Although there hasn’t been a repeat winner in the Mid-American Conference since the early 2010s, there has been a noticeable trend in the last 11 seasons.
A handful of teams have won multiple league titles since then, and any one of them could hoist the trophy at Ford Field again this year.
Defending MAC champion Miami will try to become the first back-to-back winner since Northern Illinois in 2011 and 2012. The RedHawks (11-3 overall, 7-1 MAC), who have some key veterans returning, are coming off their best season since 2003 when they went 13-1 and won the league title.
Toledo, the 2022 MAC champion, fell to Miami a year ago in Detroit. Both teams, along with Bowling Green, have won two MAC titles since 2012, while Northern Illinois has won three.
For the first time since 1997 when the MAC championship began, the title game will not consist of winners from the two divisions. The MAC announced late last year that it was eliminating the East and West divisions beginning in 2024 and that the top two teams based on conference winning percentage will square off in the championship game.
Here are our 2024 predictions for the MAC:
1. Toledo
Head coach Jason Candle, who has a 65-35 record at Toledo, has certainly built something special in the Glass Bowl. Even with a lot of star-studded talent gone from last year’s squad — like MAC player of the year Dequan Finn, offensive player of the year Peny Boone, and first-round NFL draft pick Quinyon Mitchell — the Rockets should be right in the mix for another championship.
Toledo’s top three receiving threats in wideouts Jerjuan Newton (first-team All-MAC in 2023) and Junior Vandeross III, as well as second-team tight end Anthony Torres, highlight an explosive group of offensive threats.
The Rockets’ MAC opener against Miami on Oct. 5 at home should be a doozy, as they hope to avenge last year’s league title game loss to the RedHawks.
2. Miami
MAC defensive player of the year Matt Salopek and quarterback Brett Gabbert both return for a sixth season to highlight veteran coach Chuck Martin’s squad. Salopek, a linebacker, is one of several All-MAC players back for a RedHawks’ squad that finished second in the league in scoring defense at 15.9 points per game, right behind Ohio’s 15.8 per outing. Gabbert has missed more than half of Miami’s games the past two seasons due to injuries, but he has plenty of experience as he will look to help the RedHawks win their third MAC championship in six years.
Second-team All-MAC offensive linemen Will Jados and Reid Holskey return, but the Redhawks will have to replace leading running back and 1,000-yard rusher Rashad Amos and leading wideout Gage Larvadain, who transferred to Ole Miss and South Carolina, respectively.
3. Bowling Green
The Falcons have made steady progress, especially the past couple of seasons, under sixth-year head coach Scot Loeffler. BGSU went from zero wins in 2020 to four in 2021, six in 2022, and seven a year ago in achieving its first winning campaign since 2015.
Whether or not BGSU can make its biggest and most significant jump yet during the Loeffler era will be the biggest question facing the Falcons. They have starters, experience, and talent returning at nearly every position, like first-team All-MAC tight end Harold Fannin, Jr., second-team running back Terion Stewart, and second-team cornerback Jordan Oladokun.
The 2024 campaign is, without question, BGSU’s best chance of winning a MAC title since the Falcons last did so in 2015.
4. Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois has five wins in eight MAC championship games since 2010 and don’t be surprised if the Huskies find a way to get a chance at another title this year.
Northern Illinois won six of its last eight games in 2023 after a 1-4 start that included a narrow 35-33 loss at Toledo. First-team All-MAC running back Antario Brown (1,296 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns) returns to lead the offense. Leading wide receiver and All-MAC selection Trayvon Rudolph is also back for sixth-year coach Thomas Hammock.
5. Western Michigan
After eight straight years of finishing at least .500 — seven of which were winning campaigns — Western Michigan has posted back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2012-13.
Second-year coach Lance Taylor has the pieces, especially offensively, to improve on the Broncos’ 4-8 season in 2023, though. Running back Jalen Buckley, who was fifth in the MAC with 1,003 rushing yards and tied for fourth with 10 rushing touchdowns, returns after earning the league’s freshman of the year honor. First-team offensive lineman Jacob Gideon, first-team wideout Kenneth Womack, third-team offensive lineman Addison West, and third-team wide receiver Anthony Sambucci also return, along with the Broncos’ top quarterback in Hayden Wolff.
