West
1. Central Michigan 9-3 (8-0)
QB Dan LeFevour and the Chippewa offense will explode again, and with 9 starters back on defense, it will be very tough to deny CMU a third straight MAC title.
2. Ball St 8-4 (5-3)
With 16 starters returning, including outstanding QB Nate Davis, the Cardinals should have no problem becoming bowl eligible once again.
3. Western Michigan 7-5 (5-3)
Starting 6-1 to start the year is not out of the question and, if the offensive line finds its groove, Western could be the surprise team out of the MAC this year.
4. Northern Illinois 4-8 (3-5)
The Huskies should improve on its 2 win season last year, but with such a difficult schedule, it’ll be hard for UNI to get more than 5 wins.
5. Toledo 4-8 (3-5)
With a very tough schedule and only 14 returning starters, the Rockets will struggle to find any consistency all season long.
6. Eastern Michigan 2-10 (0-8)
EMU could win a conference game or two, but the schedule sets up for the Eagles to possibly go 0-8 in the MAC.
East
1. Bowling Green 8-4 (7-1)
QB Tyler Sheehan and 15 other Falcons return in what could be the best team to come out of Bowling Green in quite some time.
2. Buffalo 7-5 (5-3)
With 18 starters back, the Bulls should make the MAC East race very interesting.
3. Miami, OH 7-5 (5-3)
The offense will have to improve on its 19.2 ppg last year if the RedHawks want to go bowling.
4. Kent St 5-7 (4-4)
QB Julian Edelman needs to find some consistency if Kent wants a shot at a .500 season.
5. Temple 6-6 (4-4)
With just about everybody coming back, this could be the year Temple makes some noise in the MAC.
6. Ohio 2-10 (1-7)
Six of the Bobcats first eight games are away from Peden Stadium, which will prevent Ohio from doing anything this year.
7. Akron 2-10 (1-7)
13 starters back + an inept offense + a shaky defense equals a disappointing year in Akron.
MAC Title Game
Central Michigan def. Bowling Green 38-31