After Western Michigan defeated Ohio, 39-32, earlier in the season, Western Michigan coach Gary Darnell made it quite apparent how happy he was to get a Mid-American Conference road win.
This is my seventh year in the MAC and I've been in the Southeastern Conference
the Big 12 you name them I've been in all of them
Darnell said. But it is harder to win on the road in the MAC than any other league in the country.
Darnell's statements were not completely unfounded. Since 1998, of the 11 NCAA I-A conferences, the MAC ranks as the fourth most difficult conference to earn road victories in conference play. Road teams have a winning percentage of only .416 in MAC games.
Darnell said there are a number of factors that make it especially hard in the MAC, the biggest being the lack of fan support on road games.
The whole atmosphere and aura of being at your place in the MAC plays bigger
he said. If you're the coach of Texas and you go play at Texas A&M
I'll guarantee you there's as many as one as there is the other. (Home field advantage) really doesn't make a difference in those leagues that much.
Non-Bowl Championship Series teams have three of the four worst records in conference road games. Ohio coach Brian Knorr said money limitations often play a big part in that.
Ohio State
when they play Indiana 200 miles away
they fly
Knorr said. We're bussing 7 1+
and kids have to be a little bit more focused.
Another thing that makes road games difficult is a MAC rule that limits teams to taking only 60 players to road games. While the MAC is not the only conference to have a limitation, the MAC limit of 60 is the lowest of any conference.
Aside from limiting the amount of depth a team has, a limit can also keep banged-up players from making a trip.
If you get in these travel-tight games and you have a player that's on the bubble on whether he should play
or not play
