MAC Football Pod

EPISODE 30

Another Mid-American Conference team previews episode! Here, Alex and Kaleb talk about the two most recent MAC champions, and one team that had to replace its historic, long-long-time tenured head coach in Frank Solich not too long ago. 

Ohio (6:10) has been a steady program in the Frank Solich era. But now Solich has retired from coaching the game, and long-time offensive coordinator Tim Albin is now in charge of things. We doubt things will change too drastically, for better or for worse, but we still wonder if there’s enough to actually win the East crown this year.

Miami (19:01) won the MAC Championship in 2019, and a lot of those same players are still hanging around. For as much as we’ll praise Ohio for how consistent its coaching staff has been, Miami’s starting to be able to say those same things.

Ball State (31:48) pulled off a 2020 season that’s worth remembering. With the extra year of eligibility and all those super seniors coming back (Justin Hall, Drew Plitt, Bryce Cosby, etc.), what’s stopping the Cardinals from making a repeat?

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• Matthew Hammond

SUPPORT THE SHOW FOR JUST $3/MONTH:

My Patreon is essentially an extension of my work. I'm going to keep doing this thing regardless, but I still would like to ask for your support to help me keep continuing with independent MAC football coverage. Patreon backers receive:

• Detailed episode notes,

Funds through Patreon help the overall growth of the podcast, blog, and server. My most immediate goals are to use such funds to improve the podcast's audio quality and recording versatility with new equipment.

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EPISODE 29

Alex and Kaleb continue with Part 2 of 4 of the MAC Team Preview series with a distinct MAC East rivalry, and a MAC West team that may or may not spoil some championship dreams if all goes right. 

Akron (5:03) fans might not want to hear this: the back half of the schedule is a b s o l u t e l y b r u t a l and there’s just no chance things will look pretty for your team. I’m really, really rooting for QB Kato Nelson because he didn’t simply transfer out when things were starting to look very bleak for that program. He’s coming off of a year without playing (shoulder) and I’m hoping for the best for him in 2021. 

CMU (16:00) is an incredibly Michigan-centric team in terms of how its roster is built, so I like the team for that reason. More importantly, these in-state kids are really showing out on the field. CMU might be the most physical team in the conference, and that’s going to matter.

Kent State (31:15) is this year’s favorite to win the East with 11 first-place votes from the media poll. Everybody loves that offense, and with good reason! But that defense has me worried. And this schedule isn’t exactly set up to be a cakewalk for the Flashes either.

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• Matthew Hammond

SUPPORT THE SHOW FOR JUST $3/MONTH:

My Patreon is essentially an extension of my work. I'm going to keep doing this thing regardless, but I still would like to ask for your support to help me keep continuing with independent MAC football coverage. Patreon backers receive:

• Detailed episode notes,

Funds through Patreon help the overall growth of the podcast, blog, and server. My most immediate goals are to use such funds to improve the podcast's audio quality and recording versatility with new equipment.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/alvaradoonmaction

SOCIAL PLUGS:

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EPISODE 28

It’s time for MACtion team previews! To start things off, we’ve got the Battle of I-75 on the brain with Bowling Green and Toledo. Eastern Michigan might have its limits, but that’s a team that’s fun to think big for. 

BGSU (4:17) just absolutely needs to provide something on the field to give us a reason to want to watch this team. It simply has not played well since last decade’s MAC East title stretch. Where’s the positivity of this group going to come from?

EMU (19:17)  has some nice things going, but it’s not a complete package. Certainly not complete enough for us to consider them for the title game. 

Toledo (42:29) is Alex’s favorite for the West, but Kaleb’s not sold. Kaleb said he’s seen this movie before, so let’s not do this old song and dance with this one.

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THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR FAVORITE MAC FOOTBALL PODCAST!

