MACtion Arrives: MAC West Report
On Halloween night a great college football tradition resumes with weeknight MAC football, affectionately known as MACtion. The next several Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be filled with MAC contests to fill out the November college football schedule as the division races heat up headed towards the MAC Championship on December 2nd. Here is a breakdown of the current MAC West standings and what to expect in the division race in the next month. Toledo: Toledo is the highest rated MAC team, and the Rockets are in great shape to again claim the MAC West title. The Rockets are 4-0 in division play and do have the head-to-head wins they need with wins over Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. The road finale at Central Michigan remains but Toledo would need to take another loss in the next three games for the Chippewas to have a shot at the division title or they would need to lose twice in the next four games to let Northern Illinois back in the race. The next two home games are favorable before two road games to close the regular season. Toledo has not been dominant in MAC play however as the past three conference wins have all been one-score results and the Rockets will get every foe’s best shot as the defending champions. Dequan Finn is a MAC player of the year candidate while Toledo is one of the nation’s best rushing teams, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. The Rockets also have a sound defense allowing just 5.1 yards per play this season, but in the 4-0 MAC start Toledo has allowed nearly 22 points per game to display some vulnerability. Northern Illinois: The Huskies won the MAC title in 2021 and have five titles since 2011 as this program should not be ruled out. NIU made a comeback charge in the head-to-head game with Toledo, rallying to get within two points but with that loss, the 3-1 Huskies will need Toledo to lose twice in the final four while winning out to take the division title. NIU beat Boston College in the season opener for a great win before losing four straight games. The Huskies have now won three in a row, allowing 14 or fewer points in each MAC win including a notable win over Ohio. The remaining schedule will feature a road test this week at Central Michigan before division home games with Ball State and Western Michigan. NIU has had a break in the schedule drawing both Akron and Kent State from the East side. Rocky Lombardi hasn’t delivered the statistical season many expected but the Huskies have a strong rushing attack and are a top 25 team nationally in yards per play allowed on defense. Currently 4-4, the Huskies should be a threat to return to a bowl game but catching Toledo is unlikely. Central Michigan: Losing to Ball State in its last game was a costly result for Central Michigan who now needs help while also needing to go 4-0 down the stretch through a difficult remaining MAC schedule to claim the MAC West title. Central Michigan still has an opportunity to play Toledo but sweeping upcoming games with Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, and Ohio, before that finale will be a great challenge. Central Michigan’s MAC wins came against Eastern Michigan and Akron in one-score results as the Chippewas are more likely to fall to the bottom of the division than to seriously challenge Toledo. Jase Bauer has marginal numbers since taking over at quarterback and Central Michigan has some of the lesser defensive numbers in the conference. The Chippewas had a surprising non-conference win over South Alabama that keeps them in the mix for a bowl game but splitting the final four isn’t the most likely outcome as the Chippewas should be an underdog in every remaining game. Western Michigan: The Broncos already have three MAC losses, but this is a team that could have some late season life as a spoiler in upcoming MAC contests. Western Michigan blasted Eastern Michigan last week with a 252-28 edge in rushing in a 45-21 win. The Broncos also scored 42 in a home win against Ball State earlier this season. The losses came against three of the best teams in the MAC and Western Michigan scored 31 on Toledo’s excellent defense. Two of the final three are at home for the Broncos who are 3-6 overall, facing a “need-to-win-out” to make it to 6-6 situation. The non-conference path featured three power five teams with Western Michigan losing to ACC, Big Ten, and SEC teams on the road as the numbers for Western Michigan are skewed, having played the most difficult overall schedule in the conference. Eastern Michigan: Hopes for a late season run to contention for Eastern Michigan were extinguished last week with a lopsided home loss to Western Michigan. Four turnovers and terrible run defense were issues for the Eagles, who are now 4-5 with a trip to Toledo up next on the schedule. The final two come against Akron and on the road at Buffalo as getting to 6-6 is still realistic. Eastern Michigan has shown potential on defense allowing 5.3 yards per play this season and just 4.5 yards per play allowed in the past three games. The Eagles have had very little success running the ball this season however as they are not an appealing team in upcoming underdog situations vs. Toledo and Buffalo. Ball State: The Cardinals are just 2-6 overall with four games to go and they close the season facing Miami, the likely MAC East champion. Winning out to reach 6-6 is a long shot but this group hasn’t looked like one of the worst teams in the conference despite the current placement in the standings. Ball State has allowed just 96 points in four MAC games for decent defensive results and the Cardinals have allowed just 4.2 yards per play the past three games despite losing two of three. Ball State recently lost just 13-6 to Toledo in a game that was tied late, and the Cardinals outgained Central Michigan 344-260 in its most recent game, winning 24-17. Ball State is 0-4 on the road this season with every loss by at least 14 points as to turn around the season the Cardinals will need to play better with road trips to Bowling Green and Northern Illinois next on the schedule. Ball State has used three different quarterbacks this season with Kiael Kelly currently in the lead role, offering a significant rushing presence that isn’t reflected in the season numbers for the Cardinals.
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