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Let's take a look at the good and the bad for the non-AQs in Week 7.

The good: The non-AQ teams made history in the BCS standings with three teams ranked in the Top 10. Boise State is No. 3, TCU is No. 5 and Utah is No. 9, but the big unknown is whether any of them will have a shot at the BCS national championship game. Boise State has scored 48-plus points in three straight games. Meanwhile, TCU has allowed just one field goal in its past three games. The last team to score a touchdown on the Horned Frogs was SMU in Week 4, when Zach Line ran in from 29 yards out at the 11:24 mark. … Miami (Ohio) is en route to one of the best turnarounds from the non-AQs. The RedHawks had a thrilling 27-20 comeback win against Central Michigan and are now 4-3 after going 1-11 last season. They have a critical game at home against Ohio this Saturday, then winnable games against Buffalo, Bowling Green and Akron before closing the season at home against Temple. At 3-0, Miami is on top of the East in the MAC. … Eastern Michigan won its first game of the season. … Rice won its first conference game with a 34-31 win against rival Houston to not only grab a hold of the Bayou Bucket, but to avenge a 73-14 loss to the Cougars last season – one of the most embarrassing losses in school history.

The bad: A week after picking up its first win of the season, New Mexico State lost to Fresno State 33-10 in part because it went 1-of-13 on third downs. … Akron dropped to 0-7 after a 38-10 loss to Ohio. The Zips had six penalties, two interceptions and failed to get their run game going once again. The Zips are averaging just 15.9 points a game, ranked No. 114 in the nation. … Idaho gave up 683 yards of total offense in a loss to Louisiana Tech in yet another inconsistent performance for the Vandals. In three losses, Idaho has given up 450-plus yards of total offense. In two wins against FBS teams, Idaho is allowing 145.5 total yards a game.

The heartache, Part I: Bowling Green has lost three games this season on the final possession. The latest heartbreaker happened Saturday in a 28-27 loss to Temple. Coach Dave Clawson decided to go for the 2-point conversion and the win with no time remaining. But Matt Schilz’s pass for Calvin Wiley was broken up on the goal line. The Falcons also lost the season opener 30-27 to Troy when the Trojans kicked a field goal to win with 4 seconds left. In a 28-26 loss to Buffalo, Bryan Wright missed a 40-yard field-goal try on the final play of the game.

“There’s really two ways of looking at it,” Clawson said Monday morning on the MAC coaches call. “We’ve lost three games this year on the last play of the game. From a positive -- with as young a football team as we are and with all the new starters, we’re not that far away. On the other hand, there’s certainly a frustration level when you get in that many close games you need to find a way to win your share. A year ago we did.” Last season, the Falcons won two games by one point.

The heartache, Part II: Western Kentucky took a 24-7 lead into the fourth quarter at home against ULM. What could go wrong? Well, when you have lost 25 straight games, plenty. The Hilltoppers allowed 28 unanswered points and lost 35-30 to extend the nation’s longest losing streak to 26 games. They had a similar chance to win in the 2009 finale, but blew a 20-3 lead late in the third quarter and lost 24-20 to Arkansas State.

One more helmet stickers: Colorado State nose tackle Guy Miller had a truly dominating performance in a 43-10 win against UNLV. Miller set a school record with 4½ sacks, breaking the mark of four shared by 1995 WAC Defensive Player of the Year Brady Smith and Mike Bell, a consensus All-American and the No. 2 overall selection in the 1979 NFL Draft. He also broke the Mountain West record of four. Miller has started 20 straight games for the Rams and has 6 ½ sacks on the season the most at the school since Bryan Save had seven in 2003.

A few injury items to note: Air Force has lost running back Jared Tew for six weeks with a broken fibula, putting a serious hurting on the team. Tew had been a huge part of the success of the triple-option, with 540 yards and three touchdowns this season. ... San Jose State has now lost 12 starters for the season after several more injuries in a 48-0 loss to Boise State. Leading rusher Lamon Muldrow is out after tearing his ACL, and linebacker Ryno Gonzalez (foot) is also out. LB Wade O’Neill suffered a concussion, but won’t be out for the season.

Week 8 look ahead: Plenty of good matchups this weekend from the non-AQ teams. Air Force continues its tough four-game stretch with a game at No. 5 TCU. Houston travels to SMU in a game that could shift the balance of power in the Conference USA West Division. Meanwhile, Notre Dame plays Navy. The Midshipmen have won two of the past three games against the Irish.

Let's take a look at the good and the bad for the non-AQs in Week 4.

The good: Air Force is ranked for the first time under coach Troy Calhoun, joining the AP poll at No. 25 after its big 14-6 win against Navy. There are now five non-AQ teams ranked and three in the Top 10, with Boise State at No. 4, TCU at No. 5 and Utah at No. 10.