• Matthew Hammond

SUPPORT THE SHOW FOR JUST $3/MONTH:

My Patreon is essentially an extension of my work. I'm going to keep doing this thing regardless, but I still would like to ask for your support to help me keep continuing with independent MAC football coverage. Patreon backers receive:

• Detailed episode notes,

Funds through Patreon help the overall growth of the podcast, blog, and server. My most immediate goals are to use such funds to improve the podcast's audio quality and recording versatility with new equipment.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/alvaradoonmaction

SOCIAL PLUGS:

• Blog: macfootballblog.com

LISTEN TO MAC FOOTBALL POD VIA:

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 

EPISODE 27

While neither Texas nor Oklahoma classify as either small schools or located in the midwest, the recent drama (which is a shitstorm, to be clear) with Oklahoma and Texas burning their bridges with the Big XII to join the Southeastern Conference. The MAC isn’t a neighbor of either of those leagues, but I’d be lying if I said that wouldn’t have an impact on the MAC.

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• Matthew Hammond

SUPPORT THE SHOW FOR JUST $3/MONTH:

Consider supporting my podcast, my blog (macfootballblog.com), and the community Discord server by being a monthly donor through Patreon! For $3/month, I'll...

• Detailed episode notes,

Funds through Patreon help the overall growth of the podcast, blog, and server. My most immediate goals are to use such funds to improve the podcast's audio quality and recording versatility with new equipment.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/alvaradoonmaction

SOCIAL PLUGS:

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EPISODE 26

MAC Media Day happened on Tuesday, so I called Kaleb to talk about the event. It was just MAC Media Day, so it wasn’t all that great. We parse out the preseason poll (Kent State, Ball State favorites to go to Detroit) and I ask him the same three questions I asked everybody that I was able to get to at the media circus.

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THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR FAVORITE MAC FOOTBALL PODCAST!

• Matthew Hammond

SUPPORT THE SHOW FOR JUST $3/MONTH:

Consider supporting my podcast, my blog (macfootballblog.com), and the community Discord server by being a monthly donor through Patreon! For $3/month, I'll...

• Detailed episode notes,

Funds through Patreon help the overall growth of the podcast, blog, and server. My most immediate goals are to use such funds to improve the podcast's audio quality and recording versatility with new equipment.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/alvaradoonmaction

SOCIAL PLUGS:

• Blog: macfootballblog.com

LISTEN TO ALVARADO ON MACTION VIA:

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EPISODE 25

Frank Solich has officially retired as Ohio’s head coach on Wednesday after 16 and a half years in Athens. He’ll still be around the program, but his tenure-long offensive coordinator Tim Albin will step up to be the new head coach. 

After reflecting on his career, Alex and Kaleb Carter make our divisional picks. Alex’s picks: Toledo vs. Kent State makes a lot of sense for 2021’s MAC Championship matchup.

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• Matthew Hammond

SUPPORT THE SHOW FOR JUST $3/MONTH:

Consider supporting my podcast, my blog (macfootballblog.com), and the community Discord server by being a monthly donor through Patreon! For $3/month, I'll...

• Detailed episode notes,

Funds through Patreon help the overall growth of the podcast, blog, and server. My most immediate goals are to use such funds to improve the podcast's audio quality and recording versatility with new equipment.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/alvaradoonmaction

SOCIAL PLUGS:

• Blog: macfootballblog.com

LISTEN TO ALVARADO ON MACTION VIA:

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EPISODE 24

New name, same game. Changed the name of the podcast because, in short, it felt right and I wanted to. 

So much to catch up on since there hasn't been a new episode here in a couple of weeks (sorry about that, just got busy). Let's have a relaxed, enjoyable refresher on some of the news around college football in the last couple of weeks. Normally this is the time to just relax and not read a lot about college football-sided news, but 2021 was never going to be a normal one.

Also, Toledo's the #1 team in the country in the updated returning production percentages, per Bill Connelly (ESPN). 

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THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR FAVORITE MAC FOOTBALL PODCAST!

• Matthew Hammond

SUPPORT THE SHOW FOR JUST $3/MONTH:

Consider supporting my podcast, my blog (macfootballblog.com), and the community Discord server by being a monthly donor through Patreon! For $3/month, I'll...

