Call it boring and devoid of actual matchups if you want, but it’s football, and football equals data, and for this poll data means huge swings. Oklahoma, USC and Florida droop substantially after struggling against weak foes on defense, defense, and offense, respectively. Utah goes from No. 25 to No. 14 by beating Pitt, and Michigan leaps from the bottom of a huge list of Others Receiving Votes to grasp the last spot in the poll. At the top, Boise eats into ‘Bama’s huge lead in the preseason poll, dropping the advantage from 4-1 to 2-1.

Follow this link to see the week 2 results and a breakdown of how the votes were cast.

Just like last week, we’re using EA Sports’ NCAA 2011 for Xbox 360 and we simulate each game three times to eliminate any fluke scores / scenarios and report the general consensus on how the game will play out.

Below the fold you’ll find the questions that were posed to us and our answers, so read on…

1). The MAC has looked weak so far against out-of-conference opponents. Is this shaping up to be a down year for the MAC?

We don’t expect this to be a down year for the MAC but the quality of the out-of-conference opponents is increasing. Florida from the SEC – Arizona from the Pac10 – Iowa State from the Big12 (not to mention Toledo’s 10/9 matchup with Boise State). The teams that we predicted to win, won.

2). Why don’t our fans come to games? Whether it is Buffalo in a large city or Bowling Green off the side of a highway, our stadiums are generally…uninspired. Even after Central Michigan’s GREATEST WIN OF ALL TIME against tormenting in-state rival MSU, Central Michigan’s stadium was half full the next week against Alcorn State. Can anything be done to at least get on par with a Tulsa or ECU?

A lot of the MAC schools are geographically cursed by larger schools. Fans, in turn, are tuning in to watch the bigger schools in bigger games. When CMU beat MSU last year, it was just one game that most common fans saw it as a fluke, and that CMU is not a better program than MSU. Until the MAC can gain BCS notoriety, any team in the MAC will be hard pressed to sell out consecutive games, let alone sell out seasons. It should help that the OC schedules are beefing up. Arizona is the first Pac-10 school to visit a MAC stadium and Miami FL will be on Toledo’s home schedule in a few years.The MAC is slowly gaining respect from the larger schools, but until the MAC teams can beat those top teams (more than once) they will always be viewed as second rate.

3). People act like a win for Boise State is a win for the “little guy.” Is Boise State really carrying water for the non-aq’s anymore? It seems to me they are essentially a BCS program at this point in time.

To us, Boise State is no longer a “little guy”. They’ve had several consecutive years of top notch football where they can compete with just about any team in the country. They continue to reach BCS games and began the season in the top 5 this year. They distanced themselves from the “little guys” at that point and it’s hard to see them as a representative of that station anymore. When Toledo plays them on October 9th, they certainly will not be a “little guy” opponent.

4). The game of the week has to be Temple versus Central Michigan on Thursday night (ESPNU). Who ya’ got in that match-up?

While the Temple vs. CMU matchup is interesting, Temple didn’t beat Villanova as convincingly as they could have, but will probably handle CMU by 10+. Don’t underestimate the impact of the OU vs. Toledo game – if UT can get back on it’s feet after the AZ implosion, we could still stand a chance in the MAC.

5). Which MAC QB is going to take the crown as “best of the conference” when the dust settles at the end of the season?

After just one week, there is still too much uncertainty to crown another face-of-the-MAC QB, like in years past. Once they get a few games under their belts (in and out of conference) then the best talent will float to the top and the rest will sink away.

6. Rank them FIRST to WORST.

1. Temple
2. Ohio
3. NIU
4. CMU
5. Toledo
6. Kent
7. BGSU
8. WMU
9. Buffalo
10. Ball State
11. Miami
12. Akron
13. EMU

Check out this awesome Chuck Ealey t-shirt from JUPMODE.com. A little more on Chuck:

After completing an undefeated 27-0 record in High School in Portsmouth Ohio, Chuck received a Football scholarship to the University of Toledo. While getting his degree in Business Economics, Chuck, as Quarterback, led his UT Rockets to a record breaking 35-0 college record. Despite this record, Chuck was passed over by the NFL draft as Quarterback. Chuck chose to go to the CFL where the only thing that mattered was his ability. In 1972 he led the Hamilton Tigercats to a Grey Cup Championship, winning MVP as Quarterback.

Although Chuck is the only undefeated quarterback in College Football history, he is not in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Check out InductChuck.com for more info — and when you’re finished there, head over to JUPMODE.com and get yourself one of these shirts. I own this shirt and would highly recommend checking out the t-shirt they have over there.

Offensive playmakers need the ball in their hands to make plays, and so excuse Eric Page for being absent from the highlight reel from the University of Toledo’s 41-2 season-opening loss to Arizona last Friday.

The sophomore wide receiver had just four catches for 43 yards against the Wildcats, along with five kick and punt returns for a combined 16 yards.

All told, Page totaled just 59 all-purpose yards — a number that will likely need to be much higher for the Rockets to have a fighting chance in their Mid-American Conference opener at Ohio on Saturday.

The article goes on to discuss how the gameplan is to incorporate Page into the offense as much as possible. The interesting thing that it points out, is something we’re preaching weekly, someone else on offense has to pose a serious threat to the opponenet defense in order to draw attention away from Page and get him open to be utilized. The other WRs, the TEs, and the RBs have to show that they are capable and potent too and that will make defenses adjust to keep from getting burnt by them — and that’s when Page will become most effective. It’s obvious that he is a playmakers, but without other weapons to keep the defense honest, he’ll be bottled up every week, just like he was against Arizona.

Read the full article here.

>> A total of 10 players (Jayrone Elliott, David Fluellen, James Green, Zac Kerin, Ross Madison, John Penza, Charles Rancifer, Bernard Reedy, Johnie Roberts, Christian Smith) saw their first collegiate action as a Rocket in the season opener.

>> Senior CB Desmond Marrow, coming back from knee surgery that forced himn to miss 11 games last season, paced the Rockets’ defense with nine stops, including one tackle for loss.

>> Junior SS Diauntae Morrow was credited with his first career interception in the third quarter. Morrow played two years at Iowa (2007-08) and sat out last season at UT as a redshirt. He finished with eight tackles.