2024 MAC Football Power Rankings: Week 5

Don’t look now, but it’s a familiar name up top as we head into the bulk of conference play.

Welcome to the sixth week of our blog’s Power Rankings!

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again… if you think you know the MAC, you don’t. Once again, a handful of surprising results have shaken up the table, with four spots separated by a single average point this week while the top and bottom teams are starting to separate from the rest.

With a full slate of conference action set to (largely) start next week, let’s get right into the new and (hopefully) improved rankings!

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13. Kent State Golden Flashes (LW: 13)

• Unanimous #13

Kent State started strong this week, but by the end of their league-opening contest with Eastern Michigan, they didn’t have the horses to keep up in a 52-33 shootout. No game has been close for this squad so far, and with all their injuries, it’s not getting easier. Now, placekicker Andrew Glass is gone too after taking a transfer redshirt, making scoring points even harder.

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12. Ball State Cardinals (LW: 10, down 2)

• High vote: 10 (once)
• Low vote: 12 (four)
• Average vote: 11.6

Ball State’s roller-coaster season continues, this time with another resounding loss to James Madison in which they looked outmatched from the first possession. Put plainly, BSU doesn’t score points, doesn’t stop scores and have looked unorganized in doing so. Some individual performances still stand out, but it’s tough to be optimistic in this unit at present.

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11. Akron Zips (LW: 11)

• High vote: 9 (once)
• Low vote: 12 (twice)
• Average vote: 10.8

Akron is trying their best, but right now, their best just isn’t doing it. They took the lead over a hobbled Ohio squad early in the game and pressured them into some gaffes, but the Bobbies figured it out and the Zips could never re-gain momentum after that. It’s still an uphill battle to relevancy in Year 3 under Joe Moorhead.

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10. UMass Minutemen (LW: 12, up 2)

• High vote: 10 (three)
• Low vote: 12 (once)
• Average vote: 10.6

The Minutemen once again played a MAC game close, taking the defending league champions Miami to overtime— but once again, special teams miscues would come back to bite them in a one-score loss. At some point, they’ll figure out how to be on the other side of it. Right now, however, they just aren’t there yet.

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9. Miami RedHawks (LW: 9)

• High vote: 7 (twice)
• Low vote: 9 (twice)
• Average vote: 8

As mentioned earlier, the RedHawks narrowly took home a win against the UMass Minutemen. They were much closer than even the box score suggested to the opponent’s level, and that isn’t good considering the opponent was 1-3 with a single-digit win vs. an FCS squad as a lone victory. We can’t help but be a little disappointed with how lifeless this team has felt so far after the preseason hype.

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8. Western Michigan Broncos (LW: 6, down 2)

• High vote: 6 (once)
• Low vote: 8 (four)
• Average vote: 7.6

WMU was on a BYE last week and fell down anyways. Talk about unlucky. This happens from time to time in our rankings, and is typically an indication of a team which needs to prove more needing to do so against other teams that have largely answered their own questions. They’ll have a chance to make an impression against a staggering Ball State.

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7. Buffalo Bulls (LW: 2, down 5)

• High vote: 3 (once)
• Low vote: 9 (once)
• Average vote: 6

That wasn’t what you wanted to see if you were Buffalo. A win over UConn would have given them massive momentum heading into the conference season and established the Bulls as a potential contender. Instead, they were ran off the field by a motivated Huskies team in a blowout. The same issue as their other losses in non-con play emerged here, which is a step back and a concern.

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6. Central Michigan Chippewas (LW: 7, up 1)

• High vote: 4 (three)
• Low vote: 9 (once)
• Average vote: 5.2

Central Michigan once again pulled off an exciting win in front of the home crowd to move to 3-2. The offense and special teams (outside of the field goal unit) especially struggled, with two turnovers (one punt fumble and one interception), a shanked punt and four muffed returns to make the game closer than it needed to be. The defense, however, really showed itself capable of limiting the damage and has been the highlight of the team to this point of the season. The Chips are not perfect, but they are dangerous of getting one over on you.

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5. Ohio Bobcats (LW: 8, up 3)

• High vote: 4 (once)
• Low vote: 6 (once)
• Average vote: 5

The Bobcats soared up based in part on who fell in front of them and who moved up, but they’re risers nonetheless. They took care of business against Akron despite a a slow start and are now 1-0 in league play. They’ve definitely found contributors to depend on for both sides of the ball after coming into 2024 with many questions in that department. A BYE week should also allow them to get back some banged-up players as well.

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4. Eastern Michigan Eagles (LW: 5, up 1)

• High vote: 2 (twice)
• Low vote: 7 (twice)
• Average vote: 4.8

The Eagles put up a tour de force performance against Kent State, worming their way out of a close start to eventually steamroll the Golden Flashes. It is genuinely night-and-day to watch EMU this season, as the team is a lot more balanced than the unit which took the field in 2023 thanks to an upgrade at all their skill positions. They’re going to be a tough out for any future opponent as the conference season heats up.

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3. Bowling Green Falcons (LW: 1, down 2)

• High vote: 2 (three)
• Low vote: 9 (once)
• Average vote: 4.2

The Falcons took a tough loss to a previously-winless Old Dominion to compromise the last leg of their non-conference schedule. It was a back-and-forth affair with an ODU side that has shown great potential this season, but a home loss to a winless team is still just that. All BGSU has to hang their hat on right now is a win vs. an FCS team and two blown opportunities to ranked Autonomous teams— but it’s enough to keep them up here for now.

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2. NIU Huskies (LW: 4, up 2)

• High vote: 3 (four)
• Low vote: 4 (once)
• Average vote: 3.2

NIU suffered a second-straight loss but rose two spots, another example of the Huskie Devil Magic at work. The Huskies performed admirably against NC State on the road, taking the Wolfpack to the wire and dominating the box score just about everywhere except turnovers… which is, uh, kind of important in football. NIU had four of them, two of which directly led to scoring opportunities in a game decided by one possession. They’ll look to turn the tide this week against UMass.

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1. Toledo Rockets (LW: 3, up 2)

• Unanimous #1

It was a great week to have a BYE for the Rockets, as none of the upstart teams have been able to claim the crown for longer than week. The same held true once again this week, giving UT a perfect opportunity to jump back up and claim it. Now they’re set to take on a vulnerable Miami squad fresh off some rest.

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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!