like Ball State can’t focus on every sport. They simply don’t have the resources. It leaves schools in Ball State’s situation a tough to choice to make.
Focus on football at the expense at every other sport you have. Count on the football team to increase boosters and hope the other sports can do more with less.
Just view football as another sport and pool more resources to others. Don’t worry if the football team struggles because other programs should emerge to satisfy fans and boosters.
There are good examples for each here right in the Mid-American Conference. Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, and Central Michigan take option No. 1. Football is what drives them as all three have predominantly been among the conference elite in that sport. TCU, when it was in the Mountain West, had a football focus allowing it to get promoted to the Big 12. The same can be said for Marshall in the 90s and early 2000s when it was in the MAC.
Option No. 2 has worked MAC examples Kent State, Akron, and Miami University. Kent State has been a force in basketball and its baseball team has crashed the party at the College World Series. Akron has had great success in basketball and men’s soccer. Miami can even fund a hockey team that reached the Frozen Four.
This is where I come back to Ball State. In the 1990s the school had an identity. Rick Majerus had the basketball team running as a MAC powerhouse. The mens volleyball team was competing for national championships, and is still the only sport the school has with any hope of achieving a national ranking on a yearly basis.
Then the school had an athletic director change and the focus shifted to football. Having an awful football team was no longer an option. For a time it seemed to work as Coach Brady Hoke was a genius, leading the Cardinals to an undefeated regular season in 2008. Then Ball State struggled to find a replacement as bigger schools stole Hoke and he is now at Michigan.
While the football team has improved, the lack of local recruits will always hold the program back. Coach Pete Lembo has to go into other states far from Indiana to sell the school. The basketball and volleyball teams do not have that problem. Recruits can be found just a short drive away and the facilities in those sports are excellent for a mid-major. Ball State could have been as good as Butler in basketball or as good as UCLA in mens volleyball. It can still happen. This should be its identity. But in football the best it can hope for is to win the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
That is why it was so sad watching the basketball team play Northern Illinois at home Saturday. The roster is composed of seniors who were too old to transfer for just one year, and freshmen who would have needed to redshirt if they went anywhere else. Even against NIU, a school that focuses on football, Ball State couldn’t get it done.
The Cardinals broke out to 30-15 lead late in the first half only to let Huskies cut it to 30-22 at halftime. Ball State’s starters got into foul trouble and Northern hit a huge three to force overtime. The result was a 67-65 NIU win. Ball State’s talent scarcity showed as it went a horrendous 14-28 from the line. Hitting just one more free throw in regulation would have won the game.
Ball State had blown a game to a conference rival with a losing record at home. To make it worse, no one cared. The fans have bought into the notion that Ball State is a football school because of a few winning seasons, so why does it matter if the other sports struggle?
Yeah, we are North Dakota State and … we are completely overlooked.
The college football bowl season (like it or hate it) provides copious amounts of sports television opportunities during the holidays. Out of the 35 games played, 34 really don’t matter in terms of the national championship. Because of this, the other 34 games are slugging it out for media attention that just is not there. Here are some things that were overlooked.
11. Inflating attendance numbers
UNLV and North Texas were playing on New Year’s Day in the Heart of Dallas Bowl and people appeared to not get the memo. The game was on ESPNU so even the Worldwide Leader thought little of a Conference USA/Mountain West duel. Can’t blame ESPN as bigger bowl games were going on.
Only 38,380 showed up despite the contest being a virtual home game for North Texas. That didn’t keep North Texas from boasting about it.
Great crowd? Maybe for a Conference USA school but for a New Year’s Day bowl game that’s a sad turnout. I hope this bowl changes its date for the future years.
10. UNLV’s useless stat
UNLV also made a silly tweet during the game. With the scored tied at half 7-7 the Rebels went deep into the stat book and came out with this gem.
#UNLV is 1-0 this season when tied at halftime. — UNLV Athletics (@UNLVAthletics) January 1, 2014
Talk about small sample size. One game makes it stat worthy? Sounds like the athletic department was bored and was trying to get out as many statistics as possible. Needless to say, UNLV was outscored 29-7 in the second half for a 36-14 defeat.
9. Team photos
Part of the bowl preparation for each team is tacking new team photos. Few tend to be noteworthy or even eye appealing, but this one from Iowa at the Outback Bowl is. How many times do you see a football team by a pirate ship?
Part of the problem of being a mid-major conference is educating fans who you are. Most Americans can’t name three Conference USA schools so what does the conference do to promote its bowl games? Make a graphic a kindergartner can understand and post it as the cover photo on your Facebook page.