Miami of Ohio (3-2) is 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2007. The Red Hawks are one of the youngest teams in the country. Coach Mike Haywood estimates he had between 45 and 48 true freshmen, redshirt freshman and sophomores on his 65-man roster in its 27-21 win against Kent State last Saturday. “When you have a young team you don’t take anything,” Haywood said.

Utah State beat BYU for the first time since 1993, and even though BYU is down, coach Gary Andersen will take it. Fans stormed the field afterward, and he said the victory is a huge boost for recruiting and fan support for the Aggies. “For us to get a win over BYU is a step in the right direction,” he said.

Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz keeps putting up video game numbers for the Warriors. Hawaii is No. 1 in the country in passing offense, averaging 431 yards per game. Moniz had a career-high 532 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-21 win over Louisiana Tech last Saturday. He has over 300 yards passing in all his games but the opener against USC. That is because he left the game in the third quarter with a head injury.

The bad: Meanwhile, the Cougars dropped to 1-4 for the first time since 1973, and fired defensive coordinator Jamie Hill over the weekend. Coach Bronco Mendenhall will resume his coaching duties. BYU has been unable to do anything on offense and defense this season. BYU ranks No. 96 in total offense and No. 101 in total defense. The Cougars are also last in the country in rushing defense, giving up an average of 259 yards a game. Hill told the Deseret News he was surprised the decision came in the middle of the season, but one former player said Hill had some personality conflicts with players.

None of the six non-AQ winless teams won this past weekend. Western Kentucky was idle, but Eastern Michigan, Akron, FIU, New Mexico State and New Mexico all lost.

The heartache: You have got to feel for North Texas, which played Louisiana a day after freshman walk-on wide receiver Josh Rake died from injuries sustained in a car accident. This had already been a tough season, losing 10 starters to injury. Before Rake died, receiver Tyler Stradford got hurt when he tried to run from a pit bull at his apartment complex. Stradford leaped over a fence but landed on a lawn chair and had a bar stuck four inches into his chest, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle.

North Texas came back from a 28-14 fourth-quarter deficit, scoring with 31 seconds left to make it 28-27. But the extra point attempt was blocked, and Louisiana won. The Mean Green have now lost eight games by seven points or less in the last two seasons. Now comes word that starting quarterback Riley Dodge has a fractured wrist and may require surgery, the third starting quarterback to get hurt for North Texas this season. Coach Todd Dodge is now preparing Chase Blaine to start.

A few more helmet stickers: Hawaii WR Kealoha Pilares set a new school record with 18 catches against Louisiana Tech, passing the previous mark of 16 set by Greg Salas last year against New Mexico State. Pilares also finished with a career-high 217 receiving yards, the seventh best performance in school history. … Arkansas State LB Javon McKinnon recorded a career-high 16 tackles against Louisville. … Ball State DE Robert Eddins had a career-high 4.5 sacks and seven total tackles in Ball State's 31-17 win at Central Michigan.

A few injury items to note: Bowling Green quarterback Matt Schilz missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury, and coach Dave Clawson sounded unsure whether his player would be able to go at Ohio on Saturday. Schilz hasn’t thrown since last Wednesday. If he can’t go this week, Clawson said he would open up the quarterback competition. Aaron Pankratz went 12-of-37 for 167 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in a loss to Buffalo. … Ohio WR LaVonn Brazill has a broken hand and is out. … Central Michigan linebacker Nick Bellore (ankle) is day to day. ... Utah State RB Michael Smith (turf toe) is out indefinitely and Andersen said he would see whether Smith is eligible for a medical redshirt.

Week 6 look ahead: Plenty of big conference games this week. It starts Tuesday night with Troy at Middle Tennessee in the return of Blue Raiders quarterback Dwight Dasher. On Wednesday, UAB travels to UCF. The Blazers have had three of their games come down to the final play, losing two. Big MAC showdown between Temple and Northern Illinois. San Diego State travels to BYU, and there also is the winless bowl: New Mexico against New Mexico State. Someone has to win. Right?

With talk of conference expansion gracing newspapers and websites nearly every day, every conference seems to be working on a contingency plan just in case its membership takes a hit.

The Mid-American Conference is no different. Even though its membership hasn’t been linked to much expansion talk, MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said his conference is ready for whatever might happen.

“I don’t anticipate losing member institutions,” Steinbrecher said during last week’s MAC conference call. “I guess at the same time we’re prepared as a conference and we have the mechanisms in place to move forward if we need to. You never want to lose institutions, certainly that wouldn’t be anyone’s desire, I don’t believe, but we’re ready for any contingency that we would face.”

The lynchpin in conference expansion and possible realignment is the Big Ten, which was the first conference to announce plans for expansion. While Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany hasn’t mapped out the details of the expansion, published reports state that the conference could move to 12 teams or as many as 20. And with the MAC right in the middle of the Big Ten’s footprint, several of the conference’s 13 schools could be up for consideration.

