The third week of games weren’t especially grand for the MAC as a unit, with two of their three non-conference wins coming against FCS teams. That said, we’re now a quarter through the season and we have strong data points for how each team looks.
This has resulted in a clear delineation between our thirteen programs, with the “average vote” number showing there are tiers of talent developing as we head into the brunt of league play two weeks from now.
Without further ado: the rankings!
13. UMass Minutemen (Last week: 13)
- Unanimous #13
Honestly at
this point, there’s not a lot more to say about the Minutemen which hasn’t already been put out there. They looked haggard against Iowa in a 47-7- loss, and left the contest even more broken than they entered, logging several injuries to key contributors. To give outsiders an idea of how bad it’s been in Amherst, UMass AD Ryan Bamford had to put out a vote of confidence for first-year head coach Joe Harasymiak this week.
12. Eastern Michigan Eagles (LW: 11, down 1)
- High vote: 11 (three)
- Low vote: 12 (three)
- Average vote: 11.5
This season has been an absolutely uncharacteristic one for EMU. The typically gritty unit which grinds opponents down with excellent situational play has been lit up like a firework the last three weeks, giving up an average of 50 (!) points per game while scoring 25 points per game to their two FBS opponents and losing 28-23 to FCS Long Island. They’ve looked non-competitive to boot, getting much of their production while trailing. There are sparks here and there, especially on offense, but negativity abounds right now.
11. Akron Zips (LW: 12, up 1)
- High vote: 10 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (three)
- Average vote: 11.33
The Zips are still near the bottom, but not for lack of trying!
Akron looked like a team on a mission vs. UAB, keeping up punch-to-punch with a more-talented Blazer team on the road before characteristically falling apart in the final moments. This is, unfortunately, the script for many an Akron loss. This is Year 4 under Joe Moorhead, and Akron still can’t win the close game, falling to a measly 5-15 in one-score contests since 2021. One would think a team coached by an offensive guru could, ya know, move the ball (124th in total offense), but this team is more or less dependent on the Zips defense— when not overwhelmed by gigantic talent gaps— to keep them in business.
10. Ball State Cardinals (LW: 10)
- High vote: 9 (twice)
- Low vote: 11 (once)
- Average vote: 9.83
A win is a win is a win, and Ball State will take any win they can get at the moment. The Cardinals took a one-score victory against a ranked New Hampshire team on Saturday, thanks in large part to Qua Ashley’s explosive introduction to the home crowd, scoring three touchdowns and rushing for over 100 yards en route to the victory. BSU is essentially starting from zero under Mike Uremovich, so any sign of weekly progress is encouraging; this week, they notched over 300 yards rushing as a unit and showed up on leverage downs defensively. If they can keep stacking such performances, optimism will start to rise in Muncie.
9. Kent State Golden Flashes (LW: 9)
- High vote: 9 (four)
- Low vote: 10 (twice)
- Average vote: 9.33
Credit goes out to Mark Carney and his makeshift staff for getting the Golden Flashes into the position they’re in right now. Given an impossible task weeks before the start of the season with a team that is nearly 50 percent new arrivals, Carney and co. have shown fans signs of life these first three weeks. Chief amongst those moments was this week, forcing Buffalo— a dark horse MAC favorite— to earn a tough road win in the final seconds of the contest. The change in attitude and body language in Kent is night-and-day from 2024; we’ll see if they can maintain positive momentum going into the rest of MAC play.
8. Western Michigan Broncos (LW: 8)
- High vote: 6 (once)
- Low vote: 8 (four)
- Average vote: 7.5
Another week, another long look in the mirror for the Broncos.
Western got blanked by a superior Illinois squad on Saturday, not looking close to competitive in the loss. We knew going into the season there would be a bit of an adjustment period as the offensive line completely reshuffled and quarterback would see a battle. Now, it’s Week 4 and the QB carousel will continue for at least another week, while the line has been simply awful, allowing eight sacks and 25 tackles-for-loss. They’re not ranked lower because they should have the talent to be better than the teams under them, but patience is wearing thin. One more loss, and they could fall into the depths.
