The top and bottom of the MAC looks mighty competitive a quarter-way through the season.
Welcome to the fourth week of our blog’s Power Rankings!
This week saw a lot of minor swaps in the middle of the table— but also some solidification of the teams that are best and worst in the conference to this point. It’s hard to believe we’re at a third of the season, but at the same time, conference games are already here… we’ll be in the weeknights before we know it.
Without further ado: the new and (hopefully) improved rankings!
13. Kent State Golden Flashes (LW: 13)
- Unanimous #13
Honestly, there’s not much you can say for an 0-3 team that lost by 71 points to a Top 10 SEC team. 2024 has been a bit of a nightmare for KSU this season, and there is no reprieve any time soon. It’s been frustrating because there is plenty of potential with this group, but it just isn’t realized yet. Will it ever be?
12. UMass Minutemen (LW: 12)
- High vote: 10 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (four)
- Average vote: 11.5
We thought maybe UMass was starting to turn a corner with their performance against Toledo, but they regressed back to their usual mean against Buffalo, unable to move the ball on offense a lick and unable to corral a Bulls offense which was blanked last week. The first of two FCS cupcakes are upcoming, but we’ll see how they perform.
11. Ball State Cardinals (LW: 10, down 1)
- High vote: 9 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (twice)
- Average vote: 10.66
Ball State is only two games into their campaign, and both have told very different stories of what this team is. They ran into a highly-motivated Miami [FL] side last weekend, and through no fault of their own, the Cardinals were made to wipe the ground with their own faces. We should know more about them this week when they take on a peer institution in Central Michigan.
10. Akron Zips (LW: 11, up 1)
- High vote: 9 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (twice)
- Average vote: 10.33
For the first time in awhile, Akron took care of business against an FCS squad by more than a single score— but they didn’t make it easy. They fell behind 17-0 early, clawed back the to take back the lead… then tossed a pick in the waning moments to give Colgate the chance to narrow the margins. There’s still a lot to fix here.
9. Central Michigan Chippewas (LW: 8, down 1)
- High vote: 7 (once)
- Low vote: 11 (once)
- Average vote: 8.66
Three games, three different Central Michigans. This week saw the Chippewas bring the hammer against Illinois, putting up a strong defensive effort outside of the end-of-half/start-of-half drives before ultimately falling due to some lackluster offensive play. It was a promising performance, and now QB Bert Emanuel Jr. might be ready to make his season debut after dealing with a hamstring injury. Perhaps they’ll turn a corner.
8. Buffalo Bulls (LW: 9, up 1)
- High vote: 7 (once)
- Low vote: 10 (once)
- Average vote: 8.16
The Bulls dispatched of the Minutemen pretty quickly on Saturday, making up for lost time after their performance against Mizzou. This week showed what UB can be when they;’re at full-tilt: a ferocious defensive team with the capability to be multiple on offense. They’re currently 2-1, but those wins have been against UMass and Lafayette. There’s still a lot to prove, but they’re looking competent already.
7. Eastern Michigan Eagles (LW: 6, down 1)
- High vote: 5 (once)
- Low vote: 10 (once)
- Average vote: 6.66
The Eagles pulled out a gritty win from the jaws of defeat in double overtime this weekend, avenging one of their most embarrassing losses in recent years against Jacksonville State. They currently sit at 2-1, with their other win a domination of UMass on the road to open the season. This certainly has a making of a team which will have something to say come conference season.
6. Western Michigan Broncos (LW: 7, up 1)
- High vote: 6 (three)
- Low vote: 8 (once)
- Average vote: 6.33
WMU exploded for 59 points against their FCS opponent, showing how capable of posting points they are when everything is going right for them. That’s the good news. The bad news is they also gave up 31 points—including 14 on special teams alone— to Bethune-Cookman, who hadn’t scored a TD in three-straight games prior. Such uneven performances will have them mired in the middle for a bit.
5. Ohio Bobcats (LW: 5)
- High vote: 4 (twice)
- Low vote: 6 (twice)
- Average vote: 5
Ohio had yet another sweaty encounter on home grounds, this time with the visiting Morgan State Bears. This one was a particularly ugly affair, which saw a change of quarterback and four turnovers on offense for the home side. It’s hard to feel good about what we saw, but they’re getting some benefit of the doubt for now— at least until they give us reason not to believe they can pull through.
4. Miami RedHawks (LW: 4)
- High vote: 4 (four)
- Low vote: 6 (twice)
- Average vote: 4.5
Miami once again suffered a loss, putting them at 0-2 on the young season. This time it was to bitter rival Cincinnati in a rivalry game. The positive to take away is that in both games so far, the RedHawks have proven capable of holding their own against some very tough assignments. The negative is both contests were extremely winnable, and they did not pull it off. At some point, you have to finish. Notre Dame is up next on a tough schedule.
3. Bowling Green Falcons (LW: 2, down 1)
- Unanimous #3
BGSU sat this week after a tough loss to Penn State. Looking at the long-term, this is one of the most complete teams in the MAC and should pose a tough challenge to all opponents. They sit at 1-1 currently, but have shown enough on film to put themselves in the chase.
2. Toledo Rockets (LW: 3, up 1)
- Unanimous #2
The Rockets pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the college football season this week in both literal and figurative terms. The Rockets traveled to Mississippi State and not only beat them, but beat them to a pulp in a soul-snatching 41-17 victory, becoming the first-ever MAC team to beat an SEC team with a score of 40+ points. It was shocking to people who didn’t know, but for those who follow “Group of Five” football, this was a long time coming.
1. #23 Northern Illinois Huskies (LW: 1)
- Unanimous #1
The nationally-ranked (!!!) Huskies not only stayed in the AP Top 25, they stay #1 in our rankings despite a BYE week. It would have been really easy to put them down in the AP Poll for being inactive considering the other results of the week, and also would have been easy to unseat them after Toledo’s win over Mississippi State.
However, it would have been pretty unfair to drop them for something out of their control. We’re looking eagerly to their upcoming contest against Buffalo to see if they can maintain their momentum and continue to hold the MAC’s torch in the national spotlight.
For transparency, here is our anonymous chart for this week. Did we get it right? Did we miss the mark? Let us know on Twitter or in the comments section!
| Akron | Ball State | Buffalo | Bowling Green | Central Mich | Eastern Mich | Kent State | Miami | NIU | Ohio | Toledo | Western Mich | UMass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| 11 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 12 |
| 10 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| 11 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 12 |
| 9 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| 11 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 12 |