Welcome back, oh great and wonderful college football fans, to the 489th episode of this blog! This time we are focused on one of my favorite conferences – not because they will ever have a national champion or even threaten, but because I think they are the most exciting. Here are my reasons: 1) they started the concept of games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the month of November in what they call MACNation which has since been adopted by Conference USA during October, 2) they don’t seem to have a long-term powerhouse (more on this in a moment), and 3) the games, in the rare occurrence that they are on television, are fun to watch – it’s just good football. The last one makes sense: nine of the now thirteen teams represent Ohio and Michigan, areas known for quality football. Two of the remaining teams are from Indiana and Illinois, which is certainly regional. Then there’s Buffalo in New York. This year, the Bulls are no longer the easternmost team with UMASS Minutemen joining as the 13th team. They have been an independent since 2016 but were in the MAC for the 2012-1015 seasons.
…..
UMASS (2-10 last season) may be fighting Akron (0-12) for last place but that touches on my second point. Yes, the Zips are 7-44 (.137) since 2019, but they played in bowl games in both 2015 and 2017, winning one of them. The Minutemen have only been to two FBS bowls losing the Tangerine Bowl in 1964 and winning the Boardwalk Bowl in 1972. The were in an FCS focused game, the Pioneer Bowl, in 1978, losing to Florida A&M. Since 2012, they have a 26-122 (.175) record. I mentioned that there were no long-term powerhouses. Here’s what I mean: in the SEC during the last ten seasons, only six different teams made the championship game; Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, and Texas. Only five others have ever played in the championship game: Arkansas, Mississippi St, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee. That means 5 teams, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt – four if we ignore the only-one-season-in-the-league Sooners – have never played in the game. In the Big Ten, nine teams; Iowa, Michigan, Michigan St, Northwestern, Ohio St, Oregon, Penn St, Purdue, and Wisconsin have played in the championship in the last ten years. Nebraska played in the 2012 leaving seven schools, including Southern Cal, UCLA, and Washington who are also in the one-year exception, who have never vied for the title. The longer-term holdouts are Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Rutgers. In the MAC, every team has played for a championship in the last ten years except for the sole team that has never appeared: E Michigan. Ohio, Buffalo, and Miami OH looked dominate last season, but in the MAC, there are no guarantees.
…..
I became a MAC fan one December when I was watching ESPN for bowl selections. I forget which team it was, but when it was announced that the team would be representing the MAC in the Bahamas Bowl, the team celebrated as if an SEC or Big Ten team made the playoffs. It was like watching a mid-major bubble team in basketball be called for a 15 seed. That energy and excitement turned me on to, what was at the time, the weakest conference in the FBS. I’d love to see North and South Dakota St both join this conference because they will compete in a conference where every team has a chance for glory and raise the bar just a little more. I’m not thrilled with the UMASS add from a football perspective except to get rid of another independent leaving just two for this year, because I don’t see UMASS strengthening this group in the near future.
…..
In the table below, (F) indicates a game against an FCS opponent, (G) indicates a non-conference game against another Group of 5 school, (4) indicates a challenge against a Core team. There are no scheduled neutral site games. With no further ado, JoJo and I are honored to present the 2025 Mid American Conference (MAC), the 10th most challenged conference in all of Division I football:
| Team | Home | 2024 Record (Rank) | 2025 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away Games |
| Ohio Bobcats (1) | Athens, OH | 11-3 (48) | 8.44 (39) | West Virginia (4), Gardner Webb (F), Bowling Green, N Illinois, Miami OH, UMASS | Rutgers (4), Ohio St (4), Ball St, E Michigan, W Michigan, Buffalo |
| Miami OH RedHawks (2) | Oxford, OH | 9-5 (69) | 8.36 (44) | UNLV (G), Lindenwood (F), E Michigan, W Michigan, Toledo, Ball St | Wisconsin (4), Rutgers (4), N Illinois, Akron, Ohio, Buffalo |
| W Michigan Broncos (3) | Kalamazoo, MI | 6-7 (120) | 8.07 (52) | North Texas (G), Toledo, Rhode Island (F), Ball St, C Michigan, Ohio | Michigan St (4), Illinois (4), UMASS, Miami OH, N Illinois, E Michigan |
| E Michigan Eagles (4) | Ypsilanti, MI | 5-7 (130) | 7.98 (56) | Long Island (F), Lousiana (G), N Illinois, Ohio, Bowling Green, W Michigan | Texas St (G), Kentucky (4), C Michigan, Buffalo, Miami OH, Ball St |
| Ball St Cardinals (5) | Muncie, IN | 3-9 (118) | 7.62 (78) | New Hampshire (F), Ohio, Akron, Kent St, E Michigan | Purdue (4), Auburn (4), W Michigan, N Illinois, Toledo, Miami OH |
| UMASS Minutemen (6) | Amherst, MA | 2-10 (109) | 7.14 (102) | Temple (G), Bryant (F), W Michigan, Buffalo, N Illinois, Bowling Green | Iowa (4), Missouri (4), Kent St, C Michigan, Akron, Ohio |
| Bowling Green Falcons (7) | Bowling Green, OH | 7-6 (95) | 7.11 (104) | Lafayette (F), Liberty (G), Toledo, C Michigan, Buffalo, Akron | Cincinnati (4), Louisville (4), Ohio, Kent St, E Michigan, EMASS |
| C Michigan Chippewas (8) | Mount Pleasant, MI | 4-8 (124) | 7.03 (110) | Wagner (F), E Michigan, UMASS, Buffalo, Toledo | San Jose St (G), Pittsburgh (4), Michigan (4), Akron, Bowling Green, W Michigan, Kent St |
| Kent St Golden Flashes (9) | Kent, OH | 0-12 (112) | 6.64 (121) | Merrimack (F), Buffalo, UMASS, Bowling Green, C Michigan | Texas Tech (4), Florida St (4), Oklahoma (4), Toledo, Ball St, Akron, N Illinois |
| Toledo Rockets (10) | Toledo, OH | 8-5 (106) | 6.63 (122) | W Kentucky (G), Morgan St (F), Akron, Kent St, N Illinois, Ball St | Kentucky (4), W Michigan, Bowling Green, Washington St (G), Miami OH, C Michigan |
| Buffalo Bulls (11) | Buffalo, NY | 9-4 (68) | 6.29 (128) | St Francis (F), Troy (G), UCONN (G), E Michigan, Akron, Miami OH, Ohio | Minnesota (4), Kent St, UMASS, Bowling Green, C Michigan |
| Akron Zips (12) | Akron, OH | 4-8 (101) | 6.24 (129) | Wyoming (G), Duquesne (F), C Michigan, Miami OH, UMASS, Kent ST | Nebraska (4), UAB (G), Toledo, Ball St, Buffalo, Bowling Green |
| N Illinois Huskies (13) | DeKalb, IL | 8-5 (77) | 6.09 (131) | Holy Cross (F), San Diego St (G), Miami OH, Ball St, W Michigan, Kent St | Maryland (4), Mississippi St (4), E Michigan, Ohio, Toledo, UMASS |
…..
The MAC does not shy away from difficult non-conference games, granted to raise funds for their athletic programs, which just adds to the respect this conference deserves. That’s it for today. JoJo and I thank you for reading and especially sharing with others. See you next episode for the 9th most challenged conference, JoJo and G.