To passionate football fans this somewhat makes sense. To non football fans it looks like Captain Jack Sparrow is going deep.
Not sure if this is genius or incredible infantile. Probably both. Nice marketing? Maybe? Conference USA would go a respectable 3-3 in bowl season.
7. People freaking out on the SEC
A few bowl games did receive attention especially the Sugar Bowl involving SEC powerhouse Alabama. With Alabama’s defeat to Oklahoma, people on social media began unleashing jabs at the “overrated” SEC. The stats fail to back that claim up. Prior to the championship game, the SEC has gone an impressive 7-2 in bowls. Compare that to the Big 10, (2-5) and you’ll see there is nothing overrated about the best conference in college football.
6. ESPN vs. Fox
Moving to more of a media debate, Friday night saw Fox going head to head with ESPN as it aired the Cotton Bowl against the Orange Bowl. It was really the first time where the whole Fox/ESPN rivalry became more than a joke. Following the game, Sports Center did everything it could to bury the Cotton Bowl behind the Orange. I would love to see Fox broadcast more of these bowl games next year and make ESPN work for it. ESPN has been upsetting the past few years not using ABC at all. They are the same Disney company but only one bowl game aired on ABC. Network television is still carries more weight than cable and shame on Disney for not using ABC.
5. New Commercials
The Super Bowl is the big event for advertisers, but bowl season has some firepower too. Sadly, there was more bad than good.
The ugly: Any commercial for AT&T and Chevy trucks.
The bad: Rally’s featuring Terrell Owens and the infinite promos for ABC’s new show “Killer Women.”
The Good: Lay’s potato chips featuring Mr. Potato Head. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad spot with a Mr. Potato Head endorsement. I also saw this Interstate Batteries spot for the first time and it made me chuckle.
4. Buffalo loves spuds
Bowl games are suppose to be a rewarding experience to the players for a winning season. The exception being the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. That’s just pure torture. When you see the program you can tell what you’re in for.
Buffalo would go on to lose to San Diego State 49-24. Not that anyone cared.
3. Non BCS spoilers flop
Northern Illinois and Fresno State were undefeated deep into the regular season and had BCS hopes. Late losses prevented that dream for both teams but they could make up for it in the bowl game. Not so much. Northern Illinois was blasted by Utah State and Fresno State was non competitive against USC. It was a bad reflection on the rest of the Non Automatic Qualifiers.
2. Awkward press conferences
Losing a bowl game stinks, but rubbing salt in the wound would be this scene at the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Bowling Green had a tough loss to Pittsburgh yet had to stare at the trophy it lost in the press conference. Just brutal.
These guys are representing BGSU in a post game press conference for the final time. Thank you all for everything! pic.twitter.com/KHVfXqwKpf
Those faces are common for the loser of a bowl game and they tell you two things.
1. “This blows”
2. These “meaningless” bowl games matter.
1. North Dakota State repeats as FBS Champs for the third straight year.
No. 1 is not about a bowl, it’s about a national title. The Bison dominated everyone in the FCS playoffs including Towson in the title game. North Dakota State’s three-peat is absolutely incredible. The program shows the value of competing in the FCS level as opposed to breaking the bank in the FBS.
Even more shocking is its coach Craig Bohl, after his third FCS crown he is finally leaving for a FBS job. The prestigious job of … Wyoming? The Wyoming Cowboys?
Where are all the BCS schools looking for quality coaches? Bohl is everything a booster or athletic director should want in a coach. A consistent winner. As high profile jobs like Texas and USC come off the board, I can’t help but wonder how broken the coaching carousel is. Saying FCS coaches should spend time at a lower level FBS schools before going to the big boys is a fallacy. North Dakota State defeated Kansas State this season. A Kansas State team that pummeled Michigan in it’s bowl game. He has built a team that can compete against anyone with only a fraction of the budget FBS juggernauts have.
Look for Bohl to build Wyoming into the new powerhouse of the Mountain West Conference soon. His coaching skills will not be overlooked for long.
Can you tell which team on the scoreboard is from the Big Ten and which one is from the MAC? For Purdue fans that question must kill them.
Northern Illinois was bashed by the national media last year for making it to a BCS bowl. This year, the 4-0 Huskies have taken down two Big Ten Conference schools, (Iowa and Purdue) the first Mid-American Conference team to do that in one season. Northern Illinois didn’t just beat Purdue, it bombed Purdue back into the stone age 55-24. Somehow the Boilermakers outgained the Huskies in total yards 524-402, but five turnovers killed any chance Purdue had.