Also of note, Western Michigan’s 2024 schedule doesn’t include any of the top three teams (Miami, Toledo, and Ohio) from 2023.
6. Ohio
Tim Albin has had quick and historic success in his short time as the Bobcats’ head coach after taking over for Frank Solich. After a 3-9 record in his first season in 2021, Albin has led Ohio to back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in program history. A pair of bowl wins the past two years has stretched Ohio’s bowl winning streak to five, which is tied for the MAC record. He will have his work cut out for him, though, as the Bobcats had significant roster turnover. None of Ohio’s eight 2023 MAC honorees return; former MAC offensive player of the year and quarterback Kurtis Rourke transferred to Indiana, while first-team linebacker Keye Thompson transferred to Pittsburgh.
7. Central Michigan
Sixth-year Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain is coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in his 11-year college coaching career.
The Chippewas will have one of the top all-around players in the MAC in senior running back Marion Lukes, a first-team All-MAC specialist a year ago. He averaged 23 yards per kickoff return, led the Chippewas in rushing with 737 yards and five touchdowns, and chipped in 29 catches for 300 yards. Central Michigan will have to replace quarterback Jase Bauer, who transferred to Sam Houston State. He was the only player in the MAC last season with double digit passing touchdowns (12) and rushing touchdowns (10).
8. Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan took a slight step in the wrong direction with a 6-7 record in 2023; it was the Eagles’ first losing season since 2020 and a three-win decrease from 2022.
Veteran head coach Chris Creighton, who is 191-114 in nearly three decades coaching college football (52-68 at Eastern Michigan), will be put to the test after losing a lot of his top offensive weapons. Bringing in an experienced quarterback from the transfer portal in Cole Snyder, who threw for 5,139 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions in 25 games the last two seasons at Buffalo, should help.
9. Ball State
Ball State has something a lot of other teams wish they could have gotten their hands on in the last decade — a MAC title. Beyond that, however, success has been hard to come by for the Cardinals.
Ball State’s 7-1 record in 2020 is its only winning season in the last decade, and a year ago, the Cardinals went 4-8 for its lowest win total since 2018. Second-team All-MAC running back and 1,000-yard rusher Marquez Cooper transferred to San Diego State. Third team offensive lineman Damon Kaylor and tight end Tanner Koziol are lone All-MAC returnees.
10. Buffalo
A new era will begin in Buffalo with Pete Lembo taking over the program in January. Lembo has more than 30 years of coaching experience, including 15 as a head coach as he compiled a 112-65 overall record (44-14 at Lehigh from 2001 to 2005, 35-22 at Elon from 2006 to 2010, and 33-29 at Ball State from 2011 to 2015).
The Bulls have had two losing seasons, including 3-9 in 2023, in the last three years after compiling a 30-16 record with two MAC title game appearances from 2017 to 2020. The Bulls have a couple big holes to fill, including first-team defensive back Devin Grant, who transferred to Syracuse after leading the MAC with five interceptions in 2023.
11. Akron
The 2023 campaign was more of the same for Akron as the Zips went 2-10 overall and 1-7 in the MAC for the third straight year. Since Akron’s loss to Toledo in the 2017 MAC title game, the Zips are 11-55. Third-year coach Joe Moorhead will have one of the top defensive linemen in the MAC, though, in first-team selection C.J. Nunnally IV. His 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks ranked second and seventh, respectively, in the MAC a year ago.
12. Kent State
It was a tough season to say the least for first-year coach Kenni Burns. Kent State went an FBS-worst 1-11 overall, with its lone victory against FCS school Central Connecticut State University.
Three years after a MAC title game appearance, the Golden Flashes will try to find some bright spots in their rebuild. A pair of all-MAC wide receivers in first-teamer Chrishon McCray and third-team pick Luke Floriea return.
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