• Detailed episode notes,

Funds through Patreon help the overall growth of the podcast, blog, and server. My most immediate goals are to use such funds to improve the podcast's audio quality and recording versatility with new equipment.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/alvaradoonmaction

SOCIAL PLUGS:

• Blog: macfootballblog.com

LISTEN TO ALVARADO ON MACTION VIA:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8cd3903-7fc8-44eb-aa87-d762121f148a/Alvarado-on-MACtion

EPISODE 23

Another interview to focus on a Power 5 program that may or may not be on upset alert for this MAC contest. This time, we’ve got Daniel Gallen (PennLive.com / @danieljtgallen on Twitter) to talk about what to expect from the Penn State Nittany Lions. Under more normal circumstances, Penn State vs. Ball State might sound like a regularly-scheduled blowout, but the Nittany Lions are going to have to prove that they’re better than the 4-5 team record it had last year (started 0-5, finished 4-0), and Ball State’s riding an incredible high from its MAC championship run in 2020. It might be easy and convenient to say that Penn State has more talent, but Ball State’s starting roster is certainly older and more experienced than the home team.

JOIN MY MACTION-SIDED DISCORD!

Link to invite, join and say hi! --> https://discord.gg/GCK3TM2FZW 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR FAVORITE MAC FOOTBALL PODCAST!

• Matthew Hammond

SUPPORT THE SHOW FOR JUST $3/MONTH:

Consider supporting my podcast, my blog (macfootballblog.com), and the community Discord server by being a monthly donor through Patreon! For $3/month, I'll...

• Detailed episode notes,

Funds through Patreon help the overall growth of the podcast, blog, and server. My most immediate goals are to use such funds to improve the podcast's audio quality and recording versatility with new equipment.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/alvaradoonmaction

SOCIAL PLUGS:

• Blog: macfootballblog.com

LISTEN TO ALVARADO ON MACTION VIA:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8cd3903-7fc8-44eb-aa87-d762121f148a/Alvarado-on-MACtion

EPISODE 22

More non-conference team look-ats with 4 Things focused on the Minnesota Gophers and Army Black Knights. Both of these squads will have two MAC teams to take on this season: Minnesota faces both Miami and Bowling Green while Army, which returns head coach Jeff Monken, will play Miami and Ball State.

JOIN MY MACTION-SIDED DISCORD!

Link to invite, join and say hi! --> https://discord.gg/GCK3TM2FZW 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR FAVORITE MAC FOOTBALL PODCAST!

• Matthew Hammond

SUPPORT THE SHOW FOR JUST $3/MONTH:

Consider supporting my podcast, my blog (macfootballblog.com), and the community Discord server by being a monthly donor through Patreon! For $3/month, I'll...

• Detailed episode notes,

Funds through Patreon help the overall growth of the podcast, blog, and server. My most immediate goals are to use such funds to improve the podcast's audio quality and recording versatility with new equipment.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/alvaradoonmaction

SOCIAL PLUGS:

• Blog: macfootballblog.com

LISTEN TO ALVARADO ON MACTION VIA:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8cd3903-7fc8-44eb-aa87-d762121f148a/Alvarado-on-MACtion

EPISODE 21

The non-conference team previews continue with notes on both Iowa (vs. Kent State, Week 3) and Northwestern (vs. Ohio, Week 4). But first, the 12-team playoff model is made public and an instant reaction is only appropriate. It’s an initial nice back-door entry point for Group of 5 teams to make the playoff, and it still has a lot of area to improve. But we’ll take it I guess?

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THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR FAVORITE MAC FOOTBALL PODCAST!

• Matthew Hammond

SUPPORT THE SHOW FOR JUST $3/MONTH:

Consider supporting my podcast, my blog (macfootballblog.com), and the community Discord server by being a monthly donor through Patreon! For $3/month, I'll...

• Detailed episode notes,

Funds through Patreon help the overall growth of the podcast, blog, and server. My most immediate goals are to use such funds to improve the podcast's audio quality and recording versatility with new equipment.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/alvaradoonmaction

SOCIAL PLUGS:

• Blog: macfootballblog.com

LISTEN TO ALVARADO ON MACTION VIA:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8cd3903-7fc8-44eb-aa87-d762121f148a/Alvarado-on-MACtion