Welcome back. Apologies for the delay: between 14 hour work days and the hotel’s internet not working most of the week and a long drive back to Atlanta from Memphis due to flight cancellations, I’m trying to play catch up. Thankfully, we are only 1 episode behind. Just in case, I’m going to post Monday’s 8th place conference tomorrow.
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In this episode, we are going to talk about the 12-team Mid-American Conference aka the MAC. While the conference itself is not a Group of 5 powerhouse, we do see moments of brilliance (in recent years, N Illinois, W Michigan, Toledo, Miami OH, and Toledo have all made noise), these 12 mid-majors are willing to stand up to bullies. Among the 23 Core 4 (used to be Power 5 before the dismantling of the Pac 12) opponents for this conference are Notre Dame (twice), Ohio St (twice), NC St, Washington, Penn St (twice), and Missouri. And they play on Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout November. Gotta love the Mac!
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In the table below, (F) indicates an FCS opponent, (G) indicates a non-conference Group of 5 foe, and (4) indicates a Core 4 challenge. There are no neutral site games schedule. And now, I proudly give you the 2024 MAC:
| Team | 2023 Record (Rank) | 2024 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away/Neutral Games | Opp 2023 Rec |
| Miami OH Red Hawks (1) | 11-3 (36) | 7.32 (72) | (29-45/.391) Cincinnati (4), UMASS (G), Ohio, C Michigan, Kent St, N Illinois | (46-32/.590) Northwestern (4), Notre Dame (4), Toledo, E Michigan, Ball St, Bowling Green | 75-77 (.493) |
| Akron Zips (2) | 2-10 (136) | 7.29 (74) | (33-31/.516) Colgate (F), Bowling Green, E Michigan, Buffalo, Toledo | (45-43/.511) Ohio St (4), Rutgers (4), South Carolina (4), Ohio, W Michigan, N Illinois, Kent St | 78-74 (.513) |
| Kent St Golden Flashes (3) | 1-11 (134) | 7.07 (80) | (25-35/.417) St Francis (F), E Michigan, Ball St, Ohio, Akron | (47-42/.528) Pittsburgh (4), Tennessee (4), Penn St (4), Bowling Green, W Michigan, Miami OH, Buffalo | 72-77 (.483) |
| C Michigan Chippewas (4) | 5-7 (122) | 6.91 (88) | (32-41/.438) C Connecticut (F), San Diego St (G), Ball St, Ohio, Bowling Green, W Michigan | (44-34/.564) Illinois (4), FIU (G), E Michigan, Miami OH, Toledo, N Illinois | 76-75 (.503) |
| N Illinois Huskies (5) | 7-6 (126) | 6.84 (90) | (24-49/.329) W Illinois (F), UMASS (G), Buffalo, Toledo, Akron, C Michigan | (45-32/.584) Notre Dame (4), NC St (4), Bowling Green, Ball St, W Michigan, Maimi OH | 69-81 (.460) |
| E Michigan Eagles (6) | 6-7 (130) | 6.75 (93) | (43-32/.573) St Francis (F), Jacksonville St (G), Miami OH, C Michigan, Toledo, Buffalo | (34-42/.448) Washington (4), UMASS (G), Kent St, Akron, Ohio, W Michigan | 77-64 (.546) |
| Bowling Green Falcons (7) | 7-6 (70) | 6.68 (97) | (35-40/.467) Fordham (F), Old Dominion (G), N Illinois, Kent St, W Michigan, Miami OH | (39-37/.513) Penn St (4), Texas A&M (4), Akron, Toledo, C Michigan, Ball St | 74-77 (.490) |
| Ball St Cardinals (8) | 4-8 (113) | 6.48 (109) | (33-30/.524) Missouri St (F), N Illinois, W Michigan, Miami OH, Bowling Green | (42-44/.488) Miami FL (4), Vanderbilt (4), James Madison (G), Kent St, C Michigan, Buffalo, Ohio | 75-74 (.503) |
| Ohio Bobcats (9) | 10-3 (55) | 6.27 (113) | (26-46/.361) Morgan St (F), South Alabama (G), Akron, Buffalo, E Michigan, Ball St | (41-37/.526) Syracuse (4), Kentucky (4), C Michigan, Miami OH, Kent St, Toledo | 67-83 (.447) |
| Buffalo Bulls (10) | 3-9 (114) | 6.23 (115) | (32-42/.432) Lafayette (F), UMASS (G), Toledo, W Michigan, Ball St, Kent St | (39-37/.513) Missouri (4), UCONN (G), N Illinois, Ohio, Akron, E Michigan | 71-79 (.473) |
| Toledo Rockets (11) | 11-3 (45) | 6.13 (117) | (43-33/.566) Duquesne (F), UMASS (G), Miami OH, Bowling Green, C Michigan, Ohio | (31-44/.413) Mississippi St (4), W Kentucky (G), Buffalo, N Illinois, E Michigan, Akron | 74-77 (.490) |
| W Michigan Broncos (12) | 4-8 (99) | 6.12 (119) | (19-42/.311) Bethune (F), Akron, Kent St, N Illinois, E Michigan | (43-45/.489) Wisconsin (4), Ohio St (4), Marshall (G), Ball St, Buffalo, Bowling Green, C Michigan | 62-87 (.416) |
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That’s it for today’s episode. Tune in tomorrow for the 8th most challenged conference as we hit 35 days until kickoff!! Thank you as always for reading and especially for sharing. Let me know your thoughts and suggestions in the comments, G
I read these as much for the school mascots as for the season preview. I’m enjoying seeing what these schools call themselves.
Can we see a pareto chart of the most used mascots? (I’m guessing Wildcats are in the top position.) Maybe it would be informative to put them into categories: felines, canines, bovines, other large mammals, non-mammals, non-animals (ramblin’ wreck), and esoterica like this post’s Golden Flashes or Zips.
That’s a great study. Let me work on it
I got a shoutout!
Another mascot category could be historical area peoples (there’s probably a better descriptor than that): Rainbow Warriors, Hilltoppers, Rebels, Chiefs, and any other indigenous peoples or tribes.