MAC West:
Northern Illinois:
Head Coach: Thomas Hammock (4th Season, 14-18)
Last Year Rank: 41 (9-5)
Preseason Rank: 55
Prediction: 9-3
While some may be letting Toledo get all the accolades, Rocky Lombardi and the Huskies have other plans. Thomas Hammock seems to have NIU headed in the right direction and imagine how rocking DeKalb will be when they knock off Vanderbilt at Huskie Stadium.
Toledo
Head Coach: Jason Candle (8th Season, 45-27)
LYR: 65 (7-6)
PR: 69
Prediction: 9-3
The Rockets bring back a lot of returning starters and look to wreak havoc on the MAC and maybe cause some chaos in big stadiums and exotic locations. Toledo gets back-to-back weekends of a paycheck game in Columbus and then a trip to the west coast against San Diego State. Dequan Finn is just a Sophomore, so the Rockets could be towards the top for the next few seasons.
LYR: 33 (9-4)
PR: 72
Prediction: 7-5
The offense returns a lot of firepower, but the defense will have to learn on the job. The Chippewa's can give the top two a run for their money and they'll need to get conference wins to become bowl eligible as they have trips to Oklahoma State and Penn State planned early in the season. Upsets at one or both can only be possible if Lew Nichols III can find running lanes and work his way to another 1,800-yard campaign.
Eastern Michigan
LYR: 64 (7-6)
PR: 75
Prediction: 6-6
Most coaches 20 games under .500 in 8 seasons are usually on the hot seat or long gone, but this is Ypsilanti, and the recent string of bowl game appearances has Creighton welcome to stay at Eastern for a lifetime. Some key pieces on the offense return in running back Darius Boone Jr. and receivers Hassan Beydoun and Dylan Drummond. However, both starting quarterbacks left via the transfer portal, but Taylor Powell comes in from Troy and will likely assume the role as starting QB. The defense has a lot of depth with returning starter Jose Ramirez leading the way. What's concerning is the unknown of special teams as punter Jake Julien and kicker Chad Ryland both graduated and had been two of the best in school history. There's no Big Ten school to upset this year, but who knows in a couple years maybe Arizona State will join the Big Ten or their win will be vacated after the NCAA's investigation.
Western Michigan
LYR: 43 (8-5)
PR: 88
PR: 88
Prediction: 5-7
The Broncos lose a lot of talent on offense that waxed Nevada in the Quick Lane Bowl, but Corey Crooms returns and looks to have a bigger role on offense, but the top of MAC West seems too strong for the Broncos to make it out, of course, they could find at least one more win and make it to a bowl game because after all, this is the MAC and some weekends nothing makes sense.
Ball State
LYR: 76 (6-7)
PR: 100
Prediction: 3-9
Maybe I'm hating on Ball State or I'm overvaluing the MAC West strength, but when I look at the schedule on paper, I see a lot of close games that don't go their way. They've got some skill players returning, but quarterback is a question mark and in football, that's never a good thing.
MAC East
Miami
LYR: 63 (7-6)
PR: 76
Prediction: 8-4
Miami will benefit from a weaker half of the MAC and get most of their tougher conference games at home. Brett Gabbert, younger brother of NFL QB Blaine, would love to show off his skills with an upset of the Bearcats at Paul Brown Stadium and has plenty of returning starters on both sides of the ball to do it. The Redhawks lost four games last year by five points or less including two by just one point, so they should hopefully be able to carry that experience forward in 2022.
Kent State
Head Coach: Sean Lewis (5th Season, 19-24)
LYR: 72 (7-7)
PR: 93
Prediction: 7-5
The Golden Flashes used grit to knock off Miami for a spot in the MAC Championship, but Northern Illinois bulldozed the Flashes for the title and then Kent State got lassoed by Wyoming in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. There's no doubt that Kent State has gone and scheduled the toughest non-conference schedule for perhaps anyone in college football. The season starts with trips to Seattle, Norman, OK, and Athens, GA with a visit from Long Island (FCS) to sprinkle in some hope for a likely 1-3 start, but a lot of cash brought in. Marquez Cooper will try and help take the pressure off a new quarterback and duplicate his 1,200-yard performance from last season.
Buffalo
LYR: 105 (4-8)
PR: 106
Prediction: 4-8
The Bulls lost their starting quarterback and running back to the transfer portal after a miserable season in Buffalo. Luckily, EMU transfer, Quian Williams is staying after leading the Bulls in receiving with over 800 yards in 2021. He's about the only one as Buffalo lacks offensive experience and the defense isn't much better.
Bowling Green
LYR: 100 (4-8)
PR: 118
Prediction: 4-8
There are a lot of returning starters for the Falcons including all-conference tight end Christian Sims, but BG hasn't been to a bowl game since 2015 and I don't think they'll break that streak this season. The biggest problem is that they'll see the three best teams from the West and take trips to L.A. and Mississippi State.
Ohio
Head Coach: Tim Albin (2nd Season, 3-9)
LYR: 107 (3-9)
PR: 121
Prediction: 4-8
The Bobcats were terrible to start last season, but what do you expect when your head coach of nearly 20 years suddenly retires before the season starts? Albin found his legs and the Bobcats won two of their last four games, both against bowl-eligible teams. There's not much left from that team as they'll need to find new skill players for Kurtis Rourke who is trying to lead Ohio to their first MAC title since 1968.
Akron
LYR: 123 (2-10)
PR: 127
PR: 127
Prediction: 2-10
Joe Moorhead takes over as the new head ball coach after previously coaching at Mississippi State. He'll inherit a lot of returning starters on both sides of the ball, but that was a team that was abysmal. On top of that, they'll need to learn a new system before they head into East Lansing and Knoxville.
No comments:
Post a Comment