Why this conference is fun
A little thing called MACtion. Ever heard of it?
I hate to be the guy that says it, but with CUSA implementing weekday games in October, it may steal a bit of shine from what the Mid-American Conference built. But nothing hits like an Eastern Michigan home game on a Wednesday night in the snow. Trust me on this.
Beyond that, really it is the unpredictability that makes this conference so unique. Teams like Miami and Toledo are consistently good. But at the end of the year, you usually get teams like Ohio and Western Michigan as the conference champs. And this year, they actually dipped their toe in the realignment pool, losing Northern Illinois to the Mountain West and replacing them with Sacramento State. (Such a wild sentence to type.) Don’t get me wrong, the bad teams are generally REALLY BAD. But we’ll get to that.
Top Tier Teams (in predicted order of finish)
Western Michigan
Picking the defending champs to repeat is generally a fool’s errand. But when you return your starting QB, an all-conference RB, two receivers and three starting offensive linemen, the odds are in your favor.
The Broncos ended last season winning 10 of their last 11 games, with their loss being at Miami. However, they avenged that in the MAC Title game, then proceeded to beat the doors off Kennesaw State on the Teal Turf. Rolling that momentum over to this year will be tough, as they start the season at Michigan. But if you are going to play Kyle Whittingham’s new team, the season opener is the time to do it. Beyond that, back to back conference games at Central Michigan and at Toledo will matter more to the conference standings.
Miami (Ohio)
If you are the type to just trust in a team’s culture, then the Redhawks are your MAC team of choice.
There was some buzz that this might be a playoff team after Daquon Finn signed on to be their quarterback. But that experiment was a colossal failure. In came Thomas Gotkowski to provide a welcome spark. He returns, along with 3 starting OL. Expect Chuck Martin to have the defense playing up to its usual stout level. Their conference schedule is manageable leading up to the conference finale in Kalamazoo against Western Michigan. There are no stars, but they consistently win. Expect more of the same in 2026.
Central Michigan
I kinda think second year coach Matt Drinkall is building something here.
Drinkall, who previously served as Army’s OC, brought a version of that rushing attack to Mount Pleasant, leading the Chippewas to a bowl game in his first season. Now that the blueprint has been establish, it’s time to upgrade the talent at RB. Check and check.
Vaughn Blue arrives from Liberty, teaming with incumbent Brock Townsend to form a potent 1-2 punch at halfback. Continuity on the OL exists with 3 returning starters. If they can get reliable quarterback play, this team could be a problem. One of the more fun Week One games in the land of the G6 will be win Central Michigan travels to New Mexico to take on the Lobos. But they also get both Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio) at home. Win those and you may be looking at the conference champs.
Toledo
The Rockets never really took off (see what I did there?) under Jason Candle, who has left to take the UCONN job. Sure, Toledo was consistently near the top of the rankings, but for all the NFL talent they have recently had (especially in the secondary) this program should have done better. It could be addition by subtraction.
In comes Mike Jacobs, who was previously HC at Mercer. He brought with him a lot of talent from last year’s Bears team that made the FCS Playoffs. Will that translate to the MAC? I don’t love their non-conference schedule, but we’ll get to that.
Wild Cards
Bowling Green
Every year, there is one team that makes an unexpected jump. Obviously last year it was Western Michigan. Teams like Ohio and even Ball St. has done it from time to time. This year, it could be the Bowling Green Falcons.
Second-year coach Eddie George is starting to upgrade the talent, bringing in former Oregon quarterback Austin Novosad to lead the team. I happen to think he is talented enough to lead a MAC team and happened to get stuck behind NFL quarterbacks Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore. Given a chance to lead a team with a little less pressure on him, you could see Novosad shine, because you know George will emphasize a running game to support him. The problem is with the schedule. Road games at Miami, Western Michigan and Toledo will make or break this team.
Buffalo
Pete Lembo has always felt like he has had a team that was stellar on defense but a quarterback away from making a real impact. This year will likely feel the same.
Sure, the D did fall apart a bit last year, giving up 38, 37 and 31 to Central Michigan, Miami Ohio and Ohio respectively. Those losses kept them out of a bowl. The do have a new defensive coordinator, as their previous coach left for Pitt, so we will see. The strength this year is with their secondary, as it returns 3 starters for their 4-2-5 lineup. But the real key is on offense, where they have a new coordinator as well. Lembo tends to do better the lower the expectations, so trust this will be a rebound season.
Eastern Michigan
Usually Eastern Michigan is the type of team that gets raided by the transfer portal. This year, however, they retain their quarterback. And he is a very good one.
Noah Kim returns after throwing for over 2,800 yards last year. He has all conference potential. They also brought in a running back in Braydon Bennett, who rushed for over 2,000 yards at Coastal Carolina before a cup of coffee at Virginia Tech. This offense could be one of the better ones in the conference. If Chris Creighton, who I will always have a blind spot for because of his outstanding beard and because he coached at my alma mater once upon a time (shout out Manchester College in Indiana) can fix a rush defense that can only get better (they finished dead last in the FBS last year), they have a chance to bounce back from last year’s 4-8 record.
Ohio
I’m not a fan of the vibes in Athens.
