Week 4 did not go to plan for most of the MAC; how did we rank the teams after such an unexpected slate?
Welcome to the fifth week of our blog’s Power Rankings!
It’d hard to believe we’re already a third of the way through the season, but that’s how time goes when college football is in the air. We’ve already seen a number of surprising results over the past few weeks, and with conference games set to go in full in two weeks, we can start to solidify the tiers of performance.
This week in particular saw some shockers in what was mostly a negative week for the conference, but as always, there’s still something to learn. from every result.
Without further ado: the new and (hopefully) improved rankings!
13. Kent State Golden Flashes (LW: 13)
- Unanimous #13
The road trip to, through and around Hell is over for Kent State and they came out of it with some scars they’d rather not talk about.
The Flashes will be down to their third-string QB just four games into the season, and they’re now 0-4 with eight games remaining, making their already-bleak bowl game hopes that much more distant. We say often KSU is the most unforgiving coaching job in Division I, and 2024 has been an indication as such. The story of this Flashes team as we head into MAC play will be if they can snatch at least one win to match last season’s total.
12. UMass Minutemen (LW: 12)
- High vote: 10 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (four)
- Average vote: 11.5
Good news: UMass finally picked up a win! Bad news: It was one-score win against a CCSU team that CMU blew out 66-10.
That’s a grim indication of the state the Minutemen are currently in as they head into one last MAC game this week against the suddenly-resurgent Buffalo Bulls. Their other games, as we’ve written before haven’t exactly been anything to write home about, and they haven’t particularly found an identity to hone in on yet. It’s hard to out a good face on their season to this point— at least until they start collecting some wins.
11. Akron Zips (LW: 10, down 1)
- High vote: 9 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (twice)
- Average vote: 10.66
Akron has had a simply terrible slate of non-conference games to start their season off. Opening at Ohio State to start the season, then following up with an unimpressive performance against Rutgers and ending with a road trip to an SEC night game against South Carolina. They found relief in a win over Colgate, but the reality of their situation came crashing back down on them this weekend. The hope is that they learned to suffer through adversity and let their talent pop up in MAC play, but goodness, they’ll certainly have to prove it first.
10. Ball State Cardinals (LW: 11, up 1)
- High vote: 9 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (once)
- Average vote: 10.83
The Cardinals suffered an unfortunate loss in Mt. Pleasant, squandering an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter fairly quickly due in part to a series of aggressive decisions that gifted Central Michigan scoring opportunities. They’re still figuring out who exactly they are at this point, playing just three games so far in 2024, but there were points in the contest where they really set the tone and showed off what they want to be at full speed. If they can map out what works by the full conference season, they could be alright, but a few more losses could sink the season before it starts.
9. Miami RedHawks (LW: 4, down 5)
- High vote: 6 (once)
- Low vote: 9 (twice)
- Average vote: 7.66
Miami was both a staff favorite and a media favorite to contend for a conference title repeat and perhaps be a highlight program in national conversations coming off their highly-successful 2023 season. Instead, they’ve languished severely and are now 0-3 with losses in completely winnable games vs. Northwestern and Cincinnati, and letting another winnable game get away with a blowout loss to Notre Dame. Features that once made Miami indomitable (elite special teams and defense) can no longer cover up an offense in disrepair; Miami sits at 123rd in total offense and have scored just two touchdowns so far in 2024.
8. Ohio Bobcats (LW: 5, down 3)
- High vote: 5 (once)
- Low vote: 9 (twice)
- Average vote: 7.5
The Bobcats suffered a pretty expected loss against Kentucky, but without several of their best players, it was perhaps heavier than it might have been a few weeks ago. This loss, combined with a shaky performance against Morgan State the week prior, gives the voters pause in considering the state of the program. Ohio was expected to at least be a contender, but simply look lost outside of a few individual performances. They could really use a shot in the arm.
7. Central Michigan Chippewas (LW: 8, up 1)
- High vote: 6 (twice)
- Low vote: 11 (once)
- Average vote: 7.33
The Chips opened up the MAC season with a rousing contest against the Ball State Cardinals, defending home turf with a one-score win after falling behind 10-0 early in the first quarter. CMU leaned on a deep running game and a staunch defense to eek this one out, with BJ Harris, Bert Emanuel Jr. and Myles Bailey all contributing touchdowns on the day. There’s some unresolved issues to address still, but 1-0 in league play is a powerful gap to hold over the next three weeks.
6. Western Michigan Broncos (LW: 7, up 1)
- High vote: 5 (once)
- Low vote: 9 (once)
- Average vote: 6.83
The Broncos had a BYE week this week coming off their track meet against Bethune-Cookman, and will now look forward to facing Marshall for one last non-conference game. They’ve found their success with a good ground game and great pass defense so far, and we’ll see if they can continue that momentum this week.
5. Eastern Michigan Eagles (LW: 7, up 2)
- High vote: 5 (three)
- Low vote: 8 (twice)
- Average vote: 6.15
EMU had a slow start at first against St. Francis [PA], stumbling out of the gates with a slow offense and some miscues, but once they got going, they took care of business in a 36-0 shutout. EMU looks much improved from where they were this time last season, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The stabilizing presence of Cole Snyder at QB has certainly helped, especially as he nears 70 percent completion on passes. They’re playing perfect complimentary football right now, and that’s a dangerous thing in conference play.
4. Northern Illinois Huskies (LW: 1, down 3)
- High vote: 2 (once)
- Low vote: 4 (four)
- Average vote: 3.5
NIU got outworked coming off a BYE against a motivated Buffalo team this week, falling in overtime by a single field goal. The offense, which had been wildly efficient in previous weeks, faltered at the worst time and special teams were a disaster coming off a great game for the unit. It’s a pity, because if they’d have won, the MAC would have a flag-bearer program on the national stage. We can’t help but wonder what this NIU team would have looked like if they would have played straight out of the Notre Dame game instead of having the week to soak it in.
3. Toledo Rockets (LW: 2, down 1)
- High vote: 2 (once)
- Low vote: 4 (twice)
- Average vote: 3.16
Toledo took a fairly embarrassing loss to WKU last weekend, coming off an impressive victory against Mississippi State the previous week. It wasn’t the caliber of opponent that is embarrassing here; indeed, WKU is one of the better schools in Conference USA. It was the way they lost, building up a 21-10 lead and then letting it crumble apart with undisciplined offense and lackadasical defense. There is still long-term hope here, but it took a major hit this week, that’s for sure.
2. Buffalo Bulls (LW: 8, up 6)
- High vote: 1 (once)
- Low vote: 3 (once)
- Average vote: 2
The Bulls pulled off the upset on the road this week, earning their second-ever win over a ranked team in the process. They didn’t win sneaking away either; Buffalo earned their way to the win with stellar defense and special teams leading the way. It was a result that made us reconsider our opinions and wonder if we underestimated what this unit could look like under Pete Lembo’s leadership.
1. Bowling Green Falcons (LW: 3, up 2)
- High vote: 1 (five)
- Low vote: 3 (once)
- Average vote: 1.33
They had our curiosity, but now they have our attention.
Not often you get a 1-2 team up top of the rankings, but Bowling Green has not been your average 1-2. They won a convincing contest against their FCS foe to start the season, then took the lead in Happy Valley vs. Penn State and nearly pulled a win over Penn State out of their hats. BGSU was expected to struggle against SEC competition in one of the loudest venues in the sport, but silenced it with a rousing performance despite the loss.
They’ve got a clear identity and several star players which will make themselves a problem in MAC play. There’s a lot to be optimistic about here.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| 9 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| 11 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| 11 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| 12 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 11 |
| 11 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 12 |