"Those conferences are going to do what's in their best interest, and I'm sure at some point it will pull some teams out from other conferences," Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson said on the conference call. "I think people have seen this on the horizon for a number of years. I'm sure it will have some impact on us but what exactly is I think is anybody's best guess."

While Steinbrecher wouldn’t share the specifics of his contingency plan, he did state that the conference already has been working on identifying new membership should a need arise.

“One of the things I think conference offices do anytime, and we’ve been doing for some time, is you continue to evaluate the landscape and the environment and I think you’re continually asking the question of, ‘Are there people out there that are the right fit programmatically, that fit philosophically, and would elevate your conference,’” Steinbrecher said.

The MAC is no stranger to having teams poached from its conference. After the 2004 season, Central Florida and Marshall left for Conference USA, which had lost some of its membership to the Big East. That left the MAC with 12 teams for two years before they added Temple as a full-time football member in 2007. That move has been scrutinized for years, even to the point where Steinbrecher’s been asked on several occasions whether Temple would be the first team ushered out should another conference come looking for a school.

Temple signed a six-year contract with the MAC in 2005. With the recent success of Temple’s football program, the re-emergence of the basketball team and the allure of the Philadelphia market, the Owls could be a prime target for expansion.

When Steinbrecher was asked point blank whether he wanted Temple in the MAC, he said: “We’re very pleased they’re a part of our league.”

Steinbrecher reiterated that his conference is not alone in trying to make sure that all of its bases are covered and that it’s not caught off guard when expansion does finally come to fruition. He said he doesn’t deal in hypothetical situations, but he’s fairly confident that the MAC will be prepared for whatever comes its way.

“I believe we are positioned if there are opportunities that we would act upon those,” Steinbrecher said. “We’ll need to continue to have membership discussions on those things and so on. But like, I got to imagine, every other conference out there, we’re paying attention and we’ll be prepared to do what is necessary to ensure the growth and stability of the Mid-American Conference.”

The BYU quarterback competition among Jake Heaps, Riley Nelson and James Lark is still undecided.

Florida International players and coaches continue to deal with the aftermath of the death of running back Kendall Berry.

As spring practices continue, Jordan Wynn remains the future of the Utes' offense.

After Saturday’s scrimmage, Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson is starting to see improvement within his team.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham places his faith in 23-year-old quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson.

The quarterback race at Louisiana Tech continues to narrow as spring pushes on.

The Nevada first-team defense kept Colin Kaepernick’s offense out of the end zone during the spring game.

The quarterback race is still wide open at UAB as coach Neil Callaway looks for a replacement for Joe Webb.

Connecticut coach Randy Edsall contacted FIU coach Mario Cristobal after the death of FIU running back Kendall Berry.

New Colorado State freshman quarterback Pete Thomas is adjusting to college life as he tries to win the starting quarterback position.

The Honolulu Advertiser breaks down Hawaii’s position battles as it enters spring football.

Former Central Florida walk-on Zach Norris talks about his journey to starting center.

Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson is tasked with developing more young players this spring than he did a year ago.

Wyoming’s daily depth chart leads to more competition in practice.

As Bowling Green continues spring practice this week, the search for a replacement for star receiver Freddie Barnes also continues.

Barnes set the single-season record for receptions last year with 155. But coach Dave Clawson said Barnes' record-setting effort was a surprise to everyone because the Falcons opened fall camp with more options at receiver.

“We did not go into the year last year thinking that Freddie Barnes was going to catch 155 balls,” Clawson said. “That kind of came about because of necessity because we lost three [receivers] for the year and we lost a fourth one for half the year. We were thinking he was probably going to catch 90.”

Seniors Tyrone Pronty and Calvin Wiley, and junior Derek Brighton were supposed to complement Barnes in the starting receiving corps last year, but during fall camp Wiley suffered a season-ending knee injury and Brighton suffered a season-ending foot injury. Pronty injured his foot during the season-opener and missed the rest of the year.

Junior Ray Hutson suffered a knee injury against Ohio midway through the season and was limited throughout the year.

“Those guys were starting last year and would have played 60, 70 plays a game,” Clawson said. “So now we get those guys back.”

Bowling Green returns three offensive starters from 2009 -- running back Willie Geter and offensive linemen Tyler Donahue and Ben Bojicic. Clawson said 43 of the team’s 85 scholarship players would have four years of eligibility remaining entering the 2010 season. And while he thinks this will be a more talented, stronger and faster team that last year, getting all of those young, inexperienced players on the same page is going to be a process.

But in terms of wide receiver, Clawson is confident. Even though the Falcons don’t return many starters or much experience on offense, all four of the receivers who were going to be counted on in 2009 will be back for 2010. And the Falcons return Adrian Hodges, who was the team’s third-leading receiver last year.

