Hello everyone and welcome back!
Welcome to a Monday afternoon edition of the Hustle Belt MAC Football Power Rankings! With the weeknight season now fully in swing for all 13 members, intrigue surrounds
the conference on the national level. A number of results turned the MAC title race on its head, with no more undefeated teams and a remarkable seven programs potentially in line for a chance to go to Detroit in December. (It’s honestly lovely that time of year!)
Let’s take a look at where the teams stand as we prepare for our second week of November #MACtion… Without further ado: the rankings!
13. UMass Minutemen (Last Week: 13)
- Unanimous #13
Feels like we’re a broken record at this point, but UMass is at their nadir as a Division I program. They took a very tough loss to Akron— which has been a MAC bottomfeeder since 2019— and looked undisciplined in the process. They’ve hired a new overseer to try and fix the program, but his impact won’t be felt for awhile; UMass’ likeliest best chance for a win now is against NIU this week. Otherwise, it’s looking bleak.
12. Northern Illinois Huskies (LW: 11, down 1)
- High vote: 10 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (four)
- Average vote: 11.6
Speaking of NIU, they’re in the midst of a free-fall of their own. The Huskies have been prone to up-and-down performances under head coach Thomas Hammock in the seven seasons he’s led the team, but this NIU team has simply had no fight for much of the season. That much was evident this week, getting eviscerated for all to see by Toledo on Wednesday night. They’re now back on the losing side of the ledger after last win’s win snapped a six-loss streak.
11. Bowling Green Falcons (LW: 7, down 4)
- High vote: 7 (once)
- Low vote: 12 (once)
- Average vote: 10
Continuing the theme, BGSU has rolled down the hill of success in recent weeks. After getting up as high as the top five in the rankings last month, the Falcons are suffering through a crisis of confidence, losing five of their last six games. They fired their offensive coordinator last week in an acknowledgement something went wrong— and to a certain degree it almost worked— but they still found themselves losers against a two-win EMU squad due in part to ineffective offense letting down a solid (if imperfect) defensive effort.
10. Eastern Michigan Eagles (LW: 12, up 2)
- High vote: 9 (twice)
- Low vote: 11 (twice)
- Average vote: 10
Eastern, as stated, finally got off the snide with a much-needed win for morale against a vulnerable BGSU squad. The last two weeks have seen the Eagles defense finally start to produce some successful efforts to help prop up one of— if not the most— explosive offenses in the league. It’s unfortunate it took until Week 11 for this EMU squad to show up, as they’re well out of contention for anything at this point. Maybe they’ll play their way back up to the mean at the end of the season.
9. Kent State Golden Flashes (LW: 10, up 1)
- High vote: 8 (once)
- Low vote: 10 (twice)
- Average vote: 9.2
Kent State took a tough loss to Ball State last week, but were in a great position to gather what could have been a fourth win. What ultimately cost the Golden Flashes were some questionable game-management issues, which are bound to happen for a first-year head coach such as Mark Carney. KSU came away with 13 points on five redzone trips— two field goals and a touchdown— while also failing to convert several fourth-down. One failure, which was on their own 37-yard line, proved to be a finishing blow.
8. Ball State Cardinals (LW: 8)
- High vote: 7 (three)
- Low vote: 11 (once)
- Average vote: 8
The Cardinals are once again proud defenders of the Scheu, finding a way to sneak up on the Golden Flashes and snatch away a victory in a game where they were by no means perfect. BSU gave up four sacks, lost 32 yards on rushes (for a total of 65) and were outgained 301-268 by Kent State— but thanks to an ill-disciplined KSU side, the Cards managed five first downs via penalty and 15 overall, which helped them win the time-of-possession battle and muddy up the game. Ball State got their conversions when necessary, scoring on both redzone chances and converting their lone fourth-down conversion.
7. Akron Zips (LW: 9, up 2)
- High vote: 7 (twice)
- Low vote: 8 (three)
- Average vote: 7.6
Has Akron finally found their mojo in Year 4 of the Joe Moorhead administration? It’s entirely possible, as they absolutely trounced a hapless UMass team in front of a delighted weeknight crowd to the tune of a 44-10 victory. If one or two of their other games had gone the other way… we’d be talking about a potential bowl bid for Akron. The Zips have now won four games for a second-straight season, and this week presents an opportunity for their best season by wins since the Terry Bowden years against bitter rival Kent State— with three games remaining to build upon it.
6. Buffalo Bulls (LW: 6)
- High vote: 5 (twice)
- Low vote: 6 (three)
- Average vote: 5.6
Buffalo was on a BYE week in Week 11, keeping their position from last week. There isn’t too much to report here, as UB is largely healthy heading into their road trip to Mt. Pleasant on Wednesday. On paper, they should be talented enough to be a contender for Detroit as long as they keep winning. Their loss over Akron, however, will loom large. They can’t afford any more of those.
5. Central Michigan Chippewas (LW: 4, down 1)
- High vote: 4 (twice)
- Low vote: 6 (once)
- Average vote: 4.8
Central, much like upcoming opponent Buffalo, was also on BYE last week. Unlike Buffalo, they fell in the rankings; that’ll happen sometimes. The Chips have a chance to jump right back up in the MAC title race and claim a tiebreaker if they can eliminate Buffalo from being in control of their own destiny on Wednesday. Their loss to WMU hurts their chances, certainly, but if they can get a bowl bid in 2025, that’s a huge accomplishment.
4. Toledo Rockets (LW: 5, up 1)
- High vote: 4 (three)
- Low vote: 6 (once)
- Average vote: 4.6
Another home game, another hellacious win for the Rockets, who look simply unstoppable when at the Glass Bowl in 2025. The victim this time was an NIU Huskies team who were hoping to carry over momentum from a win against EMU into a pseudo-rivalry game. Instead, Toledo turned NIU upside down and shook their pockets for lunch money like a school-yard bully. It’s hard to trust this team until they win on the road, which is what they do this week against a strong Miami team.
3. Western Michigan Broncos (LW: 3)
- High vote: 2 (once)
- Low vote: 3 (four)
- Average vote: 2.8
The Broncos got an extra week to celebrate their reunion with the Victory Cannon, sitting for a BYE in Week 11. They sit in a pretty favorable position at current despite their loss to Miami a few weeks back, as the RedHawks were finally saddled with a loss last week to Ohio. WMU gets Ohio off a 10-day hiatus this Tuesday; if they can win and Miami loses one more time, WMU is the lead horse in the homestretch of the MAC regular season race.
2. Miami RedHawks (LW: 1, down 1)
- High vote: 1 (once)
- Low vote: 3 (once)
- Average vote: 2
Miami finally suffered a loss in conference play. To make it worse, it’s their second loss to Ohio in a calendar year. Suddenly, they’re in a precarious position, as one more loss would greatly lessen their chances at a MAC title game return— and put them in danger of missing the postseason with one more slip-up due to their slow start. They take on Toledo this week, hoping to kill off one title competitor and clinch a bowl bid in the process.
1. Ohio Bobcats (LW: 2, up 1)
- High vote: 1 (four)
- Low vote: 2 (once)
- Average vote: 1.2
The Ohio Bobcats are once again the class of the conference, but the question will be whether or not they can stay up there. Ohio is the only bowl-eligible team at this point, claiming a win over Miami to get there, and could certainly solidify their hold on the MAC lead with a win over Western Michigan on the road this week. On paper, they’re the most balanced and talented unit in the conference, even if performances on the field have been uneven at points. Tuesday night will go a long way towards showing if they’re true contenders.
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!
