Y11 Notes: Power Ranking Update, Tim Tebow on Urban Meyer
Are we endorsing Toledo today? What about big time football coaches born in Toledo?
Y11 Notes: Friday, Sept. 23, 2022
POWER RANKINGS: EMU up from #5 to #2
I’ve yet to post my power rankings through Week 3, so now seems like the best time to do so. My Weeks 1 and 2 rankings were previously verbalized on Y11 Audio, but I didn’t do any podcasts this week so I figured I’ll just publish it in writ form instead.
#1 Toledo (2-1) — I can’t name a MAC team that wouldn’t do better than what Toledo showed against Ohio State last weekend. That said, yikes. Yes it was Ohio State, but 77 to 21?
#2 Eastern Michigan (2-1) — Homer slotting here, sure. But it’s hard to argue against EMU being way up here at #2 on some guy’s 2022 MAC football power ranking when it’s sitting pretty at 2-1, hot off a win at Arizona State.
#3 Western Michigan (1-2, 1-0 MAC) — Western’s offense has gotten by having, if nothing else, an explosive offense for a long while. I’ve yet to fact-check this with the advanced box scores, but this year’s offense doesn’t seem to have that same kind of dynamic to its game. The defense might be pretty decent though.
#4 Northern Illinois (1-2) — Rocky Lombardi’s status ahead of Kentucky is so uncertain it’s practically obvious: maybe Ethan Hampton’s going to have to step up to help salvage the year. Can the rest of NIU’s pieces step up as the team finishes the non-conference slate and phases into MAC play?
#5 Ball State (1-2, 0-1 MAC) — In the first half against Murray State, Ball State finished drives by: TD (43-yard drive), turnover on downs (in MSU territory), punt, punt, punt, touchdown (55-yard drive), turnover in downs (in MSU territory), and punt. Ball State ended up winning 31-0, but that first-half drive chart is everything you need to know about how this team is doing. Five might be too high for Ball State but I’ve got to put these teams somewhere and it played WMU close two weeks ago.
#6 Central Michigan (1-2) — CMU, to me, is the perfect mix of most disappointing three-game start in the MAC and least surprising three-game disappointment to start the year as well. Lew Nichols had 1,848 yards on the ground last year with a 5.4 yards per carry average to cement himself as perhaps the best offensive player in the MAC heading into this season. So far he’s at 258 yards, running the ball at a 3.6-yard clip.
#7 Miami (1-2) — The RedHawks did open with a 10-point lead against Cincinnati last week (17-7) until things crumbled and failed to score in the second half for the Bearcats to win (38-17). Backup QB Aveon Smith was 9/21 passing, and the team didn’t even get to 70 rushing yards on the day.
#8 Ohio (1-2) — Ohio started the year with a nice win over FAU, but has been blanked 40something to 10 in its last two contests at Penn State and Iowa State. Tough stretch for any MAC team to win, but the scoring margins don’t make me feel good about Ohio’s future outlook.
#9 Bowling Green (1-2) — Did BG beat the team that beat Notre Dame? Yes. Has BG beaten a team in regulation this year? No, it hasn’t. If college football teams want to look past BG during game week prep and focus more time thinking about other schools, then so will I.
#10 Kent State (1-2) — Kent State keeps asking for a spanking with its non-conference opponents and it gives the team very little room to grow when it faces (/checks notes for tomorrow’s opponent) reigning national championship winner Georgia on the road tomorrow.
#11 Buffalo (0-3) — Buffalo led during its game at Coastal Carolina, but the home side eventually got into gear and got through the Bulls handily. The improvements Buffalo have made so far this year are difficult to find, if any.
#12 Akron (1-2) — After barely beating FCS-level St. Francis, Akron’s lost to two ranked opponents on the road by a combined score of 115-6.
GOD BLESS FOOTBALL: Tebow wouldn’t endorse Urban Meyer
During his days as a college quarterback, Tim Tebow won two national championships and a Heisman trophy with Urban Meyer as his head coach at Florida.
Tebow went on to play QB in the NFL for a short while, joined the media, then left the media to join his old coach when he finally made the switch to the NFL. As Jacksonville’s coach for the 2021 season, Meyer parlayed a ton of stupid decisions to be fired just 13 games into NFL life. Of the many arguable choices made by Meyer at Jacksonville, one of them was bringing Tebow back from he media to finally give tight end a shot. Tebow did not make the 53-man roster cut.
Meyer, 58, is a successful coach at the college level but he’s not exactly everybody’s favorite person in the world to deal with, in a manner of speaking.
On today’s episode of God Bless Football from The Dan Lebatard Show With Stugotz, Tebow was interviewed for the show and was asked whether or not Meyer should be a college coach again. Tebow, back in the media, wouldn’t outright endorse Meyer for another coaching job.
Jon Weiner (Stugotz): Nebraska fans were chanting Urban Meyer’s name. You played for Urban. Do you think Urban Meyer is gonna get a job either at Nebraska or elsewhere in college football?
Tim Tebow: Do I think he’ll get offered? Yes.
Stugotz: Do you think he should be offered?
Tebow: I think he will get offered. I think if you’re trying to rebuild a program I think he’s someone that knows what to do. I think when you think about Nebraska, I think think it’s such an underrated opportunity and a lot of people don’t remember the dominance Nebraska used to have. And I had the opportunity to do some events with coach [Tom] Osborne in Nebraska a few years ago. The outpouring of love by Cornhusker fans — and it’s not just there in Nebraska, it’s all over the country. I think it’s a great job. I think they want to be great, their fans will support them and now with NIL, it’s a [much] better of chance than they’ve had in 20 years to get to the top. So I think it’s a great job and I think they want to be great again, you have a massive fanbase, I think they can raise money there and I think it can be pretty good.
Stugotz: But do you think he should be hired though, Tim? … I know, it’s a tricky question…
Tebow: Are you trying to say as a head coach or what? Some of the stuff from -
Stugotz: Yeah, just some of the stuff from whatever happened in Jacksonville, the way he left Ohio State, I think there’s a lot of people who would object to Urban Meyer getting another opportunity so I’m wondering if you’re one of those people.
Tebow: Well, I’m someone, you know, I believe that when things aren’t done right I believe that there should be consequences, but I’m also a believer in forgiveness and second chances. You know it’s such a hard, deep-
Stugotz: It’s a tricky one, I know.
Tebow: -into a lot of ins and outs of that, right? But I think coach Meyer is someone that could give a massive spark to a program and I think he’s done it. He’s done it many times and it’ll be interesting to see what happens. I think there will be a lot of schools that reach out to him.