Of course Clawson knows that finding another gem like Barnes will be difficult. Barnes caught more passes in 2009 than he did in his previous three seasons with the team combined. But the players believe in Clawson’s system and have the ability to be a better receiving group than it was a year ago.

“Last year, we graduated some players that were very productive players for us, obviously Tyler and Freddie,” Clawson said. “You’re not going to replace their production with two people. It’s going to have to be a collective effort.

“That’s why our spring is so important. We have to come out of the spring a much more experience, a much more savvy football team than we go into it.”

1. The MWC is still strong: The Mountain West has been all about making statements since the season’s opening game at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. And the conference continued that trend into bowl season with a 4-1 record, including two wins over teams from the automatic qualifying conferences. However, the Mountain West did lose the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl to Boise State, which means that while the conference as a whole is the best, the Broncos are the best non-AQ team.

2. Boise State reigns supreme: It’s time to party like it’s 2007! That’s the last time Boise State could claim non-AQ supremacy after a big win in a BCS game. The Broncos 17-10 win over TCU might have been criticized by some, but it’s clear that Boise State was the best team on the field that day and deserved to win the game. Now it will be interesting to see what this means to the future of the Broncos and the Mountain West. There have been rumors about Boise State joining the conference and it will be intriguing to see whether the win hurts or helps that cause.

3. Minor uprising: Three teams went to bowls this season after more than a decade drought and two came away with victories. Idaho and SMU both made the country sit up and take notice after their big wins in the their respective bowl games. SMU’s dominant win over Nevada has piqued interest because the Mustangs have not been relevant for 25 years. Coach June Jones is known for his ability to turn programs around, but what he’s done at SMU in such a short amount of time, has created a lot of optimism.

4. New coaches split bowl games: First-year coaches Dave Christensen and Dave Clawson split their respective bowl games with Christensen’s Wyoming Cowboys beating Fresno State in double overtime and Clawson’s Bowling Green Falcons losing to Idaho on one of the craziest plays of the bowl season. However, both coaches finish the season as the only new head coaches with winning records and there will be great optimism, especially in Wyoming, that both coaches can continue the winning trend.

5. Let the record show: Several non-AQ players set records during their various bowl games. Middle Tennessee quarterback Dwight Dasher became just the third FBS quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards and throw for 2,000 yards. Bowling Green receiver Freddie Barnes set the FBS single-season reception record. Navy’s Ricky Dobbs set the single-season FBS record for touchdowns by a quarterback. SMU quarterback Kyle Padron set the SMU record for passing yards in a game. And then there’s Houston quarterback Case Keenum, who has the unfortunate distinction of tying the bowl interception record with six.

Before the season started, I looked at each of the new coaches in the Mid-American Conference and how they’d fare this season. Now, I’m looking back to see how I did. A couple MAC coaches had some rough inaugural seasons while one thrived and took his team to a bowl game.

Here’s a look back at the MAC’s new coaches:

BALL STATE

Coach: Stan Parrish

Previous school and position: Ball State, offensive coordinator

Head coaching experience: None

Ball State’s 2008 record: 12-2, 8-0 MAC

Returning players: Offense 4, defense 7

Likelihood of pulling off a winning season: Ball State will not be 12-2 again. Just forget about that right now. It probably won’t be undefeated in conference play either. But it will be a player in the race for the MAC West title. I really like Ball State’s defense. Sean Baker is one of my favorite players because I like the way he reads the game. He could easily lead the conference in interceptions.

The Cardinals have the luxury of three easy games -- North Texas, New Hampshire and Army -- to begin the season before travelling to Auburn to end non-conference play. It’s a nice 3-1 start for a team that will be looking for some confidence.

In fact, the bulk of the schedule sets up nicely for Ball State to have a pretty good record heading into the final month of the season. The Cardinals open conference play against Toledo, travel to Temple, host Bowling Green, travel to Eastern Michigan and then play Ohio at home to end October.

Then the season begins. The Cardinals end the year against Northern Illinois, Central Michigan and Western Michigan. All midweek games and against opponents that are going to be fighting for both bowl slots and the MAC West title.

So while the Cardinals’ record might be pretty good heading into November, those three games will be the telltale sign of how far the team has progressed in Parrish’s first season.

My prediction: 8-4, 5-3 MAC

What really happened: What we all realized early in the season was that quarterback Kelly Page was not Nate Davis and the Cardinals were not even close to the team that almost went undefeated in 2008. Ball State lost its first seven games, but started to come around in the latter half of the season and showed some progress despite some major injuries. While the Cardinals finished with two wins and appeared to take a step backward, it will probably be better for the experience.

