Welcome back, college football fans, to episode 663 of the GCR and the latest in our preseason strength of schedule (PS-SOS) countdown. We talked through the 14 FCS conferences (including the 2 FCS Independents) and, last time, talked about the least-challenged FBS conference: the Mountain West with an average PS-SOS of 6.952. While the lowest metric among the FBS conferences, that is still more than 2.5 points above the most-challenged FCS conference (Patriot League with 4.237). The disparity is fairly large and based on the “typical schedule.” In the FCS, the typical team plays between 10-12 games with 1-2 games against the FBS (which really positively impacts), 0-1 games against a non-Division I team (which really negatively impacts PS-SOS), with the remainder of games against FCS teams. The typical FBS schedule is 0-1 games against an FCS school and 11-12 games against FBS opponents. When we look at the 90+% win rate FBS over FCS in those games, it isn’t hard to see why an FBS schedule is, inherently, more difficult. The same principle applies when comparing the two FBS components: the Core 4 (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, and Notre Dame) and the Group of 6 (American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and UCONN). Core 4 schedules have 8-10 Core 4 opponents while G6 schedules typically have 1 or 2 vs Core 4.
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Individual FCS teams that upset an FBS team and/or only lose a couple of games (e.g., Lehigh 12-1/118) can have a higher GCR Score (a combination of SOS and performance metrics) than a poor-performing FBS team (e.g., Core 4 Oklahoma St was 1-11/134). However, as the season progresses, we’ll see, on the main, the FBS tend to rise and the FCS tend to sink in the rankings – with the exceptions of the outlier teams.
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But today is about the 10th most-challenged conference in college football, the 13-team Mid-American Conference or MAC with a mean PS-SOS of 7.009 and an average rank of 116.7 out of 266 teams. Last season W Michigan (10-4/51) was the highest ranked member closely followed by 8-5/54 Toledo. UMASS, in their first season after returning to the MAC, was 0-12/217, the lowest-ranked FBS team in the GCR. These teams play 17 games against Core 4 teams including 11 against the Big Ten. In order to get more TV time, the MAC’s tradition of playing Tuesday and Wednesday games in November (MACNation) was so impactful that Conference USA stole the concept for October. These teams are often fighting for the last few bowl games and have a near-zero chance of being the Group of 6 automatic bid for the playoffs, but they are Mighty in different ways. We will remind you when the time comes, but we strongly suggest you take some time in the middle of November to catch some of these games. With all the complaints about NIL and transfer portals, these teams are playing MAC football the way it’s been done for decades: for the love of the game and their college. Most will not get a chance to play in the pros, but some do like Ben Roethlisberger from Miami OH or Randy Moss from Marshall when they were in the MAC. While long-time MAC team N Illinois moved to the Mountain West, they were replaced by geographically confusing Sacramento St who made the jump from the FCS. In the table below, (4) indicates those Core 4 challenges, (G) indicates a non-conference Group of 6 foe, (F) indicates an FCS opponent, and (N) indicates a neutral site game. With no further ado, we are proud to present the 2026 MAC.
