“Let me start off by saying this: I hate Toledo. I hate their colors, I hate their obese coach, I hate their suggestive mascot. In fact, when they come into to town Nov. 5, I will likely be decked out in Akron gear instead of my normal suit just so I can scream like a mad man when the Zips beat down the despicable Rockets.”
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Let me start off by saying this: I hate Toledo. I hate their colors, I hate their obese coach, I hate their suggestive mascot.

In fact, when they come into to town Nov. 5, I will likely be decked out in Akron gear instead of my normal suit just so I can scream like a mad man when the Zips beat down the despicable Rockets.

What that lousy university did to my Wolverines this weekend reminded me why I am not the biggest fan of the Glass City.

What it also did, however, was validate an argument I’ve been making for quite some time now.

Why is it that Mid-American Conference schools are constantly thrown to the wolves during non-conference play and yet are never brought up in the BCS discussion?

While it is true that MAC teams have been nothing more than perennial tune-ups for the big boys in years past, this year has seen a shift in the norm.

When you consider Northern Illinois nearly escaped Tennessee with a victory, Central Michigan played Purdue to the wire for the third time in two years (not to mention having to travel to Georgia), as well as the Zips coming within inches of beating Cincinnati, isn’t it fair to say MAC teams can hang with the major conferences?

And if near-wins aren’t enough for you, what about Bowling Green, Ball State, our own Zips, and now Toledo going into the giants’ houses and coming out victorious?

Now before you label me a homer, please understand I’m not lobbying for the Zips to receive an at-large bid to the Sugar Bowl.

However there is a team in Muncie, Indiana that, if it continues playing stellar, should be playing in a bowl game in 2009.

And no, I’m not referring to the Autozone Liberty Bowl.

The Ball State Cardinals have plowed through the MAC thus far, embarrassed Indiana in their own house and boasts the best quarterback in the nation not named Chase Daniel.

And as for those Rockets that beat Michigan in The Big House, Ball State smothered them 31-0 the previous week.

Yet for whatever reason, the Cardinals sit at number 24 in this week’s polls.

What is even more puzzling is the fact that they are the fourth-highest ranked mid-major school with Brigham Young, Utah, and Boise State all sitting at least nine spots ahead of the Cardinals.

While it may be too early to start crying controversy, it is important to note that every BCS bid that has gone to a mid-major was from either the Western Athletic Conference or The Mountain West.

This does not bode well for Nate Davis and company as both BYU and Utah are Mountain West schools and Boise State is a member of the WAC.

It is an all too common fact that the past dictates the present in college football.

People still remember Boise State’s Cinderella victory over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, as well the fact Utah claimed the same prize a few years back.

And while Ball State has been irrelevant nationally since, well, forever, it would be a travesty if the 2008 edition did not receive the appropriate post-season bid based solely on name recognition and past history.

Normally it would be hard to even think this without laughing hysterically, but I’ve seen the Cardinals in action and can honestly say they’re one of the most impressive teams I’ve seen all year; and, as of right now, belong in the BCS discussion.

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