The end result: 2-10, 2-6 MAC

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BOWLING GREEN

Coach: Dave Clawson

Previous school and position: Tennessee, offensive coordinator

Head coaching experience: Fordham 1999-2004, Richmond 2004-07

Bowling Green’s 2008 record: 6-6, 4-4 MAC

Returning players: Offense 7, defense 4

Likelihood of pulling off a winning season: Every year, at least for the past few years, the MAC East has been wide open. And during the last few years Bowling Green has either shared the division title been right in the thick of it. Even last year, Bowling Green finished tied for second in the East and was a win over Buffalo away from playing in the MAC title game. So, the desire to be a contender in the MAC is there. It’s a matter of learning a new system and putting it all together.

The Falcons don’t have an easy schedule. It opens against a talented Troy team, which is favored to with the Sun Belt, and then travels to Missouri and Marshall before coming home to face Boise State. That’s likely going to be a 1-3 start, perhaps 2-2 because they get Troy at home.

Conference play opens against Ohio and then a road game at Kent State, both winnable games. Then the Falcons hit a tough stretch at Ball State, against Central Michigan and at Buffalo. The Falcons haven’t played Central since 2006, haven’t played Ball State since 2005 and Buffalo edged them ultimately for the title last year.

Then Bowling Green drops into another winnable set of games at Miami (Ohio), and at home against Akron and Toledo.

My prediction: 6-6, 5-3 MAC

What really happened: Bowling Green had a tougher schedule to begin the season than many anticipated and it resulted in a 1-4 start. But once receiver Freddie Barnes and quarterback Tyler Sheehan started to hit their stride, the Falcons started to be more competitive and finish games. When the bye week hit, coach Dave Clawson told his team that it needed to win its final four games to make a bowl and it did. Bowling Green became the only non-AQ team with a new head coach to finish the regular season with a winning record.

The end result: 7-6, 6-2 MAC

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EASTERN MICHIGAN

Coach: Ron English

Previous school and position: Louisville, defensive coordinator

Head coaching experience: None

Eastern Michigan’s 2008 record: 3-9, 2-6 MAC

Returning players: Offense 8, defense 8

Likelihood of pulling off a winning season: The Eagles have an offense that rivals any in the conference and most of the key players –- Andy Schmitt, Jacory Stone, Terrence Blevins –- return. The problem is that almost every team in the MAC has a great offense and EMU’s isn’t consistent enough to outscore its opponents.

The Eagles should open the season with a win over Army, but then they have tough road games against Northwestern and Michigan. It’s easily a 1-2 start, though they could steal the game at Michigan. The Eagles open conference against a deep and experienced Temple team that has a couple quarterbacks that can spread the ball around. The next game at Central Michigan could be ugly especially since the Chippewas will be looking for revenge for last season.

The Eagles could split their games against Kent State and Ball State before travelling to Arkansas for a mid-season non-conference loss. They come home to play Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, two teams that will contenders in the MAC West, and end the season on the road against Toledo and Akron teams that can be beaten.

Wins are going to be hard to come by with this schedule, but the Eagles should be a little better than they were a year ago.

My prediction: 4-8, 3-5 MAC

What really happened: I’ll admit that 4-8 was a little optimistic, but when starting quarterback Andy Schmitt went down with a season-ending injury, it became nearly impossible. Eastern Michigan spent the year learning new coaches, a new system, and a bunch of new players and stumbled to a winless season -- one of only two teams in the FBS not to win a game this year. But confidence English can turn the program around remains high.

The end result: 0-12, 0-8 MAC

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MIAMI (OHIO)

Coach: Mike Haywood

Previous school and position: Notre Dame, offensive coordinator

Head coaching experience: None

Eastern Michigan’s 2008 record: 2-10, 1-7 MAC

Returning players: Offense 8, defense 5

Likelihood of pulling off a winning season: Haywood might have drawn the short straw of all the new MAC coaches. Unlike some of the other schools, Miami doesn’t have a name playmaker to build the team around. Raudabaugh could be that guy, but he’s not right now. Defensively, linebacker Caleb Bostic could be that guy, but he’s not there yet either.

This is an uphill climb. No doubt about it. The good thing is that Haywood is a big enough name that he can bring in some players to help turn the program around, but it’s going to take time especially with the brutal schedule it faces this year.

The RedHawks open the year with Kentucky and Boise State before dropping into conference play against Western Michigan and Kent State. That’s easily an 0-4 start especially with Kent State’s running game and Miami’s lack of running defense. Then the RedHawks go back into non-conference play against Cincinnati and Northwestern before playing Ohio, Northern Illinois and Toledo to end October. The RedHawks finish the year at Temple and then at home against Bowling Green and Buffalo.

This year could easily be a repeat of 2008.

My prediction: 2-10, 2-6 MAC

What really happened:This season was the uphill climb I predicted, but Miami-Ohio did start to get better as the season progressed. Quarterback Zac Dysert will be good for the RedHawks once coach Mike Haywood gets some players around him. Dysert had a tremendous second half of the season and was one of the team's lone bright spots. Despite the record, Miami has a pretty good upside and could be a player in the MAC in the next couple years.

