MAC Football Pod

51. Pre-spring MAC overviews, by quick tiers

EPISODE 51
Since it's the beginning of the new college football year, it's time to take the first of many snapshots in time to see where the Mid-American Conference teams are at as they enter the spring season, and all meanwhile finish up their recruiting classes. 
We've got MAC teams grouped by tiers, and here are the few things we keep in mind along the way:
Which teams have made recent coaching changes?
Which teams have coaches that have already won a MAC title?
Which teams return their starting quarterback from 2021?
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Blog: macfootballblog.com
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/

50. Adios, 2021 season | Hello, $1M checks

EPISODE 50
Tonight's the national championship game for football, which means this is effectively the last episode of the 2021 season. This is our (Alex, Kaleb) time to say whatever else we feel that needs to be said about the 2021 season (MACtion, otherwise) before our brains turn into total offseason mode.
What was the MACtion moment of the year? What was disappointing? Who was snubbed of the MAC Freshman of the Year award?
And there are a million dollars on the table for Caleb Williams to transfer from Oklahoma to play QB for Eastern Michigan. This probably isn't the kind of game Chris Creighton wants to be played off the field, but these days you're going to have to put up with NIL business than one might want to deal with if they want to have a career in the college coaching profession.
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Blog: macfootballblog.com
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/

49. ESPN’s getting lazy and cranky | Jay Ducker details how NIU lost trust | Justin Hall forever

EPISODE 49
Happy New Year!
The College GameDay panel is getting really old these days, as evidenced by its cranky armchair discussion on how bowl games don't matter anymore. It's a lazy move, but an effective one for ESPN. Finding stories that would actually impress us requires time, energy, and resources. Saying things that would cause an emotional, national discussion is cheaper and easier, which sucks because nobody needs this. 
Update on Jay Ducker: He previously told that he had trust issues with NIU, which caused him to transfer. He explained that in another report: the trust was lost in how the coaching staff talked about his 2021 playing time and previous depth chart status. 
Justin Hall forever.
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Blog: macfootballblog.com
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/2331552 
Email: alexonmaction@gmail.com
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-alvarado-on-maction-78034985/ 
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 
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/alvarado-on-maction 
The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/
TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports--Recreation-Podcasts/Alvarado-on-MACtion-p1410495/ 

48.MAC‘s 0-3 bowl start | Refs choke in NIU-Coastal Carolina finish | How did teams build their rosters on NSD?

EPISODE 48
It's the holiday season, which means it's time for the college football calendar to get busy with some off-field news. Teams involved in bowl games are still focused on those, and the early signing period's passed on through as well. 
The MAC is 0-3 so far in its bowl games and there are still five more to go. Of the three, the NIU-Coastal Carolina game in the Cure Bowl was easily the best one, but it ended on some egregious officiating errors that took away NIU's last-second opportunity to get a final play off, which could've decided the game's final score. Not only that, but if NIU would've pulled off the win over Coastal, this country's looking at NIU and the MAC with *just a little bit* more much-needed positivity.
Here's the tweet we referenced: https://twitter.com/currenrr/status/690978077757816832
Also, MAC teams got to celebrate early signing period last week with varying class sizes across the league. How much are teams still trying to load up on high school kids signing their names in December? and how much are teams leaning into the transfer portal? What about the JUCO recruits?
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Blog: macfootballblog.com
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/2331552 
Email: alexonmaction@gmail.com
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-alvarado-on-maction-78034985/ 
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 
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/alvarado-on-maction 
The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/
TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports--Recreation-Podcasts/Alvarado-on-MACtion-p1410495/ 

47. MAC title final: NIU 41, Kent State 23 | Akron for realsies hired Joe Moorhead

EPISODE 47
Northern Illinois did it! NIU beat Kent State 41-23 in the 2021 MAC Championship in Detroit on Saturday, so let's talk about what that means for a little bit. For starters, it means NIU's rostering one of the most historic teams in college football — and that's not hyperbole. 
Akron got serious with its head-coaching hire of Joe Moorhead. We're not guaranteeing success in the standings right now, but the level of the program *is* instantly elevated with a guy like him leading the program that's desperate for a turnaround. 
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Blog: macfootballblog.com
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/2331552 
Email: alexonmaction@gmail.com
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-alvarado-on-maction-78034985/ 
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 
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/alvarado-on-maction 
The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/
TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports--Recreation-Podcasts/Alvarado-on-MACtion-p1410495/ 

46. Northern Illinois vs. Kent State (pt. 2): This one‘s for all the marbles

EPISODE 46
It's our favorite time of year! The MAC Championship game! Northern Illinois vs. Kent State will be the rematch game in Ford Field (KSU won the regular-season matchup) and there's no reason to believe that Saturday's contest won't be simply amazing. It's a noon kick, so plan accordingly.
Other topics Alex and Kaleb discuss: Akron's head coaching vacancy had a name rumored to fill it and it's stupid; please don't hire Kevin Wilson. Toledo's going to the Bahamas Bowl, the first bowl game announced this cycle. And, generally, this has been one hell of a year for college football. Cheers to that, and cheers to one of the best years of MACtion. 
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Blog: macfootballblog.com
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/2331552 
Email: alexonmaction@gmail.com
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-alvarado-on-maction-78034985/ 
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 
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/alvarado-on-maction 
The Ypsilanti Eleven: https://ypsilantieleven.substack.com/
TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports--Recreation-Podcasts/Alvarado-on-MACtion-p1410495/ 

45. So, about that MAC expansion... | Hammock extension | Lew Nichols for MVP?

EPISODE 45
It turns out Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee will not be joining the Mid-American Conference, which is not what we were led to believe would happen this time last week. Why didn't things work out? Will it be a good or bad thing that they didn't join the MAC?
Alex & Kaleb talk about that, and also touch on some recent MAC football musings, along with Thomas Hammock's (very well deserved) contract extension with NIU, and why Lew Nichols is this podcast's favorite to win the MAC's MVP award. 
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Blog: macfootballblog.com
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/2331552 
Email: alexonmaction@gmail.com
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-alvarado-on-maction-78034985/ 
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 
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/alvarado-on-maction 
TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports--Recreation-Podcasts/Alvarado-on-MACtion-p1410495/ 

44. WKU, MTSU to the league | Weeknight MACtion‘s living up to the hype | Job opening(s?)

EPISODE 44
Alex & Kaleb get together to talk about a lot of things that have come up since the last time we talked to each other. The imminent news of Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee to the MAC will be coming any minute now, and that's going to take some getting used to. Who really benefits from this?
None of it will help the MAC's standing in the College Football Playoff. Just look at Cincinnati.
We also go over some midweek MACtion moments. Safe to say 2021's weeknight games are already living up to the hype.
Twitters: @ARAlvarado13, @Kaleb_M_Carter
LINKS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mac-football-pod/id1554654736 
Blog: macfootballblog.com
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/2331552 
Email: alexonmaction@gmail.com
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-alvarado-on-maction-78034985/ 
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 
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/alvarado-on-maction 
TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports--Recreation-Podcasts/Alvarado-on-MACtion-p1410495/