Can Western Michigan make a New Year's 6 Bowl?

Submitted by ThadMattasagoblin on

I think they have a good shot as long as Boise State loses somewhere and they finish 13-0. The only games I can see them losing are this weekend at Akron and Toledo on black friday.

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Stringer Bell

October 14th, 2016 at 12:40 AM ^

It'd be cool, though I think they'd get crushed in a NY6 bowl.  The MAC is just not nearly as good as the major G5 conferences, and 2 wins over Northwestern and Illinois doesn't prove that they can hang with the big boys.

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Michigan4Life

October 14th, 2016 at 6:12 AM ^

on the team in QB, Zach Terrell, and WR, Corey Davis.  Corey Davis is the best of the two and is a potential 1st round pick.  NFL scouts said he would've been the first WR taken in the 2016 draft had he declared for the draft. 

They do have some talent and PJ Fleck quietly has been a hot name among power 5 schools. He's getting a lot of interests from the schools inquiring about his availabilty after this season.

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wildbackdunesman

October 14th, 2016 at 10:31 AM ^

I think Fleck has done a great job, but WMU wasn't at the bottom of FBS before Fleck got there, they were a middle level MAC team.

In the five years prior to Fleck WMU went: 9-4, 5-7, 6-6, 7-6, 4-8.

With 3 straight best in the MAC recruiting classes Fleck made WMU go: 1-11, 8-5, 8-5, and thus far 6-0.

He is an elite recruiter and motivator.  I am not sure he is an elite Xs and Os guy though.

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TrueBlue2003

October 14th, 2016 at 1:40 PM ^

What I think sounds more like Hoke is the comment that he has a reputation as a good recruiter and not so much X's and O's guy. I have no idea if that's true, but if it is, that's what does sound like Hoke.  Plenty of guys make it that are that way, but lots of successful MAC coaches get promoted and can't cut it in P5.  Time will tell with Fleck. He'll get the opportunity, and he's young and energetic enough that I think he'd be a good bet.

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MikeMulligan

October 14th, 2016 at 1:41 PM ^

Its realtive, man. Its entirely comparable, both teams climbed their way up to the top of the conference while using the worst raw talent in the conference to start with. Whats not to get?

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jmblue

October 14th, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^

Stanford went 16-40 in the five years before Harbaugh, so 29-21 represents a huge step up even if we don't break it down year-by-year.  

As for Fleck, he's off to a great start this year but I'd want more data on him before I hired him at a high Power 5 school.

 

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TrueBlue2003

October 14th, 2016 at 1:52 PM ^

there are so many openings at high P5 schools this year (or likely to be) that I'm not sure someone won't take a chance on him.  If more established guys doing well at mid-level programs like Todd Graham, Mork D'antoni, Gary Patterson, Mike Leach, etc. don't take/aren't offered those top jobs, some of those schools will have to take chances.

One name that doesn't seem to come up, but who has done a phenomenal job with not much to work with is Kevin Wilson.  Wonder if he gets some calls this winter.

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Moonlight Graham

October 14th, 2016 at 11:10 AM ^

belong in a NY6 bowl. Going back to the BCS, teams like TCU and Utah earned their way into Power 5 conferences and Houston looks like they're about to. But when Northern Illinois and Central Florida went (even though UCF beat Baylor), it seemed like a stretch. If Houston moves up to the Big XII I think the NY6 auto-bid to a Group of 5 school is basically going to be the "Boise State slot." 

It seems like the AAC and Mountain West are on a level just below the Power 5 but the MAC slotted either even with C-USA, probably higher than the Sun Belt. Pulling in a school from those bottom 3 conferences will end up in a big mismatch. 

There is only one directional school in the Power 5 currently, and it should probably stay that way: Southern Cal. 

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TrueBlue2003

October 14th, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^

is not a directional school in the way you're thinking.  "Directional" schools like WMU, UCF, etc. are typically state schools that are a tier below the flagship "University of" and "State" schools in terms of public resources, admissions, etc.  They are typically a tier below because they are younger universities established as populations grew and demand for public education increased beyond what the initial flagship schools could provide, hence they're behind in terms of reputation, endowment, etc.

Southern California (that USC) is a very wealthy, highly regarded (at least, hightly ranked) private school that is directional in name only. It is the oldest private research university in California. Calling it a directional school is bit like calling UPenn a state school.  Even though it uses a naming convention typically reserved for state schools, it is obviously a very wealthy private Ive League school and not a state school.

And for the record, I am not at all a fan of USC.

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Maize in Cincy

October 14th, 2016 at 12:53 AM ^

There are always MAC teams that are in this situation.  They almost never make it through MACtion, lots of weird stuff happens when you start playing all those weeknight games.  Even if you get through that, the MAC championship has had a lot of upsets over the years.

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ILMichFan70

October 14th, 2016 at 1:20 AM ^

It would be very cool to see Western Michigan make it through the season undefeated and go to a NY6 bowl but MACtion is crazy as you said and so is the MAC championship. A few years ago NIU was undefeated and was looking to go to two straight BCS bowls but lost to Bowling Green in the MAC championship. Should be very interesting to see what happens. Western is an exciting team to watch.

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Ty Butterfield

October 14th, 2016 at 1:11 AM ^

I just wish they would have played Staee this season. Probably would have put up at least 40 points on them.

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rice4114

October 14th, 2016 at 1:46 AM ^

Byu almost lost to Toledo at home but whooped on our conference flag bearers lol. Wmu will be no easy out for any team save osu,clemson,michigan, washington, or louisville.



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xtramelanin

October 14th, 2016 at 5:28 AM ^

the golden flash will rise.  their new center is the son of one of my fav college buddies, a michigan football alum, too.   western beware...trap game coming on 11/8.  

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lhglrkwg

October 14th, 2016 at 5:59 AM ^

If they go undefeated then there's always a shot. They'll get destroyed by whomever they play though. The MAC is just...the MAC

It's cool that WMU beat NW and Illinois because that's hard for a MAC team to do, but WMU beat Northwestern 22-21 and Illinois 34-10. We'd beat those two by 50 or 60 each. We'd probably roll Western by 30 at minimum

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Perkis-Size Me

October 14th, 2016 at 6:38 AM ^

I mean it's certainly possible, but they'll still have to contend with Boise State and San Diego State for the honors. And hell, even Houston. If Houston wins out, they'll definitely have the best Group of 5 resume.

Right now I'd say a NY6 bowl bid is Houston's to lose. They'll have the best resume and a solid following. But if they lose again, I'd say Boise is up next. They have a brand and the committee can least say "they've been here before."

No one wants to put a Michigan directional school in an NY6 bowl. No one except the opposing team's fans would watch that game. So a lot is going to need to happen. I think they'll need to win out, Houston will need to lose again, and both Boise State and San Diego State will need to lose once.



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