Three Questions for the Mid-American Football Season

Unique among the Group of 5 conferences is the MAC, which has been completely stable in its membership for years. The league is mostly compact, with less than 300 miles separating 10 of its 12 members, outside of geographic outliers Buffalo and Northern Illinois. Every school in the league has played MAC football for 25 years or more. And of course, it’s well known for Tuesday and Wednesday MACtion.

Who’s on the road to Detroit? Here’s a look at the MAC.

Is This Finally The Year For Ohio?

The Bobcats are to MAC football what England soccer is to the World Cup. Ohio has long been a proud program by MAC standards, qualifying for bowls in 11 of the past 13 full seasons. Yet they’ve made five trips to the MAC championship game, and they’ve lost all of them, making it now 55 years without a conference title in Athens.

The Bobcats were foiled again last season by Toledo, as Kurtis Rourke tore his ACL and missed the last four games of the season. Without him, Ohio’s offense couldn’t do anything against the Rockets. He’s back this year, as is top receiver Sam Wiglusz, making Ohio the team to beat in the East.

Can Northern Illinois Stay Healthy?

It’s been a weird three years in DeKalb for the Huskies and coach Thomas Hammock. In 2020, every break went against NIU in an 0-6 season. 2021 reversed that, as NIU won six league games by eight points or less, earning the nickname “Heart Attack Huskies” and the MAC championship. 2022 again sent things the wrong way, as quarterback Rocky Lombardi and wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph both went down for the season before October.

Both are back this year, which makes NIU very dangerous. The Sept. 30 league opener at Toledo could prove decisive in who goes to Detroit out of the West.

How Does Kent State Handle a Total Rebuild?

There are 133 FBS teams this season. Only Colorado, which rebuilt its entire roster under Deion Sanders, returns less experience than Kent State. The Golden Flashes lost all 11 starters from the offense and lost coach Sean Lewis, who fled to Boulder as Sanders’ new offensive coordinator.

To make matters worse, the Flashes are still finding their way out of the abundance of buy games scheduled under the previous administration forcing three buy games a season. Over the next two years, the young flashes will visit UCF, Arkansas and Fresno State this year and Pitt, Tennessee and Penn State in 2024. It might be a long baptism by fire in eastern Ohio.