An influx of transfer receivers could help, but the offensive line needs to be rebuilt. Austin Smith, who led EMU to a win over Arizona State last year, should take over at quarterback, and second-team All-MAC running back Samson Evans (1,166 rushing yards) will lead the offense. Now entering Creighton’s 10th season, it’s been a remarkable run of success for a program that was long among the worst in the country.
#YANKEES RED SOX WILD CARD PREDICTION MAC#
Only a loss to Toledo cost them a spot in the MAC championship game. Tier 2 Eastern MichiganĪfter years of consistent success under head coach Chris Creighton, the Eagles finally broke through with a nine-win season last year, tied for the most wins in a season in program history.
The Bobcats will be a heavy favorite to win the MAC East again if Rourke is healthy. Iowa State, and the MAC schedule is favorable, with a trip to Buffalo as the toughest matchup. The nonconference schedule is daunting but doable, with games at San Diego State, at FAU and vs. Defensively, there is a lot to like, but the experienced secondary must be better. Rourke, the MAC offensive player of the year, missed the spring but should be back to start the season, and he has plenty of weapons to work with, led by first-team All-MAC receiver Sam Wiglusz (73 catches) and running back Sieh Bangura, the MAC freshman of the year. They reached their fifth MAC championship game last year but lost to Toledo, in part because quarterback Kurtis Rourke suffered a season-ending ACL injury late in the year. The Bobcats haven’t won a MAC championship in 53 years, but they’ve come oh so close. They’re the favorite to win the MAC again, and for good reason. The Rockets also avoid Ohio in the regular season but play in the tougher West Division. The nonconference schedule is very manageable, opening at Illinois. The defense must replace some front-seven starters, but the secondary could be one of the best in the Group of 5, led by The Athletic preseason All-American cornerback Quinyon Mitchell. That includes quarterback Dequan Finn (32 total touchdowns last year), receivers Jerjuan Newton and Devin Maddox and running backs Jacquez Stuart and Peny Boone. The Rockets bring back almost every major playmaker from the 2022 team on both sides of the ball. That’s the task in front of Toledo, which finally lived up to its talent level last year to win its first conference title since 2017.
Nobody has repeated as MAC champion since Northern Illinois in 20. The last time a MAC team won consecutive division titles was 2013 to 2015, when Northern Illinois and Bowling Green met in the conference title game three years in a row. Will recent history change in the championship game? Eight different teams have played in the last four MAC championship games, and eleven of 12 conference members have played in the game since 2015 (sorry, Eastern Michigan). Among the top six rushers in the MAC last year, four transferred: Ball State’s Carson Steele went to UCLA, Kent State’s Cooper went to Ball State, Western Michigan’s Sean Tyler went to Minnesota and Northern Illinois’ Harrison Waylee went to Wyoming.Ĥ. Multiple starting running backs transferred out. After Lewis went to Colorado, almost every key player transferred, including QB Collin Schlee ( UCLA) running back Marquez Cooper ( Ball State) receivers Dante Cephas ( Penn State), Ja’Shaun Poke ( West Virginia) and Devontez Waker (North Carolina) cornerback Montre Miller (West Virginia) safety Dean Clark ( Fresno State) and more.ģ. Pretty much everything else at Kent State. Western Michigan fired alum Tim Lester after a 37-32 record in six seasons, believing the program that reached the 2016 Cotton Bowl needs to win MAC championships, and hired Lance Taylor from Louisville.Ģ. Sean Lewis left Kent State for the Colorado offensive coordinator job, so the Golden Flashes hired Kenni Burns from Minnesota.
Read all of our conference previews: ACC | Big 12 | American | Pac-12| Mountain West | SEC | Sun Belt | What’s new in the MAC?ġ. But as a conference, every game could go either way, making for some fun football once again in 2023, this time led by some great quarterbacks.
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