Three weeks into the football season is not too early to see who may be the contenders in the MAC.
Northern Illinois figures to be a threat in the Mid-American Conference title chase as long as multi-dimensional QB Chandler Harnish stays healthy, says Elton Alexander.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Three weeks into the football season -- one fourth of the way through -- it is not too early to see who may be the contenders and the pretenders in the Mid-American Conference.
On the plus side, Temple (3-0, 1-0), Central Michigan (2-1, 1-1), Toledo (2-1, 2-0) and Northern Illinois (1-2, 0-0) have lived up to expectations. Miami (2-1, 1-0) and Bowling Green (1-2, 0-0) have been a nice surprise.
The most balanced team seems to be Central Michigan, with Northern Illinois second as long as QB Chandler Harnish stays healthy. To date, Harnish has rushed for 295 yards and averaged 9.2 ypc and has also passed for 354 yards with 1 TD and l INT.
Around the MAC: BG still has issues with its defense (465.7 ypg), but few teams in the MAC appear to have the experienced quarterbacks, or bruising tailbacks, to exploit it. ... CMU, despite its early road loss to Temple, looks to be the class of the league as the Chippewas rank No. 1 in both offense (430.7 yards) and defense (250.7). ... Toledo is a bit of an enigma as the Rockets have one of the MAC's worst defenses (372.3 ypg allowed) and the worst offense (221.0 ypg), yet have still posted a winning slate and are undefeated in league play.
Temple has not always looked pretty, but undefeated is undefeated. With TB Bernard Pierce (100.3 ypg, 3 TD, 5.4 ypc) showing signs of life, the Owls' big challenge is not to beat themselves. ... Miami's defense (280.0 yards per game) has been stellar from the opening kickoff and the offense has at least been opportunistic. With the exception of four interceptions in the opener, the RedHawks have had just one turnover, but have recovered five fumbles and picked off five interceptions to be plus-5 in the turnover game.
Still to be decided: Give Ohio University (1-2, 0-1), Kent State (1-2, 0-0), Western Michigan (1-2, 0-1) and Buffalo (1-2, 0-0) one more game to more clearly define their direction for this season. Right now, none look to end the season with a bowl-worthy (7-5) record. Defending East champion OU is uncertain at the quarterback spot where two players (Boo Jackson and Phil Bates) have split time.
Buffalo has yet to put together a consistent four quarters. ... WMU (10 turnovers in three games/75.7 ypg rushing) shows its youth offensively. ... Kent State's offense continues to be a drop in the bucket.
KSU's offense was expected to be potent behind a veteran stable of bantam backs. But Kent is averaging just 66.3 yards running. With quarterback Spencer Keith (5 interceptions, 4 TDs) one more bad game away from a definitive sophomore slump, the Flashes are on the threshold of a "must-win" game.