MAC Football Pod

60. THE DRAFT OF GAMES

EPISODE 60
In this episode, we're looking at the 2022 schedules and trying to build, via draft, our own MACtion stadium road trip tours for the season. The two of us, Alex and Justin, will draft upcoming home games on the calendar and try to hit up as many different MAC stadiums as possible. 
Alex's trip: Toledo, then Ball State, Northern Illinois, bye week, Akron, Miami, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Eastern Michigan again, Ohio, Western Michigan, Toledo again, and finish in the year in Buffalo.
Justin's trip: Start in Ohio, bye week, then Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Central Michigan, Akron, Bowling Green, Miami, Buffalo, then back to Eastern again.
And before you ask, no, we didn't plan on going to Rynearson Stadium 4 times and Kelly/Shorts 0 times. It just happened that way. 
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter, and @NIFFOCNITSUJ.
LINKS
Alex's newsletter, The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/
Kaleb's newsletter, CSL Varsity: https://thecslvarsitynewsletter.substack.com/ 
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Podbay: https://podbay.fm/p/mac-football-pod 
Podbean: https://macfootballpod.podbean.com/ 
Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3534990 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6nA2YCoJJUTmCBMHm7LOA4 

59. Doyt & Dix: Roll your own MACventure game

EPISODE 59
Let's preview the season by rolling a 20-sided die.
Alex and Justin will tell you exactly what you should expect to happen this college football season.
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter, and @NIFFOCNITSUJ.
LINKS
Alex's newsletter, The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/
Kaleb's newsletter, CSL Varsity: https://thecslvarsitynewsletter.substack.com/ 
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Podbay: https://podbay.fm/p/mac-football-pod 
Podbean: https://macfootballpod.podbean.com/ 
Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3534990 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6nA2YCoJJUTmCBMHm7LOA4 

58. The Internet’s Wheel of Fate | Bowling Green on Upset Alert (But to Win at Home)

EPISODE 58
So many topics to pull from in so little time. Looks like the Internet's Wheel of Fate will decide today's schedule.
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter, and @NIFFOCNITSUJ.
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Kaleb's Illinois prep sports coverage: https://ko-fi.com/kalebcarter425643
Podbay: https://podbay.fm/p/mac-football-pod 
Podbean: https://macfootballpod.podbean.com/ 
Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3534990 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6nA2YCoJJUTmCBMHm7LOA4 
The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/

57. Undoubtedly the worst first-overall draft pick | The 2022 MAC season abstract

EPISODE 57
First time in a long time! After a long summer break, Alex and Kaleb (no Justin this time) get together to catch up on some months spent apart, and get into 2022 MACtion preview mode.
Before we hit record, we picked the winners of each game in MAC play to come up with our #definitive MAC East and MAC West division winners for the year. 
Here's what we came up with (note: you legally can't sue us for this either):
 
Alex's MAC East picks
Alex's MAC West picks
1
Miami OH, 6-2
Northern Illinois, 8-0
2
Akron, 4-4
Central Michigan, 5-3
3
Bowling Green, 2-6
Eastern Michigan, 5-3
4
Kent State, 2-6
Toledo, 5-3
5
Ohio, 2-6
Western Michigan, 5-3
6
Buffalo, 1-7
Ball State, 3-5
 
(Another note from Alex: My picks in my newsletter might look *a little* different than this after an edit or two, but it's mostly the same)
 
 
Kaleb's MAC East picks
Kaleb's MAC West picks
1
Miami OH, 6-2
Central Michigan, 7-1
2
Bowling Green, 3-5
Northern Illinois, 6-2
3
Kent State, 3-5
Ball State, 6-2
4
Akron, 3-5
Eastern Michigan, 4-4
5
Buffalo, 1-7
Toledo, 4-4
6
Ohio, 1-7
Western Michigan, 4-4
 
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter, and @NIFFOCNITSUJ.
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Kaleb's Illinois prep sports coverage: https://ko-fi.com/kalebcarter425643
Podbay: https://podbay.fm/p/mac-football-pod 
Podbean: https://macfootballpod.podbean.com/ 
Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3534990 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6nA2YCoJJUTmCBMHm7LOA4 
The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/

56.Six MAC players drafted | Longest career of UDFA signees?

