For those of you out there who were a bit disappointed by last weeks news of the Humanitarian Bowl inking the MAC and WAC today you have something to take your mind off of it. Losing the International Bowl and the Big East was viewed as a step back, even with the inking of the Humanitarian Bowl because it left the MAC without a tie in against a BCS opponent. Today the MAC gained access to, sigh, number eight Big10 team, through 2013.From ESPN
DETROIT -- Organizers of the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl say they have a deal that will pit Big Ten and Mid-American conference teams against each other yearly through 2013.The deal announced Monday calls for the No. 8 bowl-eligible Big Ten team to face the No. 1 or No. 2 MAC team at Detroit's Ford Field for the December game.The bowl will have first pick of a MAC team in 2010 and 2012 and second pick in 2011 and 2013.If the Big Ten doesn't have eight bowl-eligible teams, the Little Caesars bowl will get a Sun Belt Conference team. -- Adam Rittenberg, ESPN
What does this mean for the MAC?
The Good:
The Little Caesars bowl is not going the way of the International Bowl for at least four years. The bowl now has two conferences locked in and both conferences center around Ohio/Michigan/Indiana which should help attendance.
The Bad
#8, really?
| Year | Opponent | Record | Bowl |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Iowa | 6-6 | L |
| 2007 | Indiana | 7-5 | L |
| 2008 | Illinois | 5-7 | NA |
| 2009 | Minnesota | 6-6 | L |
I realize that the MAC is not exactly in a power negotiating position but lets not fool ourselves, the 'murders row' of big ten opponents who usually fill the number eight slot are are not of any more football quality than the alternate sun belt club which fills the shoes of the often absent number eight seed.
How happy are you with the #8 BigTen Seed?