Hello everyone and welcome back!
Before we begin, a programming note: the upcoming week has only two games on it before we get to the crux of Midweek MACtion, so starting this next, we’ll be shifting our
Power Rankings to Sunday morning or afternoon. Thank you for your continued interest in our rankings.
Without further ado: the rankings!
13. UMass Minutemen (Last Week: 13)
- Unanimous #13
There isn’t really very much to say that hasn’t already been said about the Minutemen besides the fact they badly need a win to get the stench off them. They showed moxie early against CMU, but once they made their first mistake, it was all downhill from there. UMass makes their midweek debut as a full member this Tuesday against Akron.
12. Eastern Michigan Eagles (LW: 11, down 1)
- High vote: 10 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (four)
- Average vote: 11.5
A valiant effort in Week 9 against the Ohio Bobcats just can’t paper over how much of a disappointment the 2025 season has been for Eastern Michigan. The worst part was that EMU’s defense— which has stink, stank and stunk over much of the season— played their most spirited game against one of their toughest assignments. Alas, it was the reliable EMU offense which failed this time around, putting up a nightmare second half en route to the loss— which included a missed field goal to end the third quarter, a three-and-out to start the fourth, and a lost fumble and an additional punt— to allow Ohio back into it. EMU, eliminated from postseason consideration, now looks to play BGSU next Saturday.
11. Northern Illinois Huskies (LW: 12, up 1)
- High vote: 7 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (once)
- Average vote: 10
NIU did it! They finally won a game against an FBS opponent!
Their game against Ball State proved to be an exorcising of demons, taking an emphatic 21-7 victory in a game where the score wasn’t particularly indicative of the on-field action. The Huskies ran all over the Cardinals to the tune of 305 yards, while holding the ball for over 30 minutes of game clock and converting on 9-of-16 third-down attempts. The defense had a field day as well, with two interceptions and a recovered fumble. Have they figured things out? If so, better late than never. They take on Toledo on Wednesday night.
10. Kent State Golden Flashes (LW: 10)
- High vote: 8 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (once)
- Average vote: 9.83
It’s been a great time to be a Golden Flash recently. First, Kent State controlled the pace of their game against rival Bowling Green en route to taking home the Anniversary Award. Then, interim head coach Mark Carney had the tag taken off, being revealed to the team as KSU’s full-time boss earlier this week to emphatic cheering. It cannot be overstated enough just how much of an improvement KSU has seen under Carney; winning three games in the situation he was thrust into and facing the schedule he was given, it is nothing short of a miracle for the Flashes to be looking at 2-2 in MAC play.
They have a chance to reach .500 overall against Ball State on Wednesday night.
9. Akron Zips (LW: 9)
- High vote: 8 (twice)
- Low vote: 11 (once)
- Average vote: 9.16
Going into their game against Buffalo, we wrote that you can never quite tell which Akron football team is going to take the field: the one who’s ready for a shootout and defends situations well, or the one who lies over dead for 60 minutes. Thankfully for Zips fans, it was the former, as the Zips forced Ta’Quan Roberson into making some embarrassing mistakes late in the game to take home a shocking upset victory. To wit, Akron forced five interceptions on the day, with most happening in the fourth quarter.
They’re 3-6 and need to win out to finish at a .500 record. Even getting to five wins would be their best season on record since 2016.
8. Ball State Cardinals (LW: 8)
- High vote: 8 (two)
- Low vote: 11 (once)
- Average vote: 9
Ball State took a pretty humiliating loss to Northern Illinois last week, but there seems to be a lot of confidence in the MAC games the Cardinals did win, including against Ohio to open the league slate. They’ve been inconsistent, but shown signs of promise in every game, something that is encouraging to see under a first-year coaching regime, and sit at 3-5 with a 2-2 league record. One more win would mark their best campaign since 2023.
They take on Kent State this upcoming Wednesday in a game which will go a long way to determining both teams’ postseason fates.
7. Bowling Green Falcons (LW: 7)
- High vote: 6 (twice)
- Low vote: 10 (once)
- Average vote: 6.5
Reality is starting to sink in for Bowling Green after a tough loss against Kent State. Injuries, especially on offense, have started to take their toll on a team which was already struggling to find an identity, and their lack of discipline came back to bite them more than a few times in the loss. This was always going to be a tough build under a first-year head coach, but they’re still on pace to meet expectations by season’s end. A run to Detroit is likely doomed, but a postseason bowl is still well within reach as long as they can win three of the next four games.