EPISODE 56
The NFL Draft has come and gone, which means its finally time to talk about what happened rather than spinning the wheel on what we think could happen. 
Six MAC players were taken in the draft, none later than round five. 
Many more were signed as undrafted free agents, and some notable players are left with tryouts. What surprised us? What didn't? Why wasn't Justin Hall selected even though he had a tremendous career? Which of the undrafted MAC guys do we think will have the longest career in the NFL?
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter, and @NIFFOCNITSUJ.
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Kaleb's Illinois prep sports coverage: https://ko-fi.com/kalebcarter425643
Podbay: https://podbay.fm/p/mac-football-pod 
Podbean: https://macfootballpod.podbean.com/ 
Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3534990 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6nA2YCoJJUTmCBMHm7LOA4 
The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/

55. The 2022 MAC-Only Mock Draft

EPISODE 55
BEEN A WHILE; HAD TO MAKE SURE WE AT LEAST CAME BACK WITH A NEW LOGO FOR YA.
Yes, oh yes, the news on the street is true. You can empty your brain of all the other garbage NFL mock drafts you've heard or read this year and make room for the only mock draft that's any good. That's right, we're talking about the MAC-Only Mock Draft is finally here. 
First-round only, 32 picks, and only a Big Board of MAC guys to pull from. 
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter, and @NIFFOCNITSUJ.
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Kaleb's Illinois prep sports coverage: https://ko-fi.com/kalebcarter425643
Podbay: https://podbay.fm/p/mac-football-pod 
Podbean: https://macfootballpod.podbean.com/ 
Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3534990 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6nA2YCoJJUTmCBMHm7LOA4 
The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/

54. MAC improved league scheduling while keeping divisions | Playoff will not expand, still

EPISODE 54
Officially no football until… well, for a while at least. Still, some updates around the sport are worth mentioning: both close to home and abroad.
The MAC realized it had a scheduling issue, and it made some (widely unnoticed, we assume) amendments as to when conference matchups will be played, and start playing all other schools around the league more than once a decade. Of the bulleted changes, here’s a specific that you’ll absolutely love. Over eight years, MAC teams must play all other MAC schools at least three times. This should help avoid another decade-plus stretch of no Toledo vs. Miami matchups.
Toledo finally found its new athletic director too. His name is Bryan Blair, a 37-year-old who was most recently over at Washington State, and has spent time working at the NCAA headquarters. 
And, of course, the 4-team playoff is not expanding to 12 before 2026. No news was always the news, and conference realignment still only happened because Texas and Oklahoma wanted to be in the SEC — that’s it.
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter, and @NIFFOCNITSUJ.
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Blog: macfootballblog.com
Kaleb's Illinois prep sports coverage: https://ko-fi.com/kalebcarter425643
Music: Infraction-No Copyright Music
Podbay: https://podbay.fm/p/mac-football-pod 
Podbean: https://macfootballpod.podbean.com/ 
Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3534990 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6nA2YCoJJUTmCBMHm7LOA4 
The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/

53. The most interesting team in FCS went 3-8 in 2021 | Scouts learning to love Dominique Robinson this year

EPISODE 53
Happy belated signing day! Our favorite signees: Charlie Batch’s nephew, a walk-on lineman at Ohio, and the kid who didn’t go to LSU after that one cringe-worthy video with Brian Kelly (you know which one). 
Who’s the most interesting team in the FCS right now? You guessed it: it’s the Campbell Fighting Camels. Last year, Campbell’s recruiting class ranked 200th nationally. This year, it’s 85th. This is a school that only started giving out scholarships five years ago. (Meanwhile, Cincinnati just went to the Playoff and… isn’t getting blue-chip players like one could’ve assumed.)
With Dominique Robinson getting more love as Maxx Crosby wins the Pro Bowl Defensive MVP, who’s a player we already really like but could still surprise us with a Pro Bowl-like future?
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter, and @NIFFOCNITSUJ.
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Blog: macfootballblog.com
Kaleb's Illinois prep sports coverage: https://ko-fi.com/kalebcarter425643
Music: Infraction-No Copyright Music
Podbay: https://podbay.fm/p/mac-football-pod 
Podbean: https://macfootballpod.podbean.com/ 
Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3534990 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6nA2YCoJJUTmCBMHm7LOA4 
The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/