MAC Dashes Brennan's Heisman Hopes

It's March 15, but we can tell you that Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan is not going to win the Heisman Trophy. He is a victim of the Mid-American Conference's scheduling disaster we told you about two weeks ago.

Brennan, considered among the Heisman frontrunners after throwing an NCAA record 58 touchdown passes in 2006, in all likelihood will face two I-AA teams this fall, all but dooming his chances.

Hawaii had hoped to fill an Oct. 20 opening with a game against Wisconsin, but the Badgers filled that date with a game against Northern Illinois. The Big Ten and MAC have an agreement for a series of nonconference games, and it is believed that the Big Ten stepped in and helped arrange the Badgers-Huskies game to help its MAC partner, just as it did by arranging a Michigan State-Bowling Green game.

In this bizarre and roundabout way, the MAC's scheduling issues have cost Brennan a shot at the Heisman.

Unfortunately, the perception will be that Hawaii is trying to pull a fast one by playing two I-AA teams. That is simply not the case. Hawaii's scheduling issues, a spinoff from the MAC's problems from the start, have become so desperate that the team asked ESPN for help.

Now Hawaii is looking for another I-AA opponent to fill the schedule. Hawaii has already scheduled Charleston Southern. Think any Heisman voter will take Brennan seriously with two I-AA teams on the schedule?
As for the rest of the MAC fiasco, the two games Kent State had scheduled for Oct. 27 against Illinois and Vanderbilt? Unfortunately, it's not going to happen. As you can see, Miami of Ohio will now come marching into Vanderbilt Stadium on Oct. 27.

The MAC announced Wednesday that it had finalized its schedule in a press release, which quoted commissioner Rick Chryst saying, "We welcome Temple into full conference play this year, and are looking forward as well to the great non-conference opportunities that our programs have developed."

Hours later, the conference issued a second release to make corrections to the first. The corrections included clarifying the date of Buffalo's game at Rutgers (Aug. 30) and adding the Kent State at Temple game on Nov. 17 (oops). We kid you not.

The "scheduling issues" might be resolved this year for the MAC, but at least one other team besides Hawaii is having trouble filling out its schedule. Boise State, which can play 13 games this season because of a game at Hawaii, is looking to fill a Sept. 22 opening after Bowling Green had to pull out of a game against the Broncos for the second year in a row.

The headaches might be over for MAC officials, but problems remain for other teams.