MAC Power Rankings will be updated every Tuesday.
All right. I can feel it this coming weekend. It'll be a bounce-back effort across the board for the conference. Don't you sense it? It may be hard to detect, what with all the disappointing performances by, well, just about everyone. But don't fret. Hope springs eternal, and that first nonconference Bowl Subdivision win is going to come at any time.
Maybe one day a mathematician or HTML expert will invent a table where you can slot 12 teams all in one row, with one shining above the rest. It may not be easy, and the Cartesian plane may not be able to sustain such a setup. But just imagine Temple at No. 1 and a perpetual whirlygig of 12 other teams going in circles, getting nauseous, perhaps upchucking their cotton candy, because that's all they had for lunch.
Let's just get through this week's power rankings unscathed and we'll have better days ahead of us.
| Team | Last Rank |
Last Week |
W-L | Riffraff | Next Game |
|
1 |
 |
1 | CMU W 13-10 (OT) |
2-0 | Really this should be No. 1 and Nos. 32 through 43. As bad a start as it's been for everybody, they're the only ones standing at 2-0. They also have one lonely vote in the Coaches Poll. This week they'll put that vote in a terrarium, add some water and fertilizer, and see if they can't get it to grow. |
Saturday UConn |
2 |
 |
4 | @Temple L 10-13 (OT) |
1-1 | By virtue of nobody else really deserving it, they "move up" two spots after almost winning on the road. Chips fans probably saw what will hurt the most this year with Ryan Radcliff starting: the execution's good enough, but the improvisation will have to wait. |
Saturday @EMU |
3 |
 |
5 | @Boston Coll. L 13-26 |
1-1 | Imagine how good this team could be if they had any, ANY running game whatsoever. At this point it would be wise to hire as many healers, shamans, and druids to see if they can't nurse Eugene Jarvis back to health. |
Saturday @Penn State |
4 |
 |
2 | North Dakota W 23-17 |
1-1 | Neither Minnesota nor Kansas could beat a team from the Dakotas. Only NIU was able to do that. (And, well, Idaho, who beat ND the way teams were supposed to, 45-0.) Very cute, Huskies, giving us a close game Saturday night. And we appreciate the entertainment. Now try and act like the MAC West favorite you were supposed to be. |
Saturday @Illinois |
5 |
 |
11 | @OHIO W 20-13 |
1-1 | I couldn't put 'em above NIU just yet; remember, the team still lost 41-2, and losses like that only stop counting when it's a different season. But a road victory in Athens does help the image, and anytime Eric Page wants to start putting up the numbers, we're ready to witness it. |
Saturday @WMU |
6 |
 |
3 | Toledo L 13-20 |
1-1 | So they're going to be Inconsistent Bobcat this year. I can dig it. Hope you weren't counting on the running the ball very well next week. |
Saturday @Ohio State |
7 |
 |
9 | Nicholls St. W 49-14 |
1-1 | So ... is it going to be all passing, all the time in Kalamazoo? I guess so, when Alex Carder is throwing 6.6 yards par attempt, and the running backs are getting 2.9 yards per carry. |
Saturday Toledo |
8 |
 |
7 | EMU W 28-21 |
1-1 | I wasn't sure if we knew that Thomas Merriweather could do that — by which I mean run the ball and take pressure off the quarterback. They might as well try it again, since Zac Dysert has thrown a pick in five straight games, dating back to last year. |
Saturday Colorado State |
9 |
 |
8 | @Tulsa L 20-33 |
0-2 | Oh, their nonconference schedule is going to be a cruel, cruel succubus. They might be the best team this year to start 0-4. And what gives with Kamar Jorden? Is he trying to break Freddie Barnes' record? So far he's tied for first in the nation with 23 receptions. |
Saturday Marshall |
10 |
 |
6 | @Baylor L 6-34 |
1-1 | Not that the Bulls were going to walk into Waco and waltz away with a W ... but with that score, if it's the last game Baylor wins all year, hoo boy, that doesn't look so good. I wonder if they'll look to a new quarterback if he can't find his receivers on Saturday. |
Saturday Central Florida |
11 |
 |
10 | @Miami L 21-28 |
0-2 | So, so close, but 14 losses and counting. Their score differential now stands at -11, but remember: upcoming is the one game I think they'll probably win this year, when nobody else expects it. |
Saturday CMU |
12 |
 |
12 | Liberty L 23-27 |
1-1 | You'll get a riff when you don't lose to an FCS team. |
Saturday @Purdue |
13 |
 |
13 | Gardner-Webb L 37-38 (OT) |
0-2 | Same with you. |
Saturday @Kentucky |