| Team Conf Rank | Home Field | 2025 Record (Rank) | 2026 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away Games | Hardest | Easiest |
| Kent St Golden Flashes (1) | Kent, OH | 5-7 (116) | 7.70 (87) | Wofford (F), Ball St, Ohio, Akron, Miami OH | South Carolina (4), Ohio St (4), W Michigan, South Florida (G), Sacramento St, Bowling Green, E Michigan | at Ohio St (14.22) | Wofford (3.74) |
| Bowling Green Falcons (2) | Bowling Green, OH | 4-8 (120) | 7.44 (95) | Tarleton (F), South Florida (G), Sacramento St, Ball St, Kent St, UMASS | Nebraska (4), Iowa St (4), Miami OH, Buffalo, W Michigan, Toledo | at Iowa St (11.13) | Kent St (4.33) |
| W Michigan Broncos (3) | Kalamazoo, MI | 10-4 (51) | 7.30 (103) | Monmouth (F), Boise St (G), Kent St, Bowling Green, E Michigan, Miami OH | Michigan (4), Rice (G) Buffalo, C Michigan, Toledo, Akron | at Michigan (11.57) | Monmouth (4.82) |
| Akron Zips (4) | Akron, OH | 5-7 (113) | 7.29 (104) | Robert Morris (F), UNLV (G), E Michigan, Ohio, W Michigan, Buffalo | Wake Forest (4), Minnesota (4), C Michigan, Miami OH, Kent St, UMASS | at Wake Forest (11.28) | Robert Morris (2.29) |
| Ball St Cardinals (5) | Muncie, IN | 4-8 (127) | 7.27 (105) | Stony Brook (F), Toledo, Sacramento St, Buffalo, C Michigan | Ohio St (4), Liberty (G), Kent St, Northwestern (4), Bowling Green, UMASS, Ohio | at Ohio St (14.22) | Stony Brook (3.73) |
| C Michigan Chippewas (6) | Mount Pleasant, MI | 7-6 (93) | 7.24 (107) | Colgate (F), Wyoming (G), Akron, W Michigan, Miami OH, Sacramento St | New Mexico (G), Miami FL (4), Ohio, E Michigan (N), Buffalo, Ball St | at Miami FL (13.48) | Colgate (3.08) |
| Miami OH RedHawks (7) | Oxford, OH | 7-7 (87) | 7.14 (115) | Holy Cross (F), UCONN (G), Bowling Green, Akron, Buffalo, Ohio | Pittsburgh (4), Cincinnati (4N), UMASS, C Michigan, Kent St, W Michigan | at Pittsburgh (10.88) | Holy Cross (3.31) |
| E Michigan Eagles (8) | Ypsilanti, MI | 4-8 (115) | 6.85 (126) | Sacramento St, San Jose St (G), Lindenwood (F), Toledo, Kent St | Michigan St (4), Wisconsin (4), UMASS, Akron, Ohio, C Michigan (N), W Michigan | at Ohio (9.40) | Lindenwood (3.26) |
| Ohio Bobcats (9) | Athens, OH | 9-4 (61) | 6.73 (131) | Jax St (G), Stonehill (F), C Michigan, E Michigan, Ball St, Toledo | Nebraska (4), South Alabama (G), Kent St, Sacramento St, Akron, Miami OH | at Nebraska (9.65) | Stonehill (3.15) |
| Sacramento St Hornets (10) | Sacramento, CA | 7-5 (161) | 6.66 (133) | MS Valley (F), North Dakota St (G), UMASS, Ohio, Kent St, Toledo | E Michigan, Fresno St (G), Bowling Green, Ball St, C Michigan, Hawaii | at Hawaii (9.26) | MS Valley (2.26) |
| Buffalo Bulls (11) | Buffalo, NY | 5-7 (111) | 6.57 (135) | Albany (F), Robert Morris (F), W Michigan, UMASS, Bowling Green, C Michigan | FIU (G), Penn St (4), Toledo, Miami OH, Ball St, Akron | at Penn St (10.99) | Albany (1.93) |
| UMASS Minutemen (12) | Amherst, MA | 0-12 (217) | 6.52 (136) | Sacred Heart (F), Stonehill (G), E Michigan, Miami OH, Ball St, Akron | Rutgers (4), Sacramento St, Buffalo, UCONN (G), Toledo, Bowling Green | at Toledo (9.72) | Stonehill (3.15) |
| Toledo Rockets (13) | Toledo, OH | 8-5 (54) | 6.51 (137) | C Connecticut (F), Temple (G), San Diego St (G), Buffalo, W Michigan, UMASS, Bowling Green | Michigan St (4), Ball St, E Michigan, Sacramento St, Ohio | at Ohio (9.40) | UMASS (2.87) |
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That’s it for today. Tune in tomorrow for the 9th most-challenged conference as we work our way to the season kickoff, now just 22 days away. Thank you for reading and, especially, for sharing with others. See you next time, JoJo and G