The end result: 1-11, 1-7 MAC

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TOLEDO

Coach: Tim Beckman

Previous school and position: Oklahoma State, defensive coordinator

Head coaching experience: None

Eastern Michigan’s 2008 record: 3-9, 2-6 MAC

Returning players: Offense 9, defense 9

Likelihood of pulling off a winning season: Of all the new MAC coaches, Beckman probably inherited the best and most underrated team available. Don’t be fooled by Toledo’s record or stats last season. There are good players on this team, they just needed a little bit of direction, which I believe Beckman can bring.

With that said, this season could go either way. Toledo hasn’t had a winning season since 2005, but it does have the personnel to turn that around.

The schedule could be challenging. The Rockets’ non-conference schedule consists of Purdue, Colorado, Ohio State and Florida International. I’m a big believer in Florida International, so I’m calling that a loss. I think Toledo could perhaps pick off Colorado at home.

It has a tough stretch to open conference play –- at Ball State, then at home against Western Michigan and Northern Illinois –- but then gets Temple and Miami. The Rockets end the schedule with another tough stretch against Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green.

Although the schedule is tough, I think Toledo can be one of the surprise teams of the season.

My prediction: 6-6, 5-3 MAC

What really happened: Toledo was one of the more disappointing MAC teams this season because coach Tim Beckman inherited a lot of talent, including a senior quarterback and receiver, and could not get much out of either of them through the duration of the year. The win against Colorado was a great win for the program, but a loss to Miami-Ohio cost the Rockets a potential bowl game. Four of the Rockets' seven losses were to teams in bowl games, but the others were to teams with losing records.

The end result: 5-7, 3-5 MAC

Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson didn’t patronize his team when it went into its bye week at 3-5 about a month ago.

He knew that if the Falcons were going to have any shot of going to a bowl game in his first season as head coach, they’d probably have to win-out.

“I think they knew exactly what they were up against,” Clawson said. “When we were 3-5, I said, 'Guys, we probably need to get to 7-5, but the only way we can get to 7-5 is first by being 4-5.' We just kept our approach that it was a one-week season.”

While the Falcons didn’t have any teams with winning records remaining on their schedule, they weren’t exactly running away with wins. So, they had to get focused and use all that they learned during their previous eight games and apply it through the stretch run.

With one game against Toledo remaining in the season, Bowling Green is 6-5 and one game away from realizing its goal.

“The way the national landscape is setting up with the possibility of at-large teams at 7-5, I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of them,” Clawson said. “There’s certainly no guarantee, but it looks pretty promising that at 7-5 we would be in a bowl.”

Bowling Green could take a lot from its losses because every single one was to a team that’s now bowl eligible and four of the five were to teams with seven or more wins. The Falcons only lost two of the games -- against Boise State and Central Michigan -- by double-digits. The other three losses were by a touchdown.

“We never felt like a losing football team,” Clawson said. “We always practiced hard. I’ve coached teams where maybe the frustration of not winning a couple in a row affects how you practice. Our Tuesday practices have been really good practices even when we lost a couple in a row in September. As long as you practice well, you have a chance to get better and you give yourself a chance to win games.”

Now, the Falcons have a chance to claim that seventh win against rival Toledo. The two teams play for the Peace Pipe; they’ve been doing so since 1919. Toledo leads the series 15-14, but Bowling Green has won the past two contests in impressive fashion. The Rockets are playing their third quarterback this season as the position has been decimated by injuries. The team has lost three of its last four.

“It’s been a very rewarding season,” Clawson said. “It was really neat to see our guys fight back from 1-4 to now get ourselves bowl eligible at 6-5 and now finish off with a huge, huge football game against a well-coached and very good team.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson spent the bye week talking to his players about the importance of finishing in the fourth quarter.

Six of the Falcons' eight games had been decided in the fourth quarter and they’d only won two of them.

But against Buffalo on Tuesday, Bowling Green turned it around.

The Falcons scored two touchdowns in the final period, including the game-winning pass and catch from Tyler Sheehan to Freddie Barnes with 35 seconds remaining to give the Falcons a 30-29 win.

“We just kept saying that we were going to win this game,” Clawson said. “Our players have been in that situation a lot and when they’re in that position, they don’t panic.”

Clawson credited his team’s defense for playing better in the second half. After allowing 21 points to Buffalo in the first half, the Falcons' defense buckled down, allowed eight points and gave the offense a chance.

P.J. Mahone’s blocked punt in the fourth quarter set up the first touchdowns of the comeback -- a 4-yard run by Sheehan -- and momentum started to shift from there.

“I felt the momentum shift, but I can’t tell you we had it,” Clawson said.