The win was not an upset for NIU but forcing Purdue to surrender the most points ever at Ross-Ade Stadium sure was. Purdue plays Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Penn State on a regular basis yet those schools scored less at Purdue than a MAC team. Anyone still think Northern Illinois had no business in the Orange Bowl last year?
Uniform trouble
Virginia Tech is a football program with a proud tradition. Wearing strange uniforms is for teams that have no tradition and are desperate enough to attract fans using gimmicks. So when I see a proud football program like Virginia Tech wear something like this…
Mr. Virginia Tech, tear down this wall!
It’s just unnecessary. Apparently, stone means something to those in Blacksburg, VA but to the rest of the nation it’s only a gray blob on television.
Scoreboard watching
Some of the scores that caught my eye this week…
Another MAC school in Buffalo went bonkers on Connecticut 41-12. Buffalo needed five overtimes to squeak past FCS Stony Brook yet it could humiliate a BCS school at home. UConn dropped to 0-4 and fired its coach Paul Pasqualoni Monday. This coming one week after UConn nearly pulled off the upset over Michigan the previous week. I’m against firing coaches in September as it destroys any meaning the other two-thirds of the season can have. Looking at you USC Trojans.
East Carolina didn’t just beat North Carolina Saturday it destroyed UNC’s dignity. The Pirates went on the road and came out with a 55-31 win. It was 28-10 at halftime! Just think about this. High school football players in that state dream about playing for their state school in the ACC. Not the Conference USA school that has a cardinal direction in its name. Yet somehow East Carolina has taken in more talent than its alpha dog brother in Chapel Hill. I don’t think the Pirates look up to the Tar Heels anymore.
Tennessee nearly lost to South Alabama 31-24. People in Southeastern Conference country have a stroke when one of their own drops a game a Sun Belt team, the motel of college football. Losing to South Alabama would have been even worse as the Jaguars have only existed for five seasons now. The Volunteers better count their blessings for dodging this disaster.
Western Kentucky held down Navy winning 19-7 in Bowling Green. This is a Navy team that popped Indiana of the Big Ten for 41 points. Yet Western Kentucky’s defense held Navy’s tricky option attack to just a touchdown. I don’t like their head coach Bobby Petrino for his well documented history (Atlanta Falcons and Arkansas) but he and the Hilltoppers (3-2) are getting things done.
Boise State hung up 60 points in its 60-7 win over Southern Mississippi. This came after losing at Fresno State the week before. I think it’s safe to say the Broncos were in need of venting their frustration.
I was wrong
Last week I labeled West Virginia as a bear market team after it lost to Maryland 37-0. Just when I buried the Mountaineers, they pulled of a major upset at home against the No. 11 Cowboys of Oklahoma State. I didn’t see the 30-21 win coming at all. My apologies Mountaineer fans. As for Oklahoma State… what happened?
Working overtime
FCS Jacksonville State has played in three straight contests that went into overtime against three different levels of competition. On September 14, JSU escaped humiliation defeating division II North Alabama 24-21 in OT. Then the Gamecocks restored pride to the program taking down the worst team in FBS, the Georgia State Panthers, 32-26 in overtime again. The streak ended for Jacksonville State Saturday losing to FCS Murray State 35-34 as the Racers converted on a gutsy two-point conversion call in overtime. One thing for sure, JSU season ticket holders are getting their money’s worth with all the free football. For those wondering, Jacksonville State is located in Alabama, not Jacksonville, Florida. The latter is probably never going to see a quality NFL team play there again. Well, not unless you count the visiting team.
Twitter fun
Texas State went all out in making a big deal about their home game against Wyoming. Check out their Twitter profile picture simply saying “Beat Wyoming.” Not sure that’s a big enough game to change your profile picture as it makes it look like every Saturday is life or death. Playing in the Sun Belt conference makes that a problem. Texas State made its Twitter account proud taking down Wyoming 42-21 in a game delayed by lighting. That’s Mother Nature telling Texas State “Tweet this!”
The most depressing tweet goes to Eastern Kentucky, whose program was pasted by Eastern Illinois Saturday 42-7. I previously talked about how good EIU’s quarterback is as Jimmy Garoppolo shredded another defense for over 300 yards passing. Eastern Kentucky’s Twitter seemed to throw in the towel like its team Saturday.
FB: Unfortunately, @EKUFootball turns it over again and it’s costly. EIU returns a fumble 70 yards for a score. It’s 35-0 EIU.
Chances are you don’t have to tweet this Eastern Kentucky. Do what the other bad football schools do and tweet about women’s volleyball. You can thank me later.
NC2A Nerd 