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UB had five players voted 1st Team All-MAC, second only to NIU's 6. UB also added 2 players to the 3rd-Team All MAC list.
Offensive Line: Jasen Carlson was honored as a 1st team All-MAC selection despite missing most of the 2nd half of the season. Toledo and Bowling Green each had 3 offensive linemen honored while Ball State and NIU each saw 2 honored.
I was upset that more of UB's line didn't see a 2nd or 3rd team honor. NIU and Toledo have the two best lines in the MAC and NIU's blockers are probably given less credit due to the credit given to Jordan Lynch.
After that, my formula has Kent State, Ball State and Buffalo as the next 3 best O-lines in the conference. Kent was shut out and those 3 teams combined for 3 All-MAC selections. Meanwhile Bowling Green, the #6 O-Line to my calculation, (they were 2nd last in the conference in sacks per pass attempt), placed 3 lineman on All-MAC teams. I think Flewellyn deserved his 1st team mention, but Greg Mancz of Toledo was robbed by Chief Kekuewa.
Meanwhile, I calculated EMU to have the confernece's #7 O-Line, Central at #9, UMass at #10 and Akron at #12, yet each school had one lineman honored.
Running Back: The media was a little generous with Carlson, and they were a little generous with Branden Oliver. In a three man race between BO,
(#2 in running by a running back, #1 in TDs by a running back, #1 in YPG by a running back but only #7 in yards per carry by a running back with 100+ carries)
the man that beat him Travis Greene,
(#1 in yards by a running back (beat BO by 1 yard), #4 in TDs by a running back, #3 in YPG by a running back and #3 in yards per carry by a running back with 100+ carries)
and the man that beat Greene, David Fluellen,
(#3 in yards by a running back, #4 in TDs by a running back, #2 in YPG by a running back and #1 in yards per carry by a running back with 100+ carries)
Ultimately, the seniors BO and Flu received first team honors and I'm okay with it.
The major snub in running backs was Toledo's Kareem Hunt. The electrifying RB ran for 866 yards on 137 carries and scored 6 TDs. I think he should have bumped off Akron's Jawon Chisholm for 3rd team honors.
Wide Receiver: Alex Neutz earned 1st Team All-MAC honors, the only UB receiver honored and the 3rd and final All-MAC selection for the UB offense. Neutz slowed down in the 2nd half of the season, so the inclusion could be controversial, until you look at how badly the media voted the receivers this year. Neutz was 4th in conference in receiving yards, 7th in yards per catch, however only Titus Davis had a higher average while catching at least 50 balls. Finally, a TD catch a day keeps the losses away, steady 1 TD a week Alex Neutz finished 2nd in TD catches.
The MAC got this all wrong. Tommylee Lewis of NIU was named 1st-team all MAC.
Random Player A: 74 Receptions, 623 yards, 3 TDs
Random Player B: 54 Receptions, 644 yards, 4 TDs
Random Player C: 25 Receptions, 327 yards, 4 TDs
One of those players is 1st team All-MAC, one 3rd-team, one of those players was not honored.
Player A was first team All-MAC Lewis, Player B was Fred Lee, Player C was Dri Archer 3rd-Team All-MAC receiver.
Lewis wasn't the best WR on his team this year, that was Da'Ron Brown who had 689 yards and 9 TDs. Brown was named 2nd Team All-MAC.
Lewis took the spot of 3rd-team all MAC selection Jordan Williams of Ball State. Williams was 3rd in the MAC in receptions, 3rd in the MAC in receiving yards and 3rd in the MAC in receiving TDs. Somehow the writers feel he's only 8th-12th best.
Selfishly, I think Fred Lee did enough to be 3rd team All-MAC, but the voters were busy trying to shoehorn in old memorable faces.