Clawson’s apprehension in the fourth quarter was justifiable. So many times this season Bowling Green has been in striking distance only to falter at the end. Only games against Troy and Kent State worked out in the Falcons' favor, and the Kent State outcome took two scores in the final four and a half minutes to erase a 12-point deficit.

With three games remaining and the Falcons sitting at 4-5, there’s still hope for a bowl berth. The MAC has three guaranteed bowls and a secondary bowl slot with the EagleBank Bowl, should the ACC not have a ninth bowl-eligible team. Currently, it doesn’t look like the ACC is going to fill all of its slots. There’s also a possibility of an at-large berth.

Temple, Ohio and Central Michigan all are bowl-eligible. Kent State and Northern Illinois have five wins each. Bowling Green likely would need seven wins to guarantee a bowl berth, which means sweeping their final three games against rival Miami-Ohio, Akron and Toledo. Miami-Ohio and Akron have combined for two wins this season and Toledo has been struggling at 4-5.

“This is what we needed to do to keep our season alive,” Clawson said. “It was a big win. Once you get to November, you fight to keep your season alive and your goals alive and certainly last night allowed us to keep a lot of our preseason goals alive.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

For Bowling Green, a bye week couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Falcons are 3-5. They’ve been beaten up mentally and physically and they’re in desperate need of something good to happen.

They’re hoping that good fortune starts tonight against Buffalo.

“I don’t think you can get your mind right to make a run, I think you’ve got to get your mind right to win the next game to put you in a position to still be bowl eligible,” Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson said. “If you have five losses and you need to get to six or seven [wins] every game becomes that much more critical.”

With the exception of the game against Boise State, Bowling Green has been within striking distance in every game. Against Missouri, the Falcons led going into the fourth quarter. Against Marshall and Ohio, the Falcons cut the lead to a score with about 3 minutes to go in the game.

Against Central Michigan, Bowling Green turned the ball over twice in the red zone.

“The only two games that we were ahead by a lot was Ball [State] and behind Boise, and every other game has come down to the fourth quarter and we found a way to get a couple of them, but not as much as we would like,” Clawson said. “In the process of doing that we’ve played some good football teams. So, we’ve just got to keep getting better and worrying about us. If we do that, the things take care of itself.”

Clawson said he gave his team some time away from football during the bye week. He expects several players who were playing at about 80 percent to come back rejuvenated for this game. He said he also spent time working on fundamentals with his team, something he wouldn’t have been able to do without the extra week.

He said even though the team has fallen on some hard times, they’ve maintained a positive attitude and that will only help them as they work toward bowl eligibility.

“Are we resilient enough? I believe we are because after every win and every loss, there’s been a consistency to our Tuesday, Wednesday practice,” Clawson said. “We have good senior leadership on this team… Those guys have done a good job of turning the page and getting focused for the next week. Obviously, we need that to happen [tonight].”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Central Michigan will face its biggest defensive challenge today when it lines up against Bowling Green.

Receiver Freddie Barnes leads the country in receptions per game and during the past two games he’s had 32 catches for 438 yards and six touchdowns. Similarly, quarterback Tyler Sheehan has put up gaudy numbers during the past couple weeks completing 72 of 104 passes for 881 yards and seven touchdown passes.

“It’s neat when sometimes you get that quarterback and those receivers are on the same page and they allow you to do a lot more with your offense and these things aren’t an accident,” Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson said. “Those guys spent a lot of time this summer running these routes and throwing it and catching it. They’ve certainly got a great feel for each other and they’ve got great confidence in each other and thank goodness for it because it’s been a major reason why we’ve been so productive on offense.”

While teams have tried to double and sometimes triple cover Barnes to limit his effectiveness, the Bowling Green coaching staff has done a great job of moving him around the field. Sometimes he’ll be the boundary receiver, sometimes he’ll be in the slot, and sometimes he’ll run the ball out of the Wild Falcon formation from the backfield.

But what’s been key for the Falcons these past few weeks has been the play of the team’s other receivers. While Barnes has put up ridiculous numbers, players such as Chris Wright and Adrian Hodges have been equally as effective and the Falcons have several other receivers that are capable of having big games if too much attention is paid to Barnes.

“I think any time you put emphasis on taking any one individual away from their offense they have other individuals that are extremely capable of stepping up and having big games,” Central Michigan coach Butch Jones said. “That’s the thing that makes them so difficult to defend, it’s not just Freddie Barnes. And Tyler [Sheehan] can make all the throws. I think he’s a great quarterback. So I think it makes it extremely difficult. I think the thing you got to do is you’ve got to be able to contain Freddie and tackle him. You know he’s going to get his catches.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Boise State coach Chris Petersen has always been levelheaded about his team’s success, and after moving to No. 5 in the national rankings, the highest regular season ranking ever for the Broncos, Petersen didn’t waiver from that attitude.

