2025 College Football Preview: MAC

Photo by Rebecca Benson from The Blade

All G5 conferences go through tons of turnover, but none more so than the MAC.

But hey, at least they’re the only ones staying away from needless conference realignment.

What’s that?

Northern Illinois is joining the Mountain West next year?

Well, that’s stupid.

Regardless, let’s enjoy what we have this year while we can.

Tier 1: Title Contenders

Toledo Rockets

Jason Candle has been at Toledo for 10 seasons now, and the one thing crucial in this conference is consistency.

The staff stays the same. The quarterback is the same. The secondary is the same.

Toledo has been good under Candle. There is no reason to think otherwise this year.

Ohio Bobcats

Three straight 10 win seasons will give anyone belief in another good year for Ohio, but coach Tim Albin is now gone after taking the coaching job at Charlotte.

But offensive coordinator Brian Smith takes over as head coach, and quarterback Parker Navarro is back for another year, so Ohio’s offense should continue to click.

Defensive coordinator John Hauser also remains.

So even though Albin is gone, the consistency is still there at Ohio for another title run.

Tier 2: Dark Horses

Miami Redhawks

Defense, defense, defense.

I say this every year when talking about Miami, and I will continue to say it until proven otherwise.

This defense will make life hell for MAC offenses. All the offense needs to do is be average, and Miami could win the MAC.

They’re basically Iowa, to be honest.

Buffalo Bulls

Pete Lembo had an immediate turnaround at Buffalo last year, going 9-4 in his first season.

The question is, was that a sign of things to come? Or was it a flash in the pan?

There will be a new quarterback with C.J. Ogbonna gone, and that question mark could be the difference between a title contender and a run of the mill decent MAC team.

Northern Illinois Huskies

Northern Illinois brought in 13 transfers this season, including at quarterback and offensive line.

If they hit, they’re going to make out like gangbusters.

If they don’t, they’ll likely fall on their faces.

Who’s to know?

Tier 3: Bowl Game Bound?

Eastern Michigan Eagles

Eastern Michigan is hard as hell to play against in the Chris Creighton era.

That means, they’ll always be hanging around bowl eligibility.

It also means, they’ll likely never be playing for the MAC title.

Still, there are worse places to be for other MAC schools…

Bowling Green Falcons

Eddie George is the head coach at Bowling Green, and that’s really cool!

They also just lost the best player in Bowling Green history when Harold Fannin Jr. went to the NFL, so that’s a bummer.

They also lost almost all of their starters from a team that went 6-2 in the MAC last season.

But George did a good job at Tennessee State, so I think he can do a decent job here and go bowling in year 1.

Western Michigan Broncos

It took a while, but Western finally saw the effects of the Lance Taylor era with a bowl game appearance last year.

Now, it’s about keeping that momentum going into this season.

The defense needs to improve, but the offense was consistent enough to keep them in every game, and Taylor is a smart offensive mind.

They’ll be ok.

Tier 4: Better Luck Next Year

Central Michigan Chippewas

Unless you’re at a blue blood school, you should probably have lower expectations in the first year of a new head coach.

Especially if it’s the first time they’ve ever been a head coach at the FBS/FCS level.

Now, I think Matt Drinkall will do a good job, but Central Michigan was on a downturn under Jim McElwain.

It’s going to take time to fix this.

Ball State Cardinals

Mike Uremovich takes over a Ball State program that went 7-1 in 2020, followed by a 6-7 season.

Then it was 5-7. Then 4-8. And 3-9 last season.

They’re on a horrid stretch, and Uremovich is not a miracle worker.

It’s going to take a few years.

Akron Zips

Now, I like Joe Moorhead as a coach.

Really, I do.

This is just such a hard place to win.

And, even if they do get to 6 games, they are ineligible for a bowl game due to academic reasons.

So even if they go 9-3 (they won’t), they can’t go bowling.

Kent State Golden Flashes

There is no hope for this football team.

This was the worst football team last year, lost their coach, and should be just as bad again this year.

I don’t know if anyone can fix this mess.

UMass Minutemen

UMass is back in the MAC!

But they’re no better in their return than they were when they left.

They won 8 games in four seasons in the MAC, and then won 18 games in 9 seasons as an independent.

If you can do the math there, that’s 2 wins per season.

That’s very bad!

I don’t think a MAC return will magically fix things immediately.

Or ever, for that matter.