That journey starts against Buffalo on Saturday.
6. Buffalo Bulls (LW: 6)
- High vote: 3 (once)
- Low vote: 7 (twice)
- Average vote: 5.66
It’s a bit of a surprise the average vote was as high for Buffalo as it was considering the simply terrible loss they took to Akron last week, but that’s the peril of a vote by council.
On paper, this is an incredibly talented team which should be having no problem with the level of opponent they’ve faced up to this point. However, the reality has been a disjointed, messy operation which doesn’t play complimentary football. All of that was on offer last week against the Zips in a game the Bulls lost just as much as Akron won.
They try to get back on track against a wounded BGSU squad on Saturday.
5. Toledo Rockets (LW: 4, down 1)
- High vote: 4 (twice)
- Low vote: 6 (once)
- Average vote: 4.83
At the start of the season, it was perfectly reasonable to assume the Rockets would have had a chance to get a win on a Washington State squad reeling from the impacts of a forced independence and the loss of not only a head coach, but nearly the entire roster. Well, hypotheticals no longer apply, and what we saw was what we’ve seen most of the season for Toledo: a team which simply forgets how to play football on the road.
They’re still 0-fer away from the Glass Bowl, and sit at 4-4 (2-2 MAC) with control of a trip to Detroit no longer in their hands unless teams above them start losing. All they can do at this point is play who’s in front of them and hope for the best. This week, they play Northern Illinois on Wednesday for one last time.
4. Central Michigan Chippewas (LW: 5, up 1)
- High vote: 4 (three)
- Low vote: 6 (once)
- Average vote: 4.66
Central has been one of the most active teams in the mid-table, jumping up, down and all around in a 2025 season that has seen its share of excitement. We were wondering after an intriguing non-conference campaign if what Matt Drinkall had to offer as a coach would translate to the MAC and so far, it has. Last week’s game was an evisceration of UMass, taking a 38-13 win in front of the Homecoming crowd to push the Chips to 3-1 in league play. One more win, and fans can start booking postseason plans for the first time in three years. It’s pretty much night-and-day from this time last year, where a broken and defeated CMU team limped to the end of the season.
Western— who we’ll discuss in a moment— is next on the docket.
3. Western Michigan Broncos (LW: 1, down 2)
- High vote: 2 (twice)
- Low vote: 3 (four)
- Average vote: 2.66
Western started the MAC season in dominant fashion, keeping teams to an average of under a touchdown per game in their first three contests— all wins. However, the other side of such luck was bound to come sooner or later, and the RedHawks proved to be unwelcoming hosts in a 26-14 walloping which saw Miami post 408 yards of total offense on WMU. The score could have been even higher if Miami didn’t settle for two field goals in the red zone early on.
Taking a loss to Miami isn’t the end of the world as long as the Broncos continue to win. They have one of the country’s top defenses to lean upon and one of the MAC’s best dual-threat quarterbacks in Broc Lowry who can make plays when necessary. They look to rebound against bitter rival Central Michigan on Saturday.
2. Ohio Bobcats (LW: 2)
- High vote: 1 (once)
- Low vote: 4 (once)
- Average vote: 2.33
The Ohio Bobcats had to fight and claw their way to a win over Eastern Michigan on the road, but they managed to get over some first-half adversity and buckle down in the second half to steal one away from the Eagles by game’s end. That’s what tough, battle-hardened teams can do, and it is an experience which will serve them well going down the stretch run to Detroit.
That said, they can ill afford to lose now, stuck in a four-way tie for the second spot in the standings with other one-loss squads. The defending MAC champions have a huge opportunity in front of them next Tuesday, taking on the MAC-leading Miami RedHawks in the Battle of the Bricks.
1. Miami RedHawks (LW: 3, up 2)
- High vote: 1 (five)
- Low vote: 2 (once)
- Average vote: 1.16
If there’s one thing you can depend upon this time of year, it’s Chuck Martin hauling a wagon of a team into the weeknight homestretch. The RedHawks are 4-0 in league play, the sole team without a loss in the conference, and out-defensed one of the best units in the NCAA last week en route to a two-score victory. It’s hard to find a weakness in this team; the offense is fifth in the MAC in total yards and third in scoring, while the defense is third in the MAC in both total yards and total points allowed. Special teams, as always, has dominated as well.
Can long-time rival Ohio be the one to add a loss to their record, or will Miami attain some form of revenge under the weeknight lights? We find out on Wednesday.
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 @HustleBelt or in the comments section below!