“It’s just so early and I think even the sportswriters and everybody is complaining about how hard it is to rank guys,” Petersen said during Monday’s WAC teleconference. “They’ve got their top three or their top four figured out and then after that, no idea. I think everybody feels like that. So, for our team, we have nine games left. A few years ago, that’s a full season. That’s really how we’re looking at it. We basically have a full season left to play and that’s where our focus needs to be, not on where we’re ranked right now.”

Boise State hosts FCS opponent U.C. Davis this weekend, a late addition to the schedule to give the Broncos an extra game. Boise State can play 13 games since it travels to Hawaii.

The Broncos moved up three spots in the ranking by virtue of losses by teams ahead of them, but also because the Broncos have handled each team they’ve played. Last week, Boise State demolished a Bowling Green team that went toe-to-toe with Missouri, and the week before it won a 17-point road decision over a Fresno State team that No. 10 Cincinnati beat by a score and Wisconsin needed overtime to beat.

“We’ve played some pretty good teams, Missouri’s a good football team, Troy’s a good team and Marshall’s a goof football team, but certainly the explosiveness and the ability to make big plays is just what Boise does so well,” Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson said. “We have not given up that many big plays this year and part of it was we overpursued on defense and allowed some reverses out and part of it is the skill level and talent level of Boise.”

Petersen is aware that all the hype the Broncos are getting right now can be taken at any time if his team doesn’t come prepared to play. It’s already happened to teams such as BYU and Utah, which lost games and severely dropped in the polls and almost of the national map completely. So, like he has since taking over as the head coach, Petersen continues to preach the one-game-at-a-time approach and hopes that his team doesn’t look ahead, especially this weekend with a key game against Tulsa coming up on Oct. 14.

“I think every weekend proves the point we keep saying every week, it doesn’t really matter at this time,” Petersen said. “You lose one and it was just a lot of talk for nothing. And I think we understand that.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Bowling Green heard the talk before its game against Missouri -- the Tigers were going to be 4-0 coming out of nonconference play.

It was Week 2 when Bowling Green strolled into Columbia, Mo., and was less than six minutes away from pulling off the upset. Bowling Green lost 27-20, but the game proved to the Falcons that they could keep pace with any team in the country despite outside prognostications.

Heading into Saturday’s game against No. 8 Boise State, the Falcons are once again hearing that they have no chance to win.

“I think those are things maybe you throw out early in the week, but at the end of the day, I don’t think that has any effect on the game on Saturday,” Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson said. “We’ve got our hands full with defending who Boise is and what they do. I think that Boise, if you look at them over the course of the years, has done a great job with their football team of keeping them focused from week-to-week.

“We know we’re going to play a well-coached, well-prepared football team on Saturday and we’ve got to make sure we block them and tackle them and take care of the football. Those are the things that win and lose football games. I’m sure they’ll be heavy favorites, but we’re at home and we’ve got to play well.”

Boise State is the highest ranked opponent to play at Doyt-Perry Stadium. Bowling Green only has defeated a Top 25 team four times in school history; the last time was a 27-17 win over No. 25 Pittsburgh last season. Since 2003, the Falcons are 3-4 against teams in the Associated Press Poll Top 25.

Clawson contends the way to pull off this upset is to stick with the Broncos into the fourth quarter. In all of Bowling Green’s games this season, the Falcons have either taken leads into the fourth quarter or been with striking distance. Although the Falcons are 1-2, they’ve been in a position to win every game.

“We’ve gotten every game in the fourth quarter against three good football teams with a chance to win the game,” Clawson said. “In the Troy game, we got the critical stops and made the critical plays to win the game. In the Missouri game and the Marshall game we didn’t do that. So, we’ve been there. We’ve just got to do a better job of executing late in the game. And I think the key with Boise is we’ve got to put ourselves in the same position. We’ve got to get to the fourth quarter with an opportunity to win the game and then when we get to that point, we have to learn from Missouri and learn from Marshall and make the plays that get us over the top. That’s going to be our challenge.”

Each game has been a learning experience for Bowling Green. And while the season has come with mixed results, the players haven’t wavered from the effort that has put them in a position to win. The players are buying into Clawson’s coaching and they’re confident the experiences of the past three games are going to pay off, perhaps this weekend.

“Everybody really comes into the game believing that we can win any game,” Bowling Green receiver Freddie Barnes said. “These first four games we had on our schedule, people had us coming out 0-4. So, the way we played these first three games has given us a lot of confidence to know that our destiny is in our hands. If we stick to the plan that the coaches give us, we can come out victorious."

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson announced Tuesday that senior safety P.J. Mahone has been indefinitely suspended from the team. No other details were provided.

Mahone led the team with 95 tackles last season and was second on the team with three interceptions and third with seven pass breakups. Through two games this season, he leads the team with 21 tackles.