Toledo, BG both picked 4th

DETROIT, Mich. - Toledo and BGSU both expect to play in the MAC championship. The so-called experts disagree.

Preseason polls have both teams finishing fourth in their respective MAC divisions, opinions which differ greatly from the opinions coming directly from the programs themselves.

"I expect great things," said Champ Fells, a BGSU linebacker. "I expect for us to go all the way.

"I say that because I feel we have a very good team. I feel that if we come together as a team and play like we can play, nobody can stop us."

He also said that knowing full well Bowling Green has to reshuffle its deck with the departures of star quarterback Tyler Sheehan and record-breaking receiver Freddie Barnes.

"We want to compete for the MAC championship, win the MAC championship," BGSU head coach Dave Clawson said. "But I think, as a program, my biggest goal for this year's team is that we have to be a better team in November than we are in September."

All of the Falcon representatives at MAC Media Day acknowledged the youth on BG's team, which could pose a challenge.

"A lot of guys are going to have an opportunity to play probably before they're ready," Clawson said. "And whenever that happens, their response to mistakes is going to be critical."

It'll be critical to see if BG can lay claim to success like last year's appearance in the Humanitarian Bowl.

For Toledo, there's a new buzz around the community after last season's big win over Colorado. Players point to their head coach as the great unifying factor.

"I see Coach (Tim) Beckman as a winner and just about everybody around him rubs off as winners," said Eric Page, a Springfield High School product readying for a sophomore year after an 82-catch season as a freshman.

Linebacker Archie Donald went so far as to say the bonding between coach and players could be the key to the season's success.

"Having cookouts at the coaches' houses," he said. "Try to build that bond. A strong bond as a team. I feel once you got that, that's when the leadership and everybody starts playing as a team."

The head coach himself expects nothing less than the best.

"Expectations, of course, are to be here in this great facility (Ford Field) that we're in right here on December 3rd (for the MAC Championship)," he said. "I mean, that's the expectations. If you don't have that expectations, if you don't set that goal, then there's no reason that you should be coaching, in my opinion."

And with that, the scent of college football's in the air. Up next? We talkin' practice!!!