7. Central Michigan Chippewas (LW: t-5, down 2)
- High vote: 6 (twice)
- Low vote: 8 (twice)
- Average vote: 7
There’s not a lot you can learn about a team when they lose by 60 points. CMU was an expected underdog going into the Big House against Michigan and indeed, looked overmatched in what was essentially a coming-out party for the Wolverines offense after two weeks of frustration. After the game, head coach Matt Drinkall said the team was tired of picking up “moral” victories, an indication the team is motivated to prove themselves in upcoming MAC play. They’ll be in this range for awhile, but that’s considerably better than where they were this time last year.
6. Northern Illinois Huskies (LW: 7, up 1)
- High vote: 5 (twice)
- Low vote: 7 (twice)
- Average vote: 6
NIU was on a BYE week in Week 3, and still have some questions to answer as they look forward to a game with SEC foe Mississippi State, who looks a lot better in 2025 than this time last year, when they lost in a blowout to Toledo.
5. Miami RedHawks (LW: t-5)
- High vote: 4 (twice)
- Low vote: 5 (four)
- Average vote: 4.66
Miami was also resting at home in Week 3, and now prepare to host UNLV of the Mountain West for the RedHawks’ first home game of the 2025 campaign. The RedHawks offense is still a work-in-progress, but the defense does look to be stifling once again— even despite the possession-to-possession situations not being in their favor vs. Rutgers.
4. Bowling Green Falcons (LW: 4)
- High vote: 3 (once)
- Low vote: 6 (once)
- Average vote: 4.16
BGSU made a statement on Saturday, squashing Liberty, one of the major “Group” legacy brands of recent memory, in front of a raucous crowd at Doyt Perry Stadium. They pulled it off with a monster defensive performance, forcing three fumbles (recovering two) and a pair of interceptions, while also picking up seven tackles-for-loss and four sacks. The ways the Falcons have found wins this season is encouraging; they’ve proved to be both deep and adaptable, two qualities they’ll have to lean on when they hit the MAC slate. BG’s momentum has not stopped at all despite the coaching change, a credit to Eddie George and his staff.
3. Buffalo Bulls (LW: 3)
- High vote: 3 (five)
- Low vote: 7 (once)
- Average vote: 3.66
Buffalo found themselves between a rock and a hard place against a feisty Kent State team early on last week, but battled through the initial adversity to sneak out of Dix Stadium with a key league victory. The result was certainly closer than we thought, but at least for this week, we have the answer to what a passing offense under Ta’Quan Roberson might look like when running at its most efficient, as the seventh-year journeyman compiled 318 yards and three touchdowns (both career bests) in the effort. It was nice to see, especially as the defense committed some uncharacteristic mistakes throughout.
2. Toledo Rockets (LW: 2)
- High vote: 1 (once)
- Low vote: 2 (five)
- Average vote: 1.83
Like we said about Central earlier, there’s not a lot you can learn about a team when a game is decided by 60 points. This time, however, it’s a team winning by 60 points. The Rockets did have a slow first quarter against a Bears defense with some intriguing individual contributors, but by the end of the first 15 minutes, they had more or less figured things out and went on to post 43 points in the second frame to ensure no doubt about who the better team was on this day.
1. Ohio Bobcats (LW: 1)
- High vote: 1 (five)
- Low vote: 2 (once)
- Average vote: 1.16
The Bobbies are once again the #1 team thanks to their efforts in the non-conference season. They’ve had one of the toughest schedules of any MAC squad to start the year, with games against three “Power” squads— including two on the road— and have availed themselves well, with a 1-2 record.
The one victory was against West Virginia at home, asserting themselves defensively to defend home turf. Their two losses have also been extremely competitive, getting within one score of Rutgers in a season-opener and giving the AP Poll #1 a second-half scare on the road. They’re the most balanced team in the country and loaded with depth talent at most every position. Unless they lose to Gardner-Webb this week, they should stay up here awhile.
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!
