By Mike Smith -- MAC Musings and More - A look around the MAC ... and sometimes beyond
They may not go down as “watershed” moments, but two football events over the last several months have focused a national spotlight on the Mid-American Conference! The first was Northern Illinois’ participation in the Orange Bowl back in January. The second MAC moment came Friday when Central Michigan offensive lineman Eric Fisher was the No. 1 overall selection of the 2013 NFL Draft.

By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, Ohio – As a finance and entrepreneur major, Wes Williams can appreciate the value of numbers.
Numbers can reflect positives and numbers can reflect problems. The latter call for solutions, which is what the Miami RedHawks defense is seeking as it lays the foundation for its 2013 football season. Williams, now a senior, is anxiously anticipating a chance to be part of the solution.

A day for alumni along with a tribute the Boston Marathon made the 2013 UMass Football Spring Game a special one for all in attendance on Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Stadium.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Brown team routed the Gold Team 37-0 to win the Wooden Oar War in Western Michigan's spring game in front of 2,045 fans at Waldo Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Brian Fields ran for 139 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Tyler Van Tubbergen threw two touchdown passes and tallied 248 yards through the air.

BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo Bulls held their annual spring game on Saturday afternoon at UB Stadium, with the Blue team defeating the White team, 17-3, in cool, blustery conditions.
Joe Licata threw both of the Blue team’s touchdown passes. The sophomore quarterback first found Alex Neutz on a perfectly timed back shoulder fade from five yards out for the first touchdown of the game. He later hit Matt Weiser in stride for a 42-yard score.  Licata finished the day 9-of-16 for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Licata split the first team reps with senior Alex Zordich. The Youngstown, OH native had a very productive afternoon, going 13-of-18 for 81 yards.

Ball State's football team, under the direction of third-year head coach Pete Lembo, wrapped up its 2013 spring practice season Saturday with the annual Cardinal and White Spring Game at Scheumann Stadium. Using a specialized scoring system which allowed points for drive stops, takeaways, first downs, scoring plays and other specific plays, the Red team defeated the White team by a 55-28 margin.

DeKALB, Ill. – The biggest lesson learned from Saturday’s inaugural Huskie Bowl is that the Huskies are immeasurably better as one cohesive unit working together than they are split in half.
In a one-hour, 45-minute scrimmage largely dominated by the defenses, the NIU Black team coached by offensive line coach Joe Tripodi claimed a 31-7 victory over the NIU Cardinal team led by linebackers coach Kevin Kane.  At a dinner later this semester, Tripodi and his team will dine on steak while the Cardinal team and Kane are left with hot dogs and beans.

Cleveland, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference on Thursday announced the 2013 MAC Hall of Fame Induction Class as seven new members will be inducted in the MAC Hall of Fame on Thursday, May 30 at the MAC Honor’s Dinner at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel. 

The seven inductees include a total of four from football and men’s basketball (sports covered by MAC Report Online). The four inductees are: Bill Mallory (Miami/Northern Illinois, football), Brad Maynard (Ball State, football), John Offerdahl (Western Michigan, football) and Gary Trent (Ohio, men’s basketball). 

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- With temperatures in the 40s and snow flurries in the air, spring has not yet arrived in southeastern Michigan.  Due to the cold and wet conditions, the annual spring football game was moved from Rynearson Stadium to the cozy confines of the Indoor Practice Facility. However, that did not stop plenty of football-hungry Eagle fans from coming out to catch their first glimpse of the 2013 football team.

TOLEDO, OH  - Junior reserve running back Ricky Pringle rushed for two touchdowns and senior quarterback Terrance Owens completed 19-of-29 passes for 223 yards to lead the Gold team to a 21-10 victory over the Blue team in the annual Blue and Gold spring football scrimmage at the Glass Bowl Friday night.