Ohio lost stud quarterback Parker Navarro, who led them to 20 wins in the last two seasons. Even though incoming transfer Matt Vezza had success at New Hampshire, that level of productivity is hard to replace. The loss that may affect the team just as much is coach Brian Smith, who was dismissed for conduct detrimental to the program. Prior to his dismissal, it looked like the Bobcats wouldn’t miss a beat after Tim Albin left the year before for Charlotte. The kept the coach in house with the hire of John Hauser, but at some point there has to be a drop off. If the defense doesn’t carry their weight, this could be that year.
Would be surprised if they made a Bowl
Sacramento State
This is the ultimate X-factor. A California program willing to spend after moving up to the FBS level, upsetting the status quo that previously existed in the MAC. If the Hornets succeed quickly, them being in the Mid-American could be one of those footnotes that we look back fondly at and laugh because they feel ripe to be gobbled up by a G6 school out west.
There’s certainly talent on hand. Quarterback Carson Conklin finished third his freshman year in voting for the Jerry Rice Award (given to the top freshman in the FCS). He returns after an unsuccessful stint at Fresno State looking to pick up where he left off. The defense is a bit of an unknown, returning only one start from 2025.
I don’t know if I like them to end the season with a winning record because their non-conference schedule is pretty brutal (at Fresno State and North Dakota State back to back, then a season finale at Hawaii), but with home conference games against the likes of UMass, Ohio and Kent State (along with a potentially rebuilding Toledo), they do have a chance to get some wins in conference.
Akron
Winning 3 of their last 4 games last year, with their only loss coming in OT to Kent State (in a game that shockingly kept them out of a bowl), the Zips might finally be on the come up.
Coach Joe Moorhead is handing the keys to the offense to notable name Reese Poffenbarger, who served as a backup behind Cam Ward at Miami and Drew Mestemaker at North Texas. He has a 1,000-yard rusher to hand off to in Jordan Gant and a promising sophomore receiver in Marcel Williams. As with most teams, the issue will be if the defense can get stops. But there is at least optimism in Akron for the first time in a while.
Kent State
Another team with a renewed sense of hope is the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Coming off a 5-7 season, second year coach Mark Carney has them believing that a bowl game is possible. To get there though, they need quarterback Dru DeShields to protect the ball as well as he did last year. He had 18 TDs and only 3 INTs as a freshman. Not bad at all. Da’Realyst Clark is the top big-play weapon, but they have good TEs and a deep RB room as well. Non-conference games at South Carolina and Ohio State will make getting to 6 wins a challenge though.
Ball State
Ball State could make the kind of jump that Akron and Kent St. made last year. They return both tackles and their starting center, which is a good foundation. A sophomore WR in Donovan Hamilton that showed flashes last year and TE Tate Hoover to catch passes from whoever is at QB. That is kind of the problem.
Keldric Luster saw time at both SMU and Texas State and hopes to take the reins of this Cardinal offense. Tyler Mizzell is a more classic drop-back passer, so don’t be surprised if both see action Week One at Ohio State.
UMass
Virginia Tech transfer Pop Watson will lead the offense. He’s exciting. That’s the good news for an offense that finished last in the nation in scoring average.
The bad news? Pretty much everything else.
That may be a bit harsh, as there is actually some pieces on defense that are promising, specifically at the linebacker and safety positions. But they need difference makers. With non-conference games at home against FCS teams Sacred Heart and Stonehill, there are opportunities for the Minutemen to gain some early season confidence. Or, you know, have it shattered before conference play even begins.
Five Games to Circle
Aug. 29 – Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan
Welcome to the MAC. Get ready to learn The Factory.
If not during MACtion, playing a conference game of this caliber on Week Zero is the perfect spot. A California team playing on a grey field in Michigan. I can’t make it make sense, but I’ll absolutely be watching.
Oct. 17 – Western Michigan at Central Michigan
Two directional Michigan foes each likely to finish in the top half of the conference. This game is important for both teams, as both have big back-to-backs.
Oct. 24 – Miami (Ohio) at Central Michigan/Western Michigan at Toledo
See?
This gives a bit of a “Separation Saturday” feel, as both of these games are likely to impact the conference races in a very real way going forward.
Nov. 18 – Bowling Green at Toledo
These rivals hate each other so much that Toledo has a racket on campus pointed directly at Bowling Green’s football field. So sick. And if the Falcons put together the type of season they are capable of, this game could have more at stake than just bragging rights.
Predicting the Futures (Odds courtesy of FanDuel as of 07/04)
Ohio Under 6.5 Wins (+104)
A season opener at Nebraska is expected to be a loss. A game at home against Stonehill is expected to be a win. In between is a game at home against Jacksonville State and at South Alabama. Both are massive swing games. As is pretty much everything else on the conference schedule. I just see 6-6, and that at plus money is a bet worth making.
Central Michigan to win the conference (+710)
This is a bet simply looking at the conference schedule. They host challengers Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio, play Eastern Michigan in Detroit and host Sacramento State all in consecutive weeks. Their road games are at at Ohio team I’m not high on this year (as you saw), at Buffalo and at Ball State at the end of the year. Those are two teams that may not have a lot to play for in November. Oh, and no Toledo to be found.
If you find a market that bets them to just make the game, that may be a better play. But I just trust this offense to be a well-oiled machine by the end of the season.
UMass Over 2.5 Wins (-164)
This is real sicko behavior and it is crazy juiced, but with a stretch of games at home against Sacred Heart, Stonehill, at Sacramento St. and at home against Eastern Michigan, there is a chance for 3 wins. They also go to Buffalo and host Akron and Ball State. I’m not calling them a bowl team or anything, but there is a path to